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Entrepreneurs [clear filter]
Monday, September 17
 

5:30pm PDT

#VSW2018 VIP Reception | INVITE ONLY
Sorry - this is an invite only/closed event.

VSW is hosting a special reception to thank our sponsors and partners for their support. 
Monday September 17, 2018 5:30pm - 8:00pm PDT
CBRE
  Networking & Relationship Building, Networking / Party
 
Saturday, September 22
 

9:30am PDT

Angel 101: an introduction to angel investing
Limited Capacity filling up
Who are angel investors and what do we do? How is angel investing different from other types of investing? What is the impact of angels around the globe? We'll talk about the process, smart money, and best practices.  

Join us for an introductory series on angel investing: the angel philosophy, how Canadian angels are changing the world, and how we get there faster together.
Speakers
KS

Kim Scofield

Founder & CEO,, Space42, Angel42, and Blonde Bad Wolf Consulting
Angel investor and entrepreneur, Founder & CEO, Space42, Angel42, and Blonde Bad Wolf Consulting (artificial intelligence, tech infrastructure, blockchain, cybersecurity), MSc Artificial Intelligence & Cognitive Linguistics.  


Saturday September 22, 2018 9:30am - 2:00pm PDT
The Profile (Lonsdale)
  Finance & Investment, Fireside Chat or Roundtable
 
Sunday, September 23
 

3:45pm PDT

#VSW2018 + #VanHacks Hackathon Presentations & Judging Ceremony
Limited Capacity seats available

Come join us and see what these amazing VanHacks hackers have come up with! Groups will present to the judges and winners will be crowned!

This event is open to #VSW2018 pass holders. You do not need to buy a separate ticket to attend.

Sunday September 23, 2018 3:45pm - 6:00pm PDT
BCIT Downtown Campus 555 Seymour Street, Vancouver
  Technology, Pitch Event
 
Monday, September 24
 

8:00am PDT

#SBFF Non-Dilutive Financing Bootcamp | SECRET LANGUAGE OF BANKERS
Limited Capacity filling up
Secret Language of Bankers: Build rapport to get more money at lower cost with less risk.

Over $50 billion a year is lent to small businesses in Canada yet only half of the small businesses get financing from banks. Money is available for successful small business owners. You’re successful but are you getting your fair share? If not, maybe bankers don’t really understand what makes your business so successful. Learn how to speak their language and what they need to know to finance your business.

VSW VIP INVITATION: Would you like a no-risk, private session with an experienced banker to discuss the unique aspects of your business? Sign up to attend the complete 2-day VIP session (includes private meetings, lunches, networking reception, and more) for only $50 here (value $2,500). SPACE IS VERY LIMITED.
Speakers
avatar for Stephanie Sharp

Stephanie Sharp

Small Business Finance Forum
My name is Steph Sharp, MBA, CFN, ICD.D the founder of the first Small Business FinanceForum event in Vancouver for small to medium-sized businesses. I’ve spent the last 30 years developing innovative, sustainable, financial solutions for business leaders and my real passion is empowering management... Read More →


Monday September 24, 2018 8:00am - 10:30am PDT
UBC Robson Square
  Finance & Investment, Workshop

9:00am PDT

Media & PR Strategies Workshop
Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.
Create your best PR! Expertise and thought-leadership is a source of news, trend
forecasting and business development for your company. This program is focused on positioning
and promotion of expertise, insights and thought leadership of executives / founders in the media.
This workshop covers a range of topics including: the importance of leveraging the power of the
media to enhance executive growth potential, how the tumultuous media landscape increases your
potential value to journalists, developing your distinctive voice to enhance your media profile, news
judgment: What journalists want (and need) from you, and how to maximize social media and PR
resources.


Speakers
avatar for Kelly Hoey

Kelly Hoey

Author, Speaker, Investor
Kelly Hoey is the author of Build Your Dream Network: Forging Powerful Relationships In A Hyper-Connected World (January 2017 / Tarcher Perigee).Kelly has been lauded from Forbes (“1 of 5 Women Changing the World of VC/Entrepreneurship”) to Fast Company (“1 of the 25 Smartest... Read More →

Monday September 24, 2018 9:00am - 10:30am PDT
The Profile (Thurlow) 535 Thurlow Street, Suite #100
  Media & PR, Workshop

10:00am PDT

"Robots, Law, AI - Oh My!": How Voice AI can Help Take Your Law Practice to the Next Level.
Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.
Learn how AI and robotic process automation can make it easier to provide legal assistance and integrate with your practice tools to improve service delivery.  
Speakers
avatar for Tom Martin

Tom Martin

Founder, LawDroid
Tom Martin is the founder of LawDroid, a chatbot development and consulting company for the legal industry. Tom’s company focuses on making useful bots to help lawyers capture more leads, intake more clients, and handle more cases. Tom is an alum of Lawyerist’s inaugural TBD Law... Read More →


Monday September 24, 2018 10:00am - 11:00am PDT
Venture Labs - 12th Floor
  Robotics & AI, Workshop

10:45am PDT

#SBFF Non-Dilutive Financing Bootcamp | BE YOUR OWN VC
Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.
Be Your Own VC: How to increase cash flow and profitability to reduce dilution

Don’t want to give up control of your company? Create a business model that generates the cash you need to invest in your own growth.
In this session we’ll show you how to:
  • 2X your cash flow and 10X your value! Find out why you don’t need to double your revenue to double your value.
  • Build leverage levers: Get more from what you already have! In this session, we will give you framework and tools on how to leverage your money, time and resources.
  • Stack profits: There are 5 profit drivers in your business, each at a different level of operations. Learn how to maximize profitability to accelerate your growth.
Speakers
avatar for Stephanie Sharp

Stephanie Sharp

Small Business Finance Forum
My name is Steph Sharp, MBA, CFN, ICD.D the founder of the first Small Business FinanceForum event in Vancouver for small to medium-sized businesses. I’ve spent the last 30 years developing innovative, sustainable, financial solutions for business leaders and my real passion is empowering management... Read More →


Monday September 24, 2018 10:45am - 11:45am PDT
UBC Robson Square
  Finance & Investment, Workshop

11:30am PDT

Launch It Broken, Fix It Live: Put the Life Vest On and Jump!
Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.
As the saying goes, “Perfect is the enemy of the good.” Hear from a panel of entrepreneurs on how they keep momentum up by focusing on “good enough” when launching their businesses. There will always be something to “fix” or improve so why wait? Jump in, the water feels fine!
Moderators
avatar for Arpen Thandi

Arpen Thandi

Communications Consultant

Speakers
avatar for Melody Biringer

Melody Biringer

Founder and Producer, WiT Regatta & The Crave Company
As a connection engineer, Melody is a master of designing alliances. She believes that relationships are most important in our lives and that unlikely mashups create new perspectives and opportunities. She has built an international ecosystem of sisterhood. The founder and producer... Read More →
avatar for Jayesh Parmar

Jayesh Parmar

CEO & Founder, Picatic.com
avatar for Sonali Giovino Perera

Sonali Giovino Perera

Event Producer & Head of Business Development, EventChain.io
Sonali Giovino Perera has been working in the crypto space full time for about a year now. She is an active investors, trader and passionate advocate of educating the masses on how blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies operate in the space.  Her expertise is in Marketing, Business... Read More →


Monday September 24, 2018 11:30am - 1:30pm PDT
The Profile (Thurlow) 535 Thurlow Street, Suite #100
  Business, Fireside Chat or Roundtable

1:00pm PDT

#SBFF Non-Dilutive Financing Bootcamp | 3 KEYS TO SUCCESSFUL BORROWING (PANEL DISCUSSION)
Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.
You wouldn't buy a house on your credit card, why would you use the wrong type of loan to finance your business?

Short answer? You probably didn’t realize that there are so many ways to borrow money. In this session, we invite a panel of lending and financial experts to discuss the types of loans and debt, how and why you need different types of loans for different needs, and how to build a long-term relationship with your bankers to ensure that you’re always getting the best financing for your stage of growth.

VSW VIP INVITATION: Every business is unique. If you want to have a no-risk, private conversation with an expert banker about your 3 keys to success borrowing specifically to your business, sign up to attend the complete 2-day VIP session (includes private meetings, lunches, networking reception, and more) for only $50 here (value $2,500). SPACE IS VERY LIMITED.
Moderators
avatar for Andrew Dilts

Andrew Dilts

Lawyer, Cassels
Andrew is a corporate and securities lawyer with Cassels Brock, one of Canada’s leading business law firms. He has worked with entrepreneurs and emerging companies for more than a decade, including having been heavily involved in the University of Waterloo’s entrepreneurial community... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for Brandon Ma

Brandon Ma

Audit Senior Manager, KPMG
Brandon is an Audit Senior Manager with over 12 years of experience providing assurance and business advisory services. He is passionate about making our clients’ businesses better. Brandon’s experience spans a diverse range of industries, with a focus on the software and technology... Read More →
avatar for Ian Schmitz

Ian Schmitz

Business Banking Advisor, Scotiabank
Hello, my name is Ian Schmitz. I am part of a team of Small Business Advisors here to help you and your business succeed. My approach is simple; I will work with you and take the time to listen and understand your unique business needs and what defines success for you.I hold a Bachelor... Read More →
avatar for Carrie Smith-Jones

Carrie Smith-Jones

Small Business Account Manager, Vancity
We believe in banking with impact. That goes for everything we do: how we invest, spend, and give back. Turn to us for seamless advice, collaborative opportunities, advocacy on emerging issues, and access to a variety of capital pools, from grants to growth capital. You can do well... Read More →


Monday September 24, 2018 1:00pm - 2:00pm PDT
UBC Robson Square
  Finance & Investment, Panel Discussion

1:00pm PDT

This is the hottest market ever to sell a technology company
Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.
In this workshop you will learn:  
- Why this is the best time to sell a technology company
- How to plan your exit for the best chance for success

Strategic Exits will show you how to take advantage of this unique opportunity.
Speakers
avatar for Jason Bax

Jason Bax

Vice President, Strategic Exits
Jason completed his commerce degree in entrepreneurial management with a minor in Asian studies from Royal Roads University. He has represented brands like Dell, Nissan, Fisher Price, Hasbro, and Purina on TV; consulted for nearly 100 web startups; and has spoken to audiences on three... Read More →
avatar for David W. Rowat

David W. Rowat

Vice President, Strategic Exits
Dave has worked with over 60 high technology companies in roles spanning finance, M&A, operations, and strategic planning. Mr. Rowat has a Harvard MBA, Masters in Engineering from UBC and a Bachelors in Engineering from Waterloo. He has authored a comprehensive website on board governance... Read More →

Monday September 24, 2018 1:00pm - 2:30pm PDT
Venture Labs - 11th floor #1100 - 555 West Hastings Street, Vancouver
  Business, Workshop

1:00pm PDT

Building a Strong Employee Culture
Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.
The short: Learn how to take care of your team so they can focus on taking care of your business.

How do you convince people to join your team, how do you compensate them and more importantly how do you retain them? One of the hardest things about building a startup is surrounding yourself with a motivated team that you can trust and grow with. A founder's worst nightmare is high turnover in their company, and with articles coming out encouraging people to leave every 3 years, it's a valid nightmare. Come hear from experts from Freedom 55 Financial who will help you alleviate this fear.

Join Brandon Chapman and Enoch Weng from Freedom 55 Financial, and discover how to attract and retain quality talent in your growing technology company. We'll be discussing:
  • Creating a workplace culture that allows your team to grow with your company
  • Understanding the benefits you can provide as a company and how to leverage them to keep your employees content and motivated
This event will be helpful for:
  • Founders and senior leadership of growing startups with 5+ employees
  • Startups who have achieved product-market fit
If you have a company that has some really spectacular team members that you want to keep around for a while, this is going to be a 'can’t miss' workshop for you.
Speakers
avatar for Brandon Chapman

Brandon Chapman

Financial Security Advisor, Freedom 55 Financial
- CFP charter holder - Manages an independent financial planning practice for successful professionals and business owners in Vancouver, 3 years experience - Formerly had a drone technology start-up so connects well with engineers, software developers and tech business owners - BBA... Read More →
avatar for Enoch Weng

Enoch Weng

Financial Security Advisor/Events Director, Freedom 55 Financial/Vancouver Startup Week
-Current Events Director for Vancouver Startup Week, well-connected to the startup world-Former programs coordinator at Wavefront, a tech accelerator-4 years of experience serving in various financial roles for non-profit organizations-BBA from Simon Fraser University concentration... Read More →


Monday September 24, 2018 1:00pm - 3:00pm PDT
Venture Labs - 12th Floor
  HR & Culture, Business

2:00pm PDT

Deep Networking and Relationship Building
Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.
If you think networking is about schmoozing at cocktail parties or sending a flurry of LinkedIn invites to people you don't know, think again. This interactive session will feature investor and author, Kelly Hoey, as she provides innovative insights into strategies that will help you form genuine relationships and harness the power of your network to accomplish any goal, from advancing in your career to landing a coveted account to successfully attracting new clients.

The strength of Kelly's connections and networks explain how this former attorney pivoted to become a much sought after speaker, seasoned investor and published author. Her carefully crafted journey has led to appearances as a panelist on CNBC's Power Pitch as well as the honour of being named one of the "25 Smartest Women on Twitter" by Fast Company and being listed as "1 of 5 Women Changing the World of VC/Entrepreneurship" by Forbes.

The hashtags for Build Your Dream Network: #BYDN #dreamnetwork #BuildYourDreamNetwork

The first 25 people who arrive to this session will receive a free copy of her book Build Your Dream Network. If you'd like to purchase a copy of the book beforehand, you can also order it online.
Moderators
avatar for Anastasia Hambali

Anastasia Hambali

Venture Program Manager, BC Tech
Anastasia helps later stage tech companies to grow and scale at BC Tech where she designs and leads a number programs. Previously, she led early-stage accelerator programming HighlineVC (previously known as GrowLab). She cut her teeth on tech startup Farm At Hand where she spearheaded... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for Kelly Hoey

Kelly Hoey

Author, Speaker, Investor
Kelly Hoey is the author of Build Your Dream Network: Forging Powerful Relationships In A Hyper-Connected World (January 2017 / Tarcher Perigee).Kelly has been lauded from Forbes (“1 of 5 Women Changing the World of VC/Entrepreneurship”) to Fast Company (“1 of the 25 Smartest... Read More →

Monday September 24, 2018 2:00pm - 3:30pm PDT
The Profile (Thurlow) 535 Thurlow Street, Suite #100
  Networking & Relationship Building, Fireside Chat or Roundtable

2:00pm PDT

Equity, Convertible Debt, SAFEs and everything in between | FOR FOUNDERS & INVESTORS ONLY
Limited Capacity filling up
In this interactive 2 hour workshop In this workshop you will learn answers to:
  • What is a SAFE?
  • Why do US investors require Preferred Shares?
  • Why do experienced Investors dislike Convertible Debt or a SAFE?
  • What type of shares should Founders subscribe for?
  • Why is Convertible Debt ineligible for BC's 30% investment refund program?
  • Why a Valuation Cap on Convertible Debt, negates its whole purpose
  • What Discount should early investors get on SAFE or Convertible debt?
  • Will VC Funds honour a previously agreed Discount to early SAFE investors?

Exclusively for founders and investors - please register here to confirm your space at this event.
Venue location will be emailed to you by the event coodinator once you are confirmed.

Monday September 24, 2018 2:00pm - 5:00pm PDT
Downtown Vancouver Location
  Finance & Investment, Workshop

2:15pm PDT

#SBFF Non-Dilutive Financing Bootcamp | NON-DILUTIVE PITCH BASICS
Limited Capacity filling up
Non-Dilutive Pitch Basics: Ditch the pitch and prepare a presentation that builds your credibility with lenders and grant providers.

If you pitch bankers the same way you pitch the Dragons, you probably won’t get the loan from the bankers. It’s not you, it’s them! Bankers are allergic to hype. They want certainty. They want to know you’ll succeed. If your business is a solid business, you need to learn how to convince them your business is a great financial bet. In this session, we share with you the only step-by-step system that helps you build a pitch that can demonstrate a solid case for how your business is financeable by banks. Once you know these 5 steps, you can build a long-term relationship with bankers that can support you and your business.

