Shift by Alberta Innovates

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Based on a methodology with benchmark statistics from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and other sources, the Conference Board of Canada (CBoC) gave Alberta a D grade in terms of Innovation and placed Canada 14th out of 15 countries in their recent innovation report card.

We discuss how Alberta and Canada traditionally do well in terms of creating startups, but we struggle as a province and a nation at turning these into globally successful products/services with sustainable growth.  According to an article Harry wrote for the CBoC's website, "while we produce almost 4% of the world’s research output and rank relatively high on creation of start-ups, Canada has had a mixed record on sustaining successful innovative companies."

Join us for an enlightening conversation with Harry Sharma as we talk about the grading, what we can do to improve as a province and a nation, and the Capabilities-Centred Innovation Framework for Canada that he's put forward.


Bio

Harry Sharma, Director, Innovation and Technology 

Harry Sharma joined the Conference Board of Canada in May 2019 and brings with him over 15 years of experience in innovation, science and technology related areas. Harry has worked in multitude of roles in small and large organizations and dealt with impact analysis, strategy development, program evaluations and development. As a leader, Harry has worked with government, private and non-for-profits sectors to initiate new funding programs in support of Canadian technology start-ups as well as to address skills development challenges internationally.Harry earned his Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering with Honours from the Rochester Institute of Technology and Master of Engineering in Engineering management from the University of Ottawa.

Harry is leading the efforts to develop and implement the new Capabilities-Centred Innovation Framework for Canada. Alberta Innovates is one of the four partners in this endeavour and represents a West Canadian provincial perspective. 

Shift by Alberta Innovates focuses on the people, businesses and organizations that are contributing to Alberta's strong tech ecosystem.

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In this episode we talk with Amos Schwartzfarb, managing director of Techstars Austin, and author of Sell More Faster about starting a business and "building belief by data."

We dive into the importance of basing decisions on data, Amos's W3 methodology for increasing the likelihood of repeatability in terms of business success, chat about how rock climbing is a good analogy for starting a business, and how impostor syndrome sometimes creeps in!

Bio 

Amos was born in the Bronx, NY and grew up in Fort Lee NJ. At a young age, Amos started seeking adventure and pushing limits. While attending college at the UMASS, Amos fell in love with rock climbing which brought him to Northern California in 1993 and eventually a job packing boxes for Shoreline Mountain Project. While there Amos helped turn an old school mail-order company into one of the first e-commerce companies which launched his career into the startup world. Shoreline later sold to Mountain Gear.

In 2015, he moved over to the investor side as Managing Director of Techstars in Austin. Now after over 70 seed stage investments including Scalefactor, Chowbotics, Storyfit, VanRobotics, Skipper, Helpberbees, Convey, Docstation and Allstacks, Amos has become one of the more active early stage investors, via Techstars Austin in all of Texas.

Amos is also the author of Sell More Faster - The Ultimate Sales Playbook for Startups. Amos wrote this book using his experience and network to create a guide to help every founder and startup sales leader in their quest to build a big and meaningful business. 

Shift by Alberta Innovates focuses on the people, businesses and organizations that are contributing to Alberta's strong tech ecosystem.

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In this episode we take a deep dive into starting a business with Innovation Rodeo keynote speaker and best selling author Melinda Emerson and Bow Valley College's Chiu School of Business Entrepreneur-in-Residence Craig Elias.

Melinda and Craig will share their insights on business: how to start one, pitch one, build networks/supports and move toward success.

Bios
Melinda F. Emerson
twitter.com/SmallBizLady

Melinda, “SmallBizLady” is America’s #1 Small Business Expert. She is an internationally renowned keynote speaker on small business development, social media and content marketing. Melinda is also the president of the Quintessence Group, an award-winning marketing consulting firm based in Philadelphia, PA, serving Fortune 500 brands who target small business market. LinkedIn named her a Top Voice for 2019 in Small Business and Entrepreneurship.  In addition to being a former NY Times columnist, she is frequently quoted by media organizations including The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, MSNBC, CNBC and Fox News. She is the host of #Smallbizchat LIVE and The SmallBizChat Podcast. Forbes magazine named her the #1 woman for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. A prolific writer, Melinda has published more than 5000 articles on her blog www.succeedasyourownboss.com.
Her small business advice is widely read reaching more than 3 million entrepreneurs each week online. She is the bestselling author of Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months, 2nd Edition, the ebook How to Become a Social Media Ninja and her latest book is Fix Your Business, a 90 Day Plan to Get Back Your Life and Reduce Chaos in Your Business.  She is graduate of Virginia Tech and received her Executive MBA from Drexel University.

Melinda is speaking at this year's Innovation Rodeo, Monday, July 6 at 3:15. Buy your ticket now!

Craig Elias
ca.linkedin.com/in/craigelias

Craig’s first startup won a global billion-dollar pitch idea competition and was twice chosen by Dow Jones as one of the 50 most promising startups in North America. Craig is now a Startup Mentor for the, B2B focused, Alchemist Accelerator, a Scaleup Mentor for the GrowthX Academy, on an advisory board for SXSW and is the Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Bow Valley College in downtown Calgary.

Craig is also the lead organizer for the Innovation Rodeo, a five day (mornings) entrepreneurial extravaganza featuring an array of speakers and presenters running July 6-10, 2020. Alberta Innovates is proud to be a founding partner of the Innovation Rodeo.

Register now!

Shift by Alberta Innovates focuses on the people, businesses and organizations that are contributing to Alberta's strong tech ecosystem.

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In this episode we talk with Nermin Zukic, the Chair of Business from Keyano College, Said el Mejdani, Computer Science teacher from Westwood Community High School, and Sarptashi Bhattacherya, one of the student pitch winners from Inventures 2019.

