BBCIE

Canada’s largest bank is bolstering artificial intelligence and machine learning research at the University of Toronto – and startups launched by students and faculty.

A new agreement between RBC and �鶹��Ƶ sees the global giant join forces with Rotman School of Management's Creative Destruction Lab, one of 10 campus-led accelerators at �鶹��Ƶ, supporting the entrepreneurial aspirations of students from idea to intellectual property.

The bank has been named a founding partner of the machine learning initiative at the lab, and its donation will support programming to help attract and develop even more startups in this booming and ever-expanding field. Already, the Creative Destruction Lab is home to 50 artificial intelligence companies.

“To our knowledge, this is the greatest concentration of AI companies in any program on Earth,” said Rachel Harris, director of the Creative Destruction Lab. “We’re thrilled to partner with RBC on this initiative. With their support we are able to scale our program.”

Gabriel Woo, RBC’s vice-president of innovation, added: “We share a strong commitment to the study and advancement of artificial intelligence with the University of Toronto, one of the world’s leading institutions in this space. Our partnership with the university and the Creative Destruction Lab is an extension of our ongoing support of the Canadian digital ecosystem.”

Student entrepreneurs talk shop with Ontario’s Lieutenant Governor

lanthierj — Wed, 18 May 2016 16:08:17 +0000

Student entrepreneurs talk shop with Ontario’s Lieutenant Governor

lanthierj Wed, 05/18/2016 - 12:08

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(all photos by Lisa Sakulensky)

Jennifer Robinson

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It’s not every day that eager student entrepreneurs get to sit down and talk with a representative of Her Majesty the Queen about the challenges of growing their fledgling businesses.

But current and former University of Toronto students Dikshant Batra (Nova Sentio); Christina Cai (Knowtions); Ryan Doherty (iamsick.ca); Bin Liu (iMerciv); and Rhea Puri (SoCity) were more than up to the challenge.

“What is most exciting? What are you optimistic about and what keeps you at it?” Ontario Lt.-Gov. Elizabeth Dowdeswell, a former university lecturer and executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme, asked the students during their roundtable discussion.

The event was part of her May 17 visit to the St. George campus, which was focused on innovation and how the university is a world leader in producing important research, attracting top talent and instilling and supporting an entrepreneurial spirit in its students and faculty.

“Her Honour has been to our campus many, many times but this is her first official visit. This is a special day for us,” �鶹��Ƶ president Meric Gertler said. “We want to give you some stories today to tell and retell.”

Cai, who has her BA in philosophy and economics from �鶹��Ƶ, is enjoying growing success with her company that shortens translation times for complex science textbooks and journals using a combination of top minds around the world and machine learning algorithms.

“The fact of the matter is that being an entrepreneur is hard, it’s painful,” she told the roundtable. “I wanted to give up but I talked to another founder and laid all my troubles on her. She runs a billion-dollar business and she just said, ‘So all the stones haven’t been unturned yet.’”

Meaning, don’t panic. Keep going.

“What drives me is the same thing the scares me: it’s the uncertainty. It’s an adventure,” chimed in Liu, whose company has created Buzzclip to help people with visual impairments. The device, which looks like a button on your lapel, uses ultrasound to detect obstacles in the wearer’s path.

Interested in startups and entrepreneurship? Visit the BBCIE

Now, he and his business partner are close to finding a Canadian distribution centre for their product and organizations supporting the visually impaired in 20 countries have expressed support for Buzzclip.

All five students credited �鶹��Ƶ’s nine accelerators, such as the Impact Centre and I-CUBE, for helping them see the potential of their ideas and finding the right path to turn them into reality.
In 2015 alone, these accelerators worked with more than 225 student-led startup teams and supported more than 80 new companies that attracted nearly $20 million in investment and generated $2.5 million in sales.

“I’m very thankful for what �鶹��Ƶ has provided,” said Puri, who is continuing to work on her website that pairs Torontonians with activities and restaurants that cater to their personal choices.

