- RT @geoperdis: @davidcrow takes tech TWIT category w/ @leilaboujnane & @accordionguy placing 2nd & 3rd. A DemoCamp sweep http://j.mp/8Wqw86 #
- @geoperdis that @davecoleman fella broke the #DemoCamp stranglehold with +1% on our 4th @jaygoldman #
- #FF @accordionguy @leilaboujnane @jaygoldman @sachac @michele_perras @skemsley @davecoleman @walkah @tpurves list by @mondoville #
- RT @KISSmetrics: 65 Creative And Stylish Footer Designs of 2009 http://bit.ly/6CBdW3 #webdesign #
- Areas of Interest: mobile, android, gaming, ecomm & cloud platforms + APIs, edu, enviro+energy http://bit.ly/7Lwrz4 by @fredwilson #mustread #
- Tech for 2010: Tablets, Geo, Realtime search, Chrome OS, HTML5, mobile video, A/R, mobile ecomm Android, Social CRM http://bit.ly/4pvUlf #
- What origami can teach us about product requirements? http://bit.ly/75yp2k #
- 10 Predictions for the world of Jan 1, 2020 http://bit.ly/69Bj39 by @paultoo cloud, mobile, healthcare, energy, AI, economic crash, politics #
- RT @startupcfo: @markevans Its great to be in the plumbing business http://is.gd/5KM4X < thoughts on cloud plumbing #
- Predictions for 2010 by @johnbattelle: end of US web dominance, GOOG more than search, open gaming platform, search results deteriorate, +++ #
- RT @ryancoleman: The Arcs of Community – Affiliated vs. Built Communities – which path to take? http://bit.ly/7hMwji #
- Who is Ubersick Ventures? http://bit.ly/7aXTaT is this a JLA rebranding or a scam? #WTF #
- Sweet – Synaptics Scrybe for trackpads "it's like Quicksilver on a Mac, except with a trackpad instead of a keyboard" http://bit.ly/6ctZt9 #
- A replacement for my 1st gen iPhone? sounds very close http://bit.ly/63wBm5 review of Nexus One by @fredwilson #
- @markdowds I think it's a prank or early threat warning for JLA or an enterprising pirate in reply to markdowds #
- Survey shows Android OS potential buyers in next 90 days growing http://bit.ly/5xZv38 #mobile #marketdata #
- Digital Media Watching @aliasaria @jordan_banks @mcyl @erin_bury @hulford @CarolLeaman @tobi @kunalfrompolar @talentegg http://bit.ly/6uMQNn #
- RT @stoweboyd Successful Media Companies Of The Future Will Be LIke Software Companies http://sto.ly/6H4mNS Learn from SuicideGirls #
- @LaurenFriese missed you for inclusion in @techvibes 2010 Digital Media Peeps to Watch list (twitter search fail) in reply to LaurenFriese #
- RT @byosko: Startup Children: Introducing Talker http://tinyurl.com/y8lo3cl < great posts http://bit.ly/6EVj3e #
- RT @Desix Nice article about pricing models – gets you thinking in the right way if nothing else: http://bit.ly/4qX792 #
- RT @venturehacks “I have been telling all my startups to find a way to last 2 years assuming no revenue.” @dshen http://j.mp/4TnObO #
- @jkozuch the Beaver, the Mooseknuckle… #sponsorship #
- Shame on Best Buy http://bit.ly/7Hxjjf this is just consumer exploitation #
- Great opportunity for an Entrepreneur-In-Residence in Vancouver with @bwertz http://bit.ly/69gEE5 #consumer #internet #ventures #
- The Innovation Age Bias at Sequoia Capital http://bit.ly/8j2ECn Innovator <30 while us old folk, >30 are ok for management #
- RT @MikeMcDerment: I'm a "Trail Blazer and Trend setter" according to Entrepreneur Magazine http://bit.ly/5nCTUQ < nice pic Mike, congrats #
- RT @chrisarsenault Congrats @rogerchabra! Rho is a great VC firm. Welcome back to Montreal. < congratulations Roger! #
- Predictions for 2010 from @dondodge http://bit.ly/605CyV cloud, browser, android & mobile: bandwidth grows, games, payments, primary devices #
- RT @howardlindzon Microsoft UNVEILS NEW SMARTPHONE AT CES http://bit.ly/7tOSc2 (wow…smart) ht @reformedbroker << LOL #
