Growth Times

In my previous posts, I took a good look at MaRS Discovery District, to raise attention about the meager $400+K salary of the institution’s CEO, the restrictive $130M in subsidies, the crystal transparency of grant decisions, the real estate successes, the tireless dedication of a selfless network of underpaid advisors mostly stemming from the visible minorities of our beloved city, the fantastic public-private partnership and synergies of the hub with private incubators and providers, and the focus on supporting actual start-ups as opposed to associating with companies on a proven winning trajectory that could make for great political advertising.

Well, I am glad to report today that Waterloo’s Communitech, too, is on its way to becoming a success story itself. Not to be left behind in the “space” race with MaRS, it is adding an impressive tool to its arsenal, one that will without a doubt propel Canada from its position of innovation laggard to that of superstar: yes, it has secured the lease to a building!

And one to be filled up with advisors, too! Special thanks are extended to all taxpayers across Ontario for generously agreeing to sponsor those. A smart move, since the public hub model has proven to be so profitable for those advisors. It surely will add value to the Waterloo economy by creating a number of well-paid, stable bureaucrat jobs. As we know, those don’t go away when a sneaky financial crisis hits the nation, so they should be encouraged.

In the lease announcement, Communitech highlights all of the fantastic inputs that will go towards helping innovators. Like “square footage”. And “advisors”. And “square footage” too! They even commit black-on-white to actual results, this is not just a multimillion project with no teeth: they expect the initiative to attempt to try to possibly help create the next RIM! Wow! How? Don’t ask silly questions! Those folks know what they are doing! Remember, they’ve already managed to secure millions from the government and some white boards and markers from private sponsors.

Surely the CEO of Communitech in Waterloo, as well as that of OCRI in Ottawa, deserve their undisclosed salaries (and MaRS’s CEO could learn a thing or two from those undisclosures). If the rumors that their salaries are also in the neighbourhood of $400K are true, then I say: good for you CEOs, you deserve every penny for all the start-ups square footage and advisors’s positions you’ve helped add!

Crowdsourced exploration, and a call to entrepreneurs for media inputs

The other good news is that my previous posts got people talking and asking questions for themselves (if not publicly as much, at least privately as a number of emails I received have shown). As I was hoping for, they have helped “crowdsource” the exploration of this fascinating topic.

And now a mainstream medium has taken an interest too so, who knows, we might actually see some objective reporting, rather than this rant by a grumpy-utopian (yes, that’s a perfectly valid combination of adjectives) French immigrant evidently using this story to be seen in the positive light of a whistle-blower – an obviously effective way to attract new business to his fledgling start-up consulting business.

You can help: I have been asked to provide introductions and I would like to offer additional contacts beyond the ones I already know, so if you meet the following profiles or know someone who does, please contact me at gregboutin-AT-gmail.com.

• entrepreneurs who have tried to secure support from MaRS unsuccessfully
• entrepreneurs who were selected as MaRS clients but are unhappy with the support
• other entrepreneurs trying to start a business who never approached MaRS because they heard there was nothing in it for them
• folks previously or currently affiliated with MaRS who have issues they want to share

Anonymity is guaranteed. Why am I not asking for people who had a great experience? MaRS has resources devoted to lining those up, let’s make them work a little for the money we give them.

This is your chance to be a sh*t-disturber like me, and maybe even help redirect some money towards the real entrepreneurs. One last fact to motivate you: after real estate costs, over 80% of MaRS’s 2008 budget went into salaries.

In my next and possibly final post, I will tackle the topic I said I’d tackle in this post: recommendations for providing effective public support to entrepreneurs.

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• Guest blog: why MaRS matters (marsdd.com)
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• Troubling Facts about MaRS Discovery District (Part 3 of 4) (growthtimes.com)

Canadian entrepreneurs canada, communitech, Mars, mars discovery district, oce, OCRI, Ontario, Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation

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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Canadian entrepreneurs barcamp, communitech, democamp, government programs, irap, Jacqui Murphy, mars discovery district, mesh, oce, sr&ed, talent, tech capital partners