Archive | June, 2009

Lead to Win Reception

June 17, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

Lead to Win held a reception on Monday evening for participants and supporters.   Special guests included the Mayor of Gatineau and the acting Mayor of Ottawa.  Both expressed their support for the Lead to Win program and new businesses the participants are hoping to launch.

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Mayor of Gatineau, Marc Bureau

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Acting Mayor of Ottawa, Michel Bellemare

Participants at the reception commented on the strong and growing support from the community for the Lead to Win program.

Past Lead to Win Alumnus David Vicary, CEO of Weyes Eyes and past CEO and founder of Nakina Systems announced that he had secured seed funding for Weyes Eyes, his second start-up venture.  For more on this, please read the related Ottawa Business Journal article.

David Vicary, CEO Weyes Eyes

David Vicary, CEO Weyes Eyes

Photos from the event are available online.

The reception was hosted by Développement économique – CLD Gatineau (DE – CLDG).

Best practices, Business, business incubators, Canada, Commercialization, Computing, Creative Class, Economy, Ecosystems, Entreprenuerism, General Interest, Government, Government Policy, Innovation, Innovation Hub, Jobs, Microbusiness, Ontario, Opportunities, Ottawa, Ottawa Start-ups, Regional Economic Development, Talent First Network, Technology, Trends, Unemployment, Universities
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BDC Gas Tank is Filled Up!

June 17, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

Industry Canada announced on Monday that they will be providing additional funding for BDC.

The funding allocation includes $350M for BDC‘s venture capital activities that will allow it to make additional direct investments of $260 million over three years in Canadian businesses already in the BDC portfolio, as well as investments in new seed technology companies and later-stage technology companies. It will also allow BDC to commit $90 million over three years to private, independent Canadian venture capital funds.

This funding is in addition to the $75 million in venture capital funds allocated in the Government of Canada’s Budget 2008, which is being used to support the creation of a privately run venture capital fund.

This is great news!  BDC has been, and continues to be a key player in helping grow Canada’s innovation, economic growth and economic diversity.

Best practices, Business, Canada, Canadian Politics, Creative Class, Economy, Ecosystems, Entreprenuerism, General Interest, Government, Government Policy, Innovation, Jobs, Local Start-ups, Microbusiness, OCRI, Ontario, Opportunities, Ottawa, Ottawa Start-ups, Regional Economic Development, Technology, Trends, Unemployment, Venture Capital
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Robert Half Technology IT Jobs Outlook Released

June 16, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

Robert Half Technology issued data on IT jobs outlook this week, key findings from their survey:

Technology executives attribute staff reductions largely to reduced IT budgets and company wide layoffs

    Employers cite rising workloads as the primary reason to add IT personnel

    CIOs in the finance sector are most optimistic about hiring

    Project management is the job area experiencing the most growth

      Five per cent of chief information officers (CIOs) expect to hire full-time employees in the next three months, while 11 per cent anticipate personnel reductions. The majority of respondents, 80 per cent, plan to maintain current staffing levels.

      Best practices, Business, Canada, Computing, Economy, General Interest, Information Technology, Jobs, Regional Economic Development, Technology, Trends, Unemployment
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      Fewer People Dying?

      June 8, 2009 by Brian Hurley 1 Comment

      According to the Globe and Mail today - the funeral industry is in decline due to a decline in the death rate.

      Business, Canada, depression 2.0, Economy, General Interest, Jobs, Trends, Unemployment, United States, US
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      INTERESTED IN LAUNCHING A NEW TECH BUSINESS? LEAD TO WIN WANTS TO HELP YOU!

      June 7, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

      Here is a recent call for participants from Dr Tony Bailetti for the 3rd session of the Lead to Win program which starts on July 28th – please spread the word!

      INTERESTED IN LAUNCHING A  NEW TECH BUSINESS?  LEAD TO WIN WANTS TO HELP YOU!

      If you are serious about starting a profitable technology business in Canada’s Capital region, we invite you to apply to the next session of the Lead to Win program.

      The Lead to Win program is free to qualified applicants – no strings attached, no small print, no surprises.  Individuals from 37 organizations are investing to make Lead to Win participants successful for the benefit of the individual and our community.