“As an international student, I never thought I’d have this level of acceptance” and help from the university, said Batra, who came to �鶹��Ƶ from India to study commerce. “My father keeps asking me, ‘Are you sure they don’t want anything in return?’”

Along with the roundtable, the lieutenant-governor also toured the Sidhu Lab in The Donnelly Centre, met Nobel Laureate and University Professor John Polanyi and helped present the �鶹��Ƶ Invention of the Year Awards at the third annual �鶹��Ƶ Celebrates Innovation event.

Refugee initiative from �鶹��Ƶ startup helps newcomers navigate Canada’s health-care system

sgupta — Tue, 12 Apr 2016 07:50:09 +0000

Refugee initiative from �鶹��Ƶ startup helps newcomers navigate Canada’s health-care system sgupta Tue, 04/12/2016 - 03:50

Olivia Tomic

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Olivia Tomic

After living amid the Syrian refugee crisis in Turkey for a year after graduating from the University of Toronto, Nouhaila Chelkhaoui knew she wanted to help make a positive impact on the lives of newcomers.

Her return to Toronto gave her the opportunity to do just that, as she joined �鶹��Ƶ startup iamsick’s newest initiative, which helps refugees navigate Canada’s complex healthcare system.

iamsick is a digital health platform that focuses on providing people with access to healthcare services. Whether it’s a doctor accepting new patients, a walk-in-clinic that’s open late, a pharmacy, a diagnostic lab or nearby emergency room, iamsick shows users their nearest healthcare option anytime, Canada-wide.

Read about the �鶹��Ƶ medical community's efforts to support refugees

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To address this, in addition to building new features to help newcomers, iamsick has been working closely with a number of local partners to maximize their impact by sharing resources and information on multiple levels – from government to grassroots organizations.

“A main component of iamsick’s refugee initiative is its partners,” said Ryan Doherty, co-founder of iamsick. “Our partners not only make us stronger and help us spread the word, but they offer feedback and suggestions as experts in refugee settlement work.”

WelcomeHomeTO, an initiative spearheaded by �鶹��Ƶ alumna Derakhshan Qurban-Ali together with a team of engaged citizens, is among the partners collaborating with iamsick.

“Working with WelcomeHomeTO has been meaningful for me particularly,” said Chelkhaoui (pictured below at right with Doherty).

“Derakhshan comes from a family who were Afghan refugees,” Chelkhaoui said, “and myself being an international student from Morocco, I believe this kind of partnership represents the student body from a newcomer background and we hope it serves to inspire and empower students from all backgrounds to go after their dreams to make an impact.”

iamsick is also working with Toronto Local Immigration Partnerships (LIPs), regional umbrella offices for immigration efforts and organizations that are helping newcomers settle.

Through discussions with partners such as WelcomeHomeTO, and LIPs as well as the refugees themselves, iamsick also plans on expanding its search filters to include gender, mental health services, community health centres and even Interim Federal Health Program providers for those who are not covered by Ontario’s health insurance program.

“The important thing to think about is continuation,” explained Doherty. “There’s a strong focus on supporting refugees when they arrive, but after a number of months they will be settling into their new homes and may begin to experience challenges navigating their new environment. Having a website and app like this, which focuses on language barriers and showing what’s available, is extremely useful to them as it is to any Canadian trying to navigate our complex healthcare system.”

While the initiative was inspired by the newly arriving Syrian refugees, iamsick has identified healthcare professionals across Canada who speak more than 80 languages, in a bid to make the platform friendly to refugees, newcomers and Canadians alike.

iamsick is based in �鶹��Ƶ’s Best Institute and has received startup support from the Impact Centre, one of the university’s nine campus-linked accelerators. To learn more about entrepreneurship at �鶹��Ƶ visit the Banting & Best Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship.

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University of Toronto and RBC create startup accelerator for young innovators

lavende4 — Tue, 05 Apr 2016 12:35:36 +0000

University of Toronto and RBC create startup accelerator for young innovators lavende4 Tue, 04/05/2016 - 08:35

Olivia Tomic

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The University of Toronto and the Royal Bank of Canada today announced ONRamp, a major new initiative that will help support Canada’s innovative entrepreneurs.

