Archive for the ‘Montreal’ Category
Presenting teams at StartupCamp Montreal
January 17th, 2008
Well the news has been out for a few days but I was just too busy to write a post about it. So here it goes. There were roughly 30 startups competing for this event. Some very well known (Standout Jobs, Mobivox and Praized) and some very stealthy (the rest of them basically). 5 “winners” were selected by investors and here they are:
1 - Cozimo
2 - Tungle
3 - Streametrics
4 - iGotcha Media
5 - YourTeleDoctor
Selected companies will each give a 10 minute presentation, then they will receive 5 to 10 minutes of feedback and questions from the audience.
There are still “paying tickets” available (service providers @ 200$ and sponsors @ 1000$) so if you want to participate as a service provider or as a sponsor, please do not hesitate as there might be startups looking for help (lawyers, accountants, consultant and so on).
Non presenting startups will still have the chance to present their company informally so please join us!
Posted in Angels, Montreal, StartupCamp, Startups, Venture capital | Comments (2)
Startupping guide - Help wanted
January 9th, 2008
Heri from MontrealTechWatch is on a quest. He wants to list all the resources a startup can use. This includes:
- Existing designers in Montréal who can help startups, or design companies who specialize in user interfaces,
- Developers or development shops,
- Consultants who provide coaching, business advice to startups
- SEO and marketing experts,
- List of grants, subsidies, loans available from the provincial and federal government,
- Lawyers who specialize in technology,
- Investors, VCs, angels who are active in technology,
- Blogs, and sources of information that might be helpful,
- Organizations, either private or parapublic, which can help technology startups
- And the list of events such as democamps, blitzweekend, barcamps, montreal on rails, etc.
So if you’re one of them, please contact him directly. My only wish is that he adds this to his (already amazing) Google map mashup.
Posted in Montreal, Quebec, Startups | Comments (2)
Join YulNews as CTO
January 3rd, 2008
YulNews is a pre-financing startup whose goal is to offer a new and very innovative breed of web-based social news platform. YulNews is looking for a partner to become the CTO. As a CTO, your first task will consist of developing an initial version of the product from actual specifications.We’re looking for someone who believes in user created content (blogs, videos and pictures) and strongly believes that the current news system must be changed.
Did you miss your chance with Google or Facebook? Do you want to own a lottery ticket where you control the odds? Now is the time to prove yourself while staying in Montreal!
Skills:
Expert knowledge of PHP.
Very good knowledge of JavaScript / AJAX / CSS / XML
Very good knowledge of MySQL (stored procedures, triggers, indexes, table normalization and database design).
Very good knowledge of secure coding practices.
Very good knowledge of scalable development.
Working knowledge of a Linux scripting language (Perl, Python).
Good web design / user interface skills.
Good Linux system administrator skills (installing, configuring and maintaining Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP packages).
Basic graphics skills (must be able to do basic graphic manipulations).
Your profile:
You were ideally a lead developer on a medium/large project.
You are able to work in a “LAMP” environment.
You have a good sense of humor but you’re able to “crunch” when needed.
You “work and live” on the Internet.
You know what “startup life” is and at minimum, you’ve read this article: dotcom.monster.com/articles/startup
You can afford NOT to get paid until angel/venture capital financing is obtained.
Extra points:
Proven ability to excel in fast paced start-up environments.
You enjoy solving those Facebook/Google puzzles.
You found, and fixed, bugs in PHP or any other software.
Benefits:
Be part in a team who wants to change the world of news.
Be part of an exciting startup right here in Montreal.
Be employee #2.
Get the most flexible work schedule ever (you work when and where you want)
Important: No salary will be given until angel/venture capital financing is obtained (You will be given stocks and stock options)
We set the barrier high but we also want to hear from fast learners who aren’t afraid of trying to climb it.
Interested? Send any pertinent information (resume, portfolio, Linkedin/Facebook profiles, etc.) to info@yulnews.com
Posted in Cross post, Montreal, Startups, YulNews, jobs | Comments (0)
Station C getting closer!
January 3rd, 2008
Great news for a lot of entrepreneurs, consultants, coders and other independent workers: Station C is going to open in February! Station C is a shared work area which are quite popular in large cities around the world.
