When Taylor Quinn chatted with Premier Stephen McNeil last November, he didn’t know the discussion would soon lead to the launch of a startup in Toronto to encourage greater participation in democracy.

Quinn is a Dalhousie University student and serial entrepreneur, and he’s co-founder of TownSquare, which aims to encourage a more meaningful discussion between politicians and government officials on one hand and the general public on the other.

“TownSquare sets out to democratize democracy by encouraging dialogue between government officials and citizens,” Quinn said in a phone interview Monday from Toronto. “We built a platform that will allow government officials, politicians and citizens to engage in a two-way dialogue in ways they can’t now.”

Quinn and his co-founders are planning to launch the product this summer.

The company took shape when Quinn entered The Next36, a Toronto entrepreneurship program for Canadian students, but it all began when Taylor found himself talking to the Nova Scotia premier last autumn.

 “I asked him what was the biggest problem he faced, and he expressed frustration that he has no way to engage with the public en masse,” said Quinn.

He explained that politicians and government officials gauge public opinion by monitoring social media or the comments sections on media websites, but there is no site dedicated to allowing government and the governed to meet on neutral ground and work together on better policy.

Quinn has a history of community engagement with young people and entrepreneurship, and in January he was one of two Atlantic Canadians accepted into the Next36. The other was Jeremy Tupper, a Dalhousie computer science grad.

At The Next36, Quinn was paired up with Aishi Jiang, a graduate student from the University of Western Ontario with whom he had to develop a company. They decided to work on Quinn’s idea for an interface between government and citizens. A friend of Jiang’s, Harvard University computer science student Grace Lin, joined the team as chief technical officer.

One strength of the Next36 is its mentorship network, and TownSquare has been able to work with leading political and government figures from across the country. Quinn, who declined to name any of these advisers, said the team has consulted municipalities and political parties on developing the platform. He has not yet approached the Nova Scotia government, but he intends to.

They’ve learned that government and politicians are interested in the platform, and they’re hoping their advisers will help generate interest among the public.

The team has developed a minimum viable product. By the time Quinn and Jiang present their company at the Next36 graduation in August, they want to know whether they have a viable business.

 “We’re planning to roll out our (test) this week and we’re hoping to sign initial contracts with political parties and municipal governments in mid-June,” said Quinn, adding that the team planned to move on to provincial and federal governments from there.

“We understand the timeliness of what we’re working on, given the upcoming election in Canada this year and the upcoming election in the U.S. next year.”