Laura Simpson is the CEO and co-founder (along with artist, Dan Mangan) of Side Door; a dedicated team of artists and technologists committed to building a more efficient, fair and decentralized global ecosystem for the performing arts. The Canadian tech start-up which was founded in 2017 has a mission: 

We believe anybody should be able to perform, curate and present shows for their communities. Side Door’s mission to create shows anytime, anywhere – first with in-person shows and now online. The platform marketplace is built to connect artists with curators, venues, service providers and audiences to make booking, ticketing and payments easy, fair and transparent. Side Door provides robust tools and support, without any up-front costs to the artist.

Laura has spent much of her life serving the needs of artists and promoting live performance. Since 2007, she has worked with Music Nova Scotia, the Halifax Jazz Festival, the East Coast Music Awards, CAPACOA and the Halifax Pop Explosion. She has hosted house concerts (The Syrup Factory) since 2011. In 2015 she went to Los Angeles for four months to mentor with the former president of Warner Bros Records. Upon returning, she evolved The Syrup Factory into an artist services company. She believes experiencing amazing live art in intimate community settings leads to stronger human connection, greater empathy and improved mental health.

Read more about Side Door HERE.

Find out more about Laura Simpson HERE.

Follow Side Door on Instagram HERE.

Follow Side Door on Twitter HERE.

Find Side Door on Facebook HERE.

Women mentioned in this episode:

Journalist Maggie Rahr,  artist & producer Reeny Smith, Megan and Marie Wright of Mirror Image Media, and Film Director Megan Wennberg. 

In this episode, she references a concert in which Broken Social Scene performed on a goat farm:

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