Billions With Zero Knowledge

Last summer my friend Patrick Lauzon and I spoke about the need to create a new type of networking event that would bring together founders of technology firms, angel investors and venture capitalists.

We held the first Founders & Founders dinner last November with a private group of 75 people.   With the help of our sponsors, iNovia Capital, Neotech Capital and Montreal Startup the event raised $1,000 for the Montreal Barcamp community.

The event was a great success, and was quickly replicated in Toronto by our friends David Crow and Jevon MacDonald.

2nd Founders & Funders Montreal Announced

We are pleased to announce that we are going to be holding the second Montreal Founders and Funders dinner this coming May 14th in Montreal.

To help expand the community of people we invite to the event, we are opening up a registration form for invites allowing anyone who is a founder, angel investor or VC investor to request an invite. 

We are limited to 100 seats for the dinner.   The fee for the dinner will be $100 which will include drinks and dinner.

Given the interest we received after the first event and the fact that we won’t be able to invite everyone who has expressed interest to the dinner.  As a result we are also going to be hosting an after dinner open cocktail networking (A nice roof top terrace party).  The networking event will cost $20 and include two drink tickets.

Attendees to the dinner will be able to attend the networking event.  The networking party afterwards is open to anyone interested in the technology community in Montreal (not just Founders & Funders).

All profits from the event will go to support Barcamp events in Montreal.

How to Get An Invite

If you would like to attend the dinner, or the networking event after the dinner please fill out the following form and let us know who you are.

We will be contacting everyone with details on the location & registration for the dinner in the coming weeks.  We will also be announcing the great sponsors who are supporting us throw the event.

You can keep track of the event on the Founders and Funders blog.

If you would like to sponsor the event please feel free to contact me.

On Fri 18 Apr 2008. 1 Comment

Illustration by Asaf HANUKA - Logo by Hamish Macpherson
Illustration is not an advertisement of the actual attendees  or events of Montreal Python.

Akoha and Standout Jobs are once again hosting MontrealPython 2 which is occurring tonight at the Standout Jobs office.

Date: Thursday, April 10, 2008
Time: 6:30pm - 9:00pm
Location: Standout Jobs HQ
Street: 3981 St-Laurent Suite # 615
City/Town: Montreal, QC View Map

The event notice is here on Facebook. 

Tonight the schedule includes,

Asterisk and Python
by Cyril Robert

Asterisk, allows the average user to do pretty much anything he wants
with his telephony system. It is open source and billed as the “future of telephony”.

The first step in using asterisk is understanding it correctly, which
will be the first part of Cyril’s lecture. The second part will
focus on how to take advantage of Python to make asterisk a whole lot
easier.

PyQT and PyOpenGL: Live hacking a toy app
by Yannick Gingras.

For the first 35 mins, Yannick will hack a toy app from scratch using
PyQt and PyOpenGL. After that, he will answer questions for 10 minutes.

Michael Deutsch also proposed we take a look at the introduction by Guido Van Rossum of Google App Engine if we have time.

For the Montreal Canadian fans attending I’ve already confirmed that a few people in attendance will be watching the game stream from CBC so I’m sure we can all keep running updates in between our Pythonistas presentations.

If you are into Python come on out and join us.

On Thu 10 Apr 2008. No Comments

I’m incredibly proud to be part of the new Montreal Startup fund that launched this week.

Montreal Startup is a new $3 million dollar angel-backed seed fund, that is run by John Stokes & Daniel Drouet.  Both John and Daniel are very active in the local startup community and did an incredible job in securing the support & involvement of many of the cities angels and structuring a fund that is focused on a gap in the funding market.

Alongside my friends Alan Macintosh, Jean-Sebastien Cournoyer - I am involved a both as an investor & board member of the fund.  The rest of the investors include a who’s who of the cities seasoned & successful entrepreneurs with generous investment support from Investissement Quebec

Montreal Startup will be focused on seed stage investments where we will be assisting entrepreneurs in building venture ready companies by providing critical funding and mentorship.

You can read more about the funds focus in this announcement.

Kristina Tomaz-Young at VC-TV has a two posts about the launch up.