EXCLUSIVE to VSW VIPS: After the presentation, VIPs get to practice their pitch in front of an audience and get tailored feedback from our pitch coaches. We will not ask you to disclose any sensitive information in your pitch (we have private sessions arranged for that). If you want to practice your presentation in a safe environment and get real feedback (or to discuss your business with a banker in a one-on-one private session), sign up to attend the complete 2-day VIP session (includes private meetings, lunches, networking reception, and more) for only $50 here (value $2,500). SPACE IS VERY LIMITED.
Speakers
avatar for Stephanie Sharp

Stephanie Sharp

Small Business Finance Forum
My name is Steph Sharp, MBA, CFN, ICD.D the founder of the first Small Business FinanceForum event in Vancouver for small to medium-sized businesses. I’ve spent the last 30 years developing innovative, sustainable, financial solutions for business leaders and my real passion is empowering management... Read More →


Monday September 24, 2018 2:15pm - 3:00pm PDT
UBC Robson Square
  Finance & Investment, Workshop

3:00pm PDT

Five Ways to Invest in Startups
Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.
Learn about the different ways to invest in local startups and find what best fits your investment goals and possibilities.

Learn about seed stage investing and investment opportunities in local startups. Hear from angel investors, investor groups, impact investors and funds who invest in our local entrepreneurs.  Find out why they invest, how they find and vet the companies they want to invest in, how they support entrepreneurs after they invest, and what investment returns and impact they aim for. This is a great way to meet investors from all local investor groups at one event and see what best fits your investment goals and possibilities.  

Monday September 24, 2018 3:00pm - 5:00pm PDT
Venture Labs - 11th floor #1100 - 555 West Hastings Street, Vancouver
  Finance & Investment, Panel Discussion

3:00pm PDT

Starting Right: The Role of Lawyers in the Startup World?
Limited Capacity seats available
Launching a startup is an exciting time for any entrepreneur, but it also means grappling with the unique financing, corporate governance and risk management considerations of early-stage businesses. Sound legal advice and building a close working relationship with legal counsel can help you navigate this process and position your business for long-term success.
 
Join our panel of entrepreneurs and  lawyers for a lively discussion that will demystify the role of lawyers in the startup world. The panel will discuss issues such as fundraising, licensing arrangements and intellectual property protection.
Speakers
avatar for Vivian Chan

Vivian Chan

COO, Eyexpo Technology Corp.
Vivian Chan is a technology executive who has been involved in launch, monetization, sales and marketing for 3 waves of disruptive technology: Business Intelligence/Big Data; Cloud Saas/Paas; and now Immersive Technology/AR/VR. She has over 18 years of experience working with companies... Read More →
avatar for Gal Smolar

Gal Smolar

Counsel, Miller Thomson LLP
Gal Smolar is a Canadian and Israeli qualified business lawyer at Miller Thomson. As a trusted advisor, Gal is dedicated to offering entrepreneur and investor clients practical legal advice to help them solve real problems. He focuses on technology companies and has experience working... Read More →
avatar for Amelia Zheng

Amelia Zheng

Director, Coinsquare Wealth
Amelia Zheng, Director of Coinsquare Wealth. Graduated from law school in University of Montreal, Amelia speaks three languages and holds two law degrees from two countries.  With 10 years working experience in negotiating contracts worldwide, doing Merger & Aquisition transactions... Read More →


Monday September 24, 2018 3:00pm - 5:00pm PDT
Miller Thomson LLP
  Legal, Panel Discussion

4:00pm PDT

Blockchain for Business - A Practical Panel Discussion
Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.
Get the practical knowledge you need to know about Blockchain for your business from some of Vancouver's best Blockchain Experts!

Entrepreneurs, Founders, Investors, Technologists welcomed!

a) Blockchain basics and why it could be beneficial and even necessary for your business.
b) How to determine if Blockchain is right for your business and ideas to integrate Blockchain into your business.
c) What to look for in Blockchain talent and things to consider when building out Blockchain technology.

4-430PM - Check-in & Networking
430-530PM - Panel Discussion
530-6PM - Wrap-up and Networking

Speakers
avatar for Aliya Amershi

Aliya Amershi

CEO & Founder, AskaTechie.com
Aliya Amershi is currently the CEO and Founder of AskaTechie.com, a tech talent 2.0 marketplace that intelligently matches companies with vetted, top-tier technical talent best suited for their urgent business needs. AskaTechie will soon be rebranding to the Techie Concierge that... Read More →
avatar for Sonali Giovino Perera

Sonali Giovino Perera

Event Producer & Head of Business Development, EventChain.io
Sonali Giovino Perera has been working in the crypto space full time for about a year now. She is an active investors, trader and passionate advocate of educating the masses on how blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies operate in the space.  Her expertise is in Marketing, Business... Read More →
avatar for Jag Sidhu

Jag Sidhu

CTO of Blockchain Foundry & Co - Founder of Syscoin
As an expert in blockchain technology Jag also specializes in machine learning, artificial intelligence, client/server development and distributed systems with nearly 20 years of software development experience. Jag holds a bachelor of Technology, Computer Science, from the British... Read More →
avatar for Christina Succorro

Christina Succorro

Creative Director, CoinPayments
A creative who lives outside the box - Christina, is a Blockchain Crusader and Early cryptocurrency adopter with extensive background in client relations and business management. Her engaging and proactive demeanor have quickly led her to become a household name amongst our community... Read More →
avatar for Galya Westler

Galya Westler

Founder @ Plazus & Blockchain Techie @ AskaTechie
Galya Westler is a two time tech entrepreneur and a product specialist; she is a Blockchain enthusiast and the CEO of a Blockchain startup, Plazus Galya delivered her TEDx talk about social media and loneliness on connecting people authentically within communities, as a follow up... Read More →


Monday September 24, 2018 4:00pm - 6:00pm PDT
7 Gate Ventures
  Blockchain, Panel Discussion

6:00pm PDT

New Ventures BC Competition Awards
Limited Capacity seats available
Join us for the 18th annual BCIC-New Ventures Competition Awards Ceremony!
We’ve narrowed the field from 190 competitors to just 10 finalists. See who’s taking home over $275,000 in cash and prizes… only at the awards!

Enjoy canapes and your first drink on us. Watch the awards live in the theatre, or watch the live stream in our viewing area outside the theatre. For the fourth year running, we’re delighted for the awards to mark the official kickoff for Vancouver Startup Week.
Monday September 24, 2018 6:00pm - 8:30pm PDT
Science World at TELUS World of Science
  Business, Networking / Party

6:00pm PDT

#VSW2018 Kick-Off Event
Limited Capacity seats available
Join us for a fun evening or celebrating our amazing startup community! Spend the evening meeting some cool local startups and VSW partners including Two Tall Totems, Microsoft, Spaces and The Profile, networking with fellow entrepreneurs, investors and community friends, and enjoying delicious food like ice cream from Earnest Ice Cream and free drinks courtesy of Granville Island Brewery, Nude Vodka Soda and more!

This event happens alongside New Ventures BC Awards Competition and you are free to check it out whenever you like, throughout the evening - so 2 amazing events in 1!

Science World is easily accessible by public transit and we will have Evo staff on hand nearby to help open up Evo parking spots in dedicated lots nearby!

This event is free for all ages, but alcohol will only be served to those 19 years of age and up. We do not encourage drinking and driving. Please plan to get home safely!

We've also partnered up with Startups Care at this event and donations for additional drinks will be accepted in support of Vancouver Food Bank! Cash and Credit card donations will be accepted!
Monday September 24, 2018 6:00pm - 10:00pm PDT
Science World at TELUS World of Science
  Business, Networking / Party
 
Tuesday, September 25
 

8:00am PDT

#SBFF Non-Dilutive Financing Bootcamp | WHICH IS CHEAPER ... DEBT OR EQUITY?
Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.
Which is cheaper …debt or equity? Come and enjoy this lively, informative and thought-provoking debate.

We call it an unwinnable debate because there is no right answer. Come and watch a fast pace and fun casual debate to find out why the answer lies in your business model and what makes this debate "unwinnable". We will follow the debate by an in-depth fireside chat on the benefits, risks, and costs of debt and equity. By the end, you’ll understand why debt is not necessarily always the expensive option.

PRIVATE CONVERSATION with the EXPERTS: If you want to talk to one of the experts in a one-on-one session to talk about the unique requirements of your business, sign up to attend the complete 2-day VIP session (includes private meetings, lunches, networking reception, and more) for only $50 here (value $2,500). SPACE IS VERY LIMITED.
Moderators
avatar for Andrew Dilts

Andrew Dilts

Lawyer, Cassels
Andrew is a corporate and securities lawyer with Cassels Brock, one of Canada’s leading business law firms. He has worked with entrepreneurs and emerging companies for more than a decade, including having been heavily involved in the University of Waterloo’s entrepreneurial community... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for Keith Ippel

Keith Ippel

CEO, Spring
With over 15 years experience as a leader in technology centric businesses, Keith has accelerated the growth of both small and large companies, launched new products, and raised over $20m in angel investment and venture capital. He has an unparalleled ability to collaborate with entrepreneurs... Read More →
avatar for Stephanie Sharp

Stephanie Sharp

Small Business Finance Forum
My name is Steph Sharp, MBA, CFN, ICD.D the founder of the first Small Business FinanceForum event in Vancouver for small to medium-sized businesses. I’ve spent the last 30 years developing innovative, sustainable, financial solutions for business leaders and my real passion is empowering management... Read More →


Tuesday September 25, 2018 8:00am - 9:00am PDT
UBC Robson Square
  Finance & Investment, Fireside Chat or Roundtable

8:00am PDT

Engineering Startups hosted by Microsoft
Limited Capacity seats available
Meet with the engineers who helped build the technology for some of the amazing successful startups here in Vancouver. In this session you will meet engineers from Hootsuite, Mod Studio, Media Valet, Pressboard Media and Mojio. The presenters will be open to Q&A from the audience and have a deep understanding of some of their most challenging technical hurdles that their company has faced.

Tuesday September 25, 2018 8:00am - 10:00am PDT
Microsoft Store (Pacific Centre)
  Technology, Panel Discussion

9:00am PDT

Coffee with Kelly: An Ask Me Anything Session for Female Founders
Limited Capacity filling up
The press has deemed her everything from: “1 of 5 Women Changing the World of VC/Entrepreneurship” to “100 Most Influential Tech Women On Twitter” and “100 NYC Tech Influencers You Need To Know”. Kelly is an advisor to NZTE and mentors startups in the Canadian Tech Accelerator program. She regularly appears as an investor panelist on CNBC’s Power Pitch, is an Inc.com columnist and hosted the first two seasons of the BroadMic podcast.

Female founders now have the opportunity to join Kelly over coffee for an Ask Me Anything session. What's it like being a women in the tech industry, what are the struggles of being a female founder? You ask it, she'll answer it!
Speakers
avatar for Kelly Hoey

Kelly Hoey

Author, Speaker, Investor
Kelly Hoey is the author of Build Your Dream Network: Forging Powerful Relationships In A Hyper-Connected World (January 2017 / Tarcher Perigee).Kelly has been lauded from Forbes (“1 of 5 Women Changing the World of VC/Entrepreneurship”) to Fast Company (“1 of the 25 Smartest... Read More →

Tuesday September 25, 2018 9:00am - 10:30am PDT
The Profile (Thurlow) 535 Thurlow Street, Suite #100
  Business, Fireside Chat or Roundtable

9:15am PDT

#SBFF Non-Dilutive Financing Bootcamp | 3 KEYS TO GETTING GRANTS, TAX CREDITS, AND CONTRIBUTIONS (EXPERT PANEL)
Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.
Expert Panel - 3 Keys to Getting Grants, Tax Credits, and Contributions: Discover the most common mistakes business owners make and how the experts approach these funding sources.

We want to help you get the free money you deserve! In this session, our experts will discuss the different sources of free funding from government and other organizations, pointing out the common mistakes people make when trying to access this type of funding, and the biggest surprises people face when they apply for the funding for the first time.

PRIVATE CONVERSATION with the EXPERTS: If you want to talk to one of the experts in a one-on-one session to talk about the unique requirements of your business, sign up to attend the complete 2-day VIP session (includes private meetings, lunches, networking reception, and more) for only $50 here (value $2,500). SPACE IS VERY LIMITED.
Moderators
avatar for Andrew Dilts

Andrew Dilts

Lawyer, Cassels
Andrew is a corporate and securities lawyer with Cassels Brock, one of Canada’s leading business law firms. He has worked with entrepreneurs and emerging companies for more than a decade, including having been heavily involved in the University of Waterloo’s entrepreneurial community... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for Jacqueline Gustafson

Jacqueline Gustafson

Director, Tax Incentives Practice, KPMG
Jacqueline is a Director in KPMG’s western region Tax Incentives Practice. She is passionate about enabling innovation and growth in companies by helping clients find ways to propel their ideas into action. Jacqueline has more than 12 years of experience advising clients, providing... Read More →
avatar for Mina Haghighi

Mina Haghighi

Business Development Manager, Futurpreneur Canada
Futurpreneur Canada is the only national non-profit organization dedicated to the success of young businesses. Fueling the entrepreneurial passions of Canada’s young enterprise for more than two decades, we provide financing, mentorship, and free support tools for entrepreneurs... Read More →
avatar for Stephanie Sang

Stephanie Sang

Grant Angel, Granted Consulting Inc.
Stephanie Sang is the CEO of Granted Consulting, and is known as a ‘Grant Angel’ in Vancouver. She is passionate about working with entrepreneurs in all industries on developing grant strategies for growth. Since 2011, Granted has supported 700+ clients and generated over $13.0... Read More →


Tuesday September 25, 2018 9:15am - 10:00am PDT
UBC Robson Square
  Finance & Investment, Panel Discussion

10:15am PDT

#SBFF Non-Dilutive Financing Bootcamp | CREDIT, CASHFLOW, AND RISK (EXPERT PANEL)
Limited Capacity filling up
Credit, Cashflow and Risk Expert Panel: How to get the money you need at a lower cost and with less dilution

How much information can one financial statement hold? More than you know! We invite a panel of bankers, accountants, and other experts to discuss the first 3 things they look at on a financial statement and why financial statements are important to them. A good banker not only can understand your business from your financial statement, they can also get insights into the management team as well. Join us to find out more about credit, cash flow, and the risk to your business. By the time you leave the session, you'll know how to leverage your financial statement to get more money faster and cheaper (hint: loans with the lowest interest rate aren't necessarily always your best option)!

Also, hear what our past participants have to say about our workshop and what they’ve learned and done differently after attending the Small Business Finance Forum (at 11:30 AM).

PRIVATE CONVERSATION with the EXPERTS: If you want to talk to one of the experts in a one-on-one session to talk about the unique requirements of your business, sign up to attend the complete 2-day VIP session (includes private meetings, lunches, networking reception, and more) for only $50 here (value $2,500). SPACE IS VERY LIMITED.
Moderators
avatar for Andrew Dilts

Andrew Dilts

Lawyer, Cassels
Andrew is a corporate and securities lawyer with Cassels Brock, one of Canada’s leading business law firms. He has worked with entrepreneurs and emerging companies for more than a decade, including having been heavily involved in the University of Waterloo’s entrepreneurial community... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for Aman Janjua

Aman Janjua

SeniorManager, KPMG
Aman Janjua is a Senior Manager at KPMG Enterprise. He has over eight years of experience providing assurance and tax services to private companies operating in a variety of industries including the hospitality, real estate, and technology industries. He has worked with a number of... Read More →
avatar for Matthew Lee

Matthew Lee

Small Business Advisor, Scotiabank
Matthew holds an undergraduate degree in Business Management, with a minor in Economics, from Dalhousie University. Before beginning his career at Scotiabank, he owned and operated a water purification and distribution company in Fort St. John, BC, which continues to operate today... Read More →
avatar for Carrie Smith-Jones

Carrie Smith-Jones

Small Business Account Manager, Vancity
We believe in banking with impact. That goes for everything we do: how we invest, spend, and give back. Turn to us for seamless advice, collaborative opportunities, advocacy on emerging issues, and access to a variety of capital pools, from grants to growth capital. You can do well... Read More →


Tuesday September 25, 2018 10:15am - 12:00pm PDT
UBC Robson Square
  Finance & Investment, Panel Discussion

11:00am PDT

Canada vs USA Investment | Part of the Results Junkies Tech Tour brought to you by Fasken
Limited Capacity seats available
Results Junkies Tech Tour is back in Vancouver and this year, it's brought to you by Fasken!

Looking for investment outside of Canada? What are US Investors looking for? What do you need to do to prep? Join Paul Singh from Results Junkies (DC) and Mat Kaliski from Rubicon Venture Capital (NYC) for a panel discussion on Canada vs US Investment.

