Currently operating at the every 6 months interval, StartupCampWaterloo will happen once again on January 18th, 2012 at the Accelerator Centre in Waterloo! The last one was a lot of fun. Returning to the old format certainly seemed to work for most folks so here we go again…
What is StartupCampWaterloo?
StartupCampWaterloo is an ad-hoc gathering born from the desire for people to share and learn in an open environment. It is an intense event with discussions, demos, and interaction from attendees.
What happens at StartupCampWaterloo?
People have a lot of fun pitching ideas at every stage, giving and receiving feedback, and meeting or just catching up with local startup folks.
I want to pitch!
Great, bring your idea and your laptop. Demos are welcome as are pitch decks. We run this event so that you can practice your pitch or show off your product and get some honest feedback. There is even the odd crazy brainstorm around an idea that might happen.
Questions?
Go to Quora (yes people still use it… sorta)
Register:
Sponsor(s):
It seemed like turning double digits almost killed StartupCampWaterloo — we had over 200 people out and it was a lot of fun but it was in NOVEMBER! With #11 it has been decided to bring it back to its roots and have a fun event at the Accelerator Centre on north campus (Hagey Blvd) in Waterloo. This is going to be a return to the whiteboard voting, some junk food, and showing off all the awesome upcoming startups in Waterloo. Looking forward to seeing what we have!
With the support of the Accelerator Centre, TribeHR and Freshbooks the date is July 19th, 6pm-9pm, using the side entrance (the one facing Open Text).
Let us know you are coming: http://guestlistapp.com/events/63660
The next startupcampwaterloo
I have had a couple of tweets and a few emails asking about the next StartupCampWaterloo. I guess it is time to plan it which starts with a date. I will look into availability and try for April for smaller gathering of founders and hackers. Check back, it should take me a couple of days.
Entrepreneur Week in Waterloo is upon us and StartupCampWaterloo10 is on Wednesday night! About as much planning that has gone into the last 9 combined has gone into this one but it will be worth it as we have 21 startups (including the 6 six with 10 minutes each) that will take the stage. Not only that but 42 students have registered to attend. So far that makes for over 1/3 of those registered.
Overall it is a pretty exciting format at StartupCampWaterloo10, we have 15 startups with 1 min each to pitch and let you know who they are. The startups are:
- Beyond 180
- ClassMate
- igotihav
- Think Security
- TwitSprout
- Waterloo Banking Project
- Will Pwn 4 Food
- Allerta
- Balute
- PocketPose
- Scribit Systems
- Simply Appointments
- Synekism
- TribeHR
- Unbound books
Some you may have seen before while others you haven’t. The idea is to give them a chance to practice their pitch and make networking easier.
If you haven’t registered yet please do! See you Wednesday.
I have had a few questions about the one minute slot at StartupCampWaterloo so here is a blog post to explain it. The idea is to intro a bunch (up to 15) local startups really quickly and invite people to come talk to them. This is something that has, to me, been the part of the StartupCampWaterloo1 thru 9 that makes it a great event.
What do I need from those interested in doing it? I plan to have one slide up while they are talking. That slide can have a screen shot (or many), contact info, URL, etc. We are using the new space at the Communitech Hub that has amazing projectors so everyone will be able to read it 
Your pitch? Classic elevator pitch will do but you won’t be judged. What I hope will happen is that people will come find you and ask lots of great conversations that will lead to bigger and better things. At the very least you can grab a beverage and chat with some other really smart startup folks.
Interested? Fill out this form!
Line up for StartupCampWaterloo10
With the change in how we are doing StartupCampWaterloo I was pretty confident we would find a good mix of local startups at various stages… and I was right. Our 6 startups that will have the 10 min slots are:
This group represents some new comers (NoteWagon, Tiny Hippos, Redwoods Media), some middle stage companies with a solid product and about to break out (Karos Health, Top Hat Monocle), and a great local success (Miovision) that worked their way from being students to the Accelerator Centre to a more solid growth company locally.
Beyond these groups we have a good list of other early stage companies that will give you a one min pitch. Currently there are still some slots open so please fill out the form below if you are interested and don’t forget to register for StartupCampWaterloo10!
The 10th StartupCampWaterloo is on November 10th at the Communitech Hub in downtown Kitchener. The planning has been a load of fun so far — we are close to finalizing the startups presenting but we added a new slot. We want to give up to 10 early stage startups a chance to be known to the crowd and make it easier for everyone to connect. If you are interested in just having the mic for a minute, head here and fill out the form.
The agenda so far?
- 5:30 pm – doors open
- 6:00 pm – Saul Colt
- 6:45 pm – 10 startups, 1 min each. We will have 10 different early stage startups to tell what you what they are working on and who they would like to talk to.
- 7:00 pm – break, network
- 7:15 pm – 10 min a startup, 3 startups
- 7:45 pm – break, network
- 8:00 pm – 10 min a startup, 2 startups
- 8:30 pm – community announcements, grab a drink, network
- 9:30 pm(ish) – Off to a pub
Thanks to the efforts of the folks at KPMG we have BMO and Gowlings joining in to ensure we will have the best event yet at the Communitech Hub. Other supporters so far include Freshbooks and Rogers Ventures!
We have also added another type of ticket. There is another post that explains why, the short version is that the founder of Zoomii.com is in a tough battle with brain cancer and has a young family to worry about at the same time. The idea is to sell as many $10 tickets as we can and have that money go to help Chris and his family. Please sign up for one of the free tickets as well as that is how we are tracking attendance.
The founder of Zoomii.com, Chris Theissen, was only recently diagnosed with a particularly nasty form of brain cancer. He has already had surgery that has removed his right frontal lobe but sadly the tumor is growing back which leaves him with very few conventional options. Experimental treatments cost money that goes beyond what OHIP or insurance will cover.
If that wasn’t enough, Chris has two little ones. One is just two years old and another arrived the beginning of October. His wife is currently on maternity leave and he can’t work due to his illness.
Chris has been such a great guy in the local startup community I think it is pretty easy to ask the local startup community buy Chris a ticket for $10 for StartupCampWaterloo. The ticket proceeds will go to Chris and his young family.
If you decide to buy one of those tickets please register for one of the free tickets as we have already had close to 5o people register on those and I am guessing a few will buy one of the other tickets as well.
How else can you help? Buy your books from Zoomii.com and encourage others to do the same!
Just updating the site. Information on the next StartupCampWaterloo is here: