The Atlantic Venture Forum wrapped up in Halifax yesterday. Here are a few quotes from the conference that are worth repeating:

Communicating with Investors

“If you can't communicate and inspire that poor investor on the other side of the table, he just won't be able to differentiate you from the other five pitches he's received today.” Paul Singh, 500 Startups.

Focus on Entrepreneurs

“What we're really looking at is the person, behind the technology.  We see about a deal a day and what we want to know is, who is the entrepreneur?” Henry Kay, Boston Harbor Angels.

Positioning your Company

“As you zigzag your way in building your company, you have to keep yourself in front of Fortune 500 companies.”  Charlie Lax, GrandBanks Capital

Atlantic Canadian Entrepreneurs

“My goal here is to keep Halifax a secret from other American investors because there's so much talent here.” Henry Kay, Boston Harbor Angels.

Innovacorp’s Reach

“We have offices in Halifax and Sydney, and I like to tell people we have a presence in the Valley, and I quietly add Annapolis not Silicon.”  Greg Phipps.  Innovacorp.

Focus on Sales

“What we're seeing again – and it drives me nuts – is a lot of companies celebrating how much money they've raised and not how many customers they have.” David Alston, Introhive.

Celebrity Endorsements

“If you want to be known as good looking, a good idea is to be next to good looking people.” Yona Shtern, Beyond The Rack.

Opportunities in Canada

“We haven’t done a lot of investing here in Canada but I hope to change that.” Gaurav Jain, Founder Collective.

Atlantic Canadian Economy

“We just need entrepreneurship and we don’t need it in airy-fairy stuff. We need it in the kids because they are the ones who are going to do it and stay here.” Jevon MacDonald, GoInstant.