Startup Empire, a new conference aimed at educating founders and employees of startups, will take place Sept. 23 in Halifax.
Milan Vrekic, the Executive Director of the Volta Labs and the organizer of the conference, said Startup Empire will feature a range of top-flight speakers from the tech and startup world who can advise young companies on the path to success.
“This conference will not be a typical cheer-leading conference,” said Vrekic, who recently announced he will soon leave Volta. “The focus will be on learning. We want all the startups to understand where they are right now and what it will take for them to move forward. “
Held at the Park Lane Cinemas on Spring Garden Road, the conference is now planned for Tuesday, Sept. 23, though Vrekic said it may be extended to the 24th because of the number of speakers attending the event continues to grow.
The speakers so far include: Don Harrison, Head of M&A, Google Inc.; Daniel Debow; Senior VP, Salesforce; April Dunford, COO, Tulip Retail; John Baker, President and CEO, Desire2Learn; and Michael Litt, Founder and CEO, Vidyard. Vrekic said more speakers will be added.
Dan Martell, the CEO of Moncton-based Clarity, will host a fireside chat and oversee a “Clarity Zone”, in which entrepreneurs will receive advice.
The program also includes 15-minute Startup Showcases by five Halifax-based startups – GetGifted, topLog, Modest Tree Media, DashHudson, and Swapskis. It’s worth noting that four of the five founders delivering these presentations are women – a pleasant change in the male-dominated world of tech startups.
Vrekic said the cost of the conference is being held to $90 for startup founders and employees to encourage people to attend. The price will be $25 for students and $499 for service providers.
Startup Empire will be one of several startup events in the final 10 days of September in Halifax. MentorCamp, a one-day, intensive mentoring session for invited startups, will take place Sept. 22, and Invest Atlantic will be held Sept. 29 and 30. Entrevestor and its latest partner will also hold our dinner in Halifax Sept. 25 – details are coming soon.