Located in the Banting & Best Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (BBCIE), ONRamp will provide new collaborative workspaces for students, entrepreneurs and startup companies to support them in developing commercial ideas.

“�鶹��Ƶ is a global leader in transforming innovative ideas into products, services, companies and jobs,” saidMeric Gertler, president of the University of Toronto. “With RBC’s support, this new initiative will further expand the university’s entrepreneurial efforts and help ensure our nation remains competitive by keeping talented innovators in Canada.”

Set over three floors in the BBCIE, ONRamp will enable these new companies to network with each other, showcase to potential investors and grow their businesses. A $3 million contribution from RBC, Canada’s largest bank, will also be used to create fellowships, prizes and a speaker series intended to enhance the university’s entrepreneurship ecosystem.

“We have some of the brightest and best ideas emerging from our universities, but too frequently our young entrepreneurs have to look abroad to get their businesses off the ground. ONRamp should help change that,” said Bruce Ross, group head of technology and operations at RBC. “This initiative will provide the perfect environment to help these innovative start-ups develop and, importantly, to stay in Canada. We are delighted to be partnering with the University of Toronto on this exciting program.”

Under the umbrella of the BBCIE, �鶹��Ƶ’s vast ecosystem already consists of more than 60 entrepreneurial program and course offerings, and is supported by a network of nine campus-linked accelerators established to fill demand from the university’s diverse faculties and three campuses.

ONRamp will build on this central program of support in order to continue to serve the university’s innovative students, giving them the opportunity to pitch their business ideas, be recognized, and secure financial assistance as they undertake their entrepreneurship journey.

A number of post-doctoral and graduate scholarships and fellowships have also been created that will recognize, reward, and support innovative students across a broad range of research areas.

ONRamp will also house the RBC Innovation Hub within this new space for incubating startups, located within the BBCIE in downtown Toronto. RBC’s investment will support �鶹��Ƶ’s $2 billion Boundless campaign which addresses the university’s commitment to enhancing the economic and social wellbeing of our communities, and to helping our citizens realize their potential.

“Universities and colleges play a key role in driving innovation and fostering entrepreneurship,” said Scott Mabury, vice-president, university operations. “The University of Toronto has emerged as a leading institution in creating startup companies based on research and ONRamp will further support our startups’ growth so they can create wealth, provide jobs and contribute to the nation’s prosperity.”

“We are excited to partner with RBC in order to provide facilities and programming that will be a launching pad for early-stage companies,” said Vivek Goel, vice-president of research and innovation at �鶹��Ƶ. “Innovation and entrepreneurship are vital components of a robust economy and this initiative will help foster a rapidly growing hub of Canadian startup culture and support the next generation of successful entrepreneurs.”

ONRamp will provide a collaborative space for University of Toronto students and graduates, and to new young companies from other Ontario universities and colleges.

Revolution in medicine part 2: �鶹��Ƶ students

sgupta — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 08:47:40 +0000

Revolution in medicine part 2: �鶹��Ƶ students sgupta Fri, 04/01/2016 - 04:47

Carolyn Morris

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Carolyn Morris

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Imagine you’re one of the 50,000 people in Ontario addicted to opioids. You have a panic attack in the middle of the night. You may live in a remote area with little access to counselling services — but even if you have regular access to a therapist, no one’s around at that moment to talk you through it.

Instead of reaching for pills, though, you turn to the support of your “pocket counsellor,” right on your smartphone. This virtual counsellor will have an actual conversation with you — asking questions, and “listening” to your responses.

“It asks intelligent questions depending on your answers just as any human would do in a real conversation,” says Dr. Raad Yameen, a recent medical school graduate and master’s student in the Faculty of Medicine’s new Translational Research Program. Yameen is one of three �鶹��Ƶ students in medicine and engineering working on the artificial intelligence counselling app through their startup dubbed Project MIToc. By recognizing “change talk” — any expression like “I really need to,” “I should,” “I have to do something” — the app can pick up on that and even remind you of some of the reasons you’d given in the past for wanting to stop using.

