Invest Atlantic 2016 Recap: NL Companies wow, and Genesis Centre set to host in 2017!

As this year’s excellent Invest Atlantic event drew to a close last Thursday, Newfoundland and Labrador had lots to be proud of.

Invest Atlantic first started in 2010 and is hosted each year in a different Atlantic Canadian city, this year taking place in Moncton, NB. The conference brings together over 300 startups, entrepreneurs, and investors, to listen to the best and brightest speakers and panels in Atlantic Canada. It’s also an incredible event for all participants to network, as investors and startups alike can potentially find the partners they’ve been looking for.

One of the key components of every Invest Atlantic is PitchCamp Pitch 101 session and competition, where 15 growing startups pitch their business ideas to all the participants in just one minute.

This year’s Pitch 101, as always delivered by the great Bob Williamson, showcased three amazing NL companies: Empowered Homes, HelpMeOrder, and Spectroleum Labs. With one of these being a Genesis portfolio company (Empowered Homes pitching their Mysa smart home thermostat), and the other two being graduates of the Genesis Evolution program, the Genesis Centre was especially proud of the NL presence at Invest Atlantic. Another excellent NL startup, Brownie Points was also in attendance.

NL startups dominated this segment of the event, with Empowered Homes taking home the top spot, and HelpMeOrder tying with Feed The Need, an Enactus Mount Allison project for second place. These companies, along with all the others that pitched, really show just how much potential the Atlantic region has for scaleable, successful startups in all sorts of industries.

The closing of the event saw Genesis CEO and President Michelle Simms make an exciting announcement: The Genesis Centre will host the 2017 Invest Atlantic event here in St. John’s! This will mark the first time that the conference will be held in NL, and Genesis cannot wait to bring all the expertise and ideas back to The Rock.

All in all, the 2016 Invest Atlantic was an amazing indication of the future for the NL entrepreneurial ecosystem. In fact, Atlantic Canada as a whole has reason to be proud of its startup community, and Genesis cannot wait to show off the NL side of things at Invest Atlantic 2017!