On Thursday, ideaBOOST held its Master Class and Networking Event at the Arts & Letters Club on Elm Street in Toronto, and featured expert insights from leading entrepreneurs in the technology space.
The interview-based Master Class included input from Sunil Sharma, Managing Director of STEM 7 Capital; Doug Cooper, Program Director for the Communitech Hyperdrive Accelerator; and Hussein Fazal, the co-founder of AdParlor (sold to Adknowledge in 2011).
Participants from the current Spring 2013 ideaBOOST Cohort and Affiliate Program were invited to attend for informal networking and the featured Master Class.
Here are some of the tips Sharma, Cooper and Fazal had for emerging startups:
“Really leveraging and accessing the mentor network – that’s important. I think the most valuable part of being in any program is the mentor network,” Sharma said. “It takes a lot of personal initiative to contact, to research the mentors, research their networks and be typically un-Canadian in their strategy of reaching out.”
According to Cooper, accountability is crucial.
“Startups need to make some real objectives that aren’t just vanity metrics like site visits, ad impressions. If you’re just trying to engage people, these metrics mean almost nothing. The key is being disciplined enough to capture a metric that isn’t easy to capture.”
“You have to keep talking to people, emailing — just keep hustling,” Fazal said. “Startups shouldn’t be afraid of being persistent and hearing ‘no’.”
See full photo coverage from the July 24 event here.
Be sure to stay tuned for updates on this exciting group of companies, as well as the ideaBOOST program.
This October 12-23 don’t miss the Festival of New Cinema in Montréal! James Milward, alumni of the CFC Media Lab, will be doing a conference talk on Transmedia Storytelling.
The Festival of New Cinema is dedicated to the dissemination and development of new trends in cinema and new media. It acts as a springboard raising awareness of original, unpublished works, encouraging the development of auteur cinema and digital creation.
For 40 years this festival has welcomed filmmakers each year in Quebec from abroad into a friendly atmosphere where interactions between the the public and professionals is encouraged. The strength of the Festival of New Cinema lies primarily in its diverse programming and openness to all, centered on excellence and the presentation of original works. The festival has a network of international contacts and infrastructure unmatched in Montreal. A major event of the film landscape in North America Since 1971, the Festival of New Cinema has brilliantly shown its ability to evolve and adapt to the audio-visual practices most advanced in integrating new programming technology creation and diffusion. For 11 days, film, video, performance, multimedia works, interactive installations and other hybrid forms from artistic practices engendered by digital technologies come together in a single event: the Festival du nouveau cinema!
Visit nouveaucinema.ca for individual tickets or passes to the festival!
Come and join the MEIC during its inaugural AGM. This will be an opportunity to hear from companies the MEIC has worked with over the last year, learn how you can benefit from becoming involved as a member, and meet others working in the mobile industry.
The Mobile Experience Innovation Centre (MEIC) is a recently incorporated not-for-profit association that has grown out of an industry/academia consortium, founded by OCAD University in 2007, to form Canada’s only organization focused on design leadership and experience innovation in the mobile industry to accelerate sector growth in mobile content, services and computing.
MEIC now offers the first mobile-focused design incubator in the Greater Toronto Region operating on OCAD University’s campus at 205 Richmond Street West.
The association offers applied research and commercialization support, advisory services, conferences and workshops, and international outreach.
Since the MEIC is a brand-new association, we are offering attendees a Charter Association Membership.
This is a one-time offer to join for FREE, so please be sure to save the date!
This classification of membership will provide you with voting privileges at the AGM as well as discounts to workshops and partner events.
Last night, the Canadian New Media Awards (CNMA’s) announced their 2010 Nominees!
The CNMAs are the country’s only nationwide competition that clebrates the accomplishments of Canada’s most successful digital media companies. Now in its 10th year, the Canadian New Media Awards are a part of nextMEDIA Toronto, Canada’s leading forum for the convergence of all forms of digital media, taking place November 29th & 30th, 2010 at the Design Exchange in Toronto. The CNMA gala ceremony will be held December 1, 2010, on the Trading Floor of the Design Exchange. The event is a four-part affair comprised of a pre-awards showcase, cocktail reception, awards ceremony and the much-anticipated after-party.
“We received more entries than any other year from almost every province in Canada, and we’re thrilled to be recognizing such a diverse range of companies and individuals. Every year the bar is raised with innovative creativity, entrepreneurship, and pioneering technology.”
- Jory Groberman, Executive Director of nextMEDIA
I’m crossing my fingers for CFC Media Lab Alumnae, Victoria Ha (Stitch Media) for Producer of the Year!
On Thursday, September 29, 2010, CFC Media Lab launched the prototypes created by Residents from the Fall 2009 and Spring 2010 sessions of the TELUS Interactive Art & Entertainment Program.
