Meet the judges and competitors for next week's Lift'Off Venture Challenge - and more!
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IN TOUCH
lift'off Next Tuesday, June 20! Register Now
lift'off Next Tuesday, June 20! Register Now

JUDGING IS THE HARDEST JOB

MEET THE JUDGES!

lift'off judges

Come and witness these startup experts delve into the competitors' business models and select the top three investable startups!

Each year our judges labour over the Venture'Challenge presentations they've just heard to select the top three. It's a challenging job. But with deep operational and many years of investment experience behind them, we know our judges are up to the task. Read More >

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE COMPETITORS!

lift'off competitors

Five of Manitoba's most promising startups put their hearts and souls out there for all to see as they compete for cash, prizes and Venture'Challenge glory. Register Now >

Entrepreneur Power Lunch
Michael Sikorsky

WATCH THE VENTURE'CHALLENGE THEN STAY FOR THE ENTREPRENEUR POWER LUNCH

Discover what business can learn from the wisdom of George Bernard Shaw from renowned strategist, innovator and tech pioneer Michael Sikorsky and hear from the Venture'Challenge 2017 winners!

Register Now >

Innovate Manitoba Recognizes Its Generous Annual Sponsors

TDS LLP
RBC
WTC
Fort Group
RRC
UofM
Yes Wpg
ED Wpg

Fastoche

WINNIPEG'S FASTOCHE FACING THE CHALLENGES OF SCALING HEAD ON

Child care provider app grows with solid leads and product validation.

Fastoche Canada Inc., a mobile software solution that brings all essential data into one user-friendly suite for child care centres, has grown in leaps and bounds since its second place finish at Innovate Manitoba's Venture'Challenge in 2016.
"We were really focused on a small number of customers in Manitoba," said co-founder Chris Gaulin. "We now have reach in Nova Scotia, Quebec, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and B.C. and are building footholds in other provinces."

Read More >



nQube Data Science

WHAT HAPPENED?

In the April 2017 edition of I'M IN TOUCH, we reported that Winnipeg AI company nQube Data Science won a coveted spot to pitch its casino optimization software at one of the world's most prestigious gaming conferences taking place in San Diego, CA. We've been asked, what happened?

Read More >

On Target - Podcast, Blog or Book of the Month
cyrptocurrencies

CRYPTO TOKENS: A BREAKTHROUGH IN NETWORKS.

Want to understand a little about cyrptocurrencies? Here's a great piece by Chris Dixon that begins to make sense of it all.
"One way to think about the token model is to imagine if the internet and web hadn't been funded by governments and universities, but instead by a company that raised money by selling off domain names. People could buy domain names either to use them or as an investment (collectively, domain names are worth tens of billions of dollars today). Similarly, domain names could have been given out as rewards to service providers who agreed to run hosting services, and to third-party developers who supported the network. This would have provided an alternative way to finance and accelerate the development of the internet while also aligning the incentives of the various network participants."

Read More >

Check Out These Employment Opportunities

BDC

BDC – Account Manager

BDC has a new technology lending initiative in the Prairies and is looking for an account manager with a passion for the technology sector, to be based in Winnipeg. If you have a keen interest in entrepreneurship, 3 to 5 years' experience, a good understanding of the business world and /or connections to the technology ecosystem and able to help SMEs in this sector access resources, this may be the position for you.

Read More >

Partner & Community Events and News You Won't Want to Miss

Build in Canada Innovation Program (BCIP)
BCIP is a federal procurement program to help startups bridge the pre-commercialization gap by awarding government contracts to help validate and build their technologies. Companies must be at least at the protoype stage, in one of the following areas of focus: (i) environment (ii) enabling technologies (iii) health and (iv) safety & security.

If this describes your business, you may want to attend the BCIP information session on June 21 at 10 am at the Event Centre, 100-One Research Road, Smart Park, University of Manitoba. Click here for more information. Read More > Register Now

Healthy Behavior Data Challenge
Are you interested in fitness, sleep or activity tracking?