She also has some video from this weeks press conference up which I’m including here.

As Jevon points out on StartupNorth, a $3 million dollar fund isn’t a large fund for Canada but with our focus on seed style investments and the combination of the advisory capital with capital investments for early stage projects we are confident that this will help meet a needed gap in Montreal.  I also know of similar projects being initiated in Toronto & Vancouver and we hope this fund can serve as a model for replication across Canada.

In addition to the launch of the fund, Montreal Startup announced their investment in Standout Jobs.   As Ben points out, Montreal Startup joined iNovia Capital, my own funding and participation by some other angels in the previously announced funding of Standout Jobs.  Now that the fund has launched we are able to announce this investment which is a great example of how Montreal Startup is going to be also investing alongside angels & VCs for the best new startups in Montreal.

For some more comments on the fund here are some links I found interesting,

• Marc MacLeod, CFO at MobiVox (who writes a great blog on CFO life at a Startup)
• Boris Mann writes about the fund at Bootup Labs.
• Heri at Montreal Tech Watch covers the announcement and the investment in Standout Jobs.

If you are an entrepreneur in Montreal, looking for funding then MSU is open for business.

As always, Ben has a great post on what you need to know about Startup Funding.  Ben is a great writer and shares his experiences building Standout Jobs regularly on his blog which is a must read for those with an inkling for startup life.

On Sat 15 Mar 2008. [3] Comments

Interlogiq is holding a conference this Wednesday on Angel and technology financing.

I’ll be speaking that afternoon alongside Dan Mothersill from the National Angels Organization.  I’ll be speaking about some common myths of entrepreneurs & angels that I’ve encountered to try and shed some light on why these two groups so often fail to connect with each other.

In addition Le Reseau Anges Quebec will be holding a cocktail in the evening following the presentation by a number of companies looking to raise financing. (Disclosure: I’m a board member of Les Anges Quebec, but haven’t updated my disclosure & bio page yet)

If you are looking for funding for your startup, or are an angel looking to network with other investors I would encourage you to come to the event.

On Tue 11 Mar 2008. 1 Comment

Despite the cold weather, Montreal is hot for young entrepreneurs. La Jeune Chambre de Commerce will this Thursday the 28th of February host its 13th edition of Les Anges Financiers. This fast paced evening will give a unique chance to some lucky selected Start-Ups to show off their talent in front of the Montreal Angel community. There is also $25,000 in grants available to winning companies.  I attended last years event where I saw an interesting mix of local companies.

Unfortunately I’ll be travelling this week and miss the event, but I was in touch with Alexandre Teodoresco who is in charge of the event and asked him to answer some questions about the event.

Q: Tell us about the event. What is it exactly?

Les Anges Financier is a contest where 20 innovative Start ups from all over Quebec are selected by a jury made out of some prominent business people. These finalists then have a chance to present their business in front of the Angel community during the Gala of ‘les Anges Financiers’

The event has been organized by ‘la Jeune Chambre de Commerce de Montreal’ for 13 years in collaboration with the ‘Fondation du Maire’ and Economic Development Canada.

The event itself is a bit like a ‘Dragon’s Den’ but larger. The Angels can meet the entrepreneurs at their booth and then the finalist have 2 minutes each to come on stage and impress the community. 2 minutes that can change lives, you can feel the tension. 

Q: What is its mission and its vision?

Our mission is to help young innovative start ups in Quebec raise the capital they are seeking by giving them a unique visibility in front of the Angels community in Quebec. It is also to help the Angel community have access to first rate start ups in Quebec. Our vision is to be one of the most recognized events in Quebec when it comes to mixing up young entrepreneurial talent and Angel funds.

So far we have been lucky to benefit from great media coverage and great support from different governmental organizations as well as the business community. 

Q: How has the event helped young companies in the past?

The event has helped dozens of young companies raise money and get great visibility in the Angel community. We have witnessed great success stories in the past and some great ones are still in the making. Some past winners include, Liquid Nutrition, Pakwa Technologies, Arianne Controls, Opto Security, Emovendo, etc. these companies. Its especially rewarding for us to see some of those finalists come back now as Angels and investors.

Q: How can people participate?