On Saturday, October 2, 2010, these prototypes were exhibited for Scotiabank Nuit Blanche 2010 at InterAccess Gallery.
CFC Media Lab Presents: CLOSE ENCOUNTERS
A night of "Exploratory Play"...
"Exploratory Play"... IN 3D!
Scotiabank Nuit Blanche 2010 Exhibit: Zone C #19
Neighbourhoodie, Created By: Rose Bianchini, Kathleen Climie, David McCallum
Unit N-O14, Created By: Camille Betts, Justin Ferrato
DruMeBa, Created By: Dee Balkissoon, Cathy Chen, Orla Garriques, Conor Holler
Voicings, Created By: Dawn Buie, Liz Gallo, David Goorevitch
I Should Be Dreaming of Butterflies, Created By: Sharon Switzer, Featured Alumni Artist
A good-lookin' crowd being addressed by our fearless leaders...
Slawko Klymkiw, CFC Executive Director
Ana Serrano, CFC Media Lab Director
Jacqueline Nuwame, CFC Media Lab Senior Training Programs Manager
And what party is a party without decadent food!
A great big THANK YOU to everyone who made the night such a success!
I Should Be Dreaming of Butterflies – By: Sharon Switzer Voicings - By: Dawn Buie, Liz Gallo, David Goorevitch DruMeBa – By: Dee Balkissoon, Cathy Chen, Orla Garriques, Conor Holler Neighbourhoodie -By: Rose Bianchini, Kathleen Climie, David McCallum Unit N-O14 - By: Camille Betts, Justin Ferrato
The2010 01SJ Biennial(ZER01, San Jose) was a great success thanks to CFC Media Lab Alumni David McCallum, Rose Bianchini, Kathleen Climie, Sharon Switzer, Angella Mackey, and Pearl Chen as well as CFC Media Lab Operations Manager, Leonardo Dell’Anno.
This festival is predicated on the notion that as artists, designers, engineers, architects, marketers, corporations and citizens we have the tools to (re)build the world, conceptually and actually, virtually and physically, poorly and better, aesthetically and pragmatically, in both large and small ways.
Under the theme “Build Your Own World,” the CFC Media Lab led a series of workshops where participants made their Hoodie “zombie-tag” ready for a widespread, participatory game:
The making of…
Project Hoodie Play is based on a wearable game by Rose Bianchini, Kathleen Climie and David McCallum created during their residency at CFC Media Lab’s TELUS Interactive Art & Entertainment Program. (Special shout out goes to Kate Hartman, CFC Media Lab guest faculty for helping us design the workshop!)
Check out Project Hoodie Play in ACTION:
Also at 01SJ, CFC Media Lab and Art for Commuters founder, Sharon Switzer presented the “Best Of” works from the Art For Commuters library that speak to the theme of conscious creation.
Take a peek at the “Best Of” works here:
Also at 01SJ was Luke Jerram’s “Play Me I’m Yours” an installation in which 19 street pianos appeared on the streets of San Jose, CA (www.01sjpiano.com). Located in public parks, streets and squares, the pianos were for any member of the public to play and enjoy. This project was about enlivening the urban space and the community in places you would least expect it.
Check out the music video below featuring Canadian Jazz Artist, Ori Dagan (Produced by CFC Media Lab and Leonardo Dell’Anno):
CONGRATS TO ALL!
I can hardly wait to see Project Hoodie Play in action on Toronto’s streets this Saturday during Scotiabank Nuit Blanche 2010.
So you think you’re the fastest Zombie in Toronto? PROVE IT! Make InterAccess Gallery (9 Ossington Ave.) a stop on your Nuit Blanche route and sign-up for a game of Zombie tag at 9pm, 12am, or 3am.
Culture Days is a massive arts and culture party taking place in every province and territory across Canada this September 24 – 26, 2010 (in Alberta, September 17 – 19). The party takes shape in the form of thousands of free interactive activities for the public to enjoy and appreciate the inner world of artists and creators. Everyone connected to the creative process (including you!) is encouraged to join the movement by registering an activity at www.culturedays.ca
Activities can be as simple opening the doors to your studio and sharing your creative process as a designer, architect, artist or writer. Host a demo in person or online viaUStream. The only requirements are that registered activities must be free, open to the public and interactive. The interactive component can be sophisticated or quite simple. For example, if you have an exhibit going on, you can add a simple interaction by offering a chance to meet the artists or to talk to the curators about the show, or finding a way to encourage dialogue among the public themselves.
If you can’t organize an activity this year, we hope you will help spread the word about cool Culture Days activities in your area. Every activity has its own page on the website with social media buttons to make it easy for you to share it with friends. Or make your own Top 10 list on Facebook. Show your support for culture!
For more information on Culture Days, please contact helenyung@culturedays.ca or visit www.culturedays.ca where you can search by postal code or keywords or browse by category or using the Google Maps Mashup.