Moderators
avatar for Bill McGraw

Bill McGraw

President & COO, Northstar
Mr. McGraw is a tech industry veteran with hands on experience with startups since the late 1990’s. He specializes in assisting early stage companies with investment, technology development, go-to market strategy, scaling and monetization. In giving back, he serves Canadian founders... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for Mat Kaliski

Mat Kaliski

Principal, Rubicon Venture Capital
Mat is a Principal at Rubicon Venture Capital, a Late Seed and Series A VC fund with offices in San Francisco and New York City. Rubicon focuses on backing software, internet and consumer companies regardless of where they're based. At Rubicon, Mat focuses on sourcing and evaluating... Read More →
avatar for Paul Singh

Paul Singh

Chief Hustler & Early Stage Investor, Results Junkies


Tuesday September 25, 2018 11:00am - 12:30pm PDT
The Profile (Thurlow) 535 Thurlow Street, Suite #100
  Finance & Investment, Fireside Chat or Roundtable

11:00am PDT

HR for Startups
Limited Capacity seats available
At some point, everyone has a people-related question.  Where do you get your answers? How do you know they are right? This 1.5 hour interactive session introduces HR to startups with tips on how to get, keep and grow your employees and some insights on how to minimize risk and help you make better decisions.  

Learn how to make the right decisions about your people because what you don't know could be time consuming and costly.

Amui is a company that is changing the way that organizations interact with HR by providing on-demand access to HR knowledge so everyone makes better decisions. Allison and Stephanie are frequent speakers at industry events providing informative workshops and insights into the innovation potential of HR technology to transform business.
Speakers
avatar for Allison Guld

Allison Guld

Founder, Amui
Allison’s strategic, operational and management experience in recruitment and HR was honed in high tech organizations such as Blast Radius, Ernst & Young, and MDA. No stranger to entrepreneurial adventures, Allison’s first company paid for her university degree. She went on to... Read More →
avatar for Stephanie Lyster

Stephanie Lyster

CEO & Founder, Amui
Stephanie has experience identifying and implementing strategic HR solutions including workforce planning, performance management, recruitment and change management. Her background in building people infrastructure for high growth companies cemented her belief that HR should not be... Read More →


Tuesday September 25, 2018 11:00am - 12:30pm PDT
Brix Studio
  HR & Culture, Fireside Chat or Roundtable

11:30am PDT

Gazing Into The Future: How AI Will Impact Everyday Lives
Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.
Don't get left behind - hear from some of the top AI experts in Vancouver on how AI will be changing the way we do business and live everyday.

Whether you realize it or not, artificial intelligence is already here and a part of our everyday lives in more ways than we know. Whether it’s in retail, finance, medical or media, AI technology is marking its territory and will continue to touch our lives in unprecedented ways. Join us as we host some of Vancouver’s leading AI experts in the tech industry to discuss where AI is today, and what we can expect to see as the technology continues to evolve. Hear about how they’re using AI in their work and businesses and the powerful impact it will have on our daily lives.
Moderators
avatar for Ben Terrill

Ben Terrill

VP, Customer Success, Finn AI
Ben Terrill is an expert in the strategy, process and technology of customer retention and success. As VP of Customer Success at Finn AI, Ben leads the successful implementation of customers on a large, global scale, with the objective of increasing per-customer-profitability. Prior... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for Kenneth Conroy

Kenneth Conroy

VP, Data Science, Finn AI
Dr. Kenneth Conroy is the Vice-President of Data Science at Finn AI, the award-winning, AI-powered virtual assistant built for personal banking and finance.  Dr. Conroy leads the development of Finn AI's proprietary NLP system. Using machine learning and natural language processing... Read More →
avatar for Thomas Levi

Thomas Levi

Director of Data Science, Unbounce
Thomas Levi ( https://twitter.com/tslevi , https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-levi-40a09432/ ) started out with a doctorate in Theoretical Physics and String Theory from the University of Pennsylvania in 2006. His post-doctoral studies in cosmology and string theory, where he wrote 19 papers garnering 900+ citations, then took him to NYU and finally UBC. In 2012, he decided to move into industry... Read More →
avatar for Jenny Yang

Jenny Yang

Founder/CEO, Aida Software
Jenny is a serial entrepreneur and angel investor.  She was co-founder/CEO of two AI companies, Aida (acquired by Vision Critical) and Metafor Software (acquired by Splunk), and is a Partner at Panda Angel Partners. Previously, Jenny was a Partner at BDC Capital where she led investments... Read More →


Tuesday September 25, 2018 11:30am - 1:30pm PDT
Finn AI
  Robotics & AI, Panel Discussion

12:00pm PDT

The Key Ingredient to a Successful Startup
Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.
"The Key Ingredient to a Successful Startup" presented by Huan Ho, Co-founder of Rallyteam, an HR Tech startup that was recently acquired by Workday.  

In this session, Huan will share his Silicon Valley startup journey and discuss how he was able to hire and retain top talent with only a startup budget.

Huan, a studied computer engineer, is passionate about improving engagement, innovation and collaboration in the workplace. In his leadership roles, Huan created innovative programs like Evolution Fridays, Workplace Democracy and Agile Enterprise, which empowered employees and enabled him to build exceptionally high-performing teams. In 2013, Huan said goodbye to the corporate world and relocated to San Francisco, where he started Rallyteam. Five years later, Rallyteam was acquired by Workday, where he continues his role of leading a superstar engineering team to build products that are transforming the future of work.
Speakers
avatar for Huan Ho

Huan Ho

Co-Founder, Rallyteam
Huan, a studied computer engineer, is passionate about improving engagement, innovation and collaboration in the workplace. In his leadership roles, Huan created innovative programs like Evolution Fridays, Workplace Democracy and Agile Enterprise, which empowered employees and enabled... Read More →

Tuesday September 25, 2018 12:00pm - 1:00pm PDT
Lighthouse Labs & Devhub
  HR & Culture, Meetup

12:00pm PDT

How To Close Your Seed Round Without A Lead Investor
Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.
Looking to raise seed capital but not sure where to start? Investors are saying they're interested but wont commit without a strong lead investor? A few investors on-board but struggling to get enough to wrap up the round? Join Spring for an in-depth workshop to help you prepare for navigating the complicated negotiations that come with raising capital for the first time.

This workshop is for:
-Founders of a post-launch business.
-Companies that have started raising a seed round or are planning to in the next 6 months

You will learn about:
-Handling the "who is your lead investor" conversation.
-How to ask someone to be your lead. -How to raise even without a lead investor.
-and many other tips to help you close your round more quickly.
Speakers
avatar for Keith Ippel

Keith Ippel

CEO, Spring
With over 15 years experience as a leader in technology centric businesses, Keith has accelerated the growth of both small and large companies, launched new products, and raised over $20m in angel investment and venture capital. He has an unparalleled ability to collaborate with entrepreneurs... Read More →


Tuesday September 25, 2018 12:00pm - 1:30pm PDT
The AMP
  Finance & Investment, Workshop

2:00pm PDT

How Payments Evolve with the Changing Technology Landscape
Limited Capacity seats available
Moneris is one of the largest payment processors in Canada, and a technology-focused enterprise. Developing new technology, maintaining the integrity of existing systems and managing a large, secure IT infrastructure is critical to the ongoing success and growth of Moneris. The company is constantly looking for new talent, strategic business partners and start-ups to work with. Come to The Profile to meet with Grant Finnighan, Director, Gift and Loyalty Platforms to understand the complexities of managing a secure IT infrastructure and creating market-leading payment solutions for businesses in Canada.
Speakers
avatar for Grant Finnighan

Grant Finnighan

Director, Gift and Loyalty Platforms, Moneris
Technology executive with over 25 years of increasing leadership roles in product strategy-to-deliverywithin market-leading organizations. Leadership based on learning and collaborating, as a means toamplify experience.

Tuesday September 25, 2018 2:00pm - 3:00pm PDT
The Profile (Thurlow) 535 Thurlow Street, Suite #100
  Technology, Business

2:00pm PDT

Corporate Health & Fitness Programs Don't Work! Find Out Why and What Actually Does.
Limited Capacity seats available
This event will give you insight into the future of corporate health and fitness programs so attend if you want to be ahead of the curve.  

Find out why less than 10% of employees engage with their company's Corporate Health and Fitness programs.  What's being offered today isn't working.  Learn what a more cost effective, sustainable, and community building  Corporate Health & Movement program can look like.  It's more than having access to a gym or free yoga classes.  Creating a corporate culture of movement will help your employees improve their mental health, energy, and productivity for the long term. Participants of this event will also learn some basic, joint mobility movements that they can incorporate into their office environment right away.
Speakers
AA

Anthony Agtarap

Founder, Engineered Bodies Strength & Conditioning
Anthony is a husband, a father, and an educator who is passionate of empowering people to live a pain-free, healthy, and strong life full of vitality and movement.  He is also the founder of Engineered Bodies Strength & Conditioning located in Port Moody, BC.He is committed to building... Read More →


Tuesday September 25, 2018 2:00pm - 4:00pm PDT
Venture Labs - 11th floor #1100 - 555 West Hastings Street, Vancouver
  Health & Wellness, Workshop

2:00pm PDT

Demystifying Digital Analytics For Startups
Limited Capacity filling up
In 2018, data drives decisions. Technology has afforded us the ability to monitor a company’s activity, sales and customer journey in real time. In order for you to have an accurate picture of your startups viability and profitability you must understand digital analytics and its direct impact on your bottom line. This unapologetic “Real Talk” panel discussion about the critical metrics and measurement required to ensure a successful pitch to potential investors and make sound business decisions will be the crucial conversation we all need to have in the startup community!
Speakers
avatar for Jason Bax

Jason Bax

Vice President, Strategic Exits
Jason completed his commerce degree in entrepreneurial management with a minor in Asian studies from Royal Roads University. He has represented brands like Dell, Nissan, Fisher Price, Hasbro, and Purina on TV; consulted for nearly 100 web startups; and has spoken to audiences on three... Read More →
avatar for Lev Karasin

Lev Karasin

President, Karasin Group Enterprises
Lev leads the KarasinGroup, a strategic the active investment organization that funds and partners with small-medium sized businesses. He has spent nearly a decade working directly with senior executives, marketing teams and front-line employees across multiple industries to identify... Read More →
avatar for Njeri Watkins

Njeri Watkins

Digital Intelligence Consultant and Instructor, UBC Sauder School of Business
Njeri Watkins is a Digital Intelligence Consultant and Instructor at the UBC Sauder School of Business – Executive Education (Digital Programs). Njeri is an active contributor in the community as Advisor and Mentor with multiple business accelerators and leadership programs as well... Read More →


Tuesday September 25, 2018 2:00pm - 4:00pm PDT
UBC Robson Square
  Technology, Panel Discussion

2:30pm PDT

Fundraising? Join the Investment Showcase at #VSW2018!
Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.
If you are currently fundraising or will be fundraising in 6 months, you should join Vancouver Startup Week’s Investment Showcase on September 25th. At the event, companies will be matched with appropriate investors for one-on-one meetings. Check out this information package for more details and to apply. Deadline is end of August!

If you are an investor and would like to attend this event, or all of Vancouver Startup Week, please email investors@vanstartupweek.ca.

Tuesday September 25, 2018 2:30pm - 5:00pm PDT
TBA
  Finance & Investment, Office Hours or 1-on-1 Meetings

3:30pm PDT

Discover IOT - From Sensors to SunSet
Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.
Discover ways to implement IOT into your existing business or product to cut cost or find new stream of revenue.  

Strengthen your business with IOT. We will highlight key factors to consider when implementation a full IOT solution into your business. Starting from the very sensors to the cloud and everything in between. During the workshop we will go in-depth and hands-on with hardware applications and development kits to get you started with your quest to bring IOT into your business or product. There will be engineers onsite to help answer any questions on ways to improve/enhance your business with IOT. Lets get started.  

Tuesday September 25, 2018 3:30pm - 5:30pm PDT
SFU Wosk Conference Centre
  Technology, Workshop

4:00pm PDT

Blue Ocean Strategy: Vancouver Success Stories
Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.
Would you rather create a company that fights for the same customers as your competitors or create new value in an uncontested market space that makes the competition irrelevant? Join us as Startup Vancouver Co-Founder Colin Weston walks us through Blue Ocean Strategy (BOS) basics and case studies, followed by three Vancouver-based companies that present how taking a BOS approach allowed them to successfully create a leap in innovative customer value. We'll finish up with a panel discussion, giving our audience the chance to ask questions and start a conversation.  

Not only will you learn BOS basics and hear some inspirational stories, we'll be giving away two copies of Blue Ocean Shift, the latest book from the co-authors of Blue Ocean Strategy.
Speakers
avatar for Gabriel Hall

Gabriel Hall

Co-Founder and the Design Director, Vancouver Mural Festival
Vancouver native Gabriel Hall is a Co-Founder and the Design Director of Vancouver Mural Festival. He is also a studio artist, designer, photographer and graduate of the IDEA program at Capilano University.  
avatar for Colin Weston

Colin Weston

Co-Founder, Startup Vancouver
Golf Disruptor. Urban Surf Park Developer. Innovation junkie. Blue Ocean Strategy Ambassador. Colin's passion is to re-imagine sport to make the experience more compelling, engaging, relevant and shareable for fans, athletes and brand sponsors. As a founding partner, asset developer... Read More →


Tuesday September 25, 2018 4:00pm - 6:00pm PDT
Tamwood Careers #200 - 889 West Pender Street, Vancouver
  Business, Panel Discussion

4:00pm PDT

Co-Founder Speed Dating: Technical & Non-Technical Founders | RSVP REQUIRED
Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.
A must-attend event for founders trying to make connections in the city while rounding out their founding team members.

One of the most frustrating things about startups is finding a decent co-founder. The purpose of this event is to form introductions to that classic two-person startup team - someone with coding skills and someone with business skills. This event is aimed at tech startups in the web/mobile space. The format is classic speed-dating rapid-fire introductions to 10 other founders (who are opposite to your either technical or business specialty) followed by food, drinks and networking.

Since we need to evenly fill the room with technical and non-technical founders, please make sure to also RSVP here using the code 'VSW2018' (for free admission).

Moderators
avatar for Annee Ngo

Annee Ngo

CEO and Co-Founder, Startup League
Annee Ngo is the CEO and Co-Founder of Startup League – the platform connecting brands to GEN Z through competitive fundraising. On Startup League, students compete against other schools for real fundraising dollars by playing a live, daily mobile game. Games are educational and... Read More →


Tuesday September 25, 2018 4:00pm - 7:00pm PDT
Launch Academy
  Business, Office Hours or 1-on-1 Meetings

5:00pm PDT

#VSW2018 Investment Showcase Reception | INVITE ONLY
Limited Capacity seats available
Sorry - this is an invite only event.

If you are an investor and would like to attend this event, or all of Vancouver Startup Week, please email investors@vanstartupweek.ca.
Tuesday September 25, 2018 5:00pm - 7:00pm PDT
TBA
  Finance & Investment, Networking / Party

5:00pm PDT

Beer Tasting - Craft Brew Startup Adventures | 19+ Only
Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.
Come meet some of Vancouver's better and lesser known micro breweries and hear about their startup experience. Sample their wares but don't wear their samples.

Tuesday September 25, 2018 5:00pm - 7:30pm PDT
Sprout Accounting
  Food & Beverage, Networking / Party

5:00pm PDT

Yes, You Need a Lawyer for That: Public & Private Capital Markets and Emerging Issues
Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.
You’ll get access to legal and business experts who will answer your general questions and share valuable insights about the legal landscape on both the startup and investor side of the industry.  

Join a panel of Boughton Law securities lawyers discussing the legal pitfalls that trip up even the savviest startups, investors and entrepreneurs. These lawyers will share their insights about public and private capital markets and discuss emerging and evolving issues that impact startups of every size. Topics to be discussed include: Vetting and verifying investors, finders fees, investor presentations, board control and shareholder agreements. Come prepared with questions and look forward to hearing stories from the trenches. Panel discussion will begin at 5:30pm, drinks, Poke bar and networking to follow.
Speakers
avatar for Brent Grunenberg

Brent Grunenberg

Associate, Boughton Law
avatar for Claudia L. Losie

Claudia L. Losie

Associate Counsel, Boughton Law
avatar for Conrad Nest

Conrad Nest

Associate Counsel, Boughton Law
avatar for Sean P. O'Neill

Sean P. O'Neill

Shareholder, Boughton Law
avatar for David Toyoda

David Toyoda

Associate Counsel, Boughton Law


Tuesday September 25, 2018 5:00pm - 8:00pm PDT
Boughton Law
  Legal, Panel Discussion

6:00pm PDT

Storytelling for Startups - Aligning your story with your Why
Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.
This event will help you and your organization to improve your communication to impact recruiting, attract investors and ultimately reach more clients.

We are constantly told to identify, define and intimately know your “Why”, however, very few understand, or are taught, what to do with it in order to connect with people. A great story that is poorly structured and spoken without purpose and passion is detrimental, as it exposes misalignment with your vision, values and your Why.

Sign up and we will help you and your organization become aware of your unique stories, guide you to frame them correctly, envision the outcome and then start crafting the pieces that will be woven together to create the story for you to use.



