Community Impact: Startups

Jesse Rodgers, CEO Volta Labs: It is exciting, you can see the growth.

Gabrielle Masone Founder, Coloursmith Labs: There is a lot of opportunities for entrepreneurs out here.

Andrew Cook, CEO, Seaformatics Systems Inc.: The network from a startup standpoint, is growing bigger and bigger.

Mike Johnston, President, REDSpace: I would say we are spoiled for good mentorship, good support of government and industry associations. We have a lot of fresh new talent here, the university density, the college density, means we have a deep pool of fresh new ideas to pull from.

Peter Moreira, Principal, Entrevestor: We are seeing more and more companies each year, so if the startup community is a pyramid, the base is broadening each year but at the same time the pinnacle is growing higher.

Patrick Farrar, CEO, Startup Zone: We have passionate entrepreneurs who are interested in changing the world and helping others.

Stefanie Corbett, Director of Operations, Island Capital Partners: It is not just writing cheques and investing capital. It is mentorship, advising, just being a lending ear sometimes.

Michelle Simms, CEO, Genesis Centre: There is a plethora of organizations available to help the entrepreneurs, ranging from really early stage entrepreneurs, to those who are ready to scale or are scaling.

Jordan Kennie, Co-Founder and CEO, Stash Energy: Success breathes success, if you have more successful companies there is more mentors for other companies to go to and be successful and then they become a mentor themselves.

Bob Pelley, Regional Manager, Innovacorp: Startup communities need to be entrepreneurial led and I think government has been doing a great job to let them lead by helping to facilitate it and making sure things keep moving and stay on track.

Gabrielle Masone, Founder, Coloursmith Labs: They understand that innovation and new business creation and job creation is going to be the future of Canada and they do everything they can to make sure that that is fostered.

Brian Sharp, CEO, Onset Communications: There is not just an interest in doing business here, but there is a love of being here and living here.

Martin Braganza, Account Manager, ACOA: It is government’s role to fuel the fire, not to light the match. These startups are creating jobs, they are turning into early stage companies, turning into high growth companies and that is all part of the cycle. We take risks, but we try to share risks with investors and we mitigate those risks with all of the homework that those companies have been doing.

Steven Lane, Account Manager, ACOA: Everybody that is involved in the ecosystem has the same goal in mind: help the entrepreneur and help the business grow.

Josee Green, Account Manager, ACOA: Our big job is to listen, to coordinate, to oversight, help fill the gaps.

Tony Roche, Account Manager, ACOA: These companies are going to global markets; we have to find creative and innovative ways to get them out into those markets.

Michelle Simms, CEO, Genesis Centre: We are about to see our first billion dollar company in Atlantic Canada and if you look forward another 20 years, we will have many more of those.

Dr. Dhirendra Shulka, Professor and Chair, University of New Brunswick, The J. Herbert Smith Centre for Technology Management & Entrepreneurship: They are building global businesses from here, and that is special and that is something that was not happening before, but it is now.

Peter Moreira, Principal, Entrevestor: This is a party that Atlantic Canada is not missing. There have been so many economic trends in the last 150 years that Atlantic Canada has not benefited from, but we are right in there playing at this game.

Jesse Rodgers, CEO, Volta: People are starting to really believe in themselves and believe in the opportunities that are here, that excitement is building, and it is amazing to feel the momentum.