- 2010 predictions from @itworldca http://bit.ly/8kxzBV private cloud, mobile bandwidth, SaaS goes mainstream, mobile, social media tracking #
- @scottica include me for a SWIX invite in reply to scottica #
- RT @rickspence Talked to entrepreneur about the perils of chasing "every shiny thing", "You don't need more ideas" Just better execution #
- re: Android – there are 3 flavors @beltzner post by @aprildunford http://bit.ly/6YkDuS depends on which type of agreement #
- Pre-launch marketing for stealthy startups http://bit.ly/6QTGXM by @aprildunford #marketing #
- @coldacid just confirming the keynote speaker and location expect details later today #DemoCamp #Toronto #facebook #myspace in reply to coldacid #
- checking out Kayak http://kayakhttp.com/ C# HTTP framework thoughts @jbristowe @accordionguy @colinbowern #
- New job post: User Experience Designer / Blue Coat Systems / Waterloo, ON, Canada:
Blue Coat Syst.. http://bit.ly/8yVhAP # - Kindle DX with Global Wireless http://bit.ly/8L9QPB yikes it's $489 – going to wait #
- RT @firstround Aggregate Knowledge Raises $9 Million For Online Ad Optimization Platform http://frc.vc/34p < Chris Law is ex-UW, ex-Trilogy #
- Congratulations @bumptop installed on new HP multi-touch laptop http://bit.ly/90YXnY good work @anandx #ces #
- @angielim do you want me to stop forwarding messages to you then? in reply to angielim #
- #DemoCamp Toronto 25 – Silver Anniversary Edition with @gchahal + @albertupdates http://bit.ly/4BCRCm on Jan 27, 2010 #dct25 #
- RT @bijan Our portfolio company, @boxee is hiring a creative chief. amazing job at an amazing company. http://bit.ly/6GetR4 Designed in NYC. #
- @saif_ajani currently both @albertupdates + @gchahal are scheduled to speak at #DemoCamp Toronto 25 #dct25 in reply to saif_ajani #
- Hah, if you got a message from me for David Crow Inc., I'm testing Campaign Monitor integration with Guestlistapp for DemoCamp #
- @guestlistapp other than I had misconfigured Campaign Monitor, very well, it's a great integration in reply to guestlistapp #
- RT @techstars: WSJ article featuring @vanilla http://is.gd/5PVOI < go Canada #
- Another shared workspace, incubator, angel investment fund http://bit.ly/7PQdIf in SF, ventures.io, very interesting #
- RT @Microsoft: Halo Reach only on Xbox this fall http://bit.ly/5QsDae videos that were shown at CES #
- congrats to @chrismessina on his new open web advocate gig http://bit.ly/5a8Ce2 at the $GOOG coverage @TechCrunch bit.ly/6jKRZG #
- RT @codepo8: London datastore for mashups coming soon: http://is.gd/5QT9I #opendata #uk #
- @chrisbernard I like my Windows Home Server, HP did a great job on the MediaSmart, installed as a TimeMachine drive for my Macs #
- I'm looking for someone who can give a talk with real world examples of building data warehouse in Toronto #lazyweb #
Week in Review – 2010-01-01
- checking out Conjoon http://bit.ly/aPWMw PHP/Zend and Ext JS based personal information manager #
- RT @startupnorth: 10 Things you can learn from Lady Gaga http://bit.ly/7FsooZ #
- RT @startupnorth: W Media Ventures predictions for 2010 – http://bit.ly/5v0Cen #
- RT @RuddockMH: Google Nexus One docs get leaked: $530 unsubsidized, $180 with plan http://bit.ly/7WYmKR #
- Telus SVP David Neale #2010 Mobility #predictions http://bit.ly/8t6Kcy – social graph comes to the phone, mobile broadband, LBS, smartphones #
- Great coverage of @CommunityLend in the Financial Post http://bit.ly/55tg9t #toronto #startups #
- RT @ryanstewart: Really good post on age, hiring & retention by @maryjofoley http://bit.ly/8BoKdR it applies to a lot of tech companies #