CFC Media Lab and MaRS co-presented with Jumpwire Media to launch Cross Media Toronto on July 21st, 2010 at the MaRS Centre. Cross Media Toronto (www.crossmediato.com) featured heavyweight media industry executives who discussed perspectives on how transmedia content will be produced, distributed and consumed in a cross media environment, with a specific look at ways to incorporate cross media into business models.
I recommend taking a few minutes out of your Monday to go YouTubing down the web-stream!
Bombs away!
Whether you’re a strategic collector of railroads or would rather invest in hotels on Mediterranean and Baltic, here is your official invitation and reminder to come out and play award-winning Gentrification: The Game! developed by Atmosphere Industries (www.atmosphereindustries.com)comprised of CFC Media Lab Alumnus and Guest Faculty Member, Kate Raynes-Goldie, with Luke Walker, David Fono and Alex Raynes-Goldie.
Gentrification: The Game! is a game*! But not your usual kind of game.
It’s a game that happens on the street, with sidewalk chalk, parades, and even a mobile web app if you feel like it. It’s called a Big Game by festivals like Come Out and Play in NYC, who awarded us Best in Fest and Best Use of Technology this summer, out of 40 other games from organizations like Disney Imagineering and NYU. Ditto for the Hide & Seek Festival in London, who are flying team across the pond this month for an ultra-exclusive edition of Gentrification: The Game: The British Expansion Pack.
*Gentrification in a nutshell: 30 people, divided into teams of developers and locals, fight to collect real-life properties, build chain coffee shops, form BIAs, and bend the neighbourhood to their will. They’ll craft slick advertising campaigns, deliver impassioned speeches, and probably run around a bit. It’s part Monopoly, part public space hacking, and part something else entirely.
This October 12-23 don’t miss the Festival of New Cinema in Montréal! James Milward, alumni of the CFC Media Lab, will be doing a conference talk on Transmedia Storytelling. The Festival of New Cinema is dedicated to the dissemination and development of new trends in cinema and new media. It acts as a springboard raising […]
The Mobile Experience Innovation Centre (MEIC) Annual General Meeting (AGM), April 5, 2011 Come and join the MEIC during its inaugural AGM. This will be an opportunity to hear from companies the MEIC has worked with over the last year, learn how you can benefit from becoming involved as a member, and meet others working […]
Last night, the Canadian New Media Awards (CNMA’s) announced their 2010 Nominees! The CNMAs are the country’s only nationwide competition that clebrates the accomplishments of Canada’s most successful digital media companies. Now in its 10th year, the Canadian New Media Awards are a part of nextMEDIA Toronto, Canada’s leading forum for the convergence of all […]
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS: On Thursday, September 29, 2010, CFC Media Lab launched the prototypes created by Residents from the Fall 2009 and Spring 2010 sessions of the TELUS Interactive Art & Entertainment Program. On Saturday, October 2, 2010, these prototypes were exhibited for Scotiabank Nuit Blanche 2010 at InterAccess Gallery. A great big THANK YOU to […]
THANK YOU to everyone who came out and made last night’s VIP Launch such a success! Make sure InterAccess Gallery (9 Ossington Ave.) is a stop on your route for Scotiabank Nuit Blanche 2010! Here is a preview of what’s there to explore! I Should Be Dreaming of Butterflies – By: Sharon Switzer Voicings – […]
The 2010 01SJ Biennial (ZER01, San Jose) was a great success thanks to CFC Media Lab Alumni David McCallum, Rose Bianchini, Kathleen Climie, Sharon Switzer, Angella Mackey, and Pearl Chen as well as CFC Media Lab Operations Manager, Leonardo Dell’Anno. This festival is predicated on the notion that as artists, designers, engineers, architects, marketers, corporations […]
Calling All Digital Creators! Culture Days is a massive arts and culture party taking place in every province and territory across Canada this September 24 – 26, 2010 (in Alberta, September 17 – 19). The party takes shape in the form of thousands of free interactive activities for the public to enjoy and appreciate the […]
Check out the full coverage of Cross Media Toronto 2010 (CMTO10) now up on YouTube as a 13-part series: www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_hiHUhFtCY CFC Media Lab and MaRS co-presented with Jumpwire Media to launch Cross Media Toronto on July 21st, 2010 at the MaRS Centre. Cross Media Toronto (www.crossmediato.com) featured heavyweight media industry executives who discussed perspectives on […]
Whether you’re a strategic collector of railroads or would rather invest in hotels on Mediterranean and Baltic, here is your official invitation and reminder to come out and play award-winning Gentrification: The Game! developed by Atmosphere Industries (www.atmosphereindustries.com) comprised of CFC Media Lab Alumnus and Guest Faculty Member, Kate Raynes-Goldie, with Luke Walker, David Fono and […]