Yameen and his team now have $5,000 to help develop their idea further. They were one of a selected group of young innovators gathered at �鶹��Ƶ this week to pitch their ideas as part of the HealthEDGE initiative, led by �鶹��Ƶ-based accelerators in medicine, engineering and computer science. With a panel of judges including entrepreneurs and industry leaders in health — and six fellowships of $5,000 each for the top ideas — it was akin to a “Dragons’ Den” competition for health care.

“We want to help get these creative ideas for improving health care off the ground,” says Professor Joseph Ferenbok, co-director of the Health Innovation Hub (H2i), the Faculty of Medicine’s accelerator. “We started the year-long initiative with an open call for people to submit challenges, ingenuity gaps, or ‘bugs’ in the health care system. Then we invited students and other innovators to find solutions.”

Yameen, along with Project MIToc co-founders — software engineers and computer engineering master’s students Didier Landry and Dustin Kut Moy Cheung — hope their theory-driven, evidence-based and patient-centric technology will lead to better support for addicts, and cost-savings to the health system.

Other winning ideas included a tool for the early detection of diabetes-related vision loss dubbed “iProbe,” which allows psychiatrists to monitor patients with schizophrenia for worsening symptoms based on their social media and other online communications; a personalized drug profiling technology for patients with cystic fibrosis and other conditions serving as a personalized “clinical trial in a dish”; a mobile video health program that would connect rural youth with mental-health support; and a robotic rehabilitative exoskeleton for kids with cerebral palsy. The iProbe project also won the community choice award.

With iSchool entrepreneurship instructor and HealthEDGE 2016 coordinator Adriana Ieraci moderating the event, the judges challenged each presenter with questions on feasibility, privacy concerns, pricing and competitors. Leading up to the event, mentors from H2i, The Entrepreneurship Hatchery and the Department of Computer Science Innovation Lab (DCSIL) coached the teams and helped them refine their pitches.

But the work doesn’t end here. A central goal of the HealthEDGE initiative is to help turn these ideas into reality. With the fellowship money, along with a network of contacts and potential backers through community, health care and industry partners — including the University Health Network, Rouge Valley Health System Foundation, Johnson & Johnson Innovation (JLABS), Autodesk and IBM — the winning innovators are given resources to put their smart solutions to work. They’ll be presenting their proofs of concept at a HealthEDGE demo day in the fall.

Winning Projects:

ReX: a robotic exoskeleton suit to help children with cerebral palsy learn to walk
VideoHealth: a new mobile way to connect rural youth with little access to mental health care to urban mental health providers, including psychiatrists using asynchronous video communication.
Project MIToc: a mobile solution for motivational counseling and commitment enhancement for people suffering from opioid addiction.
XVIVOS Biosciences: a high-throughput, personalized drug profiling technology for patients with certain rare & neglected diseases
Project Nash: a modular tool that allows psychiatrists to collect feedback from members of a patient's support network, as well as automatically analyze patient's audio logs and social media for inconsistencies that could be a warning sign of relapse
iProbe: a sensing device for pre-symptomatic ocular disease detection

Judges:

Professor Paul Santerre, Co-Director, Health Innovation Hub
Andris Lauris, Mentor-in-Residence, Health Innovation Hub
Merry Wang, Senior Research Scientist, Autodesk
Gail Garland, President and CEO, Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization (OBio)
Jonathan Rezek, Business Development, IBM Canada
Kendra Delicaet, Managing Director, OpenLab, TGH
Katherine Schwenger, Co-Chair, Institute of Medical Science Students Association (IMSSA)

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Professor Cynthia Goh named academic director of BBCIE

sgupta — Sun, 13 Mar 2016 14:53:03 +0000

Professor Cynthia Goh named academic director of BBCIE sgupta Sun, 03/13/2016 - 10:53

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Professor Goh has published more than 80 papers and has started seven companies with her students

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Goh brings “entrepreneurship experience and passion for the translation of scientific discovery to technologies that benefit society,” Scott Mabury says

Professor M. Cynthia Goh, scientist, educator and serial entrepreneur, has been selected as the inaugural academic director for the University of Toronto’s Banting & Best Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (BBCIE).

