The New Brunswick Innovation Foundation has issued the following press release:

NBIF'S TOP RANKING SHOWS NEW BRUNSWICK AS HOTBED FOR INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

FREDERICTON, NB, February 5, 2015 – After a record year of investing in startups, the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation (NBIF) was ranked the third most active venture capital fund in its category by the Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (CVCA) in their 2014 report on investment in Canada.

"One of the major challenges of venture capital investing is having enough viable startups to invest in, or what

Brightspark Ventures, a Toronto-based organization that funds startups, is expanding its network into Atlantic Canada and will launch its collaboration in the region with an investment in Halifax-based social media martketing company InNetwork.

The Toronto investment organization said Wednesday it is working with East Valley Ventures, the Saint John-based network of startup investors and mentors, to help it expand into the region.  It’s a reunion of sorts as Brightspark and the founders of East Valley were all investors in Radian6, the Fredericton social media analysis company that sold

Dan Martell, one of the most accomplished tech entrepreneurs in Atlantic Canada, has sold his latest company Clarity to equity crowdfunding company Fundable to become one of the platforms in its new startup launch platform, startups.co.

Moncton-based Clarity, which connects entrepreneurs and others with a network of mentors around the world, did not reveal the terms of the deal.

Clarity and Columbus, Ohio-based Fundable announced the deal in a joint press release, which also unveiled the creation of startups.com as a new launch platform for startups. The other components of startups.co

Dan Martell has sold Moncton-based entrepreneurial advice platform Clarity to the business-funding site Fundable of Columbus, OH., for an undisclosed price.

Clarity, which connects entrepreneurs and others with a network of mentors around the world, will now become part of Fundable’s new startups.co launch platform for startups. The other components of startups.co are Launchrock.com , Bizplan.com , and KillerStartups.com.

We’re now getting information on the deal, but here is the press release from Clarity:

Clarity.fm Acquired By Fundable, Joins Global Launch Platform Startups.co

Celtx Inc. of St. John’s, has raised $3.3 million in a funding round led by Build Ventures, and plans to use the capital to accelerate the already-stellar growth of its pre-production software for the film and video industries.

Led by CEO Mark Kennedy, Celtx has been a pioneer in producing a range of software for film writers, designers, producers and others involved in “scripted media,” like

Talking to a few of the teams entered in the Breakthru competition in New Brunswick, it was easy to understand the effect these contests have on the early development of companies.

There are now two big startup competitions in the region that take place on alternating years – Breakthru, organized by the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation, and the I-3 Technology Startup Competition, organized by Innovacorp in Nova Scotia.

Breakthru will climax March 19 with announcement of three winners that will divide $750,000 in prizes. I-3 wrapped up ab out a year ago when seven companies shared a

It started with a brief email enquiry to Startup Canada in which John Hamblin asked about the process of creating a Startup Halifax.

Hamblin had been startled to learn that Halifax’s thriving startup community didn’t have its own chapter of the influential national organization.

Now, just a few months later, the retiree is surprised to find himself leading one from his home.

Hamblin

Venture for Canada, the non-profit that connects top Canadian university grads with Canadian startups requiring talent, has announced that it has now forged partnerships with 70 startups.

The group also calls on grads to apply before its final Fellow application deadline of March 1 this year. Selected Fellows will become members of a cohort that includes Next 36 alumni, a former Apple engineer, and a Top 20 Under 20 recipient.

Based on the highly successful Venture for America, which has been matching American grads with U.S. startups since 2011, Venture for Canada is establishing a

Members of the P.E.I. startup and business community will gather on Wednesday, Feb. 4, to discuss ways to encourage more investment in the province’s startups.

The Island Advance: Capital Formation Luncheon will take place at Dunes Room of the Holman Grand Hotel starting at 11 a.m. The tickets are $20 and available here.

The luncheon, presented by the Greater Charlottetown Chamber of Commerce, follows the format of the Entrevestor-Entrepreneurs’ Forum Luncheons and Dinners already held in Fredericton, Halifax and St. John’s.

Following the Entrevestor presentation on the metrics of the

Killick Aerospace Group, a Texas company controlled by Killick Capital of St. John’s, closed the sale Wednesday of four aviation repair businesses that could gross the company about US$229 million (C$286 million).

Killick said on New Year’s Eve that Alexandria, Va.-based transport support company VSE Corp. would buy four companies help by Carrollton, Texas-based Killick Aerospace: Prime Turbines, CT Aerospace, Kansas Aviation and Air Parts & Supply. Killick Aerospace in recent years had undergone a range of bolt-on acquisitions, and greatly increased the revenues of the acquired