Speakers
avatar for Winston Yeung

Winston Yeung

Producer & Host, My Story Mondays
Winston is an entrepreneur, trainer, inventor, mentor, story alchemist, emotion miner and transformational coach who is changing the world one person at a time. A definite people person, he has listened to many people, heard their stories and now helps them craft, embrace and embody... Read More →


Tuesday September 25, 2018 6:00pm - 8:00pm PDT
XY
  Marketing, Workshop

6:00pm PDT

REDefining Education
Limited Capacity seats available
With back to school on everyone's minds, we're putting our heads together to discuss the changing face of education. We'll be exploring what educating for the information age looks like, with greater emphasis on experiential education and well-rounded curricula that speak to what the industry really needs. How can we bridge the skills gaps between the past, present, and future of experiential education?

We've assembled a panel of Vancouver's most passionate tech educators to address issues associated with traditional methods of education, and our responsibility to tomorrow's graduates. The industry of work is changing - we need to be educating for innovation and creation if we hope to stay relevant in the information age!

Join us for a discussion on how the face of innovative education is changing, and how the start-up world will benefit from it.

Tuesday September 25, 2018 6:00pm - 8:30pm PDT
RED Academy
  Edtech, Panel Discussion

6:30pm PDT

A History of Passwords
Limited Capacity seats available
As our everyday lives move online, the need to create and manage accounts and passwords has exploded. Passwords have become the bane of modern life - but how did we get here? Join our session and learn about the history of passwords. More importantly, learn about the new technologies that are replacing or reducing the need for passwords.  
Speakers
avatar for Bimal Parmar

Bimal Parmar

Director of Marketing, LoginRadius
Bimal is the Director of Marketing at LoginRadius and very passionate about helping other Marketers succeed. With over 25 years of experience in both Marketing and Security software, Bimal has found the perfect fit with Customer Identity Management and loves to share his thoughts... Read More →


Tuesday September 25, 2018 6:30pm - 8:30pm PDT
Tamwood Careers #200 - 889 West Pender Street, Vancouver
  Security & Cybersecurity, Workshop

6:30pm PDT

The Power of Empathy - Getting inside of your customer’s heads and hearts to create indispensable products.
Limited Capacity filling up
As a startup, identifying your product market fit is probably one of the most important things you'll have to do. One of the greatest assets you’ve got to achieve this is Empathy, or in other words, the ability to put yourselves in your customer’s shoes. The foundation of empathetic design is observation and the goal is to identify latent customer needs in order to create products that people didn’t even know they wanted. This interactive evening will be an opportunity to bring together different perspectives around what it means to be a User Centered Startup and how this gets reflected in all aspects of your business ranging from Product Design to Product Management to Sales and Distribution.
 
Bring your thoughts, questions, and comments and be part of the conversation as we use this intimate setting to have an insightful conversation about how to get inside the heads and hearts of the people who will use our products.
 
Speakers
LC

Lucy Cameron

TZOA
Lucy is the lead designer at local Vancouver startup TZOA, focused on implementing inclusive design processes and cultivating communication channels with TZOA's users. She loves the holistic approach of being an advocate of the user — challenging, rationalizing and validating different... Read More →
avatar for Ben McConnell

Ben McConnell

Ben leverages his technical engineering background in concert with his deep user driven product management expertise to lead strategy, product definition, development, and successful market introduction of products users love. He was head of Product at Recon Instruments which was... Read More →
avatar for Afshin Mehin

Afshin Mehin

Founder, WOKE Studio
Afshin is the founder of WOKE Studio, a creative design studio focused on making great products and user experiences. Afshin loves translate innovative new technologies into desirable experiences people will love. His team works across a breadth of mediums including design research... Read More →


Tuesday September 25, 2018 6:30pm - 8:30pm PDT
WOKE Studio Suite 210 - 1737 West 3rd Avenue, Vancouver
  UX/UI, Fireside Chat or Roundtable

6:30pm PDT

Mobile Growth Vancouver
Limited Capacity filling up
Get facetime with mobile marketers, product managers, app developers, and emerging mobile-first startups!

Mobile Growth, founded by Branch in San Francisco in 2014, started as a forum for app developers and marketers to share best practices, challenges, and solutions.  
Speakers
avatar for Emir Aydin

Emir Aydin

Product Manager, Hootsuite
Emir is the Product Manager for Mobile at Hootsuite, the leading social media management platform. He manages the core iOS, Android and mobile web products and oversees the overall mobile strategy for the company.
avatar for Stefanie Grieser

Stefanie Grieser

Director of Marketing, Sphere
Stefanie Grieser is the Director of Marketing at Sphere, an app that is shaking up the coaching space, changing how guidance is accessed and delivered. She is also the Founder of Call To Action Conference, an industry-leading marketing conference helping marketers become better at... Read More →
avatar for Michael Zsigmond

Michael Zsigmond

Product Manager, PayByPhone
Michael is the Product Manager at PayByPhone, the mobile app and payment solution creating a better way to park.


Tuesday September 25, 2018 6:30pm - 9:00pm PDT
Mobify
  Technology, Meetup

6:45pm PDT

Startup City: Fostering Innovation in Vancouver
Limited Capacity seats available
Join us for a panel on improving startup culture in Vancouver. Meet innovative thought-leaders and mold-breaking politicians to discuss the startup economy, and how the city can become more agile, digitized, and able to retain its top talent. The event is part of Vancouver Startup Week, and will be hosted by Abubakar Khan, who is running to be Vancouver’s youngest ever city Councillor and will be the moderator for the evening.

The panelists include:
  1. Brittany Whitmore, CEO of Exvera Communications and Executive Director of TEDx Gastown
  2. Jeremy Becker, CEO of MedConnect
  3. Nejeed Kassam, Executive Driector of The Better Canada Initative
  4. Praveen Varshney, Partner at Varshney Capital

Itinerary:
6:45: Door’s Open
7:00pm-8:30pm: Panel discussion
8:30pm-9pm: QA


Khan, is one of the youngest candidates in the race for Vancouver City Council, at 24, he comes from a generation where tech plays an integral role in one's work, social, and overall lives. His proposal to create a Tech and Innovation (T&I) team within City Hall shows his clear support for the tech industry. The T&I Team would be in charge of digitizing the permit process, hosting city-backed policy Hackathons, and creating a Startup Division to take a fresh look at the mechanics of city procedures. Besides ‘Tech and Innovation’, the other two pillars of his platform are also inseparable from the tech world. ‘Affordable Vancouver’ aims to build housing, office space, and cut down on costs to enable innovators towards flourishing in Vancouver. In tackling the ‘Mental Health Crisis,’ Khan will also help the creators in the Tech world live with greater levels of wellness outside of work. The ways in which tech can be best utilized to improve mental health are limitless; Khan aims to push forward.

Spots are limited so register soon!

Speakers
avatar for Jeremy Becker

Jeremy Becker

Co-Founder & CEO, MedConnect.
Jeremy Becker has been an entrepreneur his whole life. He began teaching him to code and design at the age of 6.Over the past decade he has worked dozens of clients to bring digital products to market.Having worked with both Startups and Fortune 500s in a variety of industries ranging... Read More →
avatar for Nejeed Kassam

Nejeed Kassam

Founder and CEO, Keela
Nejeed is the CEO and founder of Keela. He earned a BA from McGill university and a JD from Osgoode Hall law school. Called to the Ontario bar in 2015, Nejeed is the founder and former director of End Poverty Now and Conversations for Change.Nejeed is a global innovator with experience... Read More →
avatar for Abubakar Khan

Abubakar Khan

Khan, is one of the youngest candidates in the race for Vancouver City Council, at 24, he comes from a generation where tech plays an integral role in one's work, social, and overall lives. His proposal to create a Tech and Innovation (T&I) team within City Hall shows his clear support... Read More →
avatar for Praveen Varshney

Praveen Varshney

Founder & Director, OneProsper / Instrumentbeyondborders
Praveen has been a driving force in the Vancouver business world. He obtained a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of British Columbia (UBC) in 1987.  Following that, he was with KPMG from 1987 to 1991 where he obtained his C.A. designation in 1990. He is a long time... Read More →
avatar for Brittany Whitmore

Brittany Whitmore

Founder and CEO, Exvera Communications Inc
Brittany Whitmore is Founder and CEO of Exvera Communications, where she specializes in PR for innovative and emerging technologies. She is also the founder and executive director of TEDxGastownWomen, a resident technology panelist on Roundhouse Radio, and a frequent emcee and... Read More →

Tuesday September 25, 2018 6:45pm - 9:00pm PDT
UBC Robson Square - Theatre C300 800 Robson St.
  Business, Fireside Chat or Roundtable
 
Wednesday, September 26
 

8:00am PDT

Cyber Security for Startups hosted by Microsoft with special guess Steve Wilson (Hexigent Consulting)
Limited Capacity seats available
Understanding cybersecurity can help small and medium businesses stay safe in today’s growing and changing security threat landscape. In this event you will gain deeper insight into the cybercrime marketplace and learn about cybercriminal categories and crime ware kits. You’ll also gain valuable insight about your business’s cybersecurity needs through risk assessment and learn ways to defend your business from cybercrime. Presented by Microsoft, and security expert Steve Wilson, Hexigent Consulting. 

Wednesday September 26, 2018 8:00am - 10:00am PDT
Microsoft Store (Pacific Centre)
  Security & Cybersecurity, Workshop

9:00am PDT

The $1000 Side Hustle | Part of the Results Junkies Tech Tour brought to you by Fasken
Limited Capacity filling up
Perhaps you're a student or a professional working a 9-5 or maybe you're just a serial entrepreneur and always looking to dabble in a new venture. And why can't you? Humaira and Paul will sit down for a fire side chat to discuss tips and tricks and things to know when you want to do a little something extra off the side of your desk - the side hustle!
Speakers
avatar for Humaira Hamid

Humaira Hamid

A furtive connector with an insatiable curiosity about the human condition, Humaira is an educator, speaker, facilitator, and mentor (academic, industry-based, and popular education) rooted in values of accountability, inclusion, and play.In the past five years, Humaira has supported... Read More →
avatar for Paul Singh

Paul Singh

Chief Hustler & Early Stage Investor, Results Junkies


Wednesday September 26, 2018 9:00am - 10:30am PDT
The Profile (Thurlow) 535 Thurlow Street, Suite #100
  Business, Fireside Chat or Roundtable

10:00am PDT

Founder's Cafe: Fireside Chats with Founders
Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.
Ever curious how an idea becomes a startup and what it takes to build a company? What keeps these entrepreneurs up at night? What are their proudest and most challenging moments they've experienced so far? And how they are preparing for the future?

In this 90 minute interactive session, each panelist will begin the session with sharing their story through a panel discussion and then we will have fireside chats with each Founder, rotating World Cafe style.

Moderated by Jennifer Curleigh and Leah  Hennessey Rai, Culture Collaborators at SPARK Creations & Company, we will hear the Founder's journey from Aman Mann, Co-Founder and CEO of Procurify, Chris Jensen, Co-Founder of Left and RightMesh, Claire Booth, Founder and President of Lux Insights and Shawn Neumann, Founder and CEO of Domain7.

Moderators
avatar for Jennifer Curleigh

Jennifer Curleigh

Culture Collaborator, SPARK Creations
As a Culture Collaborator at SPARK Creations & Company Inc., Jennifer is creating meaningful human connections at the core of her business. Her clients work with her because she has a gift of connecting people to themselves, to each other and to the work they do. These connections strengthen culture within organizations, creating lasting... Read More →
avatar for Leah Hennessey Rai

Leah Hennessey Rai

Culture Collaborator, SPARK Creations
As a Culture Collaborator at SPARK Creations & Company Inc., Leah is elevating life experiences at work through integrating play into her workshops. As a professional actor, dancer and performer, Leah brings to her clients activities that overcomes the fear of failure using improv... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for Claire Booth

Claire Booth

Founder and President, Lux Insights
Claire Booth is an entrepreneur, market researcher, speaker, facilitator and university professor. She has almost 20 years’ experience capturing insights for companies across North America both as an executive with market research giant Ipsos, and, since 2008, as founder and president... Read More →
avatar for Chris Jensen

Chris Jensen

Co-founder and CEO, Left and RightMesh
As Co-founder and CEO of Left, Chris spearheads the company’s mission to use technology and innovation to solve some of the world’s biggest problems. The greatest challenge Left is addressing, through the RightMesh project, is providing connectivity in emerging markets with a... Read More →
avatar for Aman Mann,

Aman Mann,

Co-Founder and CEO, Procurify
Aman Mann, the CEO of Procurify, is on a mission to to create better ways of working and improving organizational spend culture. With first hand experience of inefficient business procedures at numerous other companies, he was inspired to create a solution that addresses the pain of managing business expenditure. Pr... Read More →
avatar for Shawn Neumann

Shawn Neumann

Founder and CEO, Domain7
Shawn is the current board chair of First West Credit Union and Founder and CEO of Domain7, a digital experience, product and platform agency headquartered in Vancouver. As a director of a First West’s predecessor credit union, Shawn was part of developing the vision to create a multi-brand Canadian credit union that embraced the best of local credit union values while... Read More →


Wednesday September 26, 2018 10:00am - 12:00pm PDT
UBC Robson Square
  Business, Panel Discussion

11:00am PDT

How to Plan for Future Fundraisings
Limited Capacity filling up
With the blurring of lines in early stage financings and ever changing round sizes, metrics and expectations, join us for an interactive workshop on How to Plan for Future Fundraisings. While it is easier than ever to start a business, the costs of scaling are ever increasing and need a thought-out plan for how to raise capital to support the growth over multiple rounds.

This workshop will discuss dynamics, trends and metrics for raising early stage capital, what investors look for and how to best position your startup for potential fundraises.

This event is open to post-product companies that are looking to raise VC capital in the next 12 months.

Discussion Topics
  • Best practices on building relationships and communications with investors before and during the fundraising process
  • What VCs look for at different stages of the early days of the company
  • How much capital to raise at each stage?
  • How to plan and budget for the proper amount of operational runway
  • Key metrics and milestones for each round
  • Dangers of raising too much money too soon and how that affects future valuations and exit expectations
  • Best practices on investor updates
  • Common pitfalls 
Speakers
avatar for Mat Kaliski

Mat Kaliski

Principal, Rubicon Venture Capital
Mat is a Principal at Rubicon Venture Capital, a Late Seed and Series A VC fund with offices in San Francisco and New York City. Rubicon focuses on backing software, internet and consumer companies regardless of where they're based. At Rubicon, Mat focuses on sourcing and evaluating... Read More →


Wednesday September 26, 2018 11:00am - 12:30pm PDT
The Profile (Thurlow) 535 Thurlow Street, Suite #100
  Finance & Investment, Fireside Chat or Roundtable

11:30am PDT

Marketing & Growth For Startups
Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.
You’ve got your great idea. Now, how do you tell everyone about it? There is a lot of buzz about startups  these days. Almost every day we hear about a new tech startup that’s disrupting one industry or another.  But, yours is different. It really is changing the world!  How do you break through the noise to get your company noticed by both customers and investors? And, how do you do it on a limited budget?
Moderators
avatar for Jason Takefman

Jason Takefman

Jason Takefman is an independent consultant across Canada specializing in small business and sports teams. Jason has over 12 years of experience in content marketing, ghost writing and managing corporate partnerships. He was GM for the Vancouver Canadians and has worked with the UFC... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for Cory Cleveland

Cory Cleveland

Principal, Creative Return
Cory Cleveland is the principal of Creative Return, an agency focusing exclusively on creating actionable and engaging investor experiences for public and pre-public companies. He has strategized and co-managed over $50 million in early-stage financings, taking ventures from inception... Read More →
avatar for Angelia Darnbrough

Angelia Darnbrough

Principal, Pivot Point Marketing
Angelia Darnbrough is the Principal of Pivot Point Marketing. With over two decades of marketing experience with large and small companies, Angelia's focus is on the high technology and software sectors where marketing is fast paced and constantly undergoing change. Using her process... Read More →
avatar for Jessica Harcombe Fleming

Jessica Harcombe Fleming

Public Relations Lead, Beattie Tartan
Jessica Harcombe Fleming is a public relations lead with Beattie Tartan, an international communications firm with offices in Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary. She has 15 years of experience in marketing, content creation, influencer and media relations. Her career has spanned roles... Read More →


Wednesday September 26, 2018 11:30am - 1:30pm PDT
Venture Labs - 11th floor #1100 - 555 West Hastings Street, Vancouver
  Marketing, Panel Discussion

1:00pm PDT

Office Hours with Paul Singh & Dana Duncan from Results Junkies
Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.
- Results Junkies Tour brought to you by Fasken -

Paul and Dana will be in town to meet and chat with local entrepreneurs!
Sign up here for your private 1-on-1 meeting with him!
(The Results Junkies team will get back to you to confirm if you've got a meeting slot booked with them)

Speakers
avatar for Dana Duncan

Dana Duncan

Partner, Results Junkies
Entrepreneur, investor and Partner at Results Junkies. Previously, Dana was Head of Operations & Special Projects at Disruption Corporation (acquired by 1776), involved in Disruption's post-seed venture capital arm, Crystal Tech Fund. Prior to that, Dana was on the early team at The... Read More →
avatar for Paul Singh

Paul Singh

Chief Hustler & Early Stage Investor, Results Junkies


Wednesday September 26, 2018 1:00pm - 3:00pm PDT
The Profile (Thurlow) 535 Thurlow Street, Suite #100
  Finance & Investment, Office Hours or 1-on-1 Meetings

1:00pm PDT

Canada's Booming Blockchain Sector - State of the Block
Limited Capacity filling up
State of the Block
The past year has been tumultuous for the crypto space. Come spend an afternoon learning
about the latest news and developments in the Enterprise adoption of blockchain technology
and the emerging world of Security Token Offerings, which is poised to eclipse the way
technology companies are funded.

