We're thrilled to announce that Entrevestor Live -- the only conference dedicated exclusively to Atlantic Canada's greatest startup successes -- will return for a fourth year this autumn, packing a superb program of speakers into a single afternoon.
The half-day conference, which will be hosted by startup specialist Permjot Valia, will take place Sept. 17 at Volta in Halifax.
Entrevestor Live showcases the best and the brightest in the Atlantic Canadian startup and innovation community. This half-day event highlights the startups that have significant global sales and demonstrates how entrepreneurs can grow market-leading companies within the East Coast ecosystem. It presents the best of the best of the East Coast startup community and destroys the misimpression that Atlantic Canada has only early-stage startups.
As well as spotlight sessions with Dash Hudson of Halifax and Eigen Innovations of Fredericton, we'll feature Halifax-based XPRIZE finalists and take a look at the city's battery technology ecosystem. We'll hear from the founder of Communitech, and an Atlantic Canadian entrepreneur who launched, led and exited a San Francisco biotech company.
We're proud of the quality of program we staged in the first three years of Entrevestor Live, but 2024 may be our strongest year yet.
We're still filling in a few slots, but we have the main elements nailed down. The event will begin with a light lunch, to be followed by this program:
Chair and Host: Permjot Valia
Valia will bring both an international perspective and intimate knowledge of Atlantic Canada to the role of hosting Entrevestor Live. As well as being a Co-Founder of Dartmouth-based Nava Develop and the Founder of MentorCamp, he is a Co-Founder of Flight & Partners, an FCA-authorised fund manager based in London. An investor in more than 60 startups, he is a lively and insightful speaker.
Session 1
Atlantic Canadian XPRIZE Finalists
XPRIZEs are a global phenomenon, inspiring innovators to develop the most exciting technology in the world to address some of the planet’s most critical problems. Breakthrough Energy Fellow Jennifer Wagner, who oversaw CarbonCure’s successful NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE bid in 2021, will moderate a discussion with Marc St-Onge of Smallfood, and Mike Kelland of Planetary Technologies. Smallfood is a co-finalist in the $15 billion Feed the Next Billion XPRIZE while Planetary is a finalist in the $100 million Carbon Removal XPRIZE, having already won a US$1 million milestone award in the competition. These three executives bring a wealth of knowledge about reaching the top of the world’s biggest innovation competition.
Session 2
A Fireside Chat with Rachael Craig
Rachael Craig once worked out of the original Volta location while being employed by Brilliant Labs. She now returns to detail how she has gone from a desk at Volta to leading and exiting a Silicon Valley biotech company. Craig was a Co-Founder and CEO of San Francisco-based MotionHall, which developed software that provided data to help biotech companies accelerate deals in drug discovery. Recently, London-based information provider Clarivate Plc bought the assets of MotionHall for an undisclosed sum. Find out how one Nova Scotian went from a desk at Volta to a Silicon Valley exit within a decade.
Session 3
Spotlight on Eigen Innovations
Headquartered in Fredericton, Eigen uses AI to help machines manage large amounts of data and identity the causes of quality control issues at factories via machine vision. A member of Intel’s Partner Alliance Program, Eigen’s machine vision technology now processes about 600 million images daily for a range of global clients. CEO Erin Barrett will detail this company’s success in working with some of the world’s largest manufacturers.
Session 4
Novonix and the Battery Ecosystem
Moderator: Louise-Anne Comeau, VP New Energy Markets and Innovation, Emera
Sponsored by Emera
Halifax is becoming a major hub for battery innovation, led by Novonix Battery Technology Solutions, which is a global leader in battery-testing equipment and R&D services. Startups play a key role in this cluster, both in the development of next-generation batteries and the software that will optimize their use. This session will feature Novonix Founder and CEO Chris Burns and Andrew Boswell, Co-Founder and CEO of BlueGrid, which helps electric-powered boats become storage centres for electricity grids.
Session 5
Spotlight on Dash Hudson
Moderator: J.P. Furey, Partner at Grant Thornton
Sponsored by Grant Thornton
Dash Hudson is a social media management platform that equips brands with intelligence and speed to stay ahead of the curve. With blue-chip clients like United Airlines and Harrod’s, it helps companies of all sizes optimize the ROI on their media spend. CEO Thomas Rankin and Vice-President of Operations Jill Hennigar will discuss the company’s meteoric rise to becoming one of the world’s leading social media management companies.
Session 6
A Fireside Chat with Iain Klugman
Iain Klugman founded and led Canada’s premiere startup hub. From 2004 to 2021, he was the CEO of Communitech, the central startup hub in Kitchener-Waterloo. Having served as a board member and/or advisor to such groups as Volta and ACOA, he is intimately familiar with the East Coast startup community. Now the CEO of the NorthGuide consultancy, his decisive opinions always sow the seeds of lively discussion.
In-person tickets cost $80, and we're offering an early-bird discount until June 30 so you pay only $70.The conference will be livestreamed online and virtual tickets cost $65. Order yours today.
