category startups v3.png

Working at a Startup: Brand Evolution

This is part two of our Working at a Startup series, the Fonolo Edition. This series documents the lives of real Canadian entrepreneurs as they endure the trials and tribulations of running a technology startup.

Working At A StartupShortly after I joined Fonolo, I suggested the company revitalize their brand. As a newbie, it was tough to come in and immediately shake things up. However, it was necessary. Fonolo was one of the finalists for the "Best in Show" award at the Enterprise Connect Conference in Orlando and, quite frankly, our brand needed some TLC.

read more

Seven Canadian Startups Want to Jump Aboard Blueseed, the Sea-Faring Incubator

140 startups from 40 countries want to jump aboard Blueseed, the floating startup incubator that will offer technology entrepreneurs a visa-free enviornment in which to build their company. Seven of those startups are Canadian.

With 5% of the interested startups coming from Canada, that places our country fourth among all nations, Blueseed says. The sea-bound incubator hopes to launch in the third quarter of 2013.

read more

Government Invests $800,000 in The Next 36 to Foster Student Entrepreneurship in Canada

It's been revealed that the Government of Canada is giving nearly $800,000 to The Next 36, a nonprofit organization located in Toronto that "strives to launch the careers of Canada's most promising and innovative undergraduates." Wladyslaw Lizon, Member of Parliament for Mississauga East-Cooksville, on behalf of the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, today announced a contribution of up to $787,500 for The Next 36 that will provide graduates in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) with the skills and support they need to start their own businesses.

read more

HootSuite Launches Teams, a Suite of Hardcore Tools for Serious Business Users

Vancouver startup HootSuite has released HootSuite Teams, a sutie of tools aimed at "serious business collaboration." The social media dashboard company says that Teams offers an "industrial-grade solution for global enterprises and small businesses."

The company, which is now valued at $500 million, says that in the past year corporate clients on HootSuite have tripled, with two-thirds of Fortune 100 companies now active users of the dashboard. And now, corporate teams average 23 team members each on HootSuite.

read more

With 11 Days to Go and $8.8 Million Raised So Far, Can Pebble Crack $10 Million on Kickstarter?

Vancouver-born entrepreneur Eric Migicovsky has now raised nearly $9 million for his product, Pebble, a smartwatch for iPhones and Android smartphones, from funding site Kickstarter. Pebble, made by Waterloo-born Allerta, also the maker of InPulse for BlackBerry, has raised three times more money than any other Kickstarter campaign in history. And it's still not done.

With 59,000 backers and $8.8 million raised, can Pebble reach the unheard of milestone of $10 million in its final 10 days? After blitzing to $1 million in a single day, Pebble maintained its blistering momentum, reaching $3 million in just three days.

read more

Twitter Wants to Acquire Vancouver-born Mobile App Camera+, Sources Say

Twitter is considering acquiring Camera+, a mobile iPhone app that was co-founded by Vancouverite Lisa Bettany (Mashable CEO Pete Cashmore's girlfriend) and owned by development firm Tap Tap Tap, according to "two people with knowledge of the negotiations," Bloomberg reports.

Twitter was also interested in Instragram, a similar but more popular and social app, before Facebook acquired it for $1 billion. While Instagram was likely too rich for Twitter's bold (although Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey was an investor in the app), competitor Camera+ would be much more affordable.

read more

Canadian Entrepreneur Dan Martell Officially Launches Clarity

In January, Techvibes reported that Canadian entrepreneur Dan Martell was starting up again with Clarity.

If you're part of the startup community, then you've heard of Martell.

He was most recently with Flowtown, which was acquired by San Francisco's DemandForce in October.

But Martell is also an angel investor who advises startups using metrics driven marketing tactics.

He started the Maple Butter blog and he's particularly fond of Canadian startups.

Today, Martell unveiled a new advice service for entrepreneurs and he knows a bit about getting and giving advice.

read more

Canadian Startup Verelo Hopes to Save Lives with New Monitoring and Alert Services

A tech startup based in Toronto hopes to use its technology to save lives. Verelo points out how high the risk and danger can be when emergency systems fail. What happenes when the 911 line goes down, or an airline experiences a systems failure?

“We are depending on computer systems more and more everyday," explains Mike Curry, the CTO and co-founder of Verelo. "Ten years ago, it was unheard of to have your car connected to the internet; today, a lot of navigation systems connect to the internet to download the data you see on your cars navigation system."

read more

Tagga Founder Amielle Lake Moves Over for New Chief Executive Officer

Vancouver's Tagga Media announced yesterday the appointment of veteran software executive Jean-Guy Faubert as their new Chief Executive Officer taking over for original CEO Amielle Lake.

Lake founded Tagga in 2008 and will move into the role of Chief Marketing Officer.

Lake shared her learnings from year one of Tagga with Techvibes and went on to be named one of Techvibes Digital Media People to Watch in BC in 2011.

"I am both thrilled and honored to have Jean-Guy join our team." Lake said. “I believe he has exactly what Tagga needs: experience in scaling sales, superb customer relationship development skills and a proven background of leading fast-growing companies. I look forward to working with Jean-Guy and building the best company we can.”

read more