MaRS

Giving a boost to life sciences in Ontario

We’ve got $7-million for Ontario life sciences firms.

Got your attention? Since joining the Investment Accelerator Fund (IAF) in July, the most common question I’ve had from my contacts in the venture capital and angel investing world is: “Is the IAF going to be making new investments?” The answer I want everyone to hear is: “Yes!”

And now we’re in an even better position to boost Ontario-based private life sciences companies with this newly-announced fund.

It’s not news that good environmental practices make good economic sense—conserving energy and reducing waste are simply operationally sounds ways of doing business. Earlier this year, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. delivered a dynamite keynote at Advertising Week 2010 (held at MaRS) on this very topic. He argued that Canada and US have the natural prowess to dominate the shift to green energy production and that, by going green, we can drive an economic resurgence.

Canadian entrepreneurs are among some of the biggest believers in environmental sustainability. At the onset of 2010, the Canadian Business Journal rounded up the ways Canada will have an economic edge in 2010. Number one on its list: We’re adapting to the new “green” economy.

Toronto General Hospital, 1895: Part of our heritage

In 2000, Toronto was the first North American city to launch a program designed to expose people to buildings in the city they didn’t normally see. Now in its eleventh year, Doors Open Toronto has expanded across the province into Doors Open Ontario. Other cities in North America such as New York and Denver have since started similar festivals.

This weekend, MaRS is opening its doors to the public for the fourth year in a row to give people at peek at what goes on in the labs and offices of 101 College. MaRS is well-placed for inclusion in the Doors Open mandate, which seeks to profile buildings of “architectural, historic or cultural and/or social significance.”  MaRS is all three.

The latest on some of our clients' news

At MaRS, we work with hundreds of early-stage companies to help them grow their businesses. Sometimes, some of those companies do great things: they win awards, secure financing, enter into partnerships or get great media coverage. Entrepreneurs in Action is a monthly (for the time being, anyway) round-up of our clients’ successes. If you’re a MaRS clients with news to share, email it to us!

Here’s what our clients have been up to:

Winners of the 2010 Up-Start Competition

Last week, 11 entrepreneurs had the opportunity to pitch their business plans to a panel of judges in the fifth annual Up-Start Competition. Designed as a culmination of CIBC Presents Entrepreneurship 101, entrepreneurs had 10 minutes to pitch their ideas, vying for a $10,000 prize.

The winner was Shape Collage, an online photo-collage application that has experienced remarkable success in the past year with over 1.5 million downloads. Founder Vincent Cheung was also honoured last week as the Student Entrepreneur National Champion in the Advancing Canadian Entrepreneurship Expo in Calgary.