BetaKit, TechTO and Sage have fireside chats with prominent Montreal entrepreneurs.
BetaKit, TechTO and Sage have teamed up to host one of many decentralized tech events taking place in Montreal from October 18th to 24th.
Within Open Day in Montreal (OHMTL), the three organizations will bring together two of the city's iconic entrepreneurs: Shopify President Harley Finkelstein and DavidsTea founder David Segal.
“If you have an established startup, you fit into some molds, but there are so many people who don't fit into some molds who are still figuring it out.”
Simran Kanda, Elantech
The duo will share the lessons, challenges and key moments that shaped their entrepreneurial journey in a fireside chat at HEC Montréal on October 20. Free registration for the event is available. Here.
Attendees at the Montreal Open House will also have the opportunity to hear from several Canadian technology leaders at other TechTO events throughout the week, including Venture Showcase, Financing stage, Together with women panels and market reviews gaming technology And tourism technologies. All TechTO OHMTL events are free, but space is limited.
“Montreal has such a vibrant tech community,” TechTO CEO Marie Chevrier Schwartz said in a statement. “We are excited to host seven events that will highlight inspiring leaders and create meaningful learning and networking opportunities.”
CONNECTED: Startup Open House returns to its roots after acquiring MTL NewTech
The Montreal Open House is an extension of the Startup Open House program run by non-profit organization MTL NewTech (now known as Elanteh) acquired the rights to last year. Since then, the event has been experimenting with expanding its decentralized format beyond showcasing startups, Elantech chief executive Simran Kanda told BetaKit. In planning for OHMTL, she noted that organizers want to build on the buzz generated by other decentralized “tech weeks” and turn it into momentum.
To achieve that goal, next month's event will focus more on builders than on startups and capital, Kanda said.
“If you have an established startup, you fit into some molds, but there are a lot of people who don't fit into some molds and are still figuring it out,” Kanda said. “Hopefully by next year we'll have built enough momentum to see the return of vibrant Montreal and see a lot of people on the edge of entrepreneurship and technology still testing the waters.”
Open Day in Montreal more than 60 events Kanda said they are under review and more will be deployed by the end of the month. These include build days, hackathons, networking events and the classic startup open day demo.
Disclosure: BetaKit's majority owner Good Future is the family office of two former Shopify leaders, Arati Sharma and Satish Kanwar.
Image courtesy of TechTO.
