Unique Solutions Closes its Doors

Dartmouth-based body scan company Unique Solutions has closed down after burning through tens of millions of dollars in capital, including $5.6 million it raised from the Nova Scotian government.

A spokesman on Wednesday said that the company had ceased operations and that the secured creditors would appoint a receiver or agent to auction off the company’s assets.

[Full disclosure:  Entrevestor founder Peter Moreira invested in Unique Solutions and did some freelance work for the company, all in 2010.]

The termination is the final chapter in a corporate story that began in 1997 when

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Event Season in 2016 Focuses on NB

We’re entering event season in the Atlantic Canadian startup community, and the focus this year will be on New Brunswick.

There are at least five big events planned for the region this autumn, and three that were held in Halifax last year will be in New Brunswick this year.

The regional finals for the Startup Canada Awards will be held Sept. 13 in Fredericton.  Invest Atlantic arrives in

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Government Must Adopt Innovation

There are a few things that investors don’t like to hear from entrepreneurs who are pitching them for money, and one is that the startup plans to sell mainly to government.

Selling to government is difficult. The sales cycle is long – so long the startup can run out of money waiting for an answer. Bureaucracies often resist change, which interferes with the adoption of new technology. If the

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Briefs: Curbza, V4C, BDC, Cheep

Peer-to-Peer Commerce Startup Curbza Raises $83,000

Curbza, a new Dartmouth company that is developing a peer-to-peer mobile commerce platform, has raised $83,000 in seed capital from angel investors.

Curbza has developed a mobile application that lets individuals buy, sell and barter their household goods. It can also act as a personal inventory for their possessions.

“Curbza has been in

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MentorCamp to Debut in Sydney

MentorCamp, the event that brings together entrepreneurs and mentors for intense training sessions, will take place in the Sydney area this month — the first time it’s been held in Cape Breton.

Founder Permjot Valia launched MentorCamp in Halifax in 2011 and has since held the event in such locations as Arkansas, South Africa, and Manitoba. He recently became the Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the

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Jobs of the Week: Forestry.io

Forestry.io, a Charlottetown company developing a new content management system, or CMS, is looking for two programmers to help the young company grow.

Today’s Jobs of the Week column highlights the postings by this startup, whose recent beta test attracted 2,500 users around the world.

Founded by startup veterans Scott Gallant and Jordan Patterson, Forestry.io is developing a CMS for static site generators like Jekyll, Middleman, and Hugo, rather than the more conventional systems like WordPress and Drupal.

The company is looking for a Javascript/full-stack developer and a backend

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Miller Seeks Input for G20 Gathering

Entrepreneur-in-training Emily Miller wants to be briefed by young Atlantic Canadians like herself so she can better represent the region in in her role as a G20 Young Entrepreneurs’ Alliance delegate.  

Halifax-based Miller leaves for Beijing on Sept. 2, and would like to hear from members of her tribe before then.

“I look forward to strengthening relations with Chinese business people,” said

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East Coast Cities Show Tech Density

A new study of Canada’s information technology sector shows the country’s tech segment is bigger — and slower growing — than you might have expected.

And the report offers glimpses of the tech scene in Atlantic Canada. It said tech employees make up a far lower percentage of the region’s workforce than the country overall, but also says Atlantic Canadian cities match or exceed

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Applications Open for The Next 36

Applications are now open for the 2017 cohort of The Next 36, a mentorship program for the country’s leading undergraduates interested in entrepreneurship.

Based in Toronto, The Next 36 takes in about 36 undergraduate students each year and puts them through a rigorous program of entrepreneurship and academics. It’s known to be a blend of frank business assessment mixed with classroom sessions

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QRA Lands $3M in ACOA Funding

Halifax-based QRA Corp. said Tuesday it has received $3 million in funding from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and gave its first indications that its two main products are finding a home with customers.

In a ceremony in Halifax, Treasury Board President Scott Brison announced that the company will receive a $2.995 million conditionally repayable sum from ACOA’s Atlantic Innovation

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