We’re starting to see tweets about the coming Breakthru competition in New Brunswick. Dalhousie University just hosted a Startup Weekend. And PtichCamp, the pitching competition affiliated with Invest Atlantic will take place this afternoon.

What all these things have in common is they’re encouraging and highlighting company formation in the region, and more new companies lately have been showing their faces for the first time. It’s looking as if the breakneck pace of new company formation will continue this year.

A bit of background: when we compiled our data on the Atlantic Canadian startup community earlier this year, one factor that jumped out at us was simply how young this community it.

As of the end of last year, about 67 of the 290 startups in the region were less than one year old. So we were launching more than a startup a week. That’s almost one-quarter of the total community. More than half the community at that time had yet to celebrate their fourth anniversary.

One thing that I wondered is whether company formation would continue at a pace of about 60-odd companies a year. I have yet to collect or crunch any numbers, but I think it could.

Consider a few indicators:

--  Almost all of the Propel “Start Phase” – a total of 15 companies – are startups that have launched this year. What’s more, a couple of companies in the previous cohort were new companies. So at least one-quarter of the 60 companies we’re looking for have shown up in Propel.

--  The New Brunswick Innovation Foundation will soon launch Breakthru, its biennial competition for young startups from New Brunswick. The NBIF encourages all new companies to enter regardless of how far along they are, because of the mentorship involved in the competition itself. Two years ago, there were 47 entrants and I’m certain NBIF is hoping for a higher number this year.

--  About half the companies pitching at Pitchcamp this afternoon are new companies. That’s probably another eight companies.

--  A company called UNIfy Alum – which links a university’s alumni with projects at the university – won the Startup Weekend event at Dalhousie this weekend. It’s difficult to tell whether any of the teams competing at these events will become bona fide startups, but Startup Weekends encourage company formation. Other startup weekends are planned this year in St. John’s and Truro, N.S.

So I think that we’re on track to record another 60 or so new startups in the region this year. But there are a few things to note about company formation.

First, this doesn’t mean that the size of the community will jump from 290 to 350 companies. There are companies that have fallen by the wayside, others that have become zombie companies (neither dead nor alive). Some have moved away. Some have morphed into service companies and can’t really be considered startups. It will be interesting to see how the additions and subtractions balance out.

Second, the continual company formation is a double-edges sword in terms of human resources. It means more companies fighting for limited talent. If three or four people form a company, it means they’re not available to help an established company grow. But the growth of new companies also brings more people into the startup world, expanding the total pool of talent.

Disclaimer: Entrevestor receives financial support from government agencies that support startup companies in Atlantic Canada. The sponsoring agencies play no role in determining which companies and individuals are featured in this column, nor do they review columns before they are published.