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New Vancouver Messaging Trends Meetup Group

In this kick-off meetup we look at WeChat and why should you care. The NYT recently produced a video describing how WeChat points the way to how messaging platforms can change our lives in the future. The Economist chimed in and highlighted a ‘Galapagos Island’ effect in the development of the technology ecosystems of China and the West. While each positioned it as “going back in time” when you go from using WeChat to a Western messaging platform, the reality is both ecosystems are bustling with innovation and can serve as inspiration for each other.  Come for a short, 15-minute introduction to WeChat and hopefully some good discussion. Free drinks! Keep the discussion going as well in our Facebook Messenger Room at https://m.me/g/AbbhPxENssNWBDsM. Event Details: Tuesday, December 6, 2016 5:30 PM

Launch Academy

#300 - 128 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

5:30 PM

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Women in IT Week | Breaking Through The Digital Ceiling

Lower numbers of women in tech, both in technical roles as well as having founder and/or leadership roles, is a prevalent discussion both within the industry and in the mainstream media. Join Lighthouse Labs and our diverse group of panelists  as we start this important conversation. Why this is a trend, why it’s important to increase diversity in the industry and workplaces and most importantly what can we do to encourage women to consider careers in tech?

Register here for great conversation with thought leaders in the tech industry. 

Meet our panelists!

Moderator:

Sylvia Walker-Wavell, GM Lighthouse Labs

A diverse background, including being a clinical hypnotherapist! Sylvia has always had a passion for technology and often has a personal project on the go where she is self teaching herself to code.

Panelist:

Keith Ippel, Co-Founder Spring University, Spring.is

Keith has been in Vancouver’s tech industry since 2011 and has mentored and is an advisor to countless tech companies, many led by women. He is passionate about helping entrepreneurs who have high growth potential and want to help make the world a better place!

Amber Spencer, Lighthouse Labs Alumni, Software Developer at Men’s Health Foundation

Amber’s background is anything but technical! She eventually found her way to Lighthouse Labs where she is quickly has grown her experience from Jr-Int level developer. She will be sharing her experiences on why it took so long to discover her passion for tech, what trends she sees working in the industry and what advice she would give to encourage more women to pursue careers in tech

Bethany Foote, Director of Software Development, Hootsuite

CompSci Degree combined with 15+ years experience in the tech industry first as a developer and then moving into management roles. Bethany is passionate about building diverse teams and workplaces and is a mentor at YWCA.

Sarah Blackmore, Director of People and Talent Development, Bench

Sarah is responsible for developing & implementing the long term people growth & happiness strategy. At Bench they believe in diverse teams and actively look for “benchmates” that bring their own perspective to the team vs. fitting into their mold.

Leslie Collins, People and Culture Manager, Unbounce

Leslie is particularly passionate about empowering women in business and tech! Currently she volunteers to mentor young women through the Glass Ceiling Demolition Company and the Minerva Project. Committed to increasing the number of women in tech she is championing a diversity initiative at Unbounce.

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Free Dev Workshop and Meet & Greet- Hosted By Thinkific (This Saturday)

Learn how to use Liquid. Plus, your chance to win $500 cash with Thinkific’s Liquid Template contest.

Learn Liquid - an open-source, template language made in Ruby that lets you create dynamic web pages that can be customized without exposing unsafe server code. Enter the contest, and meet the team!

Event info: https://www.picatic.com/liquidworkshop

Saturday, Nov 28th 11am-3pm. 

Sign up now to claim your spot in the workshop! - Open to developers, web designers, and anyone else wanting to learn. 

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Wanna code along side 5 of us, a remarkable web-app?

Do you wanna join me & another 5 folks in coding something amazing on the side of your studies/jobs ?

We started coding a web-app called TeekTak using AngularJS/Scala/MongoDB and we need some help, as a medium to self-improve our skill set with new technologies and have fun together while doing so.

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You should know that we’re coding on this project ONLY out of passion and NOT for the money (self-funded). We’re pretty flexible about when we choose to code and pretty much self managed and we communicate using Slack app.

