May Meetup - Toronto Fintech

First, thank you to the 40+ people who came out last Wednesday - it was a great first meeting and 'get to know you', and I am really looking forward to our next meeting as we have some great momentum - the community in this city is stronger than anyone expected.

We have set a tentative date for May 15th, at 6:30 pm (a little bit earlier than the last one) for the second Toronto Fintech Meetup, the schedule will look like the following:

6:30 pm - announcements and overview

6:40 pm - company pitch and feedback (deadline to apply is tonight at midnight)

7:00 pm - Speaker: this month will include some notable representatives from various levels of Government, both within and outside Canada, who will provide insight into how Canada based organizations can leverage these resources locally and abroad (focus on UK and US)

Danielle Bieber, Canadian Trade Commissioner Service, Ontario Regional Office - Toronto

Will provide an overview of services available to Canadian FinTech start-ups and companies for international business development, and details of an upcoming event in Toronto on opportunities in the U.S FinTech market (June 2013).

Gilda Carbone, Trade Associate
British Consulate General of Toronto

Will speak to Level 39, a FinTech incubator in London UK and generally about how the organization helps companies in Britain increase their competitiveness through overseas trade in Canada. as well as personalised assistance to help companies in Canada locate and expand in the UK.

Susan Viegas, Senior Advisor
Toronto Economic Development

Will speak to the City's role in helping local companies to grow and to succeed - from assisting start ups to the sector expertise that has catalyzed the development of unique public private partnerships such as the Toronto Financial Services Alliance, Life Sciences Ontario, Fashion Incubator etc.

7:30 pm - end of organized time/free networking and discussion

We had a couple interesting companies (startup and more mature) represented at April's Meetup - if you have any ideas for either the company pitch of industry speaker, or would like to recommend someone (or yourself), please contact me directly at blair@quantify-labs.com

We will announce the presenting company and speaker over the next few weeks.

Looking forward to the next Meetup!

Blair