We discuss how Nermin, through Keyano College, worked with Said from Westwood Community High School to get, at the time, grade 10 student, Sarptashi Bhattacherya and two of his fellow classmates to Inventures 2019 to pitch their innovations before seasoned judges. In the end, Sarptashi was one of the three winners along with two others from Edmonton.

Even though the story revolves primarily around Sarptashi, it goes beyond just him. There's something special going on up in Fort McMurray. Teachers from post-secondary and secondary schools are working together with passion and with students to deliver exceptional results in terms of innovation and achievement. 

Bios

Saptarshi Bhattacherya is a grade 11 student at Westwood Community High School in Fort McMurray. He loves to learn and is fascinated by the ability of computer science to unite people to solve the problems humanity faces today, and strives to share this fascination with others in his community. 

Said el Mejdani Is the computer science instructor at Westwood High School. He has a passion for disruptive technology and innovation. He embraces students either interested or uninterested in academics and provides an avenue for them to experience success. He knows every student can thrive when they drive their own learning, so he coaches students to think critically to reach their goals. 

Nermin Zukić is the Chair of Business at Keyano College in Fort McMurray. He has a diverse business background with professional roles in international economic development, private equity, business process consulting, as well as postsecondary education. Nermin believes in aligning local economic development and post secondary education. 

Shift by Alberta Innovates focuses on the people, businesses and organizations that are contributing to Alberta's strong tech ecosystem.

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In this episode we talk with Edmonton-based entrepreneur Connie Stacey about her company Growing Greener Innovations, their flagship product the Grengine, and her journey to become a successful female entrepreneur in the male-dominated space of deep tech.

Shift by Alberta Innovates focuses on the people, businesses and organizations that are contributing to Alberta's strong tech ecosystem.

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This episode of Shift is brought to you by Inventures Unbound, the ultimate platform for innovators, investors and industry to share, inspire and interconnect virtually. 

If you have a pass to Inventures 2020, you already have access to all of Unbound’s goodies. If you’d like access to just Unbound, there’s a pass for that at Inventures Canada Get your pass today!

Todd's bio
Todd Hirsch is the Vice President and Chief Economist for ATB Financial. For over 20 years, he’s worked as an economist at numerous organizations including the Canada West Foundation and the Bank of Canada. ​

Laura's bio
Laura Kilcrease leads Alberta Innovates as its Chief Executive Officer. Recruited from Austin, Texas, she is recognized as a significant motivator in shaping Austin’s economic revitalization.  Laura influenced the creation of the Austin Technology Council and founded the Austin Technology Incubator, where companies have raised over $3 billion to date. 

With over 25 years’ experience in commercializing technology, Laura is sharing her enthusiasm and entrepreneurial expertise to create innovation coalitions that leverage the talent and spirit of Alberta. Prior to becoming Alberta Innovates’ CEO, Laura was a seven-year member of the Alberta Research and Innovation Advisory Committee. 

Shift by Alberta Innovates focuses on the people, businesses and organizations that are contributing to Alberta's strong tech ecosystem.

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In his book The Demon-Haunted World - Science as a Candle in the Dark, writer and scientist Carl Sagan said, "if we're desperate enough, we become all too willing to abandon what may be perceived as the heavy burden of skepticism."

In this age where pseudoscience and its spurious claims are seeing widespread promotion, the heavy burden of skepticism is one we should all shoulder just a bit more. 

In this episode, we talk with writer, tv host, and University of Alberta professor of health law and science policy Timothy Caulfield about misinformation in science, its roots, impacts, and his latest research project to develop tools to combat its spread.

Shift by Alberta Innovates focuses on the people, businesses and organizations that are contributing to Alberta's strong tech ecosystem.

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COVID 19 has swept the globe and has left our Albertan innovation ecosystem in a state of fear and uncertainty. Businesses are struggling to handle the immediate pressure of balancing resources while maintaining revenue and the livelihood of their employees.

Alberta Innovates remains committed to ensuring the viability of the innovation ecosystem through our coaching, community and capital investment support. These are extraordinary circumstances and we are working quickly to support Alberta business during this critical time.

This episode features a round table discussion with Terry Rock, President and CEO of Platform Calgary; Lan Tan, Director of Entrepreneur Development at TEC Edmonton, and and Lindsay Spadavecchia, Technology Development Advisor with Alberta Innovates. The group discusses the current innovation ecosystem and how our communities are responding.

Discussion topics included:

• The resources available for businesses and entrepreneurs
• Thoughts on maintaining your mental and physical health as a entrepreneur
• Ways to leverage the ecosystem to keep things moving forward
• Tips on best way to stay connected during times of isolation
• Tips on preparing for recovery

Together, we have the fortitude and capacity to emerge from this challenge stronger and better.

Shift by Alberta Innovates focuses on the people, businesses and organizations that are contributing to Alberta's strong tech ecosystem.

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In this episode we talk with David Almond, Executive Director of Information Technology at Alberta Innovates. Our discussion has many touch points, but the central theme is about using technology to solve business issues. We also talk about his vision of IT as a business partner rather than just a service, and the role Information Technology can play in Alberta's broader innovation ecosystem.

Shift by Alberta Innovates focuses on the people, businesses and organizations that are contributing to Alberta's strong tech ecosystem.

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In this episode we talk with Mark Diner, director of the Alberta Data Institute, about the importance of data-enabled innovation and how the Institute is positioning itself to help Alberta companies and others succeed in using artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve products and outcomes.  

Shift by Alberta Innovates focuses on the people, businesses and organizations that are contributing to Alberta's strong tech ecosystem.