- How mobile phones may help to deter kidnapping http://bit.ly/7MFLOq #columbia #
- More trends for #2010 http://bit.ly/92lhhS social graph, cloud computing, xml, mobility, search opportunity all good stuff #
- OH @jevon "Of course, I love cheerleaders." http://bit.ly/7fHDVX #dirty #
- New job post: Business Development Lead / Assetize / Toronto, ON, Canada:
Assetize/Toronto, ON, C.. http://bit.ly/7Izp0W # - 4 metrics of user acquisition and the customer bull's eye http://bit.ly/6lnrz0 by brezina #xobni #metrics #
- What's the right amount of seed money to raise? by @cdixon http://bit.ly/6cn5Uj #startups #fundraising #
- Startup Killer: the cost of customer acquisition http://bit.ly/6KTR1G includes links to @pmarca archives #
- What startups are really like http://bit.ly/lYxnz by @ycombinator community = peer group #mustread #
- #mustread lots of good stuff from @cdixon on Google http://bit.ly/5jRV4j on web economy http://bit.ly/4CcmQG #
- New comment today on "“Accordion Guy” and “Global Nerdy” Stats for 2009" http://bt.io/CQFn #
- Top 5 Web Trends of 2009 http://bit.ly/69AYRT by @rww structured data, the real-time web, personalization, mobile web/AR, Internet of things #
- Enterprise Trends http://bit.ly/6pQ4jD http://bit.ly/8RHi1p mashups, collab, real-time, mobile, SaaS, APIs, WOAs, VoIP, sync #mustread #
- "If mobile cloud is big in 2010, it's game over for Microsoft" http://bit.ly/5qTE6n @betanews by @joewilcox #mustread #
- @tpurves but 2010 will bring the device proliferation and the need for multi-device sync like never before in reply to tpurves #
- @tpurves local versus centralized computation & storage versus bandwidth & latency, iTunes versus LaLa acquisition in reply to tpurves #
- @tpurves google is not the only business model, however, it's like a virus that drives everything other than advertising to zero in reply to tpurves #
- @tpurves @asawyer hmm, 1-way cache (subscribe) vs 2-way sync (subscribe + publish). I'm going with sync with the cloud. #
Week in Review – 2009-12-25
- @gchahal details at http://bit.ly/3le6W1 keynote speaker + 5 startup pitches @garyvee at last #democamp, proceeds to local food bank in reply to gchahal #
- RT @RuddockMH: Android closes in on iPhone ad traffic in AdMob’s latest report http://bit.ly/5bYNmJ #mobile #dev #
- Top media stories of 2009 @mondoville http://bit.ly/8HhezV feat. @jeremywright @mayormiller @michaelgeist @thoora @coveritlive @scribblelive #
- RT @startupcfo: RT @DavidDufresne: Excellent ! Status.net: Hey Microsoft: take OUR code! http://bit.ly/6tX7NO @evanpro #
- RT @startupcfo @lonely_vc: A "Reader's Digest" version of Morgan Stanley Mobile Internet Market presentation" http://bit.ly/6RsUrB #
- $GOOG in talks to buy Yelp http://bit.ly/4OfAfI #local #m&a #
- Top Tech Acquisitions for 2009 by @techcrunch, wow Sun, Marvel, 3Com, Omniture, Wind River, AdMob, Razorfish, Zappos #2009 #
- More on the $GOOG bid for Yelp http://bit.ly/6QGwcY #local #groups #bizweek #
- Wow! Stem cell therapies for hearts http://bit.ly/7O5DR8 #hAttack #research #
- crap WP2.9 upgrade broke on davidcrow.ca, off to see Santa with the girls will need to fix later #fail #wordpress #
- Actually WP2.9 upgrade gracefully recovered, delightful experience after fail #recovery #
- RT @ryanmckegney: http://bit.ly/4QbMfC OH: @davidcrow "have I told you about the amazing new features in IE9?" – get it right IE9 #
- @steveportigal recovered gracefully after 2 min (repaired and recovered in line for Santa with the kids on iPhone) #good #design #WP2.9 in reply to steveportigal #
- "Mongo is to Databases what Rails was to Frameworks" http://bit.ly/79B46P by Jon Junemaker #