We need two of you to come and join us: 

- one to take care of styling, animating, functional/logic

- one who wants to adapt our web-app into a mobile app using javascript, Phonegap maybe? (opened to suggestions)

**********

Drop me a line here and I’ll come meet you for a coffee and show you the tech stack, plus some of the exciting stuff that we’ve been coding up until now.

Email me: adrian [at] teektak [dot] com

Twitter: @adrian_sule

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Monbattle – A video game made by an Accountant turned Game Designer

Hi Fellow Pixel Crafters,

This time last year, I was working a kushy 60K accounting job.

Now I develop video games, burn cash, but man, do I love the dedication and persistence that comes from being an indie video game developer. 

Last summer, I enrolled in the Codecore Developer Bootcamp and partnered with two other developers for our final project: Monbattle. This project would turn into something more. 

The instructor said we should try something easier, but the YOLO inside me ignored it.

I was a Pokemon fanatic growing up. But remembered the shear amount of mindless button mashing that came with monster collection RPGs.

Monbattle was made as a monster collection RPG that pays homage to Pokemon and Digimon, but strives to make each battle feel strategic. The game does this by incorporating elements from rogue-likes and trading card games.

We are not:

backed by investors

backed by a PR firm

We are:

working off $5-$10 meals (Taco Tuesday FTW)

living at home (thanks mom)

not in relationships (some things have to give)

 A mentor said to me, “Accountants come in two breeds, those that are boring, and those that are bat sh*t crazy.” I’d rather be in the latter.

We recently launched a Kickstarter, and hit 28% of our goal in the first 24 hours. It would be amazing to have any of you spread the word and join our backer community. Our kickstarter is here: http://kck.st/1PXQ6LU

Thanks for hearing me out,

Frank

Game Designer for Monbattle Monbattle.com • @monbattle Rolling Biscuit Software

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#StartupCAN: Friday, January 16th

Join us next Friday, January 16th for #StartupCAN, a Twitter conversation with special guest Boris Wertz, who is considered one of the North American's top angel investors. 

Entrepreneurs from across Canada will be able to ask Boris questions about venture capital, but we will also get to know what our neighbours are working on, and help to build connections between Canada's most entrepreneurial cities.

No need to sign-up or RSVP, but please do let me know if you have a question for Boris that you want to ensure gets answered - tera@witkit.com.

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Try out Volley.Works

Hi all, Volley is a web app that helps entrepreneurs facilitate introductions for each other around challenges they're facing.

It's an invite-only community that will give access to Pixelcrafters members if you apply with #Pixelcraft

More at http://volley.works or on follow the discussion on the Startup North FB group »

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Vancouver Tech Event: Fireside Chat with Mike Volker (Angel Investor)

Startup Grind Vancouver Hosts Fireside Chat with Mike Volker, Angel Investor

  Michael Volker is an Entrepreneur active in the development of new high technology ventures and is presently the Director of the Simon Fraser University Innovation Office.

In 2009, Mike was named Canadian Angel Investor of the Year by the National Angel Capital Organization (NACO) as well as B.C. Angel of the Year by the B.C. Angel Forum.

Date: October 15th 2014 - 6:30pm to 9:30pm

Location: Mobify's new office in Yaletown - 948 Homer St. Vancouver, 

Agenda

6:30 Networking and Food  7:00 Fireside Chat  8:30 Networking

REGISTER NOW >

Pixel Crafters get 20% tickets with code: PIXEL20

Food and drinks are always included!

Mike Volker, Angel Investor

Mike is actively involved with his two latest projects: Greenangel Energy Corp (GAE.V) - a public company that invests in green technologies and WUTIF, the Western Universities Technology Innovation Fund - an angel fund for start-ups. To further encourage tech entrepreneurship, Mike runs the Vancouver Angel Network, VANTEC and the Vancouver Chapter of the Keiretsu Forum. He is also on the Board of New Ventures BC - an annual business competition. 

