If you believe in the law of averages, there is now a startup somewhere in Atlantic Canada that didn’t exist this time last week. And by next Wednesday, there will have been another launch.  Or maybe two.

One thing that has struck to me as I’ve gone through the results of our recent survey is the speed with which Atlantic Canada is now producing startups. The region launched more than one company a week last year, and the pace hasn’t slowed down in 2014.

We’re now reaching the end of the first quarter, so we should have seen 13 new companies if we’re to reach our new-startup-each-week

Almost a year after altering its business model, SHIFT Energy of Saint John is on track to complete two pilot projects that should validate its automated energy optimization software, or EOS.

SHIFT Energy is one of several industrial Internet companies in New Brunswick, meaning the province is developing a group of startups developing machine-to-machine learning software in which equipment reacts to disparate sensor readings to improve efficiency or save money.

The company was spun out of Saint John-based Mariner, a global provider of IP video monitoring technologies and other

BioMer Innovations of Halifax released the following press release:

New start-up BioMer Innovations is picking up steam with another successful result; achieving a first place finish at the Boyne Clark Innovative Ideas Competition on March 20th, 2014. 

The Nova Scotia Association of Community Business Development Corporations (CBDC), in cooperation with Common Good Solutions, organized the

I get to Fredericton every few weeks or months, so my image of company development in the New Brunswick Capital is a bit like time-lapse photography. I get a shot every four to eight weeks, and it looks like everything is unfolding quickly and effortlessly.

So in a flying visit to the city last week for the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation's R3 Gala, I was able to catch up with several founders and organizers and was struck by their steady progress.

Barely half a year old, Planet Hatch is now wrapping up the selection process for the second cohort of its Accelr8 program. Executive

Innovacorp, Nova Scotia's innovation agency, this morning announced the winners of the Spark Cape Breton competition in the following press release: 

Spark Cape Breton Winners Named

Six new technology companies in Cape Breton have been named winners in the inaugural Spark Cape Breton competition.

A total of $200,000 in cash will be awarded to the following ‎companies:

Artisync Technologies Co-Op Ltd. – Rob Parsons – Sydney

 Amount:  $50,000

 Artisync is developing a cloud-based hub for the comic book and graphic novel industry that will allow artists to network, communicate and

Aspiring young Canadian entrepreneurs are invited to apply for an upcoming Startup Weekend hosted by the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa from June 13–15, 2014.

The Embassy will fund travel, accommodation and meals for participation in the Startup Weekend for about 50 selected nominees, Marcia R. Seitz-Ehler of the  U.S. Consulate General in Halifax said in a release.  

The nominees will be Canadians aged 18 to 30 with a strong interest in entrepreneurship and a clearly defined idea for a new business. However, they may be lacking in concrete business development skills, or have limited access to

A leading authority on the Israeli startup behemoth told New Brunswickers last night to recognize the strides they’d made in developing their own startup community and to look for collaboration opportunities around the world.

Saul Singer, the Co-Author of Startup Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle, said in the keynote speech at the R3 Gala that Atlantic Canada’s startup community had progressed further than many other locations, and we should recognize and celebrate that fact.

“You’ve had your first successes,” said Singer, noting that the most difficult of developing a

After retiring as a high school computer science teacher, Paul Smith wasn’t expecting to become an entrepreneurial software developer and Olympic timer, but that is the post-retirement life of the founder of CurlTime, who initially developed his timekeeping software as a favour for his local curling club.

“The Sochi Olympics were fantastic. The Russians did a wonderful job. I keep pinching

ModestTree, a Halifax startup whose software allows users to develop their own 3D training programs, issued the following press release on Thursday:

CANADIAN MILITARY NOW USING MODEST 3D TO BUILD 3D TRAINING

(Halifax, ON) March 20, 2014– Modest Tree’s 3D interactive training product, Modest3D,  will be used by the Canadian military to enhance their training. The Canadian Defence Academy has purchased licenses of Modest3D and together with the Canadian Army, Navy and Air Force, they will be using the software to create 3D content and evaluating the potential for DND wide application on

The Nova Scotia government announced Wednesday that it would fund four “sandboxes” – places where students and others can get together, swap business ideas and collaborate on forming startups – at groups of post-secondary institutions.

All four winners are groups of institutions so they can pool their resources and enhance the opportunities for collaboration. The goal is to establish physical spaces supported by entrepreneurial programs where members of the university and college communities can work together to generate new businesses.

The teams are:

•Island Sandbox, comprising Cape