- http://icio.us/aylaax #
- RT @jlax: Hey @davidcrow "Bourbon gives worse hangover than vodka" http://bit.ly/6c7nRv #bourbon that explains the other day #
- RT @om: Top 10 Internet Startup Scalability Killers http://bit.ly/8lRoaH from @gigaom #
- RT @startupcfo: This is why most startups should not bother pitching big VC funds http://bit.ly/1hc8r #startups #vc #pitching #
- http://icio.us/c3c3lu #
- http://icio.us/a1nl4u #
- http://icio.us/yuqoqb #
- http://icio.us/a42lh1 #
- http://icio.us/zmiibz #
- http://icio.us/1jzdcw #
- http://icio.us/4tgvd1 #
- http://icio.us/jtvuvo #
- @kangamono was retrying delicious.com and hoping the bookmarking/twitter integration was better in reply to kangamono #
- RT @hnshah: The "Good Enough" Formula for Segmenting an Existing Market http://klck.me/T0 /by @cindyalvarez #startup #bestof09 #
- Ten questions to ask yourself every month http://bit.ly/7SdRzh by @asmartbear #startups #bizplan #
- The Great Abdication: Consumer Internet, Venture Capital and Angels http://bit.ly/8D4gM8 #startups < sounds a lot like Canada #
- RT @geoffreywiseman: @datamartist presentation by @jamesstanden at #DemoCamp Toronto 24: http://bit.ly/7lZA83 /cc @DavidCrow #dct24 #
- @SaraACooper love the @filogix team though I haven't dealt with them since about 2003 when Clay Hutcherson was CTO #
- New York Startup Movement http://bit.ly/4D53YL #nyc #startups great list of manhattan startups, vcs, and events #
- More seed incubators in SF with The Start Project http://bit.ly/8Pybgg and http://bit.ly/7EWdcy #startups #incubators #
- I just love the Ford SYNC API student challenge http://bit.ly/4SCNo5 #developers #autotech #app #ecosystem #
- @markdowds @jaygoldman perhaps you've never seen The Sopranos or Good Fellas, there is an art to extortion #breakingkneecaps in reply to markdowds #
- @jaygoldman @markdowds it's the equivalent of the $6.95 system access fee that gets added to my wireless bill every month #breakingkneecaps #
- @gchahal make up varies democamp to democamp. 50% dev; 25% design; 25% marketing. Entrepreneurs 100%. Strong fB representation. in reply to gchahal #
- Toronto FaceBook developers if you're coming to #DemoCamp on Jan 26 pls at reply @gchahal about your interest in hear him speak. #
- RT @davemcclure: Startup Metamorphosis: ITERATE: learn, discover prod/mkt fit -> EXECUTE: grow, make $$$ http://bit.ly/4ngNsN by @sgblank #
- Updated #DemoCamp videos with @datamartist @5blocksout video by @geoffreywiseman http://bit.ly/5ngZeI #dct24 #
- Toronto DemoCamp Request for Help: Social platform devs interested in getting @gchahal to #dct25 http://bit.ly/5p3egj #facebook #opensocial #
- RT @aliasaria: Wow. Someone illegally copied Well.ca's whole site design: http://bit.ly/5lbSZJ < imitation is the sincerest form of flattery #
- RT @Carnage4Life @cdixon: Google's philosophy is everything related to software should be free except for text ads on search engine results #
- Off to meet @rayluk for lunch in the cold sporting my new Christmas specs (they enable xray vision) http://tweetphoto.com/6974595 #
- OMG – District 9 – Thank you! Best SF since the Matrix, just fantastic. #
- Games industry VC investment down 35% in 2009 http://bit.ly/4vs2z7 #hopeful #2010 #
- RT @SteveCase Start-Ups Are Poised to Get Cash in 2010 (WSJ) http://bit.ly/8caS1v #startups #2010 #
- I just voted for Yossi Vardi for the Best Angel Crunchie! Vote here: http://is.gd/5xFAw #crunchies #
- @middlenamejames yep lots of wholes but suspension of disbelief is a key feature of SF in reply to middlenamejames #
- RT @startupcfo: Planet F1 | Formula 1 News – Official Mercedes statement on Schumi's return http://bit.ly/8vTvAm < this could be bad #
