Side Door Wins Gerry Pond Award

Laura Simpson, CEO of Halifax-based startup Side Door, is the first winner of the Gerry Pond Sales Award, which was presented by the regional accelerator Propel at an event in Saint John on Thursday.

Side Door has developed a platform that entertainers can use to stage concerts in people’s homes or other intimate settings. CEO Laura Simpson said its bookings have increased 500 percent since

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TIS Launches with $5k and Adopter

When Gavin Andrews, CEO of Sydney-based Tracker Inventory Systems, pitched at the Volta Cohort event last week, one thing that was overlooked was the fascinating story of how the company was formed.

Tracker Inventory, which has produced an Android app to help companies track their inventory, is just six months old. But it already has one customer and is moving into a new market with two more

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Mitacs Recognizes Huq, Hanafi

Two Atlantic Canadian entrepreneurs received Mitacs Entrepreneur Awards at a reception Tuesday for the winners of the national awards in Halifax.

Tanzina Huq, Co-Founder and CTO of Chinova Bioworks of Fredericton, received the Outstanding Entrepreneur award, and Hamed Hanafi, Founder and President of Halifax’s Novaresp Technologies, was named the Global Impact Entrepreneur.

Mitacs is a national

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Kraken Sees Sales Doubling in 2019

After doubling its revenue last year, marine technology company Kraken Robotics is expecting to deliver a repeat performance in 2019.

Despite posting a loss of just under $3 million in 2018–the latest in a series of annual deficits—Kraken’s share price has more than tripled since May 2018.

The St. John’s-based company, which trades on the TSX Venture exchange, manufactures sonar equipment and

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Social Media Day Halifax in June

 A one-day social media conference for the small business community will be held in Halifax on June 21.

Social Media Day Halifax will see Atlantic Canadian experts and business owners come together to share strategies that have worked for them. Speakers will share their knowledge, case studies, and best practices. Sessions are focused on providing real life examples, with actionable information

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Region’s VC Funding Sagged in Q1

Venture Capital funding hit a lull in Atlantic Canada in the first quarter of 2019, according to the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association.

The association, known as the CVCA, issued its quarterly data report on Tuesday, showing that Atlantic Canada raised a total of $22.4 million in the three months to March 31. It was a decline from the rabid funding witnessed in 2018, when

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Nodalblock Hires Leetzow as CEO

Halifax-based blockchain cybersecurity company Nodalblock Canada Holdings has named Joel Leetzow its new President and Chief Executive Officer, taking over from Daniel Faria, who is remaining with the company.

Leetzow, who is also joining the board of directors, comes to Halifax from Calgary, where he has spent 25 years in the tech industry.  He was most recently President and CEO of Cortex

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Innovacorp Names 4 Sprint Winners

Innovacorp has awarded four companies $25,000 each as winners of the 2019 Sprint competition.

The Nova Scotia venture capital and innovation agency holds several competitions throughout the year to provide early-stage companies with a bit of money and mentorship with which to develop their products. Sprint is a competition open to companies from all sectors and from across Nova Scotia.

The four

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Propel Award Honours Pond

The regional IT accelerator Propel has announced the creation of a sales award in recognition of Gerry Pond and his contribution to the Atlantic Canadian innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Pond co-founded Propel in 2003 and has played an integral role in the organization, which helps launch tech startups in Atlantic Canada.

The Gerry Pond Sales Award will be presented each year to a

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MassChallenge Picks Ashored

After fielding 3,000 applications, MassChallenge this month accepted 100 startups into its international accelerator for 2019, and it included only one Canadian company – Ashored Innovations of Dartmouth.

In an interview after the announcement, Ashored CEO Aaron Stevenson said he was thrilled to be accepted into the Boston-based program and spoke about the doors it will open for the company. But

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