A Halifax businessman I respect recently told me there was no way the Nova Scotia government would ever extend equity tax credits (or a reasonable facsimile) to people living outside the province. It was a non-starter, he said, because the government doesn’t send cheques to non-residents.

I told him that Nova Scotia—indeed, all of the Atlantic provinces—should consider it. In fact, it’s happening in at least one U.S. state. Although I lost the argument with the businessman, I’m pigheaded enough to look deeper and discovered that Minnesota has a remarkable Angel Tax Credit program, and you

Invest New Brunswick’s decision to contribute $3.8 million in payroll rebates to Radian6 created minor rumblings in the tweetosphere yesterday as tweeters debated the wisdom of government aid to businesses.

First the facts:  Economic Development Minister Paul Robichaud announced Wednesday the government would provide up to $12,000 per job in rebates to help the social media monitoring company expand its workforce in Fredericton and Saint John. Radian6, which was purchased by San Francisco-based Salesforce.com for about $370 million last year, plans to expand by about 300 positions in New

Rose Behar and Michael Johnston are the kind of entrepreneurs you want to cheer for, because society in the region will likely benefit from their venture.

I had the pleasure last week of meeting Behar and Johnston when I was invited by Entrepreneur’s Forum to join a panel of mentors helping them to launch CompCamp, a Halifax-based computer camp for teenagers this summer.

CompCamp offers four programs – each lasting one week – that will teach youth not only how to use technology, but also how that technology works. They will gain an understanding of the potential of technology and how to

When an old friend saw Rory Francis breakfasting at a Charlottetown restaurant recently and noted that the venerable civil-servant-turned-industry-mentor hadn’t retired yet, Francis just smiled. “I’m having too much fun,” said the Executive Director of the PEI BioAlliance.

In May I spent a few days on P.E.I. researching a series of stories that will appear in Progress in September. The theme of the innovation series, and what I heard over and over again, was that innovation isn’t just what takes place in a lab. Those of us who spend each day in the start-up space would do well to remember

A lot has happened to Patrick Hankinson’s company Compilr since he took it to SeedCamp New York last summer, and he’s now hoping other Atlantic Canadian tech entrepreneurs can relive that experience.

As I wrote in one of the first blogs in Entrevestor last autumn, the active investor Permjot Valia took Hankinson and Compilr to New York last June to compete in SeedCamp New York.  There were 20 competitors from around the globe.

Compilr allows computer programmers to write codes from their browser, or rather to use the cloud for developing programs instead of relying on their own PC. The

I received an interesting blog Thursday from Peter Halpin, Executive Director of the Association of Atlantic Universities, extolling the impact the region’s post-secondary institutions have had on innovation and R&D in the region.

Yes, it’s been said before, but it gives me an opportunity to bring out some research that I’ve been conducting that I hope will one day flesh out this concept a bit more.

In particular, Halpin notes that three of the big innovation stories in the region came about because of the active participation of universities. Radian6 and Ocean Nutrition Canada, two of

Milan Vrekic, the CEO of TitanFile, is looking for IT startups to present their technology at the second annual DemoCamp Halifax at Dalhousie University on the evening of Sunday, September 23.

DemoCamp is an opportunity for the tech community to witness what’s being developed by entrepreneurs in Nova Scotia, and other parts of Atlantic Canada. It is not a pitching event. It is not a contest. It is a chance for the tech community – including investors – to get together and learn what the best technological minds in the region are creating, and listen to the wisdom of a few seasoned

In honour of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, the team at Media Badger took a break from its $2 million fundraising effort to analyze Canadians’ sentiment toward the leading Royals, as revealed by online comments in Canada.

Her Majesty will no doubt be tickled pink to know her positive sentiment reading has more than doubled in the last four years. Prince Charles has a lower profile, but his positive sentiment performance doubled in just two years, whereas his handsome eldest son draws the most commentary, almost all of it steadily favourable.

This survey reveals the type of creativity that

In the immortal words of the Bugs Bunny theme song, June 26 at the Dieppe Arts & Cultural Centre will be the “night of nights.”

Beginning at 5 p.m. at the suburban Moncton theatre, Propel ICT will raise the curtain on the 11 start-ups that have been toiling in the Launch36 accelerator since January, knocking their businesses into shape, taking on clients, and planning to raise capital.

Having spoken with few of them, I know that they’re looking at June 26 as the deadline to have everything in order to present to the rarefied crowd. No more rehearsing or nursing the part, you might say.

The Wallace McCain Institute for Business Leadership at the University of New Brunswick on Friday announced the 17 participants in its fifth annual Entrepreneurial Leaders Program, including three from outside the province.

The program helps growing businesses, typically five to eight years old, to advance successfully beyond the high-growth stage, so their earnings are sustainable, income streams are defined and their founders blossom into business leaders.

“After three years as a judge, it thrills me to see the quality and quantity of the high growth potential entrepreneurs we have in