Entrevestor is delighted to be participating in the Nova Scotia Innovation Tour, a bi-weekly lunch-and-learn series presented by ONSIDE, which supports innovation in the province.
I’ll be kicking off the virtual series on Wednesday with the first public presentation of our 2020 data, and ONSIDE will also host five other seminars throughout the summer. My presentation this week will focus almost exclusively on startup data collected in Nova Scotia, and our full Atlantic Canadian startup data report will be released later, probably in June.
You can register here for the free events.
With this series of discussions, ONSIDE has set out to explore three pillars of Nova Scotia's startup ecosystem: data, investment and placemaking. Sessions will be presented on the first and third Wednesday of each month from May to July, starting at noon.
The other sessions in the series are:
May 19
Mark Hazelden, Brookfield Institute for Innovation + Entrepreneurship
Nova Scotia's Inclusive Innovation Monitor
After the release of its Canada inclusive innovation monitor, ONSIDE partnered with the Brookfield Institute to develop and monitor tracking indicators for innovation, equity and inclusion in Nova Scotia. This session will reveal where we are doing well and where we need to do more.
June 2
Sandra McKenzie, The Forge Institute
MAKE: Growing Community-Based Innovation in Nova Scotia
McKenzie will share her findings from the soon-to-be-launched report, MAKE: Growing Community-Based Innovation in Nova Scotia. She developed the report through local, national and international interviews and research and found that grass-roots innovation is key to growing resilient people and communities.
June 16
Jennifer Angel, Develop Nova Scotia
The Role of Large-Scale Infrastructure and Placemaking in Facilitating Innovation
Having helped develop leading projects like COVE and the Internet for Nova Scotia initiative, Angel will discuss the role of large-scale infrastructure and placemaking in facilitating innovation.
June 30
Marlon Thompson, Future Capital
Investment
Thompson is an angel investor and startup founder who has spent the past five years creating pathways to success for underrepresented leaders in the startup ecosystem. He founded Future Capital to support ambitious, driven and diverse leaders who are ready to play a bigger role in their industries. He believes now to be a crucial time to create lasting change by enabling and equipping a new cohort of investors: minorities, women, and LGBTQ with the necessary tools to bolster economic empowerment.
July 14
Rhiannon Davies, Sandpiper Ventures
Investment
A native of New Brunswick, Davies’ career spans Europe, Asia, South and North America. She was on the Board of Directors that took GrandVision, a C$ 5.5 billion revenue retailer with businesses in 45 countries, through a successful IPO on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange. Rhiannon has driven the target identification, due diligence, acquisition, integration and move to profitability of many companies. She believes in the need to support entrepreneurship and innovation to deliver meaningful change in business, community, and social development.
