Here are some Start Up things happening in Toronto which may be of interest. If you are looking to present at Venture Fair, details are below.
Then and Now. December 13th (this Wednesday)
Mark Evans of b5 media is doing a breakfast talk about his adventure with a dot com bomb, back to the newspaper world, and now inside b5 media. You'll get a chance to hear from somebody who has lived in both worlds. It should be a good talk and the bagels are great. Details and signing up are at the Toronto Venture Group (TVG) website.
Avoiding the Landmines. January 10th.
Mark McQueen, Suzanne Dingwell Williams, and yours truly, will be providing a look at the blizzard of paperwork that happens when you do a financing of your business. Besides hearing about what works, what doesn't, what's negotiable, what's not, you will also get a complete set of closing documents from a recently closed deal. Mark is a very smart, professional, and long time player in the capital markets. He's running one of the best (if not the best) Venture Debt organization Canada. Suzanne has a law practice pretty much dedicated to you. She's been there, done that, bought the T-shirt. I validate parking. Between the three of us, you'll get a unique opportunity to ask lots of questions and hear directly about what all this stuff actually means. As above, details and signing up are with the TVG.
The Other Side. Best Practices. February 14th.
While is is true, you can get an Internet start up service up and running for 'nothing' these days, you might find the best practice lessons from others that have gone before you. We've assembled a team of start up folks from the real, in the trenches world, to share these best practices. Like the January mtg, you leave with a package of best practice documents like sample board meeting agendas, financial models, president's reports, etc. The panel will the C level types from various start ups in Toronto. The combination will present you with the ability to ask questions and here directly from those that have been funded and who are rolling along. Watch the TVG website for sign up details.
Speed Dating. Meet the money (Late Feb, exact date TBD)
A bunch of VCs will be in a room giving you the opportunity to get fifteen minutes of face time. This is a variation of my no harm/no foul meeting but it is in keeping with the goals of the TVG to get entrepreneurs and capital together in a room. You will be able to sign up for a number of these 15 minutes. This will give you practice for your pitch as well as start the process of understanding the VC community. Watch the TVG Website for details. As a date gets locked down, I will also post it. Space will be limited so jump on this when it gets announced.
Canadian Venture Forum. March 4th - March 6th.
If you are looking to raise capital, The Canadian Venture Forum (CVF) is an excellent place to give it a shot. Millions of dollars have been raised for hundreds of companies over the years as CVF continues to play an important role in the Canadian VC community.
You'll need to apply to present as spaces are limited. Early applications usually have a better shot. You can go to the TVG website here and download the application form. Once completed, you can send it in with the annotation that I am your reference/sponsoring VC so it will get routed to me. Or email it to me directly, if you'd like. Either way, do it today. If you are in Canada and looking for capital, apply to CVF.
If you have any questions or comments about these events, please feel free to email me or comment here.
Start Up Camp, more training, Idea Camp, and even more VC face time are on the docket for 2007. Stay tuned.
hey Rick:
Attended the Avoiding the Landmines seminar this morning at the Board of Trade (set up by the TVG) and it was excellent. Thanks for setting this up.
And of course it was nice to meet you in person.
Pat
Posted by: Patrick Ryan | January 10, 2007 at 19:50