Welcome, announcement of BlockTech Ventures Name Change to Northstar Venture
Technologies, Inc
Dean presents his State of the Block presentation. 1:10 - 1:20
Main topics include:
What’s going on with ICOs
Is Enterprise really adopting blockchain - where, why
What is the biggest emerging opportunity for blockchain - regulated Token Generated Events

Enterprise Adoption of Blockchain Technology
Blockchain in Health - 1:20 - 2:00
Presentation of the results of a recent study of Blockchain in Health done by FIrstep, a boutique
strategy firm, sponsored by Telus Ventures and Northstar Venture Tech.
Panel/Presentation
Bill McGraw, President/COO Northstar, John McDonald, Founder, Firstep

Blockchain in Supply Chain Management - 2:00 - 2:30
Northstar and Routique, Supply Chain specialists, will discuss their partnership to provide
Fortune 100 companies a standard solution built on blockchain, and how they view the adoption
by the industry. N* & Routique will announce a joint venture to develop a standards based
payment & settlement solution that will be part of a BiTA standards group.
Panel/Presentation
Bill McGraw, President/COO Northstar, Mike Allen, CEO Routique

BREAK 2:30 - 2:45

BlockNorth Event Announcement - Dean & Justin - 2:45 - 3:00

The Changing Landscape of Token Generation Events

Security Token Offerings - The New ICOs? 3:00 - 3:40
Panel discussion of the emergence of regulated token offerings that allow companies to raise
funds with the new digital asset.
Panel includes,
Dean Sutton, CEO Northstar., Tom Kineshenko, CEO, Protos Asset Management, Mike
Stephens, Faskens,

Investing in the New World of ICO's and STO's 3:40 - 4:15
Will there be fireworks? This should be the most engaging part of the day as crypto veterans
duke it out with traditional VC/Angel investors on just what this new crypto world means for
traditional funding.
Panel includes,
Dean Sutton, CEO Northstar, Rich Osborne, Managing Director, Telus Ventures, Paul Singh, Results Junkies , Chief Hustler & Early Stage Investor, Meredith Powell, Powell & Co , Principal & Early Stage Investor

Speakers
avatar for Mike Allen

Mike Allen

CEO, Routique
avatar for Tom Kineshenko

Tom Kineshenko

CEO, Protos Asset Management
avatar for John McDonald

John McDonald

Founder, Firstep Innovations
avatar for Bill McGraw

Bill McGraw

President & COO, Northstar
Mr. McGraw is a tech industry veteran with hands on experience with startups since the late 1990’s. He specializes in assisting early stage companies with investment, technology development, go-to market strategy, scaling and monetization. In giving back, he serves Canadian founders... Read More →
avatar for Rich Osbourne

Rich Osbourne

Managing Director, Telus Ventures
avatar for Meredith Powell

Meredith Powell

Principal & Early Stage Investor, Powell & Co
avatar for Paul Singh

Paul Singh

Chief Hustler & Early Stage Investor, Results Junkies
avatar for Mike Stephens

Mike Stephens

Partner, Fasken
avatar for Dean Sutton

Dean Sutton

Founder & CEO, Northstar Venture Technologies
Mr. Sutton has over a decade of direct experience as a technology entrepreneur, founder and investor, working at the intersection of technology, entrepreneurship and capital markets. In the digital asset space since 2014, he is a sought after industry thought leader and sector advisor... Read More →


Wednesday September 26, 2018 1:00pm - 4:00pm PDT
The Profile (Thurlow) 535 Thurlow Street, Suite #100
  Blockchain, Panel Discussion

2:00pm PDT

Learn how B.C. is open for business
Limited Capacity filling up
Learn about opportunities for tech companies of all sizes to easily work with the provincial government on improving services for British Columbians

Join Jinny Sims, Minister of Citizens’ Services; UrbanLogiq COO and Co-founder Herman Chandi, Latero Labs Co-founder Derek Yau; and FreshWorks Studio CEO Samarth Mod to discuss recent improvements to government procurement for tech projects. One program, Sprint with Us, significantly reduces the time, effort and cost involved with bidding on government contracts. The Startup in Residence Program brings the ideas and expertise of technology companies together to help solve digital challenges in government and improve services for people in B.C. The panel features B.C.-based startup tech leaders who have recently won government contracts using the new innovative processes.
Speakers
avatar for Herman Chandi

Herman Chandi

COO & Co-Founder, UrbanLogiq
avatar for Samarth Mod

Samarth Mod

CEO, Freshworks Studio
avatar for Kerry Pridmore

Kerry Pridmore

Executive Director, Procurement Transformation, Ministry of Citizens' Services, Government of B.C.
avatar for Jinny Sims

Jinny Sims

Minister of Citizens' Services, Government of B.C.
avatar for Derek Yau

Derek Yau

Co-Founder, Latero Labs


Wednesday September 26, 2018 2:00pm - 2:45pm PDT
BC Tech Hub
  Business, Panel Discussion

2:45pm PDT

Pitch the North Shore
Limited Capacity seats available
See innovative businesses, learn from expert investors, network with business community  at Pitch the North Shore!

Pitch the North Shore is a pitch contest for early stage companies who want to present their business to expert investors and the wider business community. This is an opportunity to gain critical feedback on their business model and pitch, as well as gain exposure and recognition for their company. The format will be short pitches followed by questions from the judges panel. Guest will be treated to pitches from innovative companies, expert insights from the judges panel and the opportunity to network with pitch finalists and judges.  

This half-day event will include a short keynote address, introduction to the judges followed by the pitch competition. It will wrap up with networking and light snacks and drinks.

Prizes:
  • Pitch Winner - Growth Positioning Session from GEM Advertising (value $4000)
  • Door prize - 2 tickets to North Vancouver Chamber ELEVATE event, October 4 at Presentation House

If you're interested in pitching, please apply here.

For those that would like to attend, in order to make sure we have accurate orders for food & beverage, please help our event partner out by also RSVPing here. (Don't worry! There's no additional cost to attend for VSW pass holders!)



Wednesday September 26, 2018 2:45pm - 7:15pm PDT
The Profile (Lonsdale)
  Finance & Investment, Pitch Event

3:00pm PDT

Blockchain Token Economics 101
Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.
Learn about this hot industry and the fundamentals driving the success of blockchain projects

An introduction session of Blockchain and Token Economics based around the concepts of the quantity theory of money including transaction value and token velocity.  We will also speak about current transition from utility tokens to security tokens.
Speakers
avatar for Mark Bayley

Mark Bayley

Galaxy Digital
Mark Bayley is a business analyst with Galaxy Digital, a multi-strategy investment firm focused on digital assets and blockchain technology with offices in New York, Vancouver and Tokyo,  At Galaxy, Mark focuses on token economics and financial modeling, project management and evaluation... Read More →


Wednesday September 26, 2018 3:00pm - 4:30pm PDT
First Coin Capital
  Blockchain, Workshop

4:00pm PDT

THE 4P’s of SELLING for Startups
Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.
2 hours - workshop focused on Sales for Startups As founder and CEO, you must maintain a core understanding of your company’s revenue generating operations. You must be able to “lead” the sales efforts. And you must ensure that your sales operations are working in alignment with all other departmental functions. Leading your company’s sales function requires you to learn the four essential aspects of a “sales-ready” program. We call it the 4P’s of Selling: Process – Design a sales process that minimizes cost and maximizes conversions. Pitch -- Test and finalize a value proposition that resonates with your target customers. People – Understand the timing and compensation for key hires in your sales team. Performance -- Set realistic sales goals aligned with your budget and revenue targets. Learn how to Identify and track key performance indicators.

Many new businesses fail to launch – or launch but fail to commercialize and scale – because an entrepreneurial mindset is not a skill that is understood by every founder that starts a new venture. Successful entrepreneurs must recognize how to test, break, refine, and retest a business idea to ensure customer fit and the appropriate market size. They must know how to lead and build an effective team and how to keep enough cash in the bank to keep the lights on until there is traction and self-generated funding from their own revenue.

The Global Startup School at Tamwood Careers is challenging the status quo. This new program has set out to redefine how entrepreneurship is taught in Canada with a goal of cultivating the next generation of business leaders. It's a unique program bridging the gap between traditional business school and accelerators. By creating an environment where students can take risks and fail, we can develop better prepared entrepreneurs that understand the journey involved to create a successful venture.
Speakers
avatar for Colin McWhinnie

Colin McWhinnie

Colin started Canada Start Up in 2005 to help entrepreneurs start a business the right way. He has worked with hundreds of startups since then, helping companies move from strategy to execution through practical, test-driven tactics. He has been a featured facilitator and business... Read More →
avatar for Chris Stairs

Chris Stairs

Chris has 15+ years experience in strategic marketing and operational start-ups, and has helped organizations position for market entry, streamline execution, push through financial ceilings, and build foundations to become best-in-field. An associate of CanadaStartUp.com, Chris supports... Read More →


Wednesday September 26, 2018 4:00pm - 6:00pm PDT
Tamwood Careers #200 - 889 West Pender Street, Vancouver
  Business, Workshop

5:00pm PDT

Volition's Investor Pitch Night
Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.
Join us for Investor Pitch Night and cheer on six top companies that have demonstrated traction and scale up potential. Each company will have five minutes to pitch an investor panel, with five minutes for Q&A + feedback.

There will be plenty of opportunity to network with 100+ entrepreneurs and investors from Canada and the US. Your ticket includes access to the event, a light dinner, and non-alcoholic beverages (alcoholic options available for purchase).

Speakers
avatar for Ramin Behzadi
avatar for Dana Duncan

Dana Duncan

Partner, Results Junkies
Entrepreneur, investor and Partner at Results Junkies. Previously, Dana was Head of Operations & Special Projects at Disruption Corporation (acquired by 1776), involved in Disruption's post-seed venture capital arm, Crystal Tech Fund. Prior to that, Dana was on the early team at The... Read More →
avatar for Meredith Powell
avatar for Paul Singh

Paul Singh

Chief Hustler & Early Stage Investor, Results Junkies
avatar for Praveen Varshney


Wednesday September 26, 2018 5:00pm - 9:30pm PDT
The Profile (Thurlow) 535 Thurlow Street, Suite #100
  Finance & Investment, Pitch Event

6:00pm PDT

Impact Vancouver
Limited Capacity seats available
#ImpactVan focuses on companies that use business as a force for good.  Learn from and be inspired by our amazing speaker lineup of global changemakers, and connect with 150 entrepreneurial minds at the event!

WHAT CAN I EXPECT AT THE EVENT:
-Stories from successful companies on how they started and the impact they're creating.
-A live feedback session from a panel of expert advisors on a business challenge that some of them are currently facing.
-Breakout sessions to enable you to get ideas and address challenges that you are facing in your business.

SCHEDULE:
5.30-6.00PM - Registration & Networking
6.00-6.30PM - Inspiring Impact Stories
6.30-7.00PM - Live Business Challenge
7.00-7.30PM - Breakout feedback groups
7.30-8.30PM - Networking

Wednesday September 26, 2018 6:00pm - 9:00pm PDT
STRETCH Yoga Studio and Events 180 East Pender Street, Vancouver
  Business, Panel Discussion

6:00pm PDT

#VSW2018 Recruitment Fair
Limited Capacity seats available
Vancouver Startup Week is back with the city's largest startup Recruitment Fair! 2018 marks our fourth year connecting local top talent and companies for an evening of engaging conversation. We're back at Science World and building on last year's count of 35 hiring companies! If you've got that entrepreneurial spirit and want to join a hot startup in the city or you're looking to add great talent to your growing team, then this fair is for you!

Recruitment Fair Access Only Tickets are only $10, or $15 at the door.
If you are interested in attending other Vancouver Startup Week events, please purchase your VSW full-access pass here. Note that a full access pass holder will have access to the Recruitment Fair.
Hiring companies include:
Aequilibrium
Asana
AvenueHQ
BBTV
BCJobs
Best Buy
Canadian Web Hosting
CareTeam
Cisco
Communo
HackCapital
Hyperwallet
ITGlue
Left.io
Lendesk
Lighthouse Labs
LoginRadius
MetaOptima
Netskrt Systems Inc.
Nicejob
PayByPhone 
Plenty of Fish
Procurify
Red Academy
Resume.com
Riipen
Royal Roads University
Targeted Talent 
WorkSafeBC
...and more!

Wednesday September 26, 2018 6:00pm - 9:00pm PDT
Science World at TELUS World of Science
  Recruitment, Networking / Party

6:00pm PDT

Internet of Things - Cellular x LPWA IoT Hands-on Workshop
Limited Capacity seats available
If you are actively working, or have considered working on an IoT project, this is the perfect place for you to kick start your creativity and try out SORACOM cellular connectivity SIMs and IoT development platform.  

Learn how to connect Raspberry Pi / Arduino with 2G/3G/LTE cellular or LPWA network. Then connect sensors and send data to the cloud to visualize, and more! Step-by-step documentation is available for attendees to follow along and complete each scenario (Basic Linux Commands, SSH, basic programming preferred). Advanced scenarios for more complex challenges are available. IoT workshop kit (Raspberry Pi, Sensors and Global USB Dongle etc.) for each attendee will be provided during the workshop.

***To participate in the hands on workshop, attendees must bring their laptops with working WiFi & USB (Optional: bring your own keyboard / mouse) ***

Wednesday September 26, 2018 6:00pm - 9:00pm PDT
MistyWest
  Technology, Workshop

6:30pm PDT

Future of Cannabis | How Technology Will Transform Cannabis Culture
Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.
Curious about the future of cannabis given the recent legal milestones? Wondering what direction the cannabis economy is heading? The upcoming legalization of recreational cannabis has created widespread discussion surrounding Canada’s evolving cannabis economy. Not only is Canada the first G7 country to legalize recreational use, medical use cannabis was legalized in 2001. With these changes closely approaching, we’ve gathered industry professionals to share their experiences and predictions for cannatech in Canada. Join us as we chat with various stakeholders about the upcoming challenges and milestones they are looking forward to. From mobile apps, ecommerce and the evolution out of brick & mortar locations, we will discuss the transformative landscape of cannatech.  

Additional Info:  ​Brainstation Event Page​​​
Speakers
JL

Josh Lyon

Vice President Marketing and Partnerships, Hiku Brands
JS

Jamie Shaw

Cannabis Policy Consultant; Partner, Groundwork Consulting
ST

Stephanie Tan

Director, Government & Stakeholder Relations, Western Canada, Canopy Growth Corporation
NW

Nick Whitehead

VP Market Development, Aurora Cannabis Inc.


Wednesday September 26, 2018 6:30pm - 8:00pm PDT
Brainstation
  Cannabis, Panel Discussion

6:30pm PDT

Startups' Facilitated Business Networking
Limited Capacity seats available
Join us for an epic, highly interactive and productive business networking event in a relaxed, non-pressure environment overlooking the beautiful Robson & Bute area. We had 118 people attended physically in July and 105 people attended in June, which was cross promoted by 5+ other groups. If you want amazing great value, then check out this event, look at the past pictures and/or ask the past attendees. We are determined to make this better than the 'typical boring networking over beers' event and want everyone to be closer to their goals even if you are introverted and are not comfortable in large crowd settings. We've been to those meetups where they throw you in a room and let you be, so only the most extroverted get results while the rest go home empty handed. We want to turn that model upside down with our unique activities, so that everyone can leave with more better quality contacts to follow up with.

CROWD SOURCING ACTIVITY: Everyone has a need or an itch they can't seem to scratch on their own for their business, so the law of probability is very good to solve your needs, wants or problems because someone in the room can help you directly or indirectly by knowing someone else who can be a solution/option, likewise you may be the solution/choice to someone's need. At YVR Startups, we believe in thinking outside of the box to help everyone get connected with solutions/options.

