MaRS

Startup advice abounds these days. But much of it sucks. Find out how to tell the good from the bad

Find out the "cost per friend" or "cost per email name" to compare with the costs of recruiting people elsewhere.

"Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, Premier Dalton McGuinty to join global policy, science, technology experts in advancing challenges, opportunities of an aging population. Oct 15, 2009

MaRS Discovery District, brings individuals and companies with innovative ideas together with a roster of high-level advisers and mentors who provide guidance as well as contacts.MaRS is crucial for the viability of Canadian companies competing against larger foreign rivals. Oct 16, 2009

Creative Places + Spaces is one of the world's leading forums on creativity. This year's event will engage global perspectives on collaboration and connect them with local change makers. Oct 26, 2009

This is the kind of environment that Ontario is trying to build: The EuC2C partnership is an inter-sectoral group of organisations committed to making European businesses more innovative and competitive in the long term. The knowledge, skills and networks of the partnership complement each other, containing as it does a communications focussed SME, the world's most specialised firm in helping develop cluster-based programmes, a Europe-wide network of business innovation centres, a non profit national body for SME development, an independent SME training consultancy specialising in multimedia training and a specialist marketing communication company.

MaRS Board member Cal Stiller is inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of fame.

Omar El Akkad, Globe and Mail Technology Report states "the aftershocks of the global recession have greatly reduced the amount of money big funds are willing to give venture capital firms, and how much money those firms are willing, in turn, to give startups. But with the rise of mobile platforms and Web 2.0, the cost of starting up a tech company today are often much lower than just a few years ago, and venture capital firms are increasingly handing out cash with the expectation that it doesn't take as much money as it used to, to launch the next technology powerhouse." Oct 26, 2009

The Impact Group focusses on technological change and cultural innovation. Their papers focus on these areas as well. Read them to find out about what is happening in innovation in Canada, including information on the research or academia environment as well as innovative companies and start-up ventures.

This article discusses at a paper contending that Canada is wasting the productive lives of "many brilliant and courageous knowledge workers, and losing large sums of money doing it." Read the original white paper at http://www.impactg.com/pdf/disappearanceofstartupsandearlystagefirms.pdf

This article by David Crane references the Impact Group's paper "Understanding the Disappearance of Early-stage and Start-up R&D Performing Firms" to talk about what's wrong with our innovation/knowledge economy. Among many things, our VC environment is stunted and our businesses should work more closely with customers on addressing their needs rather than focussing on new technology. Read the original white paper at http://www.impactg.com/pdf/disappearanceofstartupsandearlystagefirms.pdf The article also references the paper by the Council of Canadian Academies which urged more business innovation. http://www.scienceadvice.ca/innovation.html

Jim Perlot, CFO, Arctic Group, who has developed a DNA test, Macular Risk, that identifies people who are at risk of developing this eye disease is interviewed by BNN. Oct 23, 2009

Genome Alberta's Mike Spear was at the MaRS Centre symposium on synthetic biology. Oct 28, 2009

Synthetic Biology is a new approach to engineering biology, with an emphasis on technologies to write DNA. Mike Spear shares his views after attending the event on Engineering the Future: Synthetic Biology. Oct 27, 2009

"The enemy of innovation is the phrase 'prove it'," says Roger Martin, dean of UofT's Rotman School of Management. He says corporations are killing themselves with too much analytical thinking, and not enough creative, design thinking. "You can't send a 28-year-old with a calculator to solve your problem." Martin says of management consultants.

On November 2, 2009, at the MaRS Centre, MobileMonday Toronto will explore mobile video and film content from the point of view of both creators and distributors, and will feature a sneak peak 30-minute screening of the world's best mobile films, provided by MobiFest. Nov 2, 2009

ACTION Ontario, a non-profit organization comprised of doctors, other health-care professionals, researchers and patients, is bringing people together to create awareness about the cost of chronic pain and to develop possible solutions to help address this debilitating problem on Nov 3 from 1-4pm at the MaRS Centre.

Mention of the symposium on Neuropathic Pain - Towards an Ontario Strategy at the MaRS Centre from 1 to 4 pm on November 3, 2009. Nov 2, 2009

On Nov 4, there was a presentation that took place at the MaRS Centre on Energy Storage Market. The session was moderated by Deloitte's director of research, Duncan Stewart. Other speakers were: Sankar Das Gupta, CEO of Toronto-based Electrovaya, Mark Tinkler, principal consultant of Emerging Energy Options, Kirk Washington, general partner at Yaletown Venture Partners, and Ken Rudisuela, president of Mobilogy Inc. The seminar focused on the importance of energy storage, not just to make renewable energy more practical, but also to reduce our dependency on carbon-based fuel, especially gasoline. Nov 5, 2009

"MTS Allstream Inc. ("MTS Allstream") has partnered with MaRS Discovery District ("MaRS") - a leading innovation centre that supports Canadian innovation by connecting science, technology and social entrepreneurs with business skills and capital. MaRS will showcase new and dynamic green technologies at the 2009 Allstream Global Forum: An Evening with Vice President Al Gore being held November 24 at the Allstream Centre, Toronto. "MaRS will showcase the following three emerging Canadian companies at this year's "Green Gallery of Innovation": Echologics Engineering Inc.,Skymeter Corp., and Clean Energy Developments. Nov 6, 2009