An entrepreneur I know recently lamented that most entrepreneurship events in Atlantic Canada are attended mainly by support organizations rather than by businesspeople. What he would love to see is an event that attracts the rookie entrepreneurs—the folks who are working on new technology in their basements.

I suggested that he look across the Isthmus of Chignecto to New Brunswick. The old Loyalist–Acadian stronghold does a magnificent job of dragging its entrepreneurs out of their cellars and into the blazing sunlight where people can see them. In fact, I don’t think any other province does a better job than New Brunswick of getting its start-ups ready for the real world.

In mid-April there was evidence of this in a meeting room at La Teraz in downtown Moncton, where the five companies going through the McKenzie Accelerator pitched to a panel of experts at the Angels’ Den. I also saw it when I explored Startup Kitchen, an online video-interview service focusing on regional tech start-ups. Last month its principals, Suhaim Abdussamad and Robert Foley, hosted a “kitchen party” in Fredericton, at which entrepreneurs shared their experiences and plans.

These events have been attended by the New Brunswick Economic Development Department and the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation, but there has been a healthy focus on entrepreneurs, in particular on early stage entrepreneurs, some of whom presented their projects for the first time.

What was remarkable at the Angels’ Den was there was so little indication that these were novices, other than the fact that they were seeking funding in the range of about $100,000 to $250,000. Haiti native Guyverson Vernous, the CEO of iCubemedia, began by asking the panel to go easy on him because it was his first pitch, and he was giving it in his second language. Then he delivered a compelling demonstration of his product, App-Lingua, which allows smartphone app developers to translate their apps into foreign languages. He’s already selling the product, and his two hottest markets are the Middle East and South America.

Then there was John Doubt, whose company, Tribeonomics Inc., is a social media-analysis tool that helps companies profile the individuals in a community based on their social media posts. By breaking down the groups of people who feel passionately about an issue, the company can help governments and companies shape messages to appeal to each group.

Other start-up entrepreneurs included: Sean Fahey of VidCruiter, whose software conducts online video interviews to help recruiters; Marco DeGrace of The Money Tree, which permits merchants to create and send e-coupons directly to consumers’ smartphones; and Barhat Gadher of N-Gauge, which monitors social media so realtors or those in big-purchase markets will know instantly when someone in their region is planning a purchase.

The common thread in all of the enterprises is technology, currently the most popular start-up sector in New Brunswick. It’s a positive part of New Brunswick’s ecosystem, with one qualification: that no one wants to be a one-trick pony. Support groups in the province are quick to say they also back cleantech companies like Enovex or biotechs like Soricimed BioPharma.

An incredible system of mentors and supports are devoted to taking young tech companies to market and helping them thrive. Another point I can’t emphasize enough is that tech is the segment best suited for the Atlantic Canadian economy. Why? Because it requires less capital, fewer facilities, and less time to market than other forms of innovation, and its main ingredient is brainpower, of which we have a lot. 

The success of Radian6 and Q1 Labs has brought that brainpower into New Brunswick’s accelerator programs, and the results are visible at an early stage. It’s good news for the entire region.