Growth Times

Jacqui Murphy of Tech Capital wrote a fascinating blog post today, listing the top resources any venture in Canada should be aware and possibly take advantage of in this downturn economy. Quote:

1. There is amazing talent on the street right now. Many of these folks have received severance packages and are approaching the job market with “flexibility” in mind. Reach out to these people and engage with them as advisors, employees who are interested in working for equity, and/or potential co-founders/partners.
2. Map your industry ecosystem, identify strategic partners and customers, prioritize them, and use FREE social media tools (LinkedIn, Twitter) to reach out, ask for introductions, and ask for help — shorten your path to market any way you can.
3. Attend the “unconferences” (StartupCamp, BarCamp, DemoCamp, mesh) to meet people like you who are wanting to roll up their sleeves and help others (and themselves) build companies with limited resources. These entrepreneurs are not waiting around for venture capital, they are building in the absence of financing with customers, value propositions, revenue and profits in mind.
4. Look to existing government programs for support. Make sure you are filing for SR&ED Credits and applying for the Ontario Interactive Digital Media Tax Credit. Introduce yourself to your local IRAP and OCE representatives to see if they have any programs you might qualify for.
5. Reach out to MaRS, Communitech, and OCRI and hook in to their Entrepreneur-In-Residence programs. These organizations are very knowledgeable about tools that are available to entrepreneurs and they know how to efficiently access a number of government programs.
6. Check out the Microsoft BizSpark program for free development resources and support.

Tech Capital Partners Blog, Feb 2009

You should read the whole article.

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