This Week in Canadian Startup: Startups are Hot & Boring

Mark Evans' This Week in Canadian Startups

	Who are Canada's Hot Startups? Profit issued its "Hot 50" list, which includes Beyond the Rack, ScribbleLive, BNOTIONS and Unbounce. It got me thinking about whether there's a way to create the definitive "hot" startups list. Who would be part of it if the criteria was less than three years old, fewer than 20 employees and sales of less than $2-million? Send me an email (mark@markevans.ca) with your ideas.

How are you going to get your customers? It's a question that Yong Fook suggests isn't asked enough given "how to get people to use the damn thing" is the most difficult part of running a startup.

What does it take to successfully cold call a VC? Jason Mendelson, managing director of the Foundry Group, tells a story of how a start-up used creativity and insight to get a meeting.

When startups land VC, it's hopefully delivers more than just the money. In an ideal world, they also get a valuable partner. Real Ventures' Mark MacLeod provides some more insight.

Are startup pitches that bad? OATV's Bryce Roberts seems to think so - "It's really bad and seems to just be getting worse".

Building a great team takes time. Catherine Graham, co-founder and president of commonsku, talks about some of the key considerations.

How much should your product or service cost? Joel Gascoigne says it doesn't need to be that complicated.

Why do U.S. VCs like Canada? Here are two takes - Rho Capital's Jeff Grammer at the Montreal Venture Forum, and Grand Banks Capital's Charlie Lax, who was interviewed by Venture Cap TV at Extreme Startups' Demo Day.

How does the idea of spending eight weeks in the Okanagan Valley strike you? You might want to check out Accelerate Okanagan's Jump:Start:Challenge.

What are the most common mistakes made by startups? The list could be endless given different moving parts and variables but here's a list of 10.

Corporate Canada isn't investing much in startups, so it's good to see Spin Master, one of world's top toy makers, investing through its partnership with the BDC and the Canadian Youth Business Foundation. Here's the list of this year's five recepients, which get $50,000 in financing.

Tech Cocktail posed the question about the leading startup "paradises" for young entrepreneurs. Toronto didn't make it. Then again, Tel Aviv is the only non-U.S. city listed.

I had to laugh when Business Insider declared that startups are now boring. If anything reflects, the tech world's ADD, this is it. Here's my rebuttal to the "boring" thesis.

How important is the short text on a Website that tells users what to do? For startups looking to win people over, the importance of micro-copy should not under-estimated. Joshua Porter offers some guidance.

According to Buyosphere co-founder Tara Hunt, there are four big startup myths that fool entrepreneurs. The first is startups are a "piece of cake".

Driven, a Toronto-based incubator focused on supporting minority entrepreneurs, unveiled its augural class of five startups.

What does it take for a startup to hit a home run at an accelerator's mentor day? April Dunford offers up seven points on Startup North.

Let's work Together »

- Jordan Banks, managing director of Facebook Canada, has been named a mentor at Extreme Startups. Before joining Facebook, Banks was the managing partner with Thunder Road Capital, which invested in early-stage startups such as Well.ca.
- Plug and Play Accelerator Canada will launch next month in Calgary. Applications are open until Sept. 28.
- The Next 36 is accepting applications for its next program. The deadline is Oct. 22.

Did I miss something? Hit Reply or send me an email at mark@markevans.ca

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Who are Canada's Hot Startups?