The Next Five Years
Some exciting news about the future of Startup Edmonton and what we’re doing to scale up our growth and impact.
Our first ever Edmonton Startup Week has come and gone — and it was a blast. In the lead up to Startup Week, I reflected on how our startup community has evolved and grown over the last five years. In that post, I talked about the need for a long term view for the continued growth of our community. Startup Week shined the light on more than just Startup Edmonton, but the community as a whole.
So what do the next five years look like?
Earlier this year, under EEDC CEO Brad Ferguson and Mayor Don Iveson’s leadership, Startup Edmonton was acquired by Edmonton Economic Development Corporation. It was clear to everyone that we had built something that was a key driver in the continued growth of entrepreneurship in our community. It was also clear that we needed to increase our horsepower to scale our growth and impact.
Joining the EEDC family gives us a solid foundation and engine to aggressively grow and deliver on our vision in the coming years, while keeping our Startup Edmonton brand and culture intact. Startup Week was our first major initiative together, and it was a great success.
I’m also excited to announce my role as the new Director of Entrepreneurship at EEDC. While I’ll continue to be the CEO of Startup Edmonton, we have an opportunity to take some of our thought leadership and culture, and apply it to the broader picture. That means tackling talent, density, culture, capital and regulatory environments — all key factors for entrepreneurs in a thriving startup community.
During Startup Week, we launched a teaser site for a new brand/platform called Ignite Edmonton, which begins to unite our high-growth entrepreneurship initiatives at EEDC, including Startup Edmonton, TEC Edmonton, Advanced Technology Centre, and the Edmonton Research Park. It’s the success of these elements together (along with some new ones) that will drive the long term growth of entrepreneurship in Edmonton as a whole.
It’s important to be clear that while there may be a change behind the scenes, it’s business as usual at Startup Edmonton. We’re excited to work with EEDC to evolve and scale our programs and establish new ones, while never changing our focus on putting entrepreneurs and community first.