Please visit our meetup page for full event description. 

Wednesday September 26, 2018 6:30pm - 10:00pm PDT
Second Floor Eatery & Bar
  Business, Networking / Party
 
Thursday, September 27
 

8:00am PDT

Collaborative Tools for Startups ~ Microsoft Tips & Tricks
Limited Capacity seats available
Please join us for a breakfast workshop and networking event designed to introduce entrepreneurs and small businesses to Microsoft’s services, resources and features for business.

This morning workshop will allow attendees to get hands-on with the newest technology at the Microsoft Store before store hours. Rotate through a series of business focused demonstrations, highlighting the best tools for collaborating, security, productivity and more.

Meet with the Microsoft Business Team, learn about discounts available to business customers and learn how you’re business can collaborate with Microsoft.


Thursday September 27, 2018 8:00am - 10:00am PDT
Microsoft Store (Pacific Centre)
  Technology, Workshop

8:30am PDT

Intellectual Property Protection – Practical Impacts from Start-Up Through Exit
Limited Capacity seats available
Join McCarthy Tétrault at Vancouver Startup Week for a panel discussion on the importance of intellectual property protection and how it impacts your business.  McCarthy Tétrault IP lawyers Vincent Yip and Amy Fong alongside Bart Copeland, CEO & President at ActiveState and Tim Botham and Andy Talbot, Managing Partners at Aqua M&A will discuss why an IP strategy is key to the success of innovative companies. They will also share their insights as how to lay the groundwork for building a valuable IP portfolio and cover other practical IP issues you need to consider to protect your business, including employee or consultant-created innovations, licensing and freedom-to-operate. We hope you can join us for what will be a practical and dynamic discussion among business leaders and entrepreneurs who have worked extensively with companies that have unique and diverse IP needs.  The panel discussion will be followed by a Q&A session.

Breakfast will be served from 8:30 – 9:00am and the presentation will start at 9:00am.

Speakers
avatar for Tim Botham

Tim Botham

Managing Partner, Aqua M&A
Tim has broad market experience and a deep technical background, having served in various executive roles at small, medium and large companies. Tim focuses on business strategy and corporate positioning, Tim served on the buy-side M&A team at MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates, one... Read More →
avatar for Bart Copeland

Bart Copeland

CEO & President, ActiveState
Bart has over 32 years in tech spanning roles from VP Corporate Strategy, GM to CEO. He’s had the privilege of leading ActiveState since 2006. Bart drives the strategic direction with three tenets: happy Activators, solutions ‘geeks’ love to use and making open source languages... Read More →
avatar for Amy Fong

Amy Fong

Counsel, McCarthy Tétrault
Amy Fong is a counsel in our National Intellectual Property and Technology Group in Vancouver.  Her practice covers a broad range of intellectual property matters including patents, trademarks, industrial designs, copyright and domain names and she also counsels clients on technology... Read More →
avatar for Andy Talbot

Andy Talbot

Managing Partner, Aqua M&A
Andy is a serial entrepreneur, having founded 8 advanced technology startups. Andy was a founder of the entrepreneurship program at the University of British Columbia (e@UBC), where he helped launch over 36 technology and life sciences companies in just 3 years. Andy specializes in... Read More →
avatar for Vincent Yip

Vincent Yip

Counsel, McCarthy Tétrault
Vincent Kam-Sun Yip is counsel in our National Intellectual Property and Business Law groups. His practice focuses on the acquisition, commercialization, and enforcement of patent, trade-mark, and other intellectual property rights. He also has significant experience providing intellectual... Read More →


Thursday September 27, 2018 8:30am - 10:30am PDT
McCarthy Tétrault LLP 745 Thurlow St #2400, Vancouver, BC V6E 0C5
  Legal, Panel Discussion

9:00am PDT

Company Stages - what you need to know for each of them. | Part of the Results Junkies Tech Tour brought to you by Fasken
Limited Capacity seats available
According to Paul, there are only 2 stages to every company. Join him for a casual conversation on what those stages are, what you need to know and what you need to do in these stages.
Speakers
avatar for Paul Singh

Paul Singh

Chief Hustler & Early Stage Investor, Results Junkies


Thursday September 27, 2018 9:00am - 10:30am PDT
The Profile (Thurlow) 535 Thurlow Street, Suite #100
  Business, Fireside Chat or Roundtable

9:00am PDT

Transform Your Business with Cultural Intelligence!
Limited Capacity seats available
You want to maximize your business's potential, but one issue that is frequently overlooked is cultural differences -- managing teams with people from different cultural backgrounds, marketing to different cultural groups, dealing with clients from different cultural backgrounds, interacting with suppliers/partners in other countries, etc.  John Lombard offers critical insights that make understanding and adapting to other cultures far easier and more effective. Learn how to improve YOUR cultural intelligence, and open up a whole new world of possibilities for you, and for your business!
Speakers
avatar for John Lombard

John Lombard

John Lombard is a Canadian entrepreneur who has lived/worked in China for a quarter of a century, and started three successful businesses.  His main focus has been on cultural issues, and he is now launching a new company, The Language of Culture, to give businesses a critical advantage... Read More →


Thursday September 27, 2018 9:00am - 11:30am PDT
EasyMarkit
  HR & Culture, Workshop

10:00am PDT

UX Principles
Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.
Looking to advance your career with User Experience Design skills? Learn more about UX Design and experience what learning at BrainStation is all about.  

UX Principles will provide you with a basic understanding of the UX Design process and overview of the essential skills UX designers draw upon. We'll discuss strategies like Design Thinking and Human-Centred Design when designing digital products. We’ll also touch upon how UX Designers work independently and with technical teammates. The workshop will close with a hands-on sketching exercise allowing you to apply your human-centred design knowledge. Please remember to bring a charged laptop to the workshop as outlet space is limited.


Thursday September 27, 2018 10:00am - 11:30am PDT
Brainstation
  UX/UI, Workshop

1:00pm PDT

Canadian Startup Ecosystem - A Brazilian Perspective (CONDUCTED IN PORTUGUESE)
Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.
A unique opportunity for the Brazilian public in Vancouver to discuss entrepreneuship and innovation.  

According to the Global Entrepreneurship Index 2018, Canada is ranked the third best innovation ecosystem in the world, only behind the USA and Switzerland. Why is this so? Why is Canada and especially Vancouver considered one of the top places in the world to launch a startup? What is needed for Brazil to catch up in terms of entrepreneurship and innovation?  

The panel Canadian Startup Ecosystem – A Brazilian Perspective will offer insights on entrepreneurship and innovation from Brazilian professionals who work in or are somehow involved with this ecosystem.   Panel will be conducted in Portuguese.  


Speakers
avatar for Danilo Correa

Danilo Correa

The Cube, Community Manager
avatar for Bruno Gomes

Bruno Gomes

Program Director, Global Startup School
avatar for Cassio Gregorio

Cassio Gregorio

CEO, LolaGuide
avatar for Fred Rego

Fred Rego

Co-Founder and COO, Vanhack

Thursday September 27, 2018 1:00pm - 2:30pm PDT
Consulate General of Brazil
  Business, Panel Discussion

1:00pm PDT

Cannabusiness: A Case Study in Starting Up in an Emerging Industry
Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.
Recreational use of cannabis is nearly legal in Canada, and an entirely new industry is revved up and ready to go. As an entrepreneur looking to build a business in an exciting new space, what does this mean for you? Cannabis regulation in Canada is complex, but also evolving, as are the business opportunities. Join our animated panel of industry experts as we discuss the ins and outs of navigating the various federal and provincial regulations (not to mention international issues), to build a viable, legal business.

Panelists will be announced shortly.

Speakers
avatar for Tyler Kibler

Tyler Kibler

Manager, Industrial Design, Aurora Cannabis
Innovative, results-oriented project manager and product developer with over a decade of experience and a passion for building relationships and going beyond client and management expectations.With proven success in the areas of project management, client interfacing, developing budgets... Read More →
avatar for James Munro,

James Munro,

Partner, McMillan LLP
James Munro is a partner in the firm's Capital Markets group in Vancouver. His practice focuses on securities, corporate finance, cannabis law and mining law.As part of his securities and corporate finance practice, James advises private and public clients in a range of industries... Read More →
avatar for Amar Singh

Amar Singh

CEO, Elevated Signals
Amar is passionate about precision agriculture technology for Earth and space applications, particularly for optimizing sustainable production in the rapidly growing controlled environment cultivation industry. He has extensive experience in infrastructure consulting and project delivery... Read More →
avatar for Dan Sutton

Dan Sutton

CEO, Tantalus Labs
I am passionate about building value out of values. My journey through education, startup development, and founding my team at Tantalus Labs has been rooted in the belief that social commerce is the greatest tool for progress in modern culture. Entrepreneurs today are empowered with... Read More →


Thursday September 27, 2018 1:00pm - 3:00pm PDT
McMillan LLP
  Cannabis, Panel Discussion

1:00pm PDT

Cisco Webex - From Startup to Enterprise
Limited Capacity seats available
Communication and collaboration are integral parts of every organization from a startup to an enterprise, come learn how Webex can help you on your journey to success.

Did you know that WebEx has been voted top mobile app for Entrepreneurs? As well as the best app to help you do your job. Because in this world of information over load all you want to do is do your job, and do it well! Well, that’s where WebEx comes in. You can meet, chat, call & video all within one app.. & there are 71 MILLION of us who are doing just that EACH MONTH!  
Speakers
DB

Dean Boechler

Territory Business Manager, Cisco Systems
Motivated, results oriented, and customer focused professional with over 10+ years of proven successes and achievements in selling technology. Solid track record growing the business, growing customer loyalty and positively transforming customer businesses via technology. Proven ability... Read More →
avatar for Matthew Van Halteren

Matthew Van Halteren

Account Manager, Cisco Systems


Thursday September 27, 2018 1:00pm - 3:00pm PDT
Cisco
  Technology, Workshop

1:00pm PDT

Office Hours with Paul Singh and Dana Duncan from Results Junkies
Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.
- Results Junkies Tour brought to you by Fasken -

Paul and Dana will be in town to meet and chat with local entrepreneurs!
Sign up here for your private 1-on-1 meeting with him!
(The Results Junkies team will get back to you to confirm if you've got a meeting slot confirmed)

Speakers
avatar for Dana Duncan

Dana Duncan

Partner, Results Junkies
Entrepreneur, investor and Partner at Results Junkies. Previously, Dana was Head of Operations & Special Projects at Disruption Corporation (acquired by 1776), involved in Disruption's post-seed venture capital arm, Crystal Tech Fund. Prior to that, Dana was on the early team at The... Read More →
avatar for Paul Singh

Paul Singh

Chief Hustler & Early Stage Investor, Results Junkies


Thursday September 27, 2018 1:00pm - 5:00pm PDT
The Profile (Thurlow) 535 Thurlow Street, Suite #100
  Finance & Investment, Office Hours or 1-on-1 Meetings

2:00pm PDT

Finance Hacking 101 for Startup Founders
Limited Capacity filling up
Accounting and finance is not everyone’s cup of tea, Helina and Rafael will leverage their years of experience to help you get started and excited about finance!

Before living out of a suitcase and pitching investors, you should have the skill set to master your finances. Finance Hacking 101 will cover the financial well being of the startup and its founder(s). The pursuit of cultivating a scalable, repeatable business from your original startup idea is not for the faint at heart. This workshop will provide you with the tools to keep a roof over your head while building your business organically, without the pressure of diluting yourself out of business too early.

The Workshop will be followed by a networking session from 4-6pm  on the 3rd floor of Suite Genius.
Speakers
avatar for Helina Patience

Helina Patience

CEO, Entreflow Consulting Group
Helina Patience is the CEO of Entreflow Consulting Group. She loves tech, finance and business, and has enjoyed a career in Finance and HR for over a decade in the UK, India, Ireland and Canada. After working as a Financial Analyst at Lululemon, she joined Entreflow to roll out Financial... Read More →
avatar for Rafael Reis

Rafael Reis

Founder, Afterwork
Founder of Afterwork.  Afterwork, a SaaS platform, helps professionals create better consumers through financial literacy; as well as, providing planning tools for individuals that are currently underserved. Over the past decade, Rafael has built numerous cash flow apps and dashboard... Read More →


Thursday September 27, 2018 2:00pm - 4:00pm PDT
Suite Genius - Mount Pleasant
  Finance & Investment, Workshop

2:00pm PDT

Techstars Presents in Collaboration with Boast.ai
Limited Capacity filling up
Techstars Presents is back for Vancouver for Startup Week! Join them for an afternoon of keynotes, panel discussions and fireside chats!

Opening Keynote: How to build an Overnight Success (Kyle Campbell)

Panel: Raising a Round: A Founder's Perspective (Marc Kuo, Saba Mohebpour, Victor Gusev Lesau)

Keynote: Bootstrapping your way to Success (Alison Taylor, Trevor Johnston)

Fireside Chat: People Matter - The Importance of Building a Strong Culture from Day 1 (Rian Gauvreau, Lyndsey Hannigan)

Panel: Building a Network (Misha Abasov, Hazel Robert Kirstiuk, Caleb Del Begio)

Closing Keynote by Taran Ghatrora









Speakers
RK

Robert Kirstiuk -

Co-Founder & CEO, Coastline
MA

Misha Abasov

Co-Founder & CMO, Hazel
CD

Caleb Del Begio

Co-Founder & CPO, Advize
KC

Kyle Campbell

Founder, Hack Capital & Founder, CTO.ai
RG

Rian Gauvreau

Founder & Chief People Officer, Clio
TG

Taran Ghatrora

Co-Founder & CEO, ElleBoxCo.
LH

Lyndsey Hannigan

Director of Talent, Clio
TJ

Trevor Johnston

Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Jane Software Inc
MK

Marc Kuo

Founder & CEO, Routific
VG

Victor Gusev Lesau

Co-Founder & CEO, CuePath
SM

Saba Mohebpour

CEO, Spocket
AT

Alison Taylor

Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Jane Software Inc.


Thursday September 27, 2018 2:00pm - 4:30pm PDT
The Profile (Thurlow) 535 Thurlow Street, Suite #100
  Business, Panel Discussion

2:30pm PDT

Accessing Capital Markets: Accounting and Legal Considerations
Limited Capacity filling up
Have questions with regard to accessing capital markets for your business? You'll have the opportunity to ask your questions and receive insights from our expert speakers.

Join Fernando Costa, Partner at Manning Elliott LLP and Patrick Sullivan, Associate, Corporate from Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP as they discuss accessing capital markets and what accounting and legal considerations you should be aware of.
Some of the key areas that will be discussed include:
• When to get your advisors involved.
• Making sure you get the most out of your professional advisors and save money during the process.
• Common areas where difficulties are encountered (from an accounting/audit perspective).
• Making sure income tax considerations are taken into account.
• Introduction to alternative going public transaction structures.
• Market update – what trends are driving the market in 2018.
• Difficulties with these transactions (from a legal perspective).
• Selecting a legal advisor.


Speakers
avatar for Fernando Costa

Fernando Costa

Partner, Manning Elliott
Fernando has expertise in public company assurance and reporting requirements and in providing management, accounting and tax advice for private owner-manager businesses.  Many of Fernando’s clients are in the resource-based industries or are part of the real estate development... Read More →
avatar for Patrick Sullivan

Patrick Sullivan

Associate Corporate, Osler Law
Patrick practices corporate and securities law with an emphasis on advising public companies in the mining, technology, distribution and beverage industries. He regularly advises on public and private mergers and acquisitions, shareholder rights plans, corporate finance transactions... Read More →


Thursday September 27, 2018 2:30pm - 4:00pm PDT
Terminal City Club
  Legal, Panel Discussion

3:00pm PDT

Cap Tables 101
Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.
Come learn how to build a proper cap table for your new business. 

LaBarge Weinstein LLP is hosting an event for startup founders and employees to walk through the process of building a cap table. We will review the proper structure of a cap table and how to model dilution from equity financings, convertible investments and stock options. Our team will be putting together tailored cap tables on demand for attendees, so feel free to stop by anytime during the event.  
Speakers
JS

James Smith

For over 15 years, James Smith has been helping Canadian ventures with their legal needs from formation to exit. He has worked with companies including Shopify, Wattpad, Showbie, Granify, and Kik. 


Thursday September 27, 2018 3:00pm - 6:00pm PDT
LaBarge Weinstein
  Finance & Investment, Workshop

4:00pm PDT

Business Communications for Startups - How to present your business idea in 90 seconds.
Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.
If you have a business idea or a startup, you must be prepared to present your business to investors, clients, entrepreneurs. During the workshop, you will learn the top tips to develop the perfect pitch deck and select what information is relevant to share. Most startups fail to try to pitch their business solutions without paying attention to the audience needs.