“The world has changed, and while we provide an excellent fundamental education, our students could use more,” said Goh.“�鶹��Ƶ needs to be the leader in training and inspiring our world-class students to use their talents to reach out and create an impact.

“Entrepreneurial skills are not just for building a company. In creating this new position, the university recognizes that we want to foster an entrepreneurial mindset and a culture of innovation in our students because these are crucial elements for their future.”

A physical chemist with appointments in the departments of chemistry, materials science and engineering, the Institute of Medical Science and the Munk School of Global Affairs, Goh is the founding director of the Impact Centre, a �鶹��Ƶ campus-linked accelerator (CLA) which aims to bring science to society. She has published more than 80 scientific papers and holds more than 20 patents.

With her graduate students, Goh has started seven science-based companies which employ dozens of people in a variety of industries – from medical diagnostics and agriculture to nanomaterials and science education. As director of the Impact Centre, she has nurtured more than 100 technology startup companies and advised hundreds of entrepreneurs over the past five years on how to turn the results of research into real products and processes.

Professor Scott Mabury, operations vice-president, said Goh is recognized for both her scholarship and entrepreneurial activities.

“Her entrepreneurship experience and passion for the translation of scientific discovery to technologies that benefit society make her well-equipped to enhance the entrepreneurial activity taking place at the university.”

The originator of Entrepreneurship 101, the flagship training program at MaRS which was first offered in the chemistry department and is accessed by about 20,000 annually, Goh has more than 15 years of experience in introducing entrepreneurial skills to students. Her activities within universities in Canada and abroad have inspired tens of thousands of students in science and innovation.

The BBCIE is the central office for student-related entrepreneurial activity across the three campuses of the university. The appointment of an academic director recognizes the important role that innovation and entrepreneurship will continue to play within the academic mandate of the university.

Interested in startups and entrepreneurship? Visit the BBCIE

�鶹��Ƶ houses nine CLAs coordinated under the BBCIE umbrella. Each of the CLAs has been established to fill demand from the university’s diverse disciplines and three campuses. In operation for more than three years, the BBCIE takes the administrative lead on all things entrepreneurship at �鶹��Ƶ and now will be complemented by Goh as the academic link for students.

“The CLAs are the beginning,” Goh said, “but we need to move even further – to reach out to all students, as well as beyond STEM disciplines to build connections and generate new ways of thinking.”

In this new position, Goh said, her goal to reach as many students as possible.

“The appointment of an academic director is part of the university’s commitment to fostering tomorrow’s entrepreneurs,” said Vivek Goel, vice-president of research and innovation. “Considerable work has been done building the entrepreneurial ecosystem so far and this next step will help ensure �鶹��Ƶ students are receiving the best experience possible to prepare themselves for the future.”

As academic director, Goh will lead efforts to create opportunities for collaboration on initiatives across the CLAs and the university as a whole. She will spearhead initiatives that will continue to position the university as one of the leading centres for innovation and entrepreneurship.

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Federal government backs three �鶹��Ƶ startups and their clean tech innovations

sgupta — Wed, 09 Mar 2016 10:39:31 +0000

Federal government backs three �鶹��Ƶ startups and their clean tech innovations sgupta Wed, 03/09/2016 - 05:39

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Nanoleaf founder and �鶹��Ƶ grad Gimmy Chu (photo above by Johnny Guatto/photos below courtesy Nanoleaf))

Olivia Tomic

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Olivia Tomic

Three �鶹��Ƶ startups are among 36 projects from across the country receiving funding from the federal government in support of their clean technology innovations.

Nanoleaf, QD Solar and ARDA Power Inc. received a total of almost $6 million from Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC), a governmental foundation which helps clean tech entrepreneurs commercialize their products by removing the funding barrier that hinders so many high potential startups.