MaRS, together with the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) have a competition running with $165,000 in prizes available for discovering new ways to collect and track key health data points.

This challenge is aimed at discovering innovative ways to track, monitor and better understand physical activity, sleep and sedentary behaviour through data from technologies such as wearable devices and mobile applications. Innovators participating in the Canadian stream of the challenge can win up to $35,000 each, as well the opportunity to have their concepts and solutions integrated into public health surveillance practice at PHAC. The submission deadline for the first phase of the competition is August 4th.

If you're interested in participating, the best place to start is by going to the challenge page. Read More > Register Now

Virtual Cleantech and Health IT Canadian Technology Accelerators
These CTA's are inviting Canadian startups looking to grow in US markets to apply for their accelerator programs.

Cleantech – apply by July 7, 2017 Read More > Register Now

Health IT – apply by August 31, 2017 Read More > Register Now

She Loves Tech 2017
She Loves Tech is a global start-up competition centered in Beijing, China which showcases women's entrepreneurship from around the world. Entrepreneurs compete in regional pitch-day events for the opportunity to travel to Beijing, participate in programs and meet China's startup community.

The Canadian qualifier takes place on August 2, 2017 in Montreal, with travel to Beijing in September 2017. Read More > Register Now

CIX 10th Anniversary Conference & CIX Top 20 Program, October 17 & 18, Toronto
CIX Top 20 program is one of Canada's largest national showcases of the hottest and most innovative tech companies. Alumni companies include Hubba, Thalmic Labs, vidyard, wattpad and WealthSimple. CIX 2017 Top 20 is seeking applicants. The deadline is July 31, 2017. Successful applicants will be notified by the end of August.

Innovate Manitoba program participants (all years) are eligible for a CIX conference discount. Contact us for a discount code. Read More > Register Now

Lazaridis Scale-Up Program
Are you a Canadian tech company that's ready to scale? The Lazaridis Institute is looking for founders and CEOs who are ready to take their companies to the next level. The Lazaridis Scale-Up Program identifies ten of the most promising technology companies in Canada each year, inviting them to join an elite cohort that we call the Lazaridis 10.

Participants in the Lazaridis Scale-Up Program are founders and/or CEOs of technology companies that have:
• Headquarters in Canada.
• Realized a problem-market fit.
• Received market validation in the form of customer traction.
• Recognized a minimum $1 million revenue in the past year.
• Minimum 15 months runway at the start the program.
You may have missed the Winnipeg roadshow, but it's not too late. Learn more about the scale-up program here. Read More > Register Now!

Canada 150 – Celebrating Manitoba's Manufacturing Contributions
Help CME celebrate manufacturing's impact on Canada's history by submitting your favorite made in Canada (especially Manitoba) products. Finalists will be announced in a national press release just in time for Canada Day and there will be special mentions for businesses who have been around since the beginning.
Can you name your top made-in-Manitoba picks? Email your suggestions to jill.knaggs@cme-mec.ca or tweet us your picks to @cmemanitoba with the hashtags #mfgmatters or #Canada150.
Manufacturing matters in Manitoba. The sector employs nearly 64,000 workers and is directly responsible for more than 10 per cent of all economic activity in the province. Moreover, manufacturing represents nearly 70 per cent of Manitoba exports. You can help us celebrate our impact, just in time for Canada's 150th birthday!

Email jill.knaggs@cme-mec.ca

Entrepreneurship Manitoba

World Trade Centre Free Training/Seminars

How to Start a Business in Manitoba – Presenter: Nicole Fontaine, World Trade Centre Winnipeg
June 29th, 2017, 11:30am – 1:30pm

Entrepreneurship Manitoba

Entrepreneurship Manitoba Business Seminars

Business Start-up Information Session (free)
Fri, Jun 16, 2017 from 9:00am - 10:00am

For Entrepreneurship Manitoba business information >

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