Follow Startup Grind Vancouver on Twitter or facebook.

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Evan Wiley - Project Management Consultant for Vertical Motion

My name is Evan Wiley, from Calgary, AB. I am the Project Management Consultant for Vertical Motion, one of Canada’s leading software and mobile development firms. Due to an increase in business Vertical Motion has expanded to open a second office in Vancouver… So here I am!

In Vancouver I will be working on expanding the firm’s mobile development portfolio. The opening of the new office was partially fuelled by the growth of Vertical Motion’s eTrove. eTrove, a customer appreciation smartphone application with web-based administration, launched in early 2014 and is currently used in the dental, orthodontic, and optometry markets, has garnered interest from business owners in other industries. 

Our new Vancouver location is in the Yaletown neighbourhood, at Suite 300, 1090 Homer Street.

Some facts:

Beer or wine - Either

Interesting Vancouver restaurant - Elbo Room

Looking or hiring - We are hiring Mobile and .net developers

Check out my LinkedIn for more info: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evanwiley

For more information about Vertical motion: http://www.verticalmotion.ca/ https://twitter.com/vmgroundcontrol https://twitter.com/etrove

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Vancouver Sales Events - Monthly Sales Meetup

I’m happy to announce the first monthly Sales Meetup.

Come and discuss your sales challenges with your peers to see how they’ve solved them. Or help someone else solve theirs!

First one is Sept 25th at Brewhouse.io (303 - 210 Carrell) at 6pm and then they will occur on the 3rd Thursday of every month thereafter.

More details here: http://www.meetup.com/Vancouver-Tech-Co-Founders/events/206610412/

Email me at erin@thedalzells.org if you have any questions and I can’t wait to see you!

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Fireside Chat with Igor Faletsi of Mobify, March 21st

Startup Grind Vancouver will be hosting an in-depth fireside chat with Igor Faletsi, Co-Founder and CEO of Mobify, on Thursday March 21st, 6:30pm at Mobify’s office space in Yaletown

We will be talking about Igor’s journey as an entrepreneur, turning a three-person shop run from a basement in Burnaby into a global mobile software company with just under 80 full-time employees, with no external capital and offices in the U.K. and Japan.

Food and drinks are included!

The event is sponsored by Espresso Capital, Mobify, Techvibes as well as Betty Baguette and Natural Source Office Snacks who will be providing office snacks for the event.

Date: Aug 21, 2014 @ 6:30pm

Vancouver Pixel Crafters get 20% off!

Agenda:

6:30 - Food & Drinks

7:15 - Fireside Chat

8:00 - Networking

Tickets are going fast, purchase yours here.

TechVibes 20% off promo code: PIXEL20

Getting Mobile Right for Your Startup

Igor is the ceo and co-founder of Mobify.

In 2007, together with John Boxall and Peter McLachlan, Igor launched one of North America’s first services for delivering transit schedules through SMS. The company went on to launch LiveVote (group text messaging and voting), MobiFeed (automated check-ins for smartphones), Mobify Studio (mobile web publishing) and Mobify Enterprise (mobile e-commerce) services. In 2009 they spent time in Silicon Valley but bootstrapped the company from day one to over $10M in revenue today.

Today, Mobify is the leading mobile web platform provider, with a global customer base and highly recognized brands such as Starbucks, Bosch and Toyota.

Igor is a frequent contributor to Mashable, GigaOM, and CNET and was recently named on BCBusiness’s Top 30 Under 30 2014, see his story here: http://www.bcbusiness.ca/30under30/2014/igor-faletski#profile

Register Now

Follow Startup Grind Vancouver on Twitter or facebook.

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CodeCore Events Week June 23rd through June 28th

CodeCore is a web developer bootcamp focused on Ruby on Rails with foundations in HTML/CSS, Javascript, jQuery, and popular APIs. As part of CodeCore’s curriculum we have a series of “Lunch and Learns” packed with innovators from Vancouver’s tech community.

