Startup Canada launches fundraising campaign to boost entrepreneurship

Startup Canada has unveiled a three-part action plan to be financed through sponsorships and crowd-funding and aimed at making Canada one of the world's leading entrepreneurial economies. Its crowd funding campaign was launched December 4th in Waterloo with a target of $100,000.

The grassroots organization will target entrepreneurial Canadians with three national initiatives:

* Startup Canada Connect: a free, social online meeting place connecting and supporting Canadian entrepreneurs with tools and resources required for building successful businesses.

* Startup Canada Communities: a national entrepreneurial strategy founded on local communities led by existing champions. This initiative will build on the network established through the organization's recently concluded 40-city national tour. The strategy will encourage the development of strong local networks to create the conditions for entrepreneurial growth locally and nationally.

* Startup Canada Campaign: a multifaceted communications strategy leveraging mainstream media, social media and key national institutions to "tell and celebrate the stories of Canadian entrepreneurs". These are intended to provide case studies for inspiring and motivating new generations of startups.

Since its inception, Startup Canada has attracted the support of several high-profile business leaders, entrepreneurs and policy makers, as well as a long list of companies, government departments and innovation enabling organizations. Veteran high-tech executive Dr Adam Chowaniec is the inaugural chair of Startup Canada's governing board.

If the campaign reaches its goal, the next step is to launch the Startup Canada Connect platform by May 2013. Startup Canada was co-founded by Victoria Lennox who studied in the UK and launched or participated in several youth entrepreneur organization. She returned to Canada and spent a year with Industry Canada's Small Business Policy Group before launching Startup Canada.

FMI: www.startupblueprints.ca

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