AccelerateAB Has Launched its Call for Companies

AccelerateAB is bringing the tech world to Calgary on July 10th and 11th, 2013. It’s goal is to put Alberta’s leading tech entrepreneurs front and centre and turn as much of the program time as possible over to our startups. 

This is your chance to apply to be one of the startups included in their Entrepreneur Roundtables and the pitch events running during the program. 

The Entrepreneur Roundtables take place on Wednesday, July 10th from 11:30 am - 4:00 pm The applicants of this form are curated into the top 25 up and coming tech CEO’s in the province, pairing them with leading mentors, investors and thinkers from The C100, The A100 and event partners. You won’t get a better chance to accelerate your business all year. 

Those who are applying for the Entrepreneur Roundtables through this form may also be selected for one of two pitch events taking place during the AccelerateAB Conference day on July 11th. The PR Dragon’s Den will be an event where 3-4 Founders will pitch their “PR Story” to a panel of media properties who will “invest” in the best pitches by guaranteeing coverage of the winner in their next media cycle.

The Suitcase Pitch Competition is designed for entrepreneurs that are ready to raise a financing round. Pitch your company/funding story on stage with a suitcase in hand. If our panel of judges thinks you have the highest potential, you jet off to San Francisco on the spot for a weeks worth of meetings that have been pre-booked by The C100, Plug and Play, the Canadian Consulate and other event partners.

Applications close May 21st, 2013. Register now!

For any more information on the event, contact Sean Collins at accelerateAB@gmail.com or call him at 780.232.0339

Startup Stories; Tinyplots’ Big Dreams

They say you should never get into business with a friend or family member. Jordan Brown, however, did both. With his friend, Benny Lin and brother, Justin Brown, Jordan co-founded the tech startup, Tinyplots, a platform that teaches Calgarians how to grow their own food. As the startup grows, Jordan can still recall all the ups and downs along the way.            

“You can move faster by yourself but further with more people,” says Jordan on how Tinyplots accelerated with three co-founders.

“Before you [get into business with your friend and family member] you have to have some honest conversations very early on,” explains Jordan. “[Talk] about equity, workload, work ethic etc. The main thing is that the process has to be fun. Thankfully, we’ve had a lot of support from mentors, it didn’t become an issue.”

When asked what Tinyplots’ biggest success has been so far, Jordan paused and pondered on the question. It’s difficult for an entrepreneur to step back and think about the successes instead of the mistakes. But soon he realized that sometimes success comes from the mistakes that you make.

“We’re a social good company so our primary focus better design of engagement and shareability as much as our consideration of wealth creation,” Jordan says. “Before we were very idealistic and tried to solve too many social problems at once. We had to learn how to scale back and focus on one problem at a time.”

“Testing and validating ideas and seeing what works and what doesn’t. Realizing we couldn’t go further, pivoting and continuing, instead of folding is a big success.”

Through hard work and perseverance, Tinyplots grew into what it is today: a tech company that uses game mechanics to engage people with local food systems. Using an online and mobile platform, Tinyplots helps Calgary’s urban gardeners develop and care for their very own gardens within the city. It is also a platform for local educators to host events through its website that promote urban agriculture and bringing attention to the importance of growing and eating local food.

What’s the next step in Tinyplots’ journey? They will be launching their flagship course: Intro to YYC Gardening in May this year. It will be a 20 week course that will introduce new gardeners to to the world of urban agriculture. The course will contain weekly reminders , challenges and hands-on workshops that will teach them the skills to maintain their garden. Registration will open in April, with the course beginning in May.

So how did Tinyplots find AcceleratorYYC? They were slected as the “Best Boostrapped Startup” at Startup Calgary’s 2012 Launch Party, and won a three month membership at AcceleratorYYC. They started working at AcceleratorYYC every Wednesday night and were recently given another month to help them launch the Intro course.

“It was our first experience in a co-working environment,” says Jordan. “[AcceleratorYYC] gave us access to an office, allowing us to meet in a place that lends itself to creativity. It’s awesome to be around other [entrepreneurs] and their companies. We may all be different but we all go through the same highs and lows.”

With the launch of “Intro to YYC Gardening”, Tinyplots is growing into a valuable and important company with an expanding niche market. In 2014, Tinyplots plans to expand their platform to include other select cities. The goal for Tinyplots is to increase support and consumption of local foods, by starting the conversation in Calgary and across Canada.

Connect with Tinyplots by visiting http://www.tinyplots.com/.

Also like Tinyplots on Facebook and follow them on Twitter @tinyplots

Don’t Miss Out on Three Great Learning Opportunities

AcceleratorYYC is focused on providing startups with more opportunities: Learning opportunities to help further skills and knowledge. Networking opportunities to build connections and strengthen relationships. Promotional opportunities to increase their customer base, investor potential, and leadership team. Among many other things.

Next week, we are launching three new events & workshops that all focus on helping you grow and succeed:

 1) The first workshop is Pitching 101, led by Alex Raczenko and co-hosted by AcceleratorYYC and Innovate Calgary. Alex is one of Innovate Calgary’s Entrepreneur-in-Residence and a mentor to founders of AcceleratorYYC. Pitching 101 will be held on Tuesday, February 19 and 26 at 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Improve your pitching skills and gain valuable knowledge from one of the best business coach in the startup community. For more information and to register, click here.

 2) The second workshop is the TeamThink AITF Grant Program Workshop LAUNCHING Wednesday, February 27 from 12 to 3 p.m and repeating on Wednesday, March 7. This workshop is all about filling out the Alberta Innovates Technology Futures (AITF) 15K Voucher Grant. The deadline to fill out the grant is April 2, and it can be a very daunting task. But with coaching from Sandor Kiss, a Marketing and Sales Consultant with TeamThink, filling out the application can be a lot easier. Why miss an opportunity to receive a $15,000 grant for your startup? For more information and to register, click here.

 Pitching 101 and the TeamThink AITF Grant Program Workshop are free for AcceleratorYYC members!

 3) Finally, AcceleratorYYC is re-launching its Startup Slyngshot program on Tuesday, February 19. Classes will be offered every Tuesday and Thursday at 6 to 8 p.m. for four weeks. This will help to accommodate those “entrepreneurs-at-heart” who aren’t just ready yet to quit their day job and go full force into beginning their tech startup.

 Startup Slyngshot is a four stage program that consist of classes ranging from pitching, marketing, funding and more. For more information, including pricing and registration please click here. 

So what are you waiting for? AcceleratorYYC is the co-working space that gives you the opportunities you’re looking for; instead of waiting for opportunities to come to you. To quote, Benjamin Franklin, “To succeed, jump as quickly at opportunities as you do to conclusions.”