Sign up here: http://www.events.codecore.ca

Lunch & Learns (12PM-1PM)

Monday, June 23 - Contributing to Open Sources Software (OSS) Projects by Godfrey Chan from brewhouse.io

Tuesday, June 24 - TBA

Wednesday, June 25 - The Need for Computational Thinking by Al Keller from 3 Tier Logic

Thursday, June 26 - The Truth About Imposter Syndrome by Angelina Fabbro from Mozilla

Friday, June 27 - Docker and Orchestration Tools by Phil Whelan from ActiveState

Location 

CodeCore is located on the 2nd floor of the International Village Mall right above Starbucks.

All events will be free, however, spots are limited! Sign up here: http://www.events.codecore.ca

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Failure happens.

In entrepreneurship, failure is the fertile soil in which new ventures grow. It’s the training ground for your next venture. It’s the master class in the school of entrepreneurship. Yet failure is really hard to talk about. Acknowledging failure is a major part of the growth and development of entrepreneurs.

This event has been created to help build an entrepreneurial community where we celebrate audacious attempts, and mistakes and failures are shared openly. And anything worth doing carries an element of risk.

RADIUS, on the eve of the Social Innovation Exchange (SIX), is excited to host the Second edition of the Social Entrepreneur Failure Wake, May 26 from 6 - 9 pm at the Backstage Lounge on Granville Island!

The evening will feature several short stories of failure from brave entrepreneurs, a lightening round to hear from inspired members of the audience on their lessons learned, and an Irish Wake style celebration to help put these stories firmly behind them. 

Your ticket includes entrance, a free drink, appetizers, and a chance to meet and mingle with an impressive community of social entrepreneurs.

Buy your ticket now and save! Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 cash at the door.

Register here: https://beediecommunity.sfu.ca/RADIUS.htm

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Startup Grind Vancouver Hosts Meredith Powell (The Next Big Thing) for Google’s #40Forward Startup Initiative in May

In an effort to find new ways to advance female entrepreneurs, Google for Entrepreneurs is committing $1 million in aggregate to 40 startup-focused organizations, with their new program #40Forward. Startup Grind is proud to be one of those organizations!

The month of May is dedicated to women entrepreneurs and women in tech. To support this,

Startup Grind Vancouver is hosting a special event with Meredith Powell, startup advisor and founder of The Next Big Thing. The event is being held at Mobify’s new office space in Yaletown.

Over 100 attendees are expected to come out and be a part of this event. There will also be a special guest host joining us for this event: Erin Shaw, a prominent TV host, writer and producer. She will be interviewing Meredith for the fireside chat.

Date: Thursday May 15th @ 6:30pm

Agenda:

6:30 - Food & Drinks

7:15 - Fireside Chat

8:00 - Networking

  Tickets are going fact, purchase yours here.

TechVibes 20% off promo code: PIXEL20

Meredith started out with a successful career in the film industry, then founded three brand management and business strategy agencies in the fast-paced fashion industry, opening showrooms across the US & Canada, all before the age of 27.

Meredith is the Creator of women’s speaker series, Founders Collective, a dedicated tech startup mentor, founding Advisory Board member to RAW Beauty Talks, and seed investor to multiple women-founded businesses.

Her work has been recognized by CTV, BC Business, Techvibes, The Sun, The Province, Startup Canada, the Globe & Mail and Woman of Worth Awards among others. Watch Meredith on CTV News

With deep global experience leading trends & scaling brands rapidly from zero to millions of dollars in revenue, she’s built her career on spreading ideas and knowing “The Next Big Thing” when she sees it.

SPECIAL OFFER: The first 40 people to register for the event will receive an exclusive Google for Entrepreneurs #40Forward T-shirt!  

Register Now

  Startup Grind is proud to be part of the Google for Entrepreneurs #40Forward challenge. They’re one of the forty startup communities taking new approaches to increase the representation of women in our community by 25% in 2014. The data tells us that diverse teams make better decisions, have higher ROI, and higher IPO’s.

Let’s move #40Forward.

Follow Startup Grind Vancouver on Twitter or facebook.

