Canadian Tech Startups on Showcase for Investors in NYC

CANADIAN TECH STARTUPS ON SHOWCASE FOR INVESTORS IN NYC

Startups from Toronto-Waterloo tech corridor in New York ahead of investors

NEW YORK, N.Y. – More than 50 of Canada’s most investment-ready startups from Ontario’s Toronto and Waterloo Regions are in New York City next week to meet with more than 150 potential investors.

Corridor Demo Day is Canada’s largest early stage fundraising event. It is a major collaboration between incubators and accelerators from across the Toronto-Waterloo Corridor, including: Communitech, Velocity, OneEleven, Accelerator Centre, DMZ, Techstars Toronto, MaRS, NEXT Canada, Innovation Factory, RIC Centre, CDMN and more. Presenting startups are a mix of software and hardware, are business-to-business focused, and are looking to raise a minimum of $1M.

Seed to Series A ready startups will gather on Tuesday, January 29 at Company.co to present three minute pitches to investors from New York, Silicon Valley and Canada, as well as participate in one-on-one meetings. Previous Corridor Demo Day events have been held in Toronto, Waterloo, and San Francisco. This is the first Corridor Demo Day in New York City.

 “This is a wonderful opportunity for investors who might not otherwise have access to Canada’s top investment-ready startups,” said Iain Klugman, CEO, Communitech.

 “We are thrilled to be a part of bringing Corridor Demo Day to New York City,” said Phillips Lytle Attorney Asaf Hahami. “For the past three years, we have offered office space to a number of Canadian startups through the Communitech NYC Landing Pad initiative. Corridor Demo Day is a perfect next step as we link these startups with key investors in New York.”

After the presentations, participants are invited to attend a seminar at Phillips Lytle’s New York City Office. The presentation is a practical, hands on “roadmap” for Canadian tech founders of the New York City and New York State regional tech ecosystem (including the venture capital/seed investor community) and how to best position your startup to attract investors. There will also be a supplemental presentation on how Canadian tech companies can enter the U.S. marketplace through the New York region. Mr. Hahami and Phillips Lytle Partner and Venture Capital Team Leader Richard E. Honen will present. Additionally, Phillips Lytle Partner Kenneth R. Crystal will briefly discuss New York City real estate opportunities and pitfalls through WeWork, a company that provides shared workspaces for startups.

About Communitech

Communitech was founded in 1997 by a group of entrepreneurs committed to making Waterloo Region a global innovation leader. At the time it was crazy talk, but somehow this community managed to pull it off. Today, Communitech is a public-private innovation hub that supports a community of more than 1400 companies — from startups to scale-ups to large global players.

Communitech is a member of the Ontario Network of Entrepreneurs and helps tech companies start, grow and succeed in three distinct ways.

• Communitech is a place – the center of gravity for entrepreneurs and innovators. A clubhouse for building cool tech and great companies.
• Communitech delivers programs – helping companies at all stages with access to capital, customers and talent. We are here to help them grow and innovate.
• Communitech partners in building a world-leading ecosystem – making sure we have all the ingredients (and the brand) to go from a small startup to a global giant.

For more information or media inquiries, please contact:

Samantha Clark
Manager, Public Relations, Communitech
Samantha.clark@communitech.ca
519-221-3466

About Phillips Lytle