This is great news and the price is very affordable. It’s cheaper to go there than to go to a noisy cafe where Internet access is often slow. I wish Patrick a lot of luck with this project. Pass the word around!
Posted in Innovation, Montreal, ideas | Comments (0)
BarCamp Montreal #3 - It rocked!
November 5th, 2007
Well, BarCamp Montreal is now over. I must say that is was a complete success. The organization was flawless thanks to everyone who participated. A special thank you goes to Simon Law, who went to bed at 5am because he had to print out the name tags. Another special thank you to Evan who woke up at 5am to make sure everyone got coffee! Great job! 
It made the registration process a lot smoother. Although it was a Montreal-based event, some people from Ottawa and Toronto joined.
Here are my thoughts on what I really liked in no particular order.
CakeMail - This thing rocks. Having tried it in the past, it’s definitively ready for prime time. I haven’t seen the Google maps / Web statistic part of it but I think it’s pure madness (in an genius way of speaking). The only thing missing is the linking of geographical data to a user. This might be a bit hard - I admit - but will be worth gold to some people, especially if users don’t enter their location in their profile (like most traditional mailing lists).
Keiki - Awesome. I’m a parent myself and although I’ve never paid for parenting books (who does?) having a centralized place for such information is great. A great plus would be to have “certified profiles” who can write special articles (i.e. doctors, pediatricians, etc.) As a parent, I often hear about many weird things and unless it comes from a doctor, I take it with a grain of salt. So something to keep an eye on!
TimmyOnTime - Too bad their demo, their backup and their rescue boat (the videos) didn’t work. The product looks very promising especially for freelancers and consultants. I suggested them to find a solution for larger companies who already use an internal system (i.e. make a plugin to put the data in Oracle). I’m not sure if they want to focus on large companies in the short term so let’s see. Guys, BarCampCanada is coming soon (March, May?) so how about a final release demo?
RefactorMyCode - This is really cool. Marc-André did a nice presentation but I thought it was a bit too short. I agree that it was a “lighting talk” but going a bit deeper would’ve been nice (especially for the geek crowd). Standout Jobs sponsors the project so this means it’s good stuff!
Sylvain Carle - I stopped counting his presentations. Was it 3 or maybe 4? Great speaker. He knows his stuff very well and he mentioned that he had to pitch 40 times in order to receive financing for Praized. Great lessons for everyone. It shows what dedication can do…! I also love his “paradox”: No competition: stupid idea, no competition: amazing idea! How about when there’s a little bit of competition? Or event a lot? Google wouldn’t be here otherwise…! Regarding Google’s mega API: I guess they had no choice. We often say: if you can’t beat them, join them. Well Google said: if you can’t beat them, control them! Sort of…
BlitzWeekend - Heri did a quick talk and managed to gain some interest from some people. Let’s hope lots of people will participate as similar events in the past (mainly Startup Weekends) were very successful. This is a must attend event! (shameless plug as I’m helping Heri organize it)
Austin Hill - No slides but what a presentation! I was very amazed to see his level of knowledge regarding Angel investing. He knows his stuff! Everone was listening. It proves that people are interested in the financial part of any business (hint to VC/angels - why don’t you come for a presentation?)
Finally, yours truly made a presentation about my own project (YulNews.com) and I’d like to take the opportunity to announce you that YulNews now has its own blog. The URL is: www.yulnews.com/blog. The purpose of the blog is to talk about the project’s progress and any social news issues. So you are officially invited to visit and participate!
Heri from MontrealTechWatch has an amazing article about the latest camp. Lots of pictures too!
All in all, BCM3 was very fun and if you haven’t showed up, you must attend the very first Canadian BarCamp. I heard some exciting rumors!
Posted in BarCampMontreal, Montreal, YulNews, barcamp, internet | Comments (4)
BarCampMontreal is tomorrow!!
November 2nd, 2007
Yes yes, I’m still alive. Just very busy working on my project (YulNews), the BlitzWeekend and getting my presentation ready for the third BarCamp Montreal tomorrow (Saturday, November 3rd).
Please remember that you must attend! This event only occurs every 6 months or so and it will be awesome! I expect a lot of coverage but no coverage can replace your own participation so please come even just for a couple of hours if you can make it for the whole day. Hey, I will be there, isn’t that worth the trip..!? Ok ok…
Posted in Montreal, Startups, barcamp | Comments (2)