“Nanoleaf is creating truly innovative products right here in Canada, but it’s difficult to get access to the capital needed to compete globally,” said �鶹��Ƶ engineering alumnus Gimmy Chu, co-founder and CEO of Nanoleaf. (Visit the Nanoleaf site.)

“With this support from the Government of Canada, we can sustain our already impressive pace of product development and continue to make a truly positive impact for the planet and the people living on it.”

With an infusion of more than $2.8 million from SDTC, Chu said Nanoleaf will continue to develop their low-cost and highly intelligent “Smarter Kit” (pictured at right), adding to their collection of the world’s most energy-efficient LED light bulbs which are already on the market.

Interested in startups and entrepreneurship? Visit the BBCIE

“Researchers at �鶹��Ƶ are regularly turning their discoveries into marketable inventions,” said Vivek Goel, vice-president of research and innovation. “I’m very pleased to see the support that these three companies are receiving from the government to continue the important work they’re doing in sustainable development.”

(Image below: Aurora lighting system by Nanoleaf)

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National Cancer Institute invests $4 million in �鶹��Ƶ-based startup Pathcore

sgupta — Wed, 02 Mar 2016 09:03:06 +0000

National Cancer Institute invests $4 million in �鶹��Ƶ-based startup Pathcore sgupta Wed, 03/02/2016 - 04:03

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Michael Mai, Craig Madho (�鶹��Ƶ Pharmacology & Toxicology), Anne Martel (researcher and �鶹��Ƶ associate professor), Stephane Langevin, Dan Hosseinzadeh, Deyu Wang (�鶹��Ƶ Computer Science), Sean Nichols

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There’s a tremendous amount of precision required from pathologists when they make cancer diagnoses, and the results of their work are literally a matter of life or death.

But technology developed by University of Toronto startup Pathcore™ is making the tedious and complex task of reading potentially cancerous tissue samples faster and more accurate.

“We free pathologists from counting cells, searching for those hard-to-find areas through a microscope, and doing other repetitive tasks that software can do faster and better,” said Dan Hosseinzadeh, CEO and co-founder of Pathcore. “Ultimately, that means improved patient care.”

The value of Pathcore’s technology has been recognized around the world; most recently by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the U.S. government’s principal agency for cancer research and training. It will be part of NCI’s platform for cancer informatics, a field that brings together information science, computer science and health care to aid in all aspects of cancer prevention and treatment. The NCI initiative brings together teams from across the United States with a single goal: to share information and advance this important field of expertise.

The $4M (CAD) development project involves six leading cancer centres from across Canada and the U.S. and will allow the startup to expand the translating and validating of automated cancer diagnostics into clinical tools.

Pathcore’s free downloadable software is already being used in over 100 institutions in more than 22 countries with the NCI funding promising to extend that reach even further.

With this investment, Pathcore will be expanding their software – the Sedeen Viewer – which allows researchers to view, annotate and overlay images to make data collection and analysis easy. The Sedeen Viewer also gives researchers access to built-in analysis tools and allows them to write their own algorithms – basically complex computer programs – to detect cancerous tissues.

“This will accelerate the translation of cutting edge research to patient care by allowing the developers of sophisticated analysis software to distribute their work directly to clinicians,” said Anne Martel, Pathcore’s co-founder and associate professor at �鶹��Ƶ. “The NIH rarely allow funding to go to non-US labs, even more unusual is for them to fund work done by a foreign company, so this is a testament to the unique strengths of the Pathcore platform.”

The Sedeen Viewer is complemented by Pathcore Web, a cloud-based app that allows pathologists to access their cases anytime and anywhere so urgent cases don’t have to wait.

“With a digital platform for viewing tissue slides, pathologists can review cases within their team or consult with other institutions quickly and effectively so that the best people can always be involved,” said Hosseinzadeh.

Pathcore Web works on both desktop and mobile devices, making diagnosis a tap away.

“�鶹��Ƶ is a research powerhouse and one of the things that we love to see is that research being translated into real and practical solutions,” said Karen Sievewright, managing director of the Banting & Best Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship.