- http://bit.ly/6VRn1f @dondodge on how $MSFT looks like $IBM circa 1985, good read about cloud computing #
- RT @startupnorth: New Blog Post – Seed state of mind http://bit.ly/7IJLyz by @jonasbrandon #startups #seed #funding #
- New comment today on "Seed State of Mind" http://bt.io/CICx #
- "focus on opportunities, not problems" – Peter Drucker #2010 #resolutions #
- RT @wattechnews Accelerator Centre Client DossierView Closes $750K Financing Round http://bit.ly/7CkAhk #waterloo #startup #
- RT @johnphilipgreen: (@saikatc + @sheenapakanati): I'm loving http://bit.ly/16Tocd Thanks! #wireframes #
- @rayluk I started reading Startup Nation this morning, can't put it down, thanks @dansensor #
- Checking out CureCRM http://bit.ly/6vtPDI as an addon to my mail accounts #
- @jeremywright @jaygoldman it's a big happy family hug, I raise my glass, hope everything keeps you well #happyholidays #
- Thinking I need to find a flexibility coach in Toronto http://bit.ly/51ufYp any recommendations? @gigpark here I come #
- RT @Roebot: MindTouch Cloud for ONLY $10/month (1/10th reg price!!) http://bit.ly/Cloud10for10 Good until midnight DEC 25. #
- Love it, Gleeks http://bit.ly/6PyIZ3 #glee #flashmob #
- T'was the nite before Xmas, and all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a 1997 Amarone #happyholidays #
- Hot, Else Mobile http://bit.ly/4UCVXu great phone UI #mobile #ux #
- RT @davemcclure: 05: social networks mainstream, people <25. 07: mainstream <40. 09: mainstream >40. 2010: finally, brand advertisers #pepsi #
Questions for most promising startups
BCTIA has published their criteria for the 2009 Technology Impact Awards. The submissions are due on March 13, 2009. As a start-up there are tradeoffs about participating in these award programs. Depending on the program there might be a cash prize, introductions to funding sources, press opportunities, etc. Or it could be a giant waste of time. You have to evaluate each program individually. I think the BCTIA program is a good balance of Recognition and Exposure. It is really about growing and supporting the local technology ecosystem.
My favourite part about the TIA awards is the submission criteria. I think every start-up should be able to answer these questions [PDF 48.9kb].
Summarize why this submission should be considered for Most Promising Start Up Award category and explain the relevancy of the business concept based on the following four equally weighted criteria and using the listed questions as a general guideline:
- Value proposition
What problem are you solving?
For whom?
How will you make money?- Competitive differentiator
What differentiates your product, service or technology from alternative solutions?
What is your sustainable competitive advantage?- Market opportunity
Please be specific as to the addressable segment of the market you are targeting.
How large is your market?
What is the nature of the competitive landscape?- Management team
Who are the key team members and board/advisors?
Why does your team have the ability to execute on the business plan?
The questions are perfect for early-stage companies to identify the problem, how you’ll make money, the market opportunity and the differentiators. (The application puts a further limitation of 2000 words).
Why not give it a try?
If you’re a Canadian start-up write a blog post that is less than 2000 words that answers the above questions. Send me an email or a tweet, just @reply me, with a link containing your answers to the question. I’ll retweet the submissions and see if I can share some recognition and exposure.