tech the halls this season at THE JUNCTION!
You are invited to our annual Tech the Halls holiday event this month at The Junction! As the invitation says, good food, drinks, great company (if we do say so ourselves - and we do!) and plenty of holiday cheer!
See you Thursday the 14th!
idea centre pitchfest great success
at the junction!
Venn Innovation played host to the IDEA Centre’s Pitchfest 2023 at The Junction recently!
Twenty high school students from the IDEA Centre in Saint John and ten from the IDEA Centre in Moncton came together to brainstorm, network and gather for a terrific business pitch competition. All the participating students have business ideas and have been honing their entrepreneurial skills at the IDEA Centre. They submitted their pitch ideas and five were chosen to compete for prizes at the end of the day’s session. They all did an excellent job of describing their business idea, who they are pitching to, what they want and making compelling cases for getting their ask … all in two minutes or less!
Organizers Gerard Reinders (IDEA Centre ASDE Lead) and Ries VanBeek (IDEA Centre ASDS Lead) led the day-long event. “There were a lot of meaningful conversations and great networking done today,” said Gerard. “The kids are enthusiastic, energetic and have terrific ideas.”
The five pitches were judged by Emily Richard (Entrepreneurial Services Advisor NBCC Saint John), Jenna Morton(Founder, Pickle Planet), Damon Goodwin (CEO, Research NB), Seth Asimakoas (GM and co-founder, Kaleidoscope Social Impact) and Jill Shaw (Centre of Excellence for Entrepreneurship Learning Specialist).
And the winners were:
Hannah Stephen (1st prize - $500) Saint John – True Crime Podcast
Sophie Filmore (2nd prize - $300) Saint John – Women’s Health Podcast
Bianca Obrejanu (3rd prize - $100) Saint John – Trippy Hippy clothing
Jersey Ellis (4th prize - $50) Moncton – Memoire publication
Kai Pejsa (5th prize - $50) Moncton – BQFQ – artistic PRIDE products
Congratulations to all and special thanks to the keynote speaker, Luc Doucet of Black Rabbit Creative Group Inc. and sponsors Venn Innovation/ Kaleidoscope Social Impact / Brilliant Labs / Southeast Regional Service Commission (SERSC) / New Brunswick Centres of Excellence.
Pictured below, clockwise from top left: Presenter Ries VanBeek with Hannah Stephen, Sophie Filmore, Bianca Obrejanu, Kai Pejsa and Jersey Ellis. Lower left: keynote speaker Luc Doucet. Centre bottom: the IDEA Centre students from Saint John. Lower right: the IDEA Centre students from Moncton.
There’s a great opportunity for Atlantic fintechs coming up next year - so let's meet up in 2024 in Vegas!
Venn Innovation, through its Atlantic FinTech initiative, will lead an in-person, pan-Atlantic mission to Fintech Meetupin Las Vegas taking place March 3-6, 2024. We are seeking applications from Atlantic Canadian companies to join us (apply here). Deadline to apply is January 10, 2024.
So, what is Fintech Meetup?
It’s a conference that focuses on facilitating meetings and connections - and it draws from across the entire fintech ecosystem, covering over 130 categories of services and solutions. In addition to meetings, there are presentations from industry thought leaders as well as content around the latest innovations, trends and technologies disrupting payments, and banking and financial services.
Participating companies can expect 8-10 (up to 24) double opt-in 15-minute arranged meetings with industry leaders and professionals. In addition, through this delegation, companies can access 3-6 hosted meetings with credit unions and small banks (<$100B under management), as well as merchants and retailers.
The program includes:
Up to two (2) tickets per company (Current value $1295USD/ticket); ability to buy additional tickets for team members at a discounted rate)
3-6 hosted meetings (depending on number of participating companies) (value $650 USD/meeting)
8-12 double opt-in meetings
Cost to participate: $1,000 CAD
Value up to $6,500 USD or approximately $9,000 CAD (companies are responsible for their own travel-related costs).
With thousands of fintech firms, over 45,000 tech-enabled meetings, 92% meeting satisfaction rates and 36% c-suite attendees, this is your opportunity to meet big and emerging players in the financial industry - don’t miss out! Apply here for this great opportunity.
If you have any questions, please contact Barbara Ells at barb@venninnovation.com or (506) 850-9835.
A big thanks to ACOA - APECA, Government of New Brunswick / Gouvernement du Nouveau-Brunswick, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Government of Nova Scotia, and Government of Prince Edward Island for supporting this initiative!
MEMBER NEWS
Université de Moncton - Unveiling new technology to fight forest fires
He’s on fire with new technology! Venn Innovation congratulates the Université de Moncton’s Moulay Akhloufi, computer science professor and head of UdeM’s Perception, Robotics, and Intelligent Machines Laboratory on his new wildfire technology! Along with his team of engineers, he is fine-tuning an algorithm that works with satellite and drone images to detect fires more accurately than humans. The technology also predicts where a blaze will spread, helping firefighters know where to send resources. Well done Moulay!
Click here to read the original CBC article.
PropertyGuys is turning 25 this year!
From early days of shaking up the real estate game to becoming a household name, this group of franchise owners has built the company up to becoming an industry leader.
To celebrate, PropertyGuys is launching a Franchisee Spotlight Series on social media, sharing stories of its incredible journey. Congratulations PropertyGuys!
Four Eyes Financial recently won the Canadian RegTech Association’s Best Innovative Technology Solution Award for its Intelligent Compliance Platform.
The Saint John maker of regulatory compliance software for investment advisors now employs 50 people and is turning its sights to the United States market with a roughly two-year expansion push. Congratulations to co-founders Lori Weir (CEO), Kendall McMenamon (CTO) and the whole Four Eyes Financial team!
Read more about this successful Atlantic fintech here.
in case you missed on our social media
oh what a night - the junction launch!
The Junction – home of Venn Innovation – had its official opening November 16th and we welcomed many special guests from across NB’s tech and innovation ecosystem who helped us celebrate our newly renovated workspace. A lot of networking took place - making connections and sharing ideas on building a connected, collaborative community that supports our tech startups as they begin, grow and scale their companies. Together, Venn Innovation and its partners are striving to elevate the region's tech and innovation economy, to make our region a truly world class place to grow a tech company. Thanks to everyone who attended and marked this special occasion! And a special thank you to our event sponsors, WeyMedia and Pioneer Estate Winery!
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