As we look back on 2018, there were a few news stories that really shaped the regional innovation group for the year.

I’ve written about accelerators outside the region and the role of McCain Foods already this week. But let’s close out the holiday period with a look at some the biggest news stories of 2018, and why they had such an impact.

One caveat about this article: the buzz around the

If I were to choose one player in the Atlantic Canadian startup community to watch this year, it would be McCain Foods.

That’s right: a 62-year-old company known for its French fries will be the big news story in a business group known for its young whippersnappers toting laptops.

I’m making such an incongruous statement because McCain, more than any other traditional business in the region,

One trend that quietly emerged in the Atlantic Canadian innovation space in 2018 was the participation of our companies in accelerators outside the region.

It may be the story of the year in the startup community – certainly the most over-looked story of 2018.

The two other big stories are the growing influence of corporations in the startup space (we’ll have more on that later this week) and

We'd like to wish our readers a truly happy holiday and prosperous New Year.

This has been a great year for Entrevestor. The Atlantic Canadian startup community has never had a better year than 2018, and we've had a lot of fun covering the mounting success. We also believe that 2019 will be an even better year and have a few announcements in store for the community in the new year. 

We always

Whenever Erin O'Halloran bought someone a gift online, she couldn't wait to see their reaction. She’d get so excited, she would send recipients a photo of the gift in advance. Her joy in gift-giving led her to create Newpy, a social network app for posting photos of products hidden inside digital packaging.

The app allows users to send each other gift ideas, save them from their laptop or phone,

Ubique Networks Inc., a growing tech startup that improves the efficiency of eSports, is opening an office at Volta Labs in Halifax, its third Canadian office.

The company announced this week that it plans to employ about a dozen IT professionals in Halifax. They will work with its dual headquarters in Sydney and Whitby, Ont. Outside of Canada, Ubique has operations in Brazil, Sri Lanka and the

Having grown to a 200-person operation in 17 years, Sydney-based mass-customization manufacturer Protocase wants to expand into new product lines and is looking for a team of entrepreneurs to help.

The company, known for its customized electronics cabinets, is participating in Innovacorp’s second Intersect competition, which begins this month. Intersect brings forward an established company with

Gregg Curwin has stepped down as CEO of AgTech company TruLeaf Sustainable Agriculture, paving the way for McCain Foods to steward the company through a phase of expected “exponential” growth.

In an interview last week, Curwin said it was his decision to step down and he did so with the full support of the TruLeaf board and major investors. All decided the company’s ambition and the complexity

Ellen Farrell believes recent funding changes have improved the quality of startups in Saint Mary’s University’s MTEI program and a new relationship with Mitacs will improve them further.

Farrell, the Co-Director of SMU’s Master of Technology, Entrepreneurship and Innovation program, recently changed the way its startups are funded. She said the result has been the creation of higher caliber

Bereda Training, the Halifax company that helps endurance athletes, is launching a new product to blend its data and planning platform with a peer-to-peer support function.

The company recently announced its new business model on its website, with the goal of providing one-on-one support that allows athletes to use data to improve their performance. Pairs of athletes can use the product to help