Innovation Week kicked off in St. John’s yesterday with a blue chip panel dispensing advice and five young companies presenting their products at DemoCamp.

As is usually the case with startup events in St. John’s, Innovation Week is supported by a groundswell of support from the grassroots. StartupNL, which began in 2012, now has almost 250 members and many of them packed the Common Grounds co-working space for the first two events.

The first Innovation Week in St. John’s is featuring a series of events, including some aligned with established institutions like the Newfoundland and

Chad Munro’s demeanour had radically changed in 10 months — all of it for the better.

When we met for breakfast late last month, the CEO of Halifax Biomedical Inc. was buoyant and optimistic about the prospects for his medical device manufacturing business. He’s pleased with the Mabou-based company’s recent sales and regulatory approvals. He’s altering the structure of his business. He’s

We’re getting ready to close submissions for the Atlantic Canada Startup Directory, but we want to give everyone one last chance to get their submission in.

Below is a list of the companies and organizations that have sent in their information. I’ve assigned each to a particular sector, as this is how the names will appear in the directory. If your name is missing even though you’ve made a submission, or if you think you belong in a different segments, then CALMLY email me at peter@entrevestor and tell me.

I’ll take submissions until 9 am on Friday, but after that it is too late. You

GetGifted, the Charlottetown startup that helps merchants to attract customers, closed a $400,000 tranche of equity financing on Thursday, which it hopes will be the first close in a round totaling $1 million.

The company plans to use the angel financing to help build out its sales team throughout Atlantic Canada, especially in Halifax, and to launch GetGifted in Toronto and Boston later in the year.

“We’ve got 10 investors and eight of them are from Atlantic Canada, with two from Toronto,” said Founder and CEO Gillian McCrae in an interview Friday. “We’re at the $400,000 mark and we’re

Ellen Farrell was known for teaching and researching entrepreneurship at Halifax’s Saint Mary’s University long before it was fashionable. But the associate professor in management can still be thrilled and surprised: Her nomination for a brand new mentorship award has touched her, and the information being revealed by a unique study of the provincial government’s venture capital activities is

Our survey analysis and Bonfire Communications’ tremendous infographic attracted a lot of attention yesterday. So I thought I’d pass on some of it.

We reported yesterday that our survey and research had shown that the startup craze in Atlantic Canada created 3,000 direct jobs, and that the companies’ staff levels were rising by more than 40 percent annually.

The National Post today published a great story on the survey by Quentin Casey, and the Chronicle-Herald devoted the full front of its business section yesterday to the survey. I really liked the headline the Herald editors placed

Startups are becoming a force in the Atlantic Canadian economy, creating about 3,000 direct jobs and increasing employment by about 40 per cent annually.

Those are the main findings of a survey of Atlantic Canadian startups — defined as locally owned companies commercializing propriety technology for the global market — conducted in January and February by Entrevestor. The results are

As part of the Entrevestor Intelligence report launched today, we were truly fortunate to work with Bonfire Communications of Saint John on this tremendous infographic.

Artist Lise Hansen was given the task of converting data on the Atlantic Canadian startup community into a striking visual display, and she  more than rose to the challenge. Her design shows the growth of the startup segment

I’d like to thank all of you who tweeted or emailed you congratulations on being recognized by Startup Canada on Wednesday. And I’d like to send out my congratulations to the other winners – just to be named with these people is great honour.

Yesterday, Startup Canada announced the regional winners of the Startup Canada Awards, and I was truly flattered to receive the nod as Media Person of the Year in the Atlantic Region. I don’t know who nominated me, but I owe thanks and a beer to whoever it is.

I have not responded to all the tweets but let me use this e-podium to say thanks to all

We’re less than a week away from the start of Innovation Week in St. John’s, and I’m really excited to be joining and participating in the events in Newfoundland and Labrador. I’m even hosting one.

StartupNL, which is organizing the city’s first innovation week, announced yesterday that I will host a seminar on Tuesday on messaging and communications for startups. I believe the ability to communicate is part of the founder’s skill set that is too often overlooked, and I hope to help people improve their messaging.

The week of events begins Monday with a fireside chat at Common Ground at