Launching a new hardware business Part II: Fundraising

Hello Creators, it's time to have another meetup! This is long overdue - we've been in heavy construction and growth mode. But spring is fully sprung, and it's time to talk about a topic frightening to some, difficult to most, and essential to all entrepreneurs - Fundraising.

For those who attended our first meetup in this series on Prototyping, launching a viable business starts with getting your hands dirty by making stuff. But as many of you who have been in this game for a while know, bootstrapping - no matter how lean your operation - can only get you so far. At some point in the birth of your new venture, probably much earlier than you expected, you have to face the fundraising dragon.

This meetup is focused specifically on raising private capital. There are many sources of funding, like crowd-funding, small business loans or lines of credit, grants and programs such as IRAP and SRED, and later sources such as venture capital and public offerings, but we can only have a couple of speakers and we wanted to tackle the one source that beguiles many entrepreneurs early in the launch of a company - Angels and other private investor entities.

We hope you will join us for the discussion. Vancouver's best refreshments and conversation centered on hardware await!

• Team MistyWest

UPDATE: We are pleased to welcome our keynote speaker, Kirk Hamilton. Kirk has years of experience investing in as well as growing successful companies.

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Kirk Hamilton (Executive/Business coach, Angel Investor, Advisor)

Kirk Hamilton is an executive with international experience executing strategies for technology adoption to capitalize on unique business opportunities in Information Technology, Telecom, and Manufacturing industries. As CEO of a number of public and private companies, he has led them from a loss position to profitability. During his career, the scope of his assignments ranges from the re-positioning and turnaround of a global provider of smart card equipment and software solutions, NBS Technologies Inc, to major telecom start-up operations with leading edge technology for BCE and others, to turnarounds of manufacturing operations within GE Canada. Currently, through personal engagement with client businesses of his firm Élan Tactical Management Inc., he leverages business and management experience to assist companies ‘scale-up’ …improve market growth, productivity and cost performance. Additionally, he coaches entrepreneurs of the BC Venture Acceleration Network as an Executive-in Residence for BC Innovation Council. Kirk is an active Angel Investor in a variety of BC based start-up businesses and as an investor member of E-Fund (VANTEC Entrepreneur’s Fund). Kirk is a graduate of Electrical Engineering from McGill and received his MBA from the Rotman School of Business at University of Toronto. He is a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors and trained in Board Effectiveness for Small and Medium sized businesses.

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Kevin Hart (Founder and CEO of Tzoa)

To say Kevin Hart is the founder of a fast-moving startup is an enormous understatement. Kevin started out with an idea for protecting the health of trade workers (contractors, electricians, plumbers, carpenters, etc) and uncovered a market opportunity likely to be worth billions of dollars in a few short years. Along with the expanding market potential for his company, Tzoa, Kevin has been growing into the role of Founder / CEO, delivering successive iterations of product, meeting early adopter clients, working with partner organizations, talking to investors, and giving numerous interviews with publications like Popular Science, Fast Company, Wired, Engadget, Business Insider, and many more. Along the way, Kevin has cut his teeth on the fund-raising trail, and has valuable insight on what it takes to raise serious dollars. Kevin is passionate about Tzoa, hardware, the environment, and creating technology for the betterment of our collective lot.

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Kevin Cruz (Founder and CEO of ORA Scents)

A strategic, multidisciplinary entrepreneur with an eye for user-centered design, connected technology, and storytelling - Kevin Cruz is a young entrepreneur who has quickly learned the ropes of what it takes to build a startup. An entrepreneur with a vision, Kevin is excited to lead his team in breathing new life into an important, but under-utilized home product and disrupt an industry that has seen little innovation in the last several decades. In this growing role, Kevin is just starting down the path of raising funds to launch his enterprise, and can give perspective on what it is like to finally take the plunge. Kevin has also competed in several business pitching competitions including the SFU Student Entrepreneur of the Year Competition, the Coast Capital Savings Venture Prize Competition,the LX Ventures Student Startup Challenge, the Istuary Innovation Pitch Competition, and the BCIC New Ventures BC Competition. He is also currently in his final year of study at SFU’s Beedie School of Business doing a double concentration in Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Marketing.

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AGENDA

6:30pm - Doors open

6:30pm to 7:00pm - Greetings, refreshments

7:00pm to 7:40pm - Speaker's presentations, Q&A

7:40pm to 7:55pm - Break

7:55pm to 8:25pm - Keynote presentation, Q&A

8:25pm to 9:15pm - Discussions, networking

9:15pm - Close