Donovan Named Entrepreneur of Year

Michael Donovan, Executive Chairman of film and television company DHX Media Ltd., has won this year's Entrepreneur Of The Year Atlantic, presented by global consultancy EY at a ceremony in St. John’s on Thursday.

Donovan has been a pioneer in Canadian film and television for more than 30 years, founding Halifax-based Salter Street Films and winning an Academy Award for Bowling for Columbine.

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Startup Canada in NS Wednesday

Startup Canada on Wednesday will host a pair of events in Halifax, kicking off its cross-country Every Entrepreneur tour.

The Every Entrepreneur event begins tomorrow morning at 9 am at the McInnes Room at Dalhousie University’s Student Union Building. It will continue through the day, and the regional Startup Canada awards will be presented tomorrow evening.

The national tour, according to the Startup Canada website, is designed “to provide on-site inspiration, mentorship, training and new opportunities to thousands of Canadian entrepreneurs as they start and grow their companies.”

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Howe Wins by Losing Bet to Martell

In the hope of making his sales targets a reality, young entrepreneur David Howe accepted a bet from his mentor, Dan Martell. Howe lost but furthered his career in ways he couldn’t have imagined.

Howe met Martell, a serial entrepreneur and angel investor he has long admired, early last year when Martell tweeted that he was in Halifax and looking for entrepreneurs to have lunch with.

“I

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Dal’s Collider Opens its Doors

Dalhousie University’s Norman Newman Centre for Entrepreneurship on Thursday launched the Collider, a space on the second floor of the Killam Library to promote entrepreneurship within the university and the entrepreneur community.

The Collider is branded as a “space for the serendipitous collision of ideas.” Though not officially called the Collider until Thursday, the room has been used

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Laforge Builds Farm of the Future

You could say Rock Laforge operates the dairy farm of the future, and that’s why he received the 2015 New Brunswick Bioscience Achievement Award from BioNB.

A fourth-generation farmer from Saint-Andre (50 kilometres southeast of Edmundston), Laforge heads Laforge Bioenvironmental, which powers his farm by burning the gas produced by waste products. The residue is then used as fertilizer. The

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Second ProductCamp Set for Oct. 24

ProductCamp Atlantic, the one-day networking and mentoring session for product managers, will return for a second year on Saturday, Oct. 24.

ProductCamp is a loosely organized get-together in which product managers, marketing professionals and people interested in product management can meet up, find areas of common interest and mentor one another on best practices.

ProductCamp Atlantic

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Ruffolo Sees Startup Group In Months

John Ruffolo is leading an active drive to start an association for growth-stage startups in Canada and expects the body will be up and running in a few months.

After floating the idea online recently, the CEO of OMERS Ventures has identified a core of about 12 companies committed to funding and organizing such an association. He hopes to attract about eight more backers to launch the group

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An Irish View of St. John’s Startups

When you work around startups, you sometimes get the chance to go to an event in a far-flung city. So when Roger Power of Startup Newfoundland and Labrador invited me to be a pitch mentor at a Startup Weekend in St. John’s in June, I decided that it would be hard to stop me and that I’d take a few weeks to check the place out.

St. John’s is the eastern-most point of North America. In fact,

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CollegeMix Gains its First 500 Users

CollegeMix has gained 500 users for its app to connect students after launching on Sept. 6 during the University of New Brunswick’s orientation week.

Fredericton-based CollegeMix aims to act as a virtual bulletin board for university and college campuses. There are five categories for students to post and peruse on the mobile app: Vent, Spotted, Overheard, Meetup, and Ask. . The app gives

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Selectbidder Lands First US Client

Moncton automotive technology company Selectbidder last week secured its first customer in the United States, Space Coast Auto Auction of Melbourne, Fla., after recently launching its new platform.

The company said getting its latest auction partner is validation for its new business model.

Selectbidder is a web and mobile app that helps accelerate and simplify the process of auctioning off

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