      Details on the program, including past success and testimonials from participants are available at www.leadtowin.ca.    If you need additional information over what is at www.leadtowin.ca, please contact:

      Spaces in the Lead to Win program are limited – so prospective participants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.

      Application instructions are available online at www.leadtowin.ca.

      If you know of  others who may benefit from Lead to Win, please forward this email to them – help get the word out!

      Regards.

      Tony Bailetti
      Lead to Win Program

      Business, business incubators, Canada, Commercialization, Creative Class, depression 2.0, Economy, Ecosystems, Entreprenuerism, General Interest, Government, Government Policy, Information Technology, Innovation, Innovation Hub, Jobs, Local Start-ups, Microbusiness, OCRI, Ontario, Opportunities, Ottawa, Ottawa Start-ups, Regional Economic Development, Talent First Network, Technology, The Code Factory, Trends, Unemployment, Universities, Venture Capital, Web 2.0
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      New Study on Cancer and Cellphones

      June 7, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

      A new study on cancer and cellphones is underway with final results expected to be published this year -

      Interphone researchers are pooling and analyzing the results gathered from studies on 6,400 tumors sampled from patients in 13 countries. If the final results mirror the preliminary ones, the world’s three billion cellphone users might want to dial back their talk time. Israeli researchers participating in Interphone found that people who use cellphones regularly are 50 percent more likely than non-users to develop brain tumors. And a joint Interphone analysis from the U.K., Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland reported a 40 percent increase in tumor risk in people who use cellphones for more than a decade; the study found no discernable risk for people who have used cellphones for fewer than 10 years.

      General Interest, Technology, Trends
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      Nortel Collapse and Kanata Future

      June 5, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

      “Nortel’s collapse could spell the doom for the industry and trigger an exodus of high-tech companies from north Kanata.”

      Business, Canada, Economy, General Interest, Government, Government Policy, Innovation, Innovation Hub, Jobs, Local Start-ups, Nortel, Ontario, Ottawa, Ottawa Start-ups, Regional Economic Development, Trends, Unemployment
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      US and Canada Job Losses Continue – May Numbers

      June 5, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

      Latest unemployment numbers today:

      Other interesting lists:

      Business, Canada, Canadian Politics, depression 2.0, Economy, Europe, General Interest, Government, Jobs, Ontario, Regional Economic Development, Trends, Unemployment, United States, US, US Politics
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      Canadian Small Businesses Outlook Improving

      June 3, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

      Survey results from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business showed some improving outlooks among small business owners polled:

      • 38% considered the condition of their business to be “good”, 18% “bad”, and 44% “satisfactory
      • 18% of businesses were planning to add staff
      • 16% of businesses were planning to reduce staff
      • Top five business cost concerns: tax, regulatory costs; fuel, energy costs, wage costs; bank account and processing fees; and insurance costs.
      • Top three business constraints: insufficient domestic demand; shortage of working capital; and shortage of skilled labor
      • Business Barometer index rose to 60.4% (well below historical norms, but up since last survey)

      Business, Canada, General Interest, Government, Government Policy, Jobs, Ontario, Ottawa, Regional Economic Development, Trends, Unemployment
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      Broadband Infrastructure Projects for Economic Development

      June 3, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

      A recent report from OECD advocates government policy makers deploy stimulus funds and investment into broadband infrastructure -

      Broadband infrastructure, in particular, can be a good target for economic stimulus spending because  many projects can be initiated relatively quickly, are labour-intensive, can minimise economic leakages, and may promise stronger marginal impacts on supply and productivity than investing in established networks such as electricity, gas, water and transportation.

      The full report is available here and in interesting to read.   A wealth of related data on broadband deployments current as of December 2008 (including pricing, policies, penetration, etc) is available from OECD in detailed excel spreadsheets here.

      My sense is that Canada’s economy would certainly benefit more from advancing communications infrastructure projects than it would by having another government building or public works project.

      Best practices, Canada, Canadian Politics, depression 2.0, Economy, General Interest, Government, Government Policy, Information Technology, Innovation, Innovation Hub, Jobs, Ontario, Opportunities, Ottawa, Regional Economic Development, Trends, Unemployment
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