“Pathcore is a great example of how scientific research can be commercialized and applied to a platform that benefits healthcare practitioners, and in turn patients, around the world.”

Based in the Impact Centre, one of �鶹��Ƶ’s nine campus-linked accelerators, Pathcore is a spin-off from research that began in 2006 supported by the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research and Sunnybrook Research Institute.

"We know the product works," said Hosseinzadeh. “Now we want to get it into more institutions worldwide.”

Interested in entrepreneurships and startups? Visit the Banting & Best Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship

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Canada Next: MaRS CEO on the future for startups

sgupta — Tue, 02 Feb 2016 08:08:21 +0000

Canada Next: MaRS CEO on the future for startups sgupta Tue, 02/02/2016 - 03:08

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A young man interested in entrepreneurship speaks to representatives from MaRS at the 2015 Startup Career Expo. "�鶹��Ƶ is increasingly a “driving force” for startups", says Ilse Treurnicht, CEO of MaRS Discovery District.

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Canada is good at creating startup companies but not enough of them are high-growth enterprises, the so-called gazelles of the industry, says Ilse Treurnicht, CEO of the MaRS Discovery District.

But the good news, she says, is that �鶹��Ƶ is increasingly a “driving force” for startups, helping them not just to thrive but to succeed in Canada so that the economic benefits accrue to this country.

The Global Entrepreneurship and Development Institute recently released a global entrepreneurship index that placed Canada second, behind the United States.

�鶹��Ƶ News asked Treurnicht for her analysis of the survey and her views about some recent stories in the media about Canada and entrepreneurship, including an op-ed piece in the Globe and Mail co-authored by President Meric Gertler: “Southern Ontario should be an innovation cluster, not a farm team.”

The survey, she said, was a valid one and “another indication that entrepreneurship is important everywhere, and that Toronto has some good fundamentals in place, and that we have some areas where we can probably grow.”

Data on startups in Canada is relatively sparse but statistics from the U.S. and the U.K. suggest “that out of 100 startups somewhere between four and 10 become high-growth industries, the so-called gazelles.”

Treurnicht (pictured at left) described a gazelle as a company that that increases its revenues by at least 20 per cent annually for four years or more, starting from a revenue base of at least $1 million.

Gazelles “grow quite quickly and are major job creators, major contributors to revenue and economic growth,” Treurnicht said. “Starting up a company is important but it is not sufficient, you have to start more robust companies and more of them have to grow to scale.

“Canada is pretty good at starting companies but we don’t have enough of them that grow to scale.”

Our companies face “small local markets, and eco-systems that are still maturing,” she said. “We don’t have the serial entrepreneurs that they have in Silicon Valley.”

In Canada, the capital contributions made to startups is about one-third of what it is in the U.S.

“A lot of startups have to be international companies because the markets are so small here," she said. There are good reasons why so few become gazelles. “It’s not like we are stupid.”

Still, there are grounds for optimism, Treurnicht said.

“Over the last 10 years �鶹��Ƶ has helped build the ecosystem in Toronto and the GTA. There is now a huge appetite among students to participate in such companies, and a growing appreciation among faculty, especially young faculty, to participate.”

The survey suggests Canada is poised to do great things, she added.

Treurnicht said the barriers to starting a company are very low, especially in the high-tech field. Companies focused on health care, “advanced materials” or artificial intelligence – firms with “hard-core intellectual property heft" – take a bit longer to develop so they require more investment.

But the “deep technology competency and the feeder system” coming out of �鶹��Ƶ “is as good quality as the rest of the world,” she said. That means that more companies “will grow right here, with the economic benefits accruing to Canada.”

“This is a story about the growing momentum of �鶹��Ƶ being a key force in making startups more successful. That is the message we want to get out. Stay tuned. There is a lot more come.”

Three to Watch

The majority of companies that have homes at the MaRS centre “have serious roots back to �鶹��Ƶ,” Treurnicht said. They include Nanoleaf, Teabot and Chipcare.