2 hours workshop focused on Business Communication - Many new businesses fail to launch – or launch but fail to commercialize and scale – because an entrepreneurial mindset is not a skill that is understood by every founder that starts a new venture. Successful entrepreneurs must recognize how to test, break, refine, and retest a business idea to ensure customer fit and the appropriate market size. They must know how to lead and build an effective team and how to keep enough cash in the bank to keep the lights on until there is traction and self-generated funding from their own revenue. The Global Startup School at Tamwood Careers is challenging the status quo. This new program has set out to redefine how entrepreneurship is taught in Canada with a goal of cultivating the next generation of business leaders. It's a unique program bridging the gap between traditional business school and accelerators. By creating an environment where students can take risks and fail, we can develop better prepared entrepreneurs that understand the journey involved to create a successful venture.

Speakers
avatar for Paul Brassard

Paul Brassard

Volition Advisors
Paul Brassard - An almost 20 year veteran of entrepreneurship, Paul has immense experience in business development, growth and marketing strategy, and specializes in investor prep, pitch and presentation coaching.With a love for teaching, a passion for passing on knowledge and a desire... Read More →


Thursday September 27, 2018 4:00pm - 6:00pm PDT
Tamwood Careers #200 - 889 West Pender Street, Vancouver
  Business, Workshop

4:00pm PDT

The Future of Cannabis: Startup Showcase & Venture Opportunities
Limited Capacity seats available
With the Cannabis industry poised to be a $100B Global market in North America by 2029, eyes are turning to companies that will be servicing cultivators and retailers as legalization approaches.

Join us and our partners for September’s Leaf Vancouver meetup and get to know some of the newest Canadian cannabis technology startups to emerge on the West coast like Elevated Signals and Buddi. Listen to company presentations, watch demos of their tech, and network with the founders and teams behind the future of Cannabis. 

Thursday September 27, 2018 4:00pm - 6:30pm PDT
McMillan LLP
  Cannabis, Meetup

4:00pm PDT

#VSW2018 Community Crawl powered by Startup Open House
Limited Capacity seats available
Vancouver Startup Weeks' Community Crawl is back! This year, we've partnered up with Startup Open House (SOH) to bring you access to local companies in our community!

Startup Open House (SOH) is a high impact way of getting companies and people connected, as opposed to more traditional job fairs, networking events, and festivals.

For one night only, hundreds of startups are offering free special tours and rare behind-the-scenes experiences to the public.

SOH offers to thrill-seekers a community that champion their risks, support their disruptive ambitions and integrate them into economies.

We open the startup community to attendees from a very broad range of backgrounds to inspire future risk-takers and create a local community of support for innovative companies that are redefining Canadian entrepreneurship.

If you'd like to open the doors to your cool office, make sure you register on the SOH website: https://www.startupopenhouse.com

If you're interested in participating in the #VSW2018 Community Crawl and visiting all these cool companies in town, we suggest that you also register on the SOH website (though it is not mandatory).

Here’s three reasons why it’s worth it to register on the website:
  1. This will allow you to build your personalized itinerary throughout the city, by saving startups you’re interested in to your visit list
  2. This will give you access to the latest updates on startups  and what they are planning for their Open House,
  3. It’s free and only a few questions in a form.

Startups like Slack, Quietly and Parsable are waiting for you!
Thursday September 27, 2018 4:00pm - 8:00pm PDT
Various Locations
  HR & Culture

5:00pm PDT

GIVE BACK at Every Start Up Stage
Limited Capacity seats available
Charitable giving isn't just a trend, it's mandatory for start up success.  

It's possible to show you care about giving to community at every stage of the company, regardless of the resources you have to offer. Studies show that philanthropy can increase employee retention, assist with recruitment and offer a competitive market advantage. Find strategies and ideas to fit your startup budget and inspire your next charitable giving.      
Speakers
avatar for Lori Muñoz Malcolm

Lori Muñoz Malcolm

Founder, HeartPress PR
Lori Muñoz Malcolm is a social entrepreneur committed to creating change in her community. She founded HeartPress PR because she saw an opportunity to further the causes of non-profits through working with businesses. As #BrokersOfGood, HeartPress PR acts as matchmakers for businesses... Read More →


Thursday September 27, 2018 5:00pm - 6:30pm PDT
Hervana Coworking Collective
  Community, Workshop

5:00pm PDT

Cutting a New Path: Nude Vodka's Success Story
Limited Capacity filling up
Co-founder of Nude Vodka Soda, Jerin Mece, brings us on his journey on bringing his product to market. He will tell us his process behind the brand ideation and creation, the challenges he overcame, and the plans on company growth and scaling.

This event has a shared limited seating of 70 with community members who are not passholders.

Nude Vodka Soda is first unsweetened vodka soda that is made in BC. They are the first to launch in our home province, and since then, they’ve seen several very similar beverages come to market. Nude is a small Vancouver-based team of 4, but they have an amazing network of family, friends, partners and contractors that have stood behind their success.
Speakers
avatar for Julius Makarewicz

Julius Makarewicz

CEO, Nude Vodka Soda
Julius Makarewicz is the CEO of Nude Vodka Soda, British Columbia’s fastest growing alcohol beverage company. Prior to Nude, Mr. Makarewicz worked at several startup companies in Sales, Marketing, and Operations roles. He is a university dropout, and was raised in Powell River... Read More →
avatar for Jerin Mece

Jerin Mece

Co-Founder & Head of Sales, Nude Vodka Soda
Jerin Mece is the Co-Founder and Head of Sales at Nude Vodka Soda. A New Westminster native who attended Douglas College and UBC. Jerin has 15 years of food, beverage and hospitality experience. He has worked with a number of global alcohol beverage brands and was the top performing... Read More →


Thursday September 27, 2018 5:00pm - 6:30pm PDT
Thinkific
  Food & Beverage, Fireside Chat or Roundtable

5:00pm PDT

Capital Talks on the Patio by FrontFundr
Limited Capacity seats available
The Event hosted by FrontFundr with BDC, BDO and BLG to bring together entrepreneurs, investors, and industry experts in the Greater Vancouver area

What the event is: Capital Talks on the Patio is a networking event that brings together early stage and growth entrepreneurs, investors, and industry experts in the Greater Vancouver area. The event will feature a panel discussing how to plan and raise your (pre-)seed and series A capital round in the way that’s most beneficial for your company.

Agenda:

17:00 - 18:30 networking
18:30 - 19:30 industry expert panel (panelists to be announced)
19:30 - 21:00 networking

The hosts: The Business Development Bank of Canada; accounting, tax, consulting and business advisory firm BDO; full-service law firm BLG; and online investment platform FrontFundr.



Speakers
MD

Marc Drouin

Regional Director, B.C. and North Technology Group, BDC
PV

Peter-Paul Van Hoeken

CEO, FrontFundr
MW

Michael Waters

Partner, BLG
AW

Ashley Whitworth

Senior Strategy and Operations Consultant, BDO


Thursday September 27, 2018 5:00pm - 11:00pm PDT
FrontFundr
  Finance & Investment, Panel Discussion

5:30pm PDT

Startup Success hosted by Microsoft
Limited Capacity filling up
In this presentation two of our very own Technical Evangelists will go over common technical themes that they encounter when working with our partners. Nastassia and Jef work with hundreds of partner companies across western Canada; and have gleamed insights into technical decisions which help startups get a competitive edge.

Thursday September 27, 2018 5:30pm - 7:00pm PDT
Microsoft Vancouver - West Georgia
  Technology, Fireside Chat or Roundtable

5:30pm PDT

Is Technology Taking our Jobs?
Limited Capacity filling up
Automation, driven by technological progress, has been expanding for the past several decades. As the pace of development increases, so has the urgency in the debate about the potential effects of automation on jobs, employment, and human activity.
Will new technology spawn mass unemployment, as the robots take jobs away from humans? Or is this part of a cycle in which some jobs will become obsolete, while new jobs will be created?
Based on the Oxford style debates popularized by the podcast 'Intelligence Squared', The BC chapter of Women in Communications and Technology brings you Women in Debate: Is technology taking our jobs?
You'll also have a chance to win a wine tasting at Township 7 for you and 9 friends!

Thursday September 27, 2018 5:30pm - 7:30pm PDT
Lighthouse Labs & Devhub
  Technology, Debate

5:30pm PDT

Kickstart Your #StartupLife
Limited Capacity seats available
Learn all you've ever wanted to know about working in #StartupLife!

League of Innovators and Startup League have partnered with Vancouver Startup Week to host ‘Kickstart your #StartupLife’ for youth interested in the startup or entrepreneurial space in Vancouver. At this event, you’ll learn about what it’s like to work for a startup-- whether it’s the countless benefits or the hard truths that no one talks about, get ready to discuss it all. Join us for an interactive panel discussion featuring young individuals who have advanced their careers in startups and compete in live-play version of QUP, the real-time game where you compete on problem solving and win cash for your fundraiser.
Speakers
avatar for Laura Fortey

Laura Fortey

Co-Founder and CMO, Reitium Blockchain Technologies
A former journalist and writer in the real estate sector, Laura brings more than a decade of expertise in the digital marketing space. From the early days of Youtube, Facebook and social media, Laura's involvement in the tech sector and internet marketing has enabled startups and... Read More →
avatar for Tiffanie Lai

Tiffanie Lai

People Manager, Native Shoes
Tiffanie is a Human Resources leader with values rooted in people-first talent management. She has experience on start-up teams within the gaming and digital media industry where she was integral part of building HR departments from the ground up. Tiffanie is currently working at... Read More →
avatar for Kuzi Mutonga

Kuzi Mutonga

Associate, BitNational
Kuzi is a 2016 UBC Economics alum and LOI Connector who is passionate about the worlds of finance and entrepreneurship. His first summer job in Canada was an entrepreneur, where he partnered with an American B2C (Business-to-Consumer) sales company called 'Southwestern" and set up... Read More →
avatar for Annee Ngo

Annee Ngo

CEO and Co-Founder, Startup League
Annee Ngo is the CEO and Co-Founder of Startup League – the platform connecting brands to GEN Z through competitive fundraising. On Startup League, students compete against other schools for real fundraising dollars by playing a live, daily mobile game. Games are educational and... Read More →
avatar for Mike Twining

Mike Twining

Head of Global B2B Marketing, PressReader
Mike can turn any meeting into a lasting relationship. As Head of Global B2B Marketing at PressReader, that’s a good thing. His ability to command a room and his understanding of how business leaders make decisions has helped him grow PressReader partnerships around the world. Mike... Read More →


Thursday September 27, 2018 5:30pm - 8:30pm PDT
Hootsuite
  Business, Panel Discussion

6:00pm PDT

Data Driven Content Marketing Workshop
Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.
Doing great content marketing can be tricky. Between research, strategy, and creation, just about every company has room to improve—and what better way to learn than over beers, with great company?

On September 27th, the Quietly team will be sharing some tried-and-true content marketing research, strategy, and measurement best practices they've developed through working with world-class clientele like MEC, Dell, and PwC. Join Vancouver's content marketing community at Quietly HQ to meet other marketing professionals, exchange ideas, and walk away with content marketing tactics and strategies you can implement immediately.

Looking for more details? Here's what we're covering at the event:
  • Quietly's data driven research and strategy process
  • Handy content marketing research and measurement tools
  • Which content metrics matter for your goals
We'll also highlight how Quietly Insights, our content marketing recommendations platform, can simplity and streamline the data-driven content marketing process. Learn more about Quietly Inisights and sign up free at https://insights.quiet.ly 


Speakers
avatar for Carlin Leung

Carlin Leung

Product Strategist, Quietly
Carlin is a digital marketing strategist who's in his element when crunching numbers and analyzing data. As the Product Strategist, Carlin works with Quietly's development team to build Quietly Insights, a content marketing recommendations platform that helps content marketers focus... Read More →


Thursday September 27, 2018 6:00pm - 7:30pm PDT
Quietly
  Marketing, Panel Discussion

6:00pm PDT

Technology Trends 2019
Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.
Join us this Sep 27 for the re-launch of the Vancouver Innovation Labs. We never went away, but we’ve been dormant for quite some time. What better way to reconnect than by doing what we do best: a session of forward-looking scenarios and the ensuing discussions of key emerging technologies and fringe scientific discoveries that are poised to disrupt establishing industries, business models and generate long-term impact innovations.

We’ll be talking about specific technology examples in 3 horizons + 1:

Horizon 1: Technology happening now
Horizon 2: Near future (10-20 years)
Horizon 3: Distant future (20+ years)
Ghost Tech: Fringe science/tech

We’ll run the classics: crypto, IoT, big data and some of the more esoteric newcomers: internet of DNA, shape-shifting matter, asteroid mining and others.

Also, we will have a surprise activity.
Speakers
avatar for Cliff Edwards

Cliff Edwards

Chief Innovation Officer, Envisioning Labs
Cliff is an 18-time global innovation challenge award winner in multiple domains and Innocentive's 2016 and 2017 Global Top Solver. A former manager and researcher at McKesson Corporation, one of Fortune’s Top 5 companies, and the world’s largest health information technology... Read More →
avatar for Oscar Malpica

Oscar Malpica

CEO, Envisioning Labs
Oscar is an innovation management professional with 15 years of experience in several industries including IT, manufacturing, sustainability, government, NGOs and technology startups. He has led projects that have converted physical, customer-facing experiences into the digital world... Read More →


Thursday September 27, 2018 6:00pm - 8:00pm PDT
Venture Labs - 11th floor #1100 - 555 West Hastings Street, Vancouver
  Technology, Panel Discussion

6:00pm PDT

Welcoming Our Robotic Overlords
Limited Capacity seats available
Robots have rapidly evolved from technological sideshows to significant additions to our daily lives. From robotic industrial arms to cute social robots, it is no secret that the field of robotics is progressing by leaps and bounds, and that this is just the beginning. This September, as part of Vancouver Startup Week, MistyWest is proud to bring together roboticists for a Build and Brag session. Come and learn how some of the leading roboticists are building the future of automation, and what ethical and philosophical concepts they have to grapple with as part of their product development process.

Speakers
NN

Nora Naranjo

Mechanical Engineer, eatsa
Nora (aka Mother of Robots) is a mechanical engineer at eatsa, a San Francisco-based robotic restaurant experience. Before eatsa, Nora worked for Flextronics, where she led the design and manufacturing development efforts for consumer products. She has significant experience working... Read More →
HP

Holly Peck

Research Scientist | Founder, Sanctuary.ai | Women Who Code
Holly first contemplated humanness whilst excavating Neanderthal bones in France. Since, her creative and engineering projects have explored human and machine learning, robotics and embodiment, and ritual. At Sanctuary, Holly builds and tests the cognitive architecture - the minds... Read More →
RW

Ryan Walker

Chief Roboticist, MistyWest
Walker is the Chief Roboticist at MistyWest, where he spends his days solving problems about autonomous movement. Walker holds a diploma in Mechatronics and Robotics from BCIT. Previously, he worked on prosthetics and industrial automation. His passions lie in embedded computing... Read More →


Thursday September 27, 2018 6:00pm - 9:00pm PDT
MistyWest
  Robotics & AI, Panel Discussion

6:00pm PDT

WinTech's Build a Bot Night
Limited Capacity filling up
Join us to build a fully functional robot,Vancouver. It will be a night of learning and networking.
Come and build a fully functional robot over drinks and snacks. No robotics experience required!
We will provide the kits and instruction. We'll end the evening with a friendly Battle Bot competition. Bring your adventurous spirit and find out what your potential career in robotics might look like!
Snacks and drinks will be served! 

