Montreal Start Up

We often get inquiries from start-ups looking to hire top talent.  Usually, we just tap our network of contacts to produce a list of potential candidates. This time, I thought it would be interesting to cast the net a little wider and so I’m blogging about it.

Recently I’ve been asked by two start-ups if I could recommend anyone for a developer position. Both are cool, expanding companies run by great people and looking to make a big splash. One is looking for a web developer that also knows a little about SMS and MMS. A lot of the work involves APIs and widgets and most of the code base is in PHP and JavaScript, so knowledge of both languages is essential. They are looking to bridge the Web and Mobile worlds. The other company is looking for a developer with 1-3 years of PHP experience and the right attitude. As a bonus, all of this company’s code is released under an open source license; therefore not only can you earn a living, you can also accumulate some good karma along the way!

So if you’re looking to escape from the drudgery of the corporate cube farm, have always wanted an employee number in the low single digits and are willing to sign on to the crazy roller-coaster ride that is an expanding start-up, please get in touch with me (daniel AT this domain). I’ll tell you a little bit more about the companies and, if there is a fit, I’ll arrange the introductions.

Twenty startup’s were in Y-Combinator’s Summer 2008 funding batch. Here is my take on the first half of them (the rest will be in the next post) and where appropriate a mention of Montreal companies I am aware of that are competitive or complimentary.

Posterous

A hosted blogging platform that allows you to post many different media types via e-mail. Great software, ultimate in simplicity - but perhaps it could have worked even better as a Worpress or Typepad plugin ? Nice software.

Ticket Stumbler

Vertical (sports tickets) search technology with a referrals based revenue model – nothing innovative per se, but there is a chance of success if they can simplify a complex issue that enough people have – it certainly worked for Kayak. Montreal’s TIBConcerts does a similar thing for concert listings.

A N Other Company

A company yet to launch but with a similar concept as Montreal’s BoostCast which already has over 17,000 communities (according to it’s website). These guys (who did seem smart and capable in general) made the mistake of starting their presentation by saying they were the “only one’s able to simple generate video-sharing site”. Anyone making a pitch to investors please remember that we see deals all the time and it’s just too risky to say you’re the only one – because it’s EXTREMELY rare that you are.

A N Other Company

A company yet to launch that may benefit from the progress being made at Montreal based Identi.ca , a company that has developed a version of Twitter that runs on the Laconi.ca open source micro-blogging platform (Our very own Evan Prodromou of Wiki-Travel fame is the driving force behind it’s development). The guys had heard of Identi.ca and were excited by the possibilities that could arise from having many vertically focused, but networked, micro-blogging sites.

People and Pages

Website builder (another one!) with member management. Just screams me2. The most interesting business I’ve seen in this space in Montreal (well the CEO is based here) is Kyube.

A N Other Company

PhD brainpower put to good use. This company yet to launch may have some interingsting synergies with Reasonably Smart, a Montreal based startup that is looking to make a name for itself in the cloud computing space.

PicWing

An integrated hardware and software solution for delivering photos (and in the future other media …. interesting possibilities) directly to an electronic picture frame. I’d be contacting Kodak and Fuji Film to start a bidding war !

MeetCast

Web-based video-conferencing and screen sharing solution. It’s a competitive / crowded space but no solution out there does it all yet. Very similar in functionality to Montreal’s Oneeko (previously Camwii) – whom I hear will soon have some very interesting news on getting their solution more widely distributed!

CO2 Stats

These guys can actually measure the environmental footprint of your website. It seemed like a gimmicky business at first but, once explained, it actually struck me as pretty complex to do accurately. It might actually fly !

More reviews to follow but I’d be happy to hear about any other Montreal based startups that are complementary or competitive to the companies profiled above.

(NOTE: This page has been edited to remove references to companies that have yet to launch)

I was fortunate enough to be invited down to Cambridge, MA to attend yesterday’s demo day for Y-Combinator’s latest batch of companies.

Paul Graham and Jessica Livingston acted as both the gracious hosts for the event and the concerned parents for the Founders as they exposed their ideas to an external audience for the first time (for the most part).

(Sorry about the photo quality - but I had just shaken Paul’s hand ;-))

We decided to send someone down there for a few reasons;

Firstly, there were a couple of companies founded by Canadians that we had been talking to and wanted to catch up with and let them know that their was an alternative to heading to the Valley - Montreal ! Speaking to the guys from BackType,(one of the better company’s there ;-)) it seems that long term Visa issues are always going to be a problem for Canadian founders of start-up founders in US.

Secondly, we wanted to get a sense for the overall quality of the ideas and entrepreneurs. We have met with many Montreal based start-up’s over the past few months and have a good sense of the calibre of ideas and entrepreneurs on offer. We wanted to be able to compare what we see with what was on show at (if you believe the hype) the Mecca of web-startup’s.

Thirdly, we wanted to understand the size and quality of the VC eco-system that exists for follow-on (Seed or A-Round) investment in companies as they move from Beta 2 Business.

And finally, as we push ahead with developing our own FounderFuel investment program, we wanted to get a better insight into some of the practicalities of running the Y-Combinator program.

So they were the goals - I’ll let you know how I got on in the next post …………

It’s rare that we come a cross a revolutionary idea these days. Most of the ideas we see are part of the ongoing evolution of internet based products and services.

Ev.o.lu.tion - A gradual process in which something changes into a different and usually more complex or better form.

The evolutionary process employs significant leverage by building on what has gone before. Similarly ,we find that the most promising internet businesses are those that are most able to leverage what already exists today to give them a leap start towards tomorrow.

So one of the recent questions that we like to ask is " What exisiting products, services or infrastructure are you going to be able to leverage that will have a significant impact on your ability to out maneuver your competitors?".

The development frameworks (Ruby, Jango etc.) are an obvious start but that won’t give you an edge over anyone else - it just keeps you level. What have you worked out that no-one else has ?

Remember that whilst the idea is important, the most successful start-up’s are the ones that out-execute the others.

On our CONTACT page we invite entrepreneurs to drop us an e-mail if they have any questions or an investment opportunity for us. We get a lot of e-mails and they range from the short and sharp;

"I have a startup with a completed Beta, let’s talk."

to the long winded;

"The idea my father and I have is to locate a financial partner to help us finish building the (xxx) design and put it into production, to sell it to those who enjoy a premium life. As a first impression, it might sound like …………………. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… a beautiful piece of music from Beethoven or a fine Picasso painting."

We try and reply to all the e-mail we receive but given the volume we do tend to prioritize our replies. We make often snap judgements based on your initial approach - with limited time and lots of ideas, we have too - so when you first contact us make the effort to send through something that might capture our attention. So if you want to get a quicker reply I’d suggest that you include as much of the following as possible:

• A little bit about yourself.
• What your trying to build and who might want it (if you are concerned about NDA’s - relax, we are too busy to steal your idea and we wouldn’t be as good as you at executing it anyway !)
• What stage your business is at; concept, beta, live, pre-revenue etc.
• What you want from us; just meet to talk through an idea, pitch us for an investment etc.
• Confirm that you are based in Montreal or are seriously interested in growing your business from here.
• Confirm that you have read our ABOUT page and understand the types of investment we are interested in.

When it comes to raising money for your start-up, from MSU or anyone else, its important to remember that you’re not just up against  your market competitors, but also other un-related start-up’s vying for the same investment dollars.