Atlanteknology - Technology News for Atlantic Canada

The birth of a company

The most recent issue of Progress magazine (which I recommend to everyone who is interested in business news in Atlantic Canada) has a good article in it on startup companies and I encourage you, if you are a startup or wish to start a company, to read it. It is enlightening and inspirational.

There is another article in the magazine called "Sightlines". Two things struck me about the article. First, that I had never heard of the company called Coemergence which is featured in the article.

Here is a company that, by all accounts, is doing great stuff and yet appears (at least to me) to have missed the radar screen. Its a great example of Nova Scotia not trumpeting the successes of our technology based companies. Now, someone may respond by citing all kinds of examples of coverage but I bet if you asked people if they know this company, the answer would be "No" (probably true for many companies - which furthers my point). One of the goals of my blog is to let people know. And so I am. The company's website is quite nice by the way.

The other things that struck me was that Progress magazine was discussing introductory intellectual property concepts. This validates one of the other purposes of my blog - to provide information on intellectual property topics for people in Atlantic Canada. If Progress thinks it is topical, that makes me feel good. Plus, they have a significant distribution and the message will certainly get out there.

The only other thing that really caught my eye was a comment on the "downside" to Atlantic Canada by Michael Chender "A bit off the beaten track. Limited air travel, exposure to markets, and activity within our peer group" With some hard work, we can change that!

Dalhousie Industry Liaison and Innovation

I attended a social event tonight. The purpose was to introduce the staff for the new Dalhousie Industry Liaison and Innovation Centre. The purpose of the Centre (located on the Dalhousie campus) is to assist in the commercialisation of technology developed by researchers at Dalhousie University.

Another interesting feature of the Centre is to provide businesses with the opportunity to access skilled researchers in areas where businesses need assistance. I spoke with Harneet Kalra (the individual responsible for this) and I was both excited and impressed about this initiative. I will not publish his contact particulars here but you will find them on the website.

The whole event was an exciting development for Halifax and Nova Scotia in my opinion. It shows yet another advancement for the development of technology related businesses. There are other entities out there which are working in the area. Springboard is (to use its words) "[A] network whose mission is to encourage the effective and efficient transfer of technology among universities in Atlantic Canada and to advance the commercialisation of research within both universities and the region's private sector."

There is also GINIus which "[P]rovides valuable access to these possible solutions by providing applied IT and software research services and specialised technical training solutions to private and public sector clients" (among other activities).

There are also industry associations - Bionova (which I have discussed in previous posts) and ITANS (the Information Technology Alliance of Nova Scotia).

And thats just in Nova Scotia.

The Atlantic Provinces are working to develop technology based businesses in a variety of ways. Once I get through my backlog of topics, I'll make a post talking about some of the other resources available. You can also navigate to some of the websites I have noted in the sidebar on the right side of your screen in the meantime.

Angel Investing

At the annual life sciences and biotechnology conference last month (called Bioport - see some of my earlier posts for more details) there was an interesting forum on angel investing which I thought was quite informative and useful. I recall at the 2004 Bioport conference there was some discussion on the topic of angel investing and I thought I would do some research. I was surprised to find that there was nothing in Atlantic Canada by way of a formal angel network. Had I had the contacts and the time, I may have considered exploring the opportunities. Fortunately for all who require capital, someone else did.

Let me say at the outset that I have no affiliation with the First Angel Network Association.

I was quite impressed by what has been set up and thought it would be useful for those of you who are looking for capital to give you the link to the organisation. Aside from the website, their web presence is minimal at the moment and a search using the Google search engine will not show much of a profile but, if what I saw at the conference is any indication, the network will be making its presence felt in the coming months and years.

I spoke with Ross Finlay yesterday and he kindly gave me permission to post the powerpoint presentation he gave at Bioport 2005 which also provides some good information about the Network.Download Here

Life Sciences Industry Conference

I would be remiss if I did not make mention of the annual life sciences industry conference here in Halifax, which takes places September 27-29. Find out more here. It is an exciting event which, among other things, provides educational opportunities for life sciences and biotech companies, as well as networking events. I am the Vice-President of Bionova, the organization which organizes the event (thats my disclaimer with respect to self-promotion).