Thursday September 27, 2018 6:00pm - 9:00pm PDT
Mobify
  Robotics & AI, Workshop
 
Friday, September 28
 

7:30am PDT

FN Peer Roundtable---Scaling Up!
Limited Capacity seats available
CEOS and Founders: Join us for breakfast and a jam session. A presentation will be provided on scaling up during the breakfast, but lots of time for connecting with new, fellow and interested FN Members.  Bring someone you think would gain or add value, but invite only. This is a practical session that shares the best insights from Silicon Valley on how you can become ten times bigger, better and faster---by adoption, best practices of exponential organizations, a singular universe, and scaling up.  
Agenda:
7:30 am— Networking, Coffee
8:00 am — Breakfast Served
8:30 am — Presentation on Scale
9:00 am — Members Only Roundtable
10:30 am — Close Event
Speakers
avatar for Dr. Alexandra Greenhill


Friday September 28, 2018 7:30am - 10:30am PDT
BC Tech Hub
  Business, Fireside Chat or Roundtable

8:00am PDT

How to Leverage Cultural Intelligence in Your Talent Search
Limited Capacity seats available
How can you use cultural intelligence (CQ) to build a diverse team and an inclusive workplace? Come join Ivana Lochhead and Ritva Nosov as they introduce you to what CQ is and examine what it looks like in our workplaces, specifically in the recruitment realm. If you are thinking about hiring global tech talent, or are already recruiting outside Canada, you will walk away from this session with a greater understanding of how cultural differences can play out in the recruitment process, and what you can do to exercise CQ when recruiting tech talent from abroad.
Speakers
avatar for Ivana Lochhead

Ivana Lochhead

VP of Growth, Global Skills Hub
Ivana Lochhead is a growth strategist with a data-driven and human-centered design approach to solving business challenges. As VP of Growth at Global Skills Hub, Ivana is commited to solving the tech talent shortage across Canada and building a more diverse tech community. Her greatest... Read More →
avatar for Ritva Nosov

Ritva Nosov

Ritva Nosov’s underlying career thread has been to be a bridge between people and their potential. She has had the privilege to collaborate with organizations both in Canada and globally, to set up conditions for their people to grow into their best selves, as individual contributors... Read More →


Friday September 28, 2018 8:00am - 9:30am PDT
The Profile (Thurlow) 535 Thurlow Street, Suite #100
  HR & Culture, Workshop

9:00am PDT

Practical Solutions to Employee Engagement
Limited Capacity filling up
Companies invest a lot of money to stay competitive and to take care of their employees at this fast pace world; they spend enormous amount of money on employee training and growth, but they are not getting an acceptable return on their investment. Through an interactive presentation, we will illuminate some of the gaps and mismatches in employee engagement to give you some insights into what drives and motivates us.



Speakers
avatar for Samin Saadat

Samin Saadat

Principal, Jalapeno
People’s brains, behaviour and interactions with their environment never fail to impress Samin.After spending long hours in psychology labs at UBC and studying at Sauder School of Business, she entered the workforce and observed a gap between what research suggests and what companies... Read More →


Friday September 28, 2018 9:00am - 11:00am PDT
Hervana Coworking Collective
  HR & Culture, Workshop

10:00am PDT

Women In Tech Journey: A Day in the Life in All Career Levels
Limited Capacity filling up
What's it like to enter the tech space as a new grad to leading an organization as the CEO? What are the challenges faced along the career path and how do we make each transition? What are key lessons that we can learn to support our journey as a women in the tech space?

In this 90 minute interactive session, we'll hear stories and real life experiences from a panel of women in tech from a new grad, mid-level career, Senior Leader all the way to the head of the company! We'll then get into smaller groups so you can get up close and personal with each panelist.

Moderated by Lorie Corcuera and Aileen de la Torre, Co-Founders of SPARK Creations & Company, we will hear the women in tech journeys from Rashika Raizada, Software Developer at 1QBit, Tate Gibson, Marketing Program Manager at Agreement Express, Heidi Martin, Director of Information Security at Clio, and Amiee Chan, President at Norsat International Inc.

Speakers
avatar for Amiee Chan

Amiee Chan

CEO and President, Norsat International Inc
Dr. Amiee Chan has over 15 years of experience in executive management and research and development in the telecommunications industry. Dr. Chan’s strategic vision has driven Norsat’s innovative product development program and resulted in consistent revenue growth since her appointment... Read More →
avatar for Lorie Corcuera

Lorie Corcuera

Co-Founder & CEO, SPARK Creations & Company Inc.
Lorie Corcuera is the Co-Founder and CEO at SPARK Creations & Company Inc., a training and development organization that inspires people and companies to create meaningful cultures and workplaces. Over the past 20 years, Lorie has cultivated her people and culture development... Read More →
avatar for Tate Gibson

Tate Gibson

Marketing Program Manager, Agreement Express
Tate Gibson is a Marketing Program Manager at Agreement Express, a FinTech company that provides customer on-boarding automation for financial services to achieve same-day applications, approvals, and revenue. Tate is also the Founder of the Vancouver Technology (VanTech) Marketing... Read More →
avatar for Heidi Martin

Heidi Martin

Director of Information Security, Clio
Heidi Martin is the Director of Information Security at Clio. She leads a team of software developers and engineers who work to keep ahead of the risks to Clio and match the pace of a fast growing, industry leading legal tech company.  She is focused on building a great team and... Read More →
avatar for Rashika Raizada

Rashika Raizada

Software Developer, 1QBit
Rashika Raizada recently started working as a software developer at 1QBit. She has a background in Electrical and Computer Engineering with a specialization in Biomedical and she is currently wrapping up her masters at the University of British Columbia. She is highly motivated by... Read More →
avatar for Aileen de la Torre

Aileen de la Torre

Co-Founder and CFO, SPARK Creations & Company Inc.
As the Co-Founder and CFO at SPARK Creations & Company Inc., Aileen simply shines! Upbeat, positive, and carefree, Aileen balances this with a desire for constant improvement and growth, personally, professionally, and for the people that are fortunate enough to come in contact with... Read More →


Friday September 28, 2018 10:00am - 12:00pm PDT
The Profile (Thurlow) 535 Thurlow Street, Suite #100
  Business, Panel Discussion

12:00pm PDT

Learn 10x Faster with Prototype Thinking
Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.
Learn how to build a product or service that fuels its own rapid awareness and adoption

The most important capability for your startup is the ability to learn:  Does your startup measure how effectively you learn? Prototype Thinking is an approach originally developed at Google X for categorically increasing the speed and volume of learning by 10x or more.  Using hundreds of rapid, low-cost prototype iterations and simulation-based experiments, Prototype Thinking teams ensure that they not only build a product right, but that they are building the right product. In this practical, hands-on workshop, participants will learn the method by applying it to a real idea or project, leaving with tangible immediate insights and a new toolkit going forward.
Speakers
avatar for Olivia Wong

Olivia Wong

Senior Partner, Prototype Thinking Labs
Olivia Wong is a Senior Partner at Prototype Thinking Labs, a unique agency that is reinventing product design & innovation to be as user-friendly to companies as we expect our own creations to be for consumers. Prototype Thinking Labs teaches teams to test 10x more ideas with 1/10th... Read More →


Friday September 28, 2018 12:00pm - 2:30pm PDT
Conscious Labs
  Business, Workshop

12:30pm PDT

Intro Tech Workshop for Non-Tech Founders
Limited Capacity filling up
Introductory interactive workshop on the technology business basics you need to know and that's right for your idea and/or business.

Anyone is welcome, but this would be best suited for a non-tech founder of a startup, solopreneur, or a small/medium-sized business owner. We encourage female founders especially to join as our goal is to empower more women with the necessary tech knowledge so that they can get ahead faster.

Note that this is NOT a coding bootcamp, as there is a lot more to building a tech business than just simple coding. Also this intro workshop will be more focused on tech startups and small businesses that are in the software space.

Details:
a) How to figure out the best tech strategy that's right for your specific idea and/or business.
b) What kind of tech talent do you need to get started or to grow.
c) High-level steps and popular tools in building out your technology.

Lunch will be provided. Limited Capacity

Speakers
avatar for Aliya Amershi

Aliya Amershi

CEO & Founder, AskaTechie.com
Aliya Amershi is currently the CEO and Founder of AskaTechie.com, a tech talent 2.0 marketplace that intelligently matches companies with vetted, top-tier technical talent best suited for their urgent business needs. AskaTechie will soon be rebranding to the Techie Concierge that... Read More →


Friday September 28, 2018 12:30pm - 2:30pm PDT
The Profile (Thurlow) 535 Thurlow Street, Suite #100
  Technology, Workshop

1:00pm PDT

How to Launch your Physical Product Development Startup
Limited Capacity filling up
No more "that was my idea, but..." moments.  Learn to bring your product ideas to life right now using these proven tools and techniques

Bring your physical product ideas to life trough proven Lean Startup methodologies and learn to bootstrap your product development startup with minimal seed capital This workshop is designed to assist you in succeeding through the “Seed” and “Early” Stages of launching your physical product startup and gaining enough traction to attract investors for the next funding stages if desired. This workshop will cover the following topics:
•    Product Ideation and Design through the Design Thinking Paradigm
•    Prototyping and rapid iteration during ideation
•    Intellectual Property, Private Labeling and IP Licensing
•    Launching a Startup, Company Structure/Legal/Finances
•    Manufacturing; Sourcing Domestic and/or International Manufacturers
•    Product Prototype and Sample analysis
•    Product Packaging and Design
•    Distribution (BtoB, BtoC, e-commerce, retail, retail vendor)
•    Amazon FBA Professional Seller and Amazon Optimization and Marketing Campaign Strategies
•    International and Domestic Shipping, Freight and Logistics Q and A
Speakers
avatar for Arash Sayed

Arash Sayed

CEO and Co-Founder, LuxeAvant Innovations
Arash Seyed, CEO and Co-founder of LuxeAvant Innovations shares the latest strategies, tools and techniques for launching a physical product development startup with minimal cost.   Arash Seyed has launched two product development startups and was recently featured on season 13 of... Read More →


Friday September 28, 2018 1:00pm - 2:30pm PDT
Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre Multimedia Room, 2nd Floor, 181 Roundhouse Mews , Vancouver
  Business, Workshop

2:00pm PDT

How to Think Like an Angel Investors + Meet our Entrepreneurs
Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.
Gain unique insights from an Angel Investor, then meet awesome entrepreneurs tackling problems that matter.

A backstage pass into one Angel Investor's approach, with our Entrepreneur-In-Residence, Tom Urban. Tom will share how he creates and manages an investment portfolio, and offer insights into decisions around making investments, including key criteria, performance tracking, and decisions around follow-on investments. Next meet our entrepreneurs, who they are, what are they up to. Entrepreneurs to be announced soon!
Speakers
avatar for Tom Urban

Tom Urban

CEO and Founder, Agribusiness Advisors
Tom Urban is a former early-stage CEO and is currently the founder of Agribusiness Advisors which manages a portfolio of 14 early stage investments. The portfolio includes investments in precision farming, insect protein and cannabis among others. The portfolio has been developed... Read More →


Friday September 28, 2018 2:00pm - 4:00pm PDT
UBC Robson Square
  Finance & Investment, Fireside Chat or Roundtable

2:00pm PDT

Growth For Start Ups - 10 Proven SEO Techniques
Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.
Come for the SEO learning, stay for the craft beer.  

Let’s build your web traffic without paying for ads. We’ll be chatting about how to use our top 10 ways to get traffic in 2018 for your company. There will also be a workshop portion where we discuss your websites and how to improve rankings immediately.
Speakers
avatar for Josh Loewen

Josh Loewen

Co-Founder, The Status Bureau
Josh is an SEO veteran and the co-founder of The Status Bureau. He pushes organic rankings for Vancouver based startups and organizations such as TELUS, London Drugs, Counterpath, and Vancouver Fringe. 


Friday September 28, 2018 2:00pm - 5:00pm PDT
The Status Bureau
  Marketing, Workshop

3:00pm PDT

#Relationships Are The True Currency: Discover Your Treasure Chest
Limited Capacity filling up
To sail a ship successfully you need a crew working together, in relationship, toward a greater purpose. This is the core principle of the WiT Regatta. Learn how cultivating and tending to your relationships keeps your ship on course and offers you safe harbor in a storm.
Speakers
avatar for Melody Biringer

Melody Biringer

Founder and Producer, WiT Regatta & The Crave Company
As a connection engineer, Melody is a master of designing alliances. She believes that relationships are most important in our lives and that unlikely mashups create new perspectives and opportunities. She has built an international ecosystem of sisterhood. The founder and producer... Read More →
avatar for Traci Long DeForge

Traci Long DeForge

Founder, Produce your Podcast
avatar for Stephanie Redivo

Stephanie Redivo

Sr. Global Diversity and Inclusion Program Manager, SAP
avatar for Eric Termuende

Eric Termuende

Co-Founder, NoW Innovations
avatar for Zeynep Tuck

Zeynep Tuck

Producer, MSN at Microsoft


Friday September 28, 2018 3:00pm - 4:30pm PDT
The Profile (Thurlow) 535 Thurlow Street, Suite #100
  Networking & Relationship Building, Panel Discussion

3:00pm PDT

DIY Startup Dashboard: Gather Your KPIs
Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.
Tracking the right metrics is critical for any company, but for SaaS startups in particular there is an enormous amount of data that you can use to measure success and drive important decisions. In this workshop you will learn what kind of things you should be measuring in your startup, how to make data-driven decisions about your product or service, and some of the tools that can be used. This will be a hands-on workshop for technical and non-technical founders alike. Please be sure to bring a fully charged laptop in order to get the most out of it.  
Speakers
avatar for Nick Oostveen

Nick Oostveen

President, Gravit-e Technologies
Nick is the President of Gravit-e Technologies, a custom software firm located in Vancouver, BC that provides software development and consulting services for startups and other rapidly growing organizations. In his role at Gravit-e Nick has worked with more than 20 technology startups... Read More →


Friday September 28, 2018 3:00pm - 5:00pm PDT
Tamwood Careers #200 - 889 West Pender Street, Vancouver
  UX/UI, Workshop

4:00pm PDT

Marketing for Startups - The Art and Science of Multi-channel Online Advertising for Startups
Limited Capacity full
Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.
If you have a business idea or want to improve, your online advertising results don't miss this unique opportunity to learn from a specialist in Multi-channel Online Advertising for Startups how to grow your business and increase marketing results.  

This is a 2 hours workshop focused on Marketing for Startups - Many new businesses fail to launch – or launch but fail to commercialize and scale – because an entrepreneurial mindset is not a skill that is understood by every founder that starts a new venture. Successful entrepreneurs must recognize how to test, break, refine, and retest a business idea to ensure customer fit and the appropriate market size. They must know how to lead and build an effective team and how to keep enough cash in the bank to keep the lights on until there is traction and self-generated funding from their own revenue.

The Global Startup School at Tamwood Careers is challenging the status quo. This new program has set out to redefine how entrepreneurship is taught in Canada with a goal of cultivating the next generation of business leaders. It's a unique program bridging the gap between traditional business school and accelerators. By creating an environment where students can take risks and fail, we can develop better prepared entrepreneurs that understand the journey involved to create a successful venture.
Speakers
avatar for Mark Huvenaars

Mark Huvenaars

Mark Huvenaars - Mark’s expertise lies in developing an integrated brand experience for healthcare, financial services and retail consumers in digital environments. With an MBA from Sauder School of Business, he possesses a broad foundation in business strategy and analysis. Mark... Read More →


Friday September 28, 2018 4:00pm - 6:00pm PDT
Tamwood Careers #200 - 889 West Pender Street, Vancouver
  Marketing, Workshop

5:00pm PDT

Spaces Gastown Launch & #VSW2018 Wrap Up Party | 19+ only
Limited Capacity seats available
Come celebrate the end of an amazing 7 days full of events and join us in connecting with Vancouver’s thriving hub and creative community at the Launch of Gastown's newest co-working space. Spaces promises to stir up innovation, creativity and inspiration. Be the first to explore this communal space, designed to nurture the entrepreneurial spirit. Experience local culinary delights, live art and amazing music!

Wondering what the party will be like? Take a look at Spaces launch party in Toronto!

This party is still first come, first serve! So bring your VSW badge and arrive early!

Friday September 28, 2018 5:00pm - 9:00pm PDT
Spaces (Gastown)
  Networking & Relationship Building, Networking / Party

6:30pm PDT

Startup Weekend Vancouver | SEPARATE TICKET REQUIRED
Limited Capacity seats available
Build an amazing startup in Vancouver, all over the course of one weekend.Techstars Startup Weekend is a 54 hour event that brings together Vancouver designers, developers, entrepreneurs, and experts from all domains to do amazing things.

All Techstars Startup Weekend events follow the same basic model:
- Anyone is welcome to pitch their startup idea and receive feedback from their peers.
- Teams form around the top ideas (as determined by popular vote) and embark on a three-day frenzy of business model creation, coding, designing, and market validation.
- The weekend culminates with presentations in front of local entrepreneurial leaders with another opportunity for critical feedback!

If you want to put yourself in the shoes of an entrepreneur and contribute to a more sustainable world, be part of Techstars Startup Weekend Vancouver. View upcoming events.

Early Bird Tickets are on sale at $85
Once Early Bird Tickets are sold Tickets are at $125

Startup Weekend Website https://re.tc/swvan2018 
#SWVan2018



Friday September 28, 2018 6:30pm - Sunday September 30, 2018 6:00pm PDT
Launch Academy
  Business, Hackathon

10:00pm PDT

#VSW2018 After Party | 19+ only
Limited Capacity filling up
Must be 19+ to attend. No cover for VSW pass holders until 11PM.
Friday September 28, 2018 10:00pm - Saturday September 29, 2018 3:00am PDT
Venue Nightclub
  Networking & Relationship Building, Networking / Party
 
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