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From Funding to Exit with Jonathan Bixby (GrowLab)

Startup Grind Vancouver Hosts Fireside Chat with Jonathan Bixby (GrowLab) April 9th

Startup Grind Vancouver will be hosting an in-depth fireside chat with Jonathan Bixby, CEO of Growlab, on Wednesday April 9th, 6:30pm at Invoke Labs. We will be talking about Jonathan’s journey as an entrepreneur, with two exits under his belt and millions of dollars in funding, as well as his lessons learned as a successful serial entrepreneur.

Startup Grind is a global startup community designed to educate, inspire, and connect entrepreneurs. It is powered by Google for Entrepreneurs. We host monthly events in Vancouver featuring successful local founders, innovators, educators and investors who share personal stories and lessons learned on the road to building great companies.

April’s event is being hosted at Invoke Labs, an incubator/accelerator in Gastown, where food and drinks will be served for attending guests.

Agenda:

6:30 - Food & Drinks

7:15 - Fireside Chat

8:00 - Networking

Tickets are going fact, purchase yours here.

TechVibes 20% off promo code: PIXEL20

Jonathan Bixby, a Business in Vancouver Top 40 Under 40 award recipient, is passionate about helping those who are taking the entrepreneurial path to start, build and grow companies.

Prior to GrowLab, Bixby was the CEO and a co-founder of Strangeloop Networks, creator of the first network appliance and cloud service for accelerating dynamic web applications. Under his leadership, Strangeloop raised over $21M in financing, including a Series A round of $11.5 million, one of the largest rounds of private Series A financing for a technology start-up in Canadian history.

Strangeloop was selected the Best Employer in British Columbia for a record five straight years and was acquired by Radware in February 2013.

Jonathan also co-founded IronPoint Technology, the largest content management company in the country. As chairman of the board, he led IronPoint from start-up to successful acquisition by The Active Network (ACTV) in 30 months.

He also served as vice president of sales, at NTS Internet Solutions and helped that company enjoy a five-year growth rate of more than 600 percent and earn placements on the Deloitte & Touche Fast 50 and Fast 500 as well as Profit Magazine’s Profit 100 lists. Jonathan sat on the board of the Vancouver Enterprise Forum, the final jury for the New Ventures BC competition and is a Social Venture Partner.

Register Now >

Sponsors for this event include: Google for Entrepreneurs, Microsoft BizSpark, Invoke Labs, and Espresso Capital.

Follow Startup Grind Vancouver on Twitter or facebook.

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Sitecore training and certification starts on Monday in downtown Vancouver

Aequilibrium is hosting a Sitecore training / certification course in our downtown office, and there are a few more seats still available for the 4-days course which starts on Monday.

Details about the course and the link to the registration page can be found here: http://www.sitecore.net/Support/Training/Developer-trainings/WND-Sitecore-Website-Development-for-NET-Developers.aspx.

The course costs about $3000. To enter into the draw for attending this training for free, please submit your resume to maithri.menon@aequilibrium.ca with a short note about why you would like to get Sitecore certified.

Sitecore is a leading, Enterprise-level Content Management System (CMS) for .Net, supported by Microsoft. Sitecore has recently bought Commerce Server from Microsoft: http://www.sitecore.net/Company/News/Press-releases/2013/11/CS-Announcement.aspx

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Calling Vancouver Tech: Let's use #yvrtech and #yvrtechjobs

I moved to Vancouver a year and a half ago. When I first landed, I didn’t have a job, didn’t know anyone and had to hustle my way into the community. I mostly used twitter to find out what was happening, but a lot of manual searching was involved. It would have been AMAZING if all of the tech companies here used a common hashtag.

So I’m looking at you contributors, advocates and anyone reading this involved in our growing tech community. Let’s all use the same two hashtags so that it’s easier for locals and newcomers to find out what’s happening in town and what tech jobs are available.

Let’s use #yvrtech for general tech/startup stuff and #yvrtechjobs for job postings.

-Sarah