Can the private sector and market-based models play a bigger role in the traditional turf of charities and government, tackling issues like youth unemployment and childhood obesity?
"A new convergence of startups and Internet companies has come together to provide other early-stage companies with the tools required to get up and running quickly, and most importantly, cheaply. It's sort of like a Humble Indie Bundle, except instead of gaming, GetStartupTools.com offers software from Wave, Box, MailChimp, Zendesk, Uberflip and General Assembly that most brand new internet companies would need or at least appreciate."
Uniiverse, which has employees in Toronto and Montreal, is a service that lets people share services or activities. Some of these services and activities are free, while some are fee-based. For example, you could advertise your interest in babysitting, teaching a cooking course, shovelling snow, or finding people who share an interest in stamp collecting or playing pickup hockey.
Winter launched Squag, a social space for children with autism or those who communicate differently. For the past 11 years, she has worked as an aide to her austistic nephew, who she calls spectacular and the strongest person she knows. Kids like him are totally underestimated, she says, which compelled her to build Squag to help them express themselves and communicate - in an almost artist-like way - as well as develop friendship and connection.
Led by Joe WIlson of MaRS, our Future Leaders program was well received by many in the startup community...
"The pitch session was the culmination of MaRS's inaugural Future Leaders Series which offered 20 students between the ages of 13 and 15 the chance to experience the life of a "MaRs-ian entrepreneur."
MaRS client Uniiverse, the world's marketplace for collaborative living, is highlighted in this article from Mashable.com on The Rise of the Sharing Economy
The Top 50 Social Entrepreneur Blogs To Watch In 2009 from Evan Carmichael. Includes Treehugger and Gristmill in the "News" section as well as the School for Social Entrepreneurship in the "Organization" section.