Gimmy Chu, one of the University of Toronto alumni behind startup success Nanoleaf, with the revolutionary light bulb backed by investors around the world. Photo by Johnny Guatto.

Conference Cloud: siblings' startup brings conferences to entrepreneurs

sgupta — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 11:28:42 +0000

Conference Cloud: siblings' startup brings conferences to entrepreneurs sgupta Tue, 01/26/2016 - 06:28

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Dinesh Ramdhayan, Olivia Simmons, John-Alan Simmons and Jay Engineer (photo courtesy ConferenceCloud)

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For brother and sister Olivia and John-Alan Simmons, juggling an undergraduate education and running a business is par for the course.

As products of an entrepreneurial home, the Simmons siblings say they have an inherent understanding of the hard work, dedication and support that it takes for a business to succeed. So when it came time for them to go to university, they didn't opt for traditional part-time jobs.

Instead, the Simmons siblings created their own startup: ConferenceCloud

“To get us through [my] applied mathematics degree and [John-Alan’s] computer science degree we had a web-development company along with a few of our own side projects,” Olivia says. “We made some good money and it was a great experience building technology for other people, but we always knew we wanted to build something for ourselves.”

Apart from their formal �鶹��Ƶ education, the duo also went to a number of events and conferences to learn more about project management and to become better developers. But, like many students, their budget only allowed them to attend reasonably priced events within the GTA.

Which made them ask: why isn’t there a better curated hub for digital conference content? Enter ConferenceCloud

ConferenceCloud is a virtual attendance platform that allows users to live-stream conferences or to watch the event on-demand afterwards. The platform also aggregates ticket sales, virtual networking and interactive content all in one location.

Founded in 2014, ConferenceCloud has worked with UTEST (University of Toronto Early Stage Technology), one of �鶹��Ƶ’s nine campus-linked accelerators, to grow. Over 18 months, UTEST provided the siblings with dedicated work space, mentorship, networking opportunities and educational opportunities.

At the start of 2016, UTEST and MaRS Innovation invested $30,000 in ConferenceCloud. The investment coincided with funding from a new, Toronto-based provincial fund called MLA48 Angel Investment Fund. Affiliated with Maple Leaf Angels, the fund provides pre-seed funding to early-stage startups. Investment decisions are made within 48 hours of application, making the MLA48 fund unique in Toronto’s ecosystem.

“What impresses us most about Olivia and John-Alan is their willingness to pursue a large vision while adapting to market-driven feedback,” says Joel Liederman, vice-president, Physical Sciences, at MaRS Innovation. “While in the UTEST program, they were receptive to their advisors and pivoted several times to arrive at their current product. We’re pleased that external investors like MLA48 share our admiration for this team.”

While ConferenceCloud does support free events, its services are mostly geared to larger, paid conferences, promoting the platform as a new revenue stream for conference organizers. It provides a way for the organizers to expand their audience and get more value out of their content.

“The conference organizers paid for all this content from speakers and put on a one-, two- or three-day conference but then after that all of that value is kind of lost,” says Olivia, co-founder and CEO. “ConferenceCloud not only increases this content’s reach, but it can also save and re-sell that content to new audiences that might have missed the original event.”

Striking the balance

Sounds easy? Don’t be fooled, the siblings say: managing a business while pursuing a post-secondary degree is no small feat. They credit the support they’ve received from their family and the mentorship they’ve received from UTEST and MLA.

“ConferenceCloud is a great example of how students can use �鶹��Ƶ’s vast entrepreneurship ecosystem to accelerate their startup’s growth,” says Karen Sievewright, managing director of the Banting & Best Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship.

“The programs, courses and CLAs are some of the unique ways that the university is transforming the undergraduate experience and the Simmons siblings are perfect examples of how students can nourish their entrepreneurial spirit while balancing their studies.”

With the new MLA funding, the Simmons siblings and their team will be focussing on increasing sales and getting as much client diversity as possible on their growing platform.

Interested in entrepreneurships and startups? Visit the Banting & Best Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship

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