Waterloo Region Entrepreneur Week Highlights Importance of Innovation
WATERLOO REGION, ON,
"Innovation is the life-blood of our economy and it's good to take time out to appreciate the value of entrepreneurism" said Iain Klugman, president and CEO of Communitech, the innovation hub in Waterloo Region. "It's often the innovators and start-ups that introduce leading-edge ideas and we need to do all we can to help them be successful at every stage of their progression."
Entrepreneur Week sprang from recognizing the need to 'fill the funnel' of high-tech innovators by engaging at early stages with schools and universities and cultivating a community of interest for high-tech, Klugman explained. For the fourth consecutive year, high school students had the opportunity to be involved through the Leading Edge Youth Entrepreneurship Conference held
Waterloo Region has become known as the best place to start a business in
Engineered by Communitech, Waterloo Region's Entrepreneur Week has a strong lineup of events including:
Monday, Nov. 16: - Chris Hughes keynote speech and speaker Razor Suleman, founder of I Love Rewards, at the "It Came from the Dorms" session at the University of Waterloo. Tuesday, Nov. 17: - Big Picture Day featuring Tim Bray, co-founder of Open Text Corporation and "The Father of Internet Search and XML"; Ali Asaria, founder of Well.ca; and Andy Macaulay, president and CEO of ZiG, at Waterloo's Accelerator Centre. - The Waterloo Region Entrepreneur Hall of Fame Gala at Bingeman's Conference Centre where the following Waterloo Region contributors will be inducted into the Hall of Fame: Tom Jenkins, Open Text Corporation; Oscar Kuntz, Kuntz Electroplating; Ian McPhee, WATCOM; Frank Rovers, Conestoga-Rovers & Associates; Harold Seegmiller, Seegmiller E & E Ltd. and John Baker, founder and CEO of Desire2Learn will be recognized with the Intrepid Award. Wednesday, Nov. 18: - At a day dedicated to entrepreneurship and start-ups, Jim Estill formerly of SYNNEX Canada, will describe his entrepreneurial experiences and the 'un-conference' will be staged where attendees can learn and share start-up issues in a collaborative setting. Thursday, Nov. 19: - Ideation Day: Dedicated to the process of innovation, three industry leaders will take attendees through what it takes to bring innovations to market. Presenters include: Mate Prgin, Avvasi; David Caputo, Sandvine; and David Kruis, Metranome; with MC Brandon Nussey, Communitech Executive-in-Residence. - Founders and Funders Dinner where invited attendees include start-up founders and more than 30 leading Venture Capital firms from across North America for great connections. Friday, Nov. 20: - Ten of the biggest names in tech in the Waterloo Region will participate in Strategic Partnering Day including RIM, Google, Intel, Microsoft, Celestica, Open Text, Sybase, Agfa HealthCare, Rogers and On Semiconductor.
For more information on Entrepreneur Week go to: www.entrepreneurweek.ca
About Communitech
Communitech www.communitech.ca is the regional hub for the commercialization of innovation in Waterloo Region, creating economic prosperity by removing barriers to the creation and growth of tech companies.
For further information: For further information: Media Contact: Shelley Grandy, Sr. PR Advisor, Communitech, (905) 866-2656 or [email protected]
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