The event will take place on the 28th at the Centre Mont Royal. At the moment, we are finalizing all the invitations for the Angels. So if you are an investor and want to spend a fun and inspiring evening with other Angels, it is very easy to register. Simply go on the web site, www.angesfinanciers.qc.ca .

On Sun 24 Feb 2008. 1 Comment

Heri from MontrealTechWatch is working on a great initiative to build a public database with a list of all the technology companies, projects and venture firms in Montreal.

If you operate, work for or are part of a local technology firm please take a moment and help us get the details of your company on the list. The list is open to venture firms, local web projects that may be personal and companies that service, develop or operate in the technology sector.

You can enter your company details at MontrealTechWatch here.

On Thu 29 Nov 2007. No Comments

BarcampMontreal3 is on for this weekend.   Akoha is co-sponsoring the event, and we’ll be there in force.

Date: Saturday, November 3rd, 2008

It’s an all day event, starting at 9am and it’s absolutely free.

I’ve been really busy with an angel financing round for Akoha and working with our team on an internal release.   For Barcamp I’m going to do a presentation on raising angel financing including some example term sheets, approaches to structuring angel rounds and introduce some of the local angel groups that are looking at early stage technology deals.

Hope to see you all there.

On Wed 31 Oct 2007. No Comments

Heri who is doing a very cool job writing MontrealTechWatch recently did two maps of the Montreal Technology Community scene. Very cool to see lot’s of friends and thanks to Heri for doing this (and for the mentions).

On Tue 17 Jul 2007. [6] Comments

I mentioned in a previous post that I’m involved in hosting and welcoming people to Montreal for CFP 2007.

There is a panel & party which is open to anyone who would like to support or learn about Net Freedom. 

Proceeds from the fundraising party after the panel will go to support Creative Commons and the Electronic Privacy Information Center.

I’m including a copy of the invitation that will is being handed out at the CFP registration desk for any Montreal locals not attending the conference but who would like to join us for the party & panel discussion.

It should be a good party, as there are about 150+ attendees from CFP and lot’s of local Montreal technology community members invited.

Here are instructions on how to get from the Bonaventure Hotel to the party location.

Music will be by Juno-award winning DJ and product Miguel Graca.

On Mon 30 Apr 2007. 1 Comment

I’m on the program advisory board for the Youth Employment Services Entrepreneur Conference which is occuring tomorrow Saturday March 3rd at the Delta Hotel in Montreal (along with my friend Mitch who recruited me to help, which I was happy to do).

YES the Future is Yours
New TRENDS .  New IDEAS . New CONTACTS

YES Montreal is now accepting registration for the 10th Anniversary YES Entrepreneurship Conference, which will be held on Saturday March 3rd at the Delta Hotel, Centre Ville. Over 350 entrepreneurs and special guests will be in  attendance, including keynote speaker Lino Saputo Jr., President and CEO of Saputo.
For workshop descriptions and registration forms, download the program brochure by clicking here.  Don’t forget to visit our website for updates www.yesmontreal.ca

I’m speaking at 3pm on financing and starting your company.  I’ll be be doing a series of case studies of my various startups throughout my career and how I financed them.  I’ll be reviewing the different approaches to financing and bootstrapping a company.

The program for the conference is here.  Come out if you are an aspiring entrepreneur with questions, or looking to network with other entrepreneurs.

Small correction in the program, I have been mistakenly listed as the head of strategy for Zero-Knowledge Systems :( 

Since the Gazette article where I was mentioned earlier this week, I noticed a lot of search engine traffic in my logs for “austin hill zero knowledge what happened” and similar questions.

For those interested in an update, Zero-Knowledge succesfully survived the technology melt down, flourished and became the world leader in providing managed broadband services for ISPs and changed its name to Radialpoint. 

They are doing phenomonal and are one of Canada’s fastest growing software companies.   (Radialpoint is also hiring and they are growing so quick there are great entrepreneurial opportunities within the company for any really bright and ambitious people.)

I left Radialpoint in June to work on a new venture called Project Ojibwe with my old friend Alex Eberts (also a Zero-Knowledge co-founder).

On Fri 2 Mar 2007. [3] Comments