Serial Entrepreneurs Back in the Saddle

There was something interesting on display at DemoCamp Halifax on Thursday night: Four of the 10 presenters were serial entrepreneurs who are back in the arena with new ventures.

It’s a trend in the East Coast startup hub, and is especially pronounced in Halifax.

We’re seeing entrepreneurs who have put a notch in the win column with one venture, and a few years later get back at it with a

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Briefs: Alongside, TruLeaf, Fredericton

Qimple Changes its Name to Alongside

Qimple, the Moncton-based maker of digital recruitment tools, has changed its name to Alongside.

The company said in a statement that the online hiring space has become less personal, so Qimple recognized the need for a hiring solution that facilitated human connection – the driving force behind every great hire.

The company applied that understanding and

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We Need A Federal Investment Credit

New Brunswick’s venerable tech investor Gerry Pond often bemoans the fact that he can receive a tax incentive to invest in Arkansas but not in Nova Scotia.

The investment group that Pond chairs, East Valley Ventures, has a portfolio of 26 active companies, and Pond could have claimed New Brunswick’s Small Business Investor Tax Credit only on the 17 that are based in New Brunswick. His

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McCarthy Spends a Month at Earthship

There has been talk recently about the need to create more startup hubs in Atlantic Canada. Halifax-based entrepreneur Megan McCarthy thinks Nova Scotia is well-placed to become a hub for sustainable technology and renewable energy.

McCarthy is CEO of powerWHYS, a company that provides an app that shows those who own or work on renovated buildings how to conserve energy on a particular property.

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Harbr Brings Big Data to Construction

A young Halifax company called Harbr is bringing the promise of Big Data to one of Canada’s biggest and fastest-growing industries—construction.

Harbr has developed a mobile app that allows big construction companies and their project managers to analyze data on the sub-contractors they’ve hired for specific projects. That helps big companies to improve efficiency in the short term, and to

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Sales Growth Up as Startups Expand

Something unexpected is happening in Atlantic Canada’s technology and innovation community: as these companies become larger, they are in total growing more quickly than when they were literally a bunch of startups.

What we’re seeing among high-growth innovation companies in the region is the development of a core of larger companies that are actually accelerating their growth. We’ll still call

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Briefs: Honibe, SimplyCast, AIDA

Island Abbey Foods Expands into Vitamins and Supplements

Island Abbey Foods, a Charlottetown-based natural health product manufacturer, has expanded into the vitamin and mineral supplement category with the launch of four new products under the brand honibe honey gummies.

“After years of extensive research and product development, we are thrilled to be the first to market with an all-natural

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NBIF Boosts Breakthru Prizes to $1M

The New Brunswick Innovation Foundation launched its Breakthru competition last week, ramping up the total prize pot to $1 million and opening the competition to startups across the country.

The Innovation agency holds the Breakthru competition every other year with the goal of helping young companies to get off the ground with funding and mentorship. When it held the 2014-15 edition of the

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Briefs: Qimple, CarbonCure, LLC

Qimple Lands $500,000 from ACOA

Qimple, the Moncton startup that works to improve hiring for companies and applicants, has received a conditional loan of almost $500,000 from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency’s Business Development Program.

ACOA said in a statement the “conditionally repayable contribution” will help the company undertake business development and marketing activities to

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