UserEvents Deal Boosts Mentors, NBIF

Maybe it’s a good thing we didn’t learn how much the shareholders pocketed when UserEvents Inc. of Fredericton was bought this week.

It would be nice to know how much Redwood City, Calif.-based LiveOps Inc. paid in the acquisition announced Monday. But without a number, we’re forced to examine the deal’s other aspects, and realize it will help to build stronger institutions, mentors and links with global tech companies.

LiveOps, which offers cloud-based products to improve customer service and call centres, would only say it paid an undisclosed amount for UserEvents.

It’s a natural

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Thank You for Supporting the Survey

We’re overwhelmed by the response we’re getting when we notify people about the Entrevestor Survey, which we will send out to about 300 Atlantic Canadian startups one week from today – Thursday, February 6.

What’s really heartening is the response from entrepreneurs – the people who are being asked to fill out the form, which is just over two pages long. When I tweeted about it last week, I tried to thank the people who were retweeting it. But there were simply too many of them.

This week, I’ve been contacting everyone on the list to let them know the survey is coming. (We’ll finish

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LeadSift, RtTech, TitanFile: New Deals

Three of the region’s leading ITC companies – LeadSift, RtTech and TitanFile – announced partnerships with blue chip international corporations on Tuesday, which will help develop their sales around the world.

Moncton-based RtTech, whose products use large companies’ operational data to make the manufacturing processes more efficient, has teamed up with Emerson, the St. Louis-based engineering team whose sales hit $25 billion last year. LeadSift of Halifax has announced a partnership with Publicis Modem, a global digital agency network that operates in more than 40 countries and has more

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Thompson: ‘Our Vision Was Aligned’

Aside from the financial considerations, the founders of Fredericton-based UserEvents decided to sell out to LiveOps, Inc. this week because they discovered an alignment of ambition and vision for the two companies.

UserEvents, a Fredericton startup whose technology alerts corporations when customers are having trouble with online transactions, announced Tuesday that it would be bought for an undisclosed sum by the Redwood City, Calif.-based provider of cloud contact center and customer service solutions. Though financial details were not released, LiveOps did say earlier the move comes

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I-3 Shows Spread of Tech Boom

There’s been a subtle change on the podium of Innovacorp’s I-3 competition, and it’s a change for the better.

The provincial innovation agency released on Monday the regional winners and runners-up of the biennial competition, which aims to find the top new knowledge-based companies in the province. And what leaps out is that the winning company in each of the five zones is more steeped in proprietary technology than in previous years and is farther down the entrepreneurial path than past winners.

What’s significant is that the benefits of the innovation boom are spreading throughout

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UserEvents Sells Out to LiveOps

UserEvents, a Fredericton startup whose technology alerts corporations when customers are having trouble with online transactions, has sold out to LiveOps, Inc., a global leader in cloud contact center and customer service solutions.

The Redwood City, Calif., buyer released a statement this morning announcing the deal, though it did not release the price. The company did say the move comes after it completed a US$30 million debt financing – or C$33.3 million at the current exchange rates.

This marks the second exit for CEO and Co-Founder Jeff Thompson, who five years ago sold his

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Rolling Out Presenter’s Podium

Matthew Fanning reveals his background in sales as he begins to tell the story of Presenter’s Podium, the eLearing platform he has developed and is beginning to sell to universities in the region.

The former medical device salesman delivers a compelling pitch for his product, which grew out of his time taking a Bachelor of Commerce at St. Mary’s University’s Sobey School of Business. At the time, he noticed that professors had problems teaching oral communications skills – one of the key talents demanded by employers. With large class sizes, profs can’t listen to presentations from every

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Fighting Illiteracy Is in her Genes

Eradicating illiteracy is a lofty goal, some might say an unrealistic one, but for Joelle MacPhee the fight against illiteracy is a family tradition, a business, and a battle she intends to win.

MacPhee, 25, is director of reading partnerships at Charlottetown-based Ooka Island, a company that develops software that teaches children ages three to seven to read. Ooka was conceptualized by

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NSBI Sells DHX Stake for $8.4M

Nova Scotia Business Inc. on Thursday said it has sold its shares in Halifax-based DHX Media Ltd., almost tripling its money in less than nine years.

Founded by Michael Donovan, a long-time film exec who won an Academy Award for his work on Bowling for Columbine, DHX is involved in the creation, production and licensing of family entertainment rights.  The company owns, markets, and distributes 9,500 half hours of children's entertainment content, and exploits owned properties through its consumer products licensing business.  Its brands include Yo Gabba Gabba!, Caillou, Teletubbies, and

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Thoughts on Deloitte’s TMT Predictions

The presentation this week of Deloitte Canada’s tech outlook indicated there are some interesting opportunities for Atlantic Canadian startups, and showed where the region has to improve its ecosystem.

The findings of the 13th annual Canadian TMT Predictions (TMT stands for technology, media and telecommunications) have been well reported elsewhere, so I’d like to just delve into a couple of things that came out of the presentation in Halifax on Tuesday by Duncan Stewart, director of research at Deloitte Canada.

Stewart made stops in Saint John and Halifax this week to discuss the

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