October 2016
IT’S A START Pitch Competition: Submissions Now Open!
Are you an entrepreneur or startup with a great business idea? Pitch your idea for a chance to win cash prizes, mentorship and office space at the Digital Media and Gaming Incubator. Final pitch presentations take place at Digifest 2017 (April 27-29 at Corus Quay). Apply online at www.itsastart.ca by January 27, 2017!
GameON: Ventures 2016
GBC will be exhibiting at the GameON Expo taking place October 20+21, 2016 at MaRS Discovery District. Drop by and meet some of our gaming startups: Secret Team Games, Ambara Games, Cloudburst Interactive and Murder Mystery Mansion!
July 2016
Ignite Capital 2016 – Funding Opportunity for Small Businesses
Applicants have a chance to compete for a $20K award ($10K grant/$10K loan) in each category. The judges will be looking for candidates to showcase their great idea, as well as business expertise, passion to succeed and ability to grow. This year, Ignite has expanded to offer four categories: Youth, Women, Immigrant, and Aboriginal. Deadline to apply is September 2, 2016 at www.ignitecapital.ca.
May 2016
IT’S A START Pitch Competition
The Digital Media and Gaming Incubator hosted the fourth IT’S A START Pitch Competition on April 29 at Digifest in Corus Quay. We’d like to thank all the participants who submitted to the 2016 IT’S A START Pitch Competition.
Congratulations to this year’s winners: Arylla (First place), SPLT (Second place), Tranqool (Third place)
All the second round startups had the opportunity to participate at Creative Camp on March 5, 2016. Creative Camp was held on March 5 for all the second round contestants. Participants had the chance to meet with other entrepreneurs and to practice their pitches for the final IT’S A START Pitch Competition taking place on April 29. Guest speakers at Creative Camp included Daryl D’Souza (NextStep Social Media | Lou Dawg’s BBQ), Shane Lee (Business Development Bank of Canada), Chris Giantsopoulos (MaRS). Advisors included Scot Bryson (Stone Canoe), Amy Matchen (StartGBC), Elena Iosef (Dipchand LLP), Elizabeth Dipchand (Dipchand LLP), Kundan Joshi (TheAppLabb), Dianne Davey-McLellan (Di-verse), Vandana Taxali (Ent Counsel) and Jenny Hui (Clausehound).
April 2016
Digifest (April 28-30, 2016)
Attend the city’s largest event on digital creativity. This year’s theme, “Design, Tech & Entrepreneurship,” will showcase the most innovative trends driving change today. At Corus Quay, join the interactive demos, presentations from inspiring speakers, fashion tech workshop, IT’S A START Pitch Competition, Digital Pioneer Award as well as incredible opportunities to meet with peers from across the country. www.torontodigifest.ca
January 2016
Decoding Digifest
Digifest presented its first “escape room adventure game”, held during the Toronto Design Offsite Festival on January 23, 2016 (10 am – 6 pm). Participants were caught in“artist studio” at 341 King St E where they had 30 minutes to discover and solve strategically placed games throughout the space.
November 2015
Global Entrepreneurship Week
Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) is the world’s largest celebration of the innovators and job creators who launch startups that bring ideas to life, drive economic growth and expand human welfare.
Register now for Global Entrepreneurship Day and join Erin Gamelin, founder of Louis Cifer Brew Works, Eric Petersen, Creative Director of Eric Petersen, and Gina Faubert, Founder of Serenity Valley and emerging entrepreneurs Jerry Gou ofGBEvent, Dave Proctor of 13AM Games and others for the latest on what it takes to start, and run, your own business.
Win a ticket to Toronto’s Largest Event on Digital Creativity – Digifest 2016 – for most innovative question!
Date: November 19, 2015 at 3 pm
Location: 290 Adelaide St. East Rm 406
More details here
Canadian Video Game Awards
Congratulations to GBC incubator alum 13AMGAMES on being nominated for Game of the Year and Best Downloadable Game for Runbow by the CVA (Canadian Video Game Awards)! This year the 2015 CVA Award Show will take place on December 6that the Mattamy Athletic Centre (Maple Leaf Gardens) and will be open for public ticket holders to attend.
October 2015
Call for Submissions: 2016 IT’S A START Pitch Competition now open!
One of the best careers you can have is one where you are your own boss. The IT’S A START Pitch Competition, presented by the Digital Media and Gaming Incubator at George Brown College, provides space, support and mentoring for emerging entrepreneurs. This opportunity has helped launch the careers of some talented designers in Toronto. Now it’s your turn to step into the spotlight and start building your creative business.
Deadline for applications is January 29, 2016 – Apply for the 2016 IT’S A START Pitch Competition here
September 2015
The Digital Media and Gaming Incubator at George Brown College is teaming up with the Osgoode Venture Capital (OVC) Clinical Project. The OVC provides legal services to early stage entrepreneurial ventures in the financing and equity structuring stages of growth. Osgoode students work directly with lawyers from Wildeboer Dellelce LLP. Congratulations to startup company, Cityzeen, on being selected as part of this year’s cohort.
August 2015
GET READY TO RUNBOW!
George Brown College alum and startup company, 13AM GAMES, has just announced the North American release date of Runbow! Runbow is a multi-player platform racing video game for Nintendo Wii U that will launch on August 27 through the Nintendo e-Shop.
April 2015
IT’S A START 2015 Finalists announced – Good luck on May 7 – each finalist will have 3 minutes to pitch their business idea at Digifest!
*no campfire required
Brizi
Elite Sport Systems
ExVivo Labs
FARE Made
Jogah
Kidzie
Mode Rebel Studio
Products + Motion
RentHost
Suncayr
teaBOT
This Edible Life
TrueBlue
TurnKii
Empowered Youth Startup Hub
The winter intake of the Empowered Youth Startup Hub ended with presentations by all the youth entrepreneurs! Congratulations to the Winter 2015 winners: From left – Cameron North & Andi Larocca, CREAM, and Mikael Chullen, Larry Lacrosse Ball.
March 2015
Empowered youth startup hub participants joined the IT’S A START Creative Camp and spent the day meeting with some amazing advisors including Scot Bryson (Stone Canoe), Tom Emrich (We Are Wearables), Elena Iosef (Heer Law), Tanya Lahiri (RBC), Rajah Lehal (Clausehound), Carla Langhorst (Small Business Solver), Dianne Davey McLellan (Di-Verse), Rob Persiko (Persiko Group) and Vandana Taxali (Entcounsel).
IT’S A START Creative Camp was held Saturday, March 28 with guest speaker Alyssa Richard, Founder of Ratehub.ca who shared her insights on being a successful entrepreneur, finding the right team and managing conflict.
Chris Giantsopoulos led the hands-on “MaRS Pitching to Investors” Workshop hosted at the School of Design.
February 2015
The IT’S A START 2015 Pitch Competition call for submissions is now closed! Thank you for applying to the 2015 competition. All shortlisted candidates will be invited to attend Creative Camp on March 28. The finalists will go on to compete at Digifest on May 7 at Corus Quay – Good Luck! For more details, click here.
December 2014
The first cohort of the Empowered Youth Startup Hub ended with presentations by all the youth entrepreneurs! Congratulations to all the Fall 2014 winners: From left – Second prize winner Kiana Eastmond, Sandbox Studios; First prize winner Dymika Harte, UNSGND Media; Third prize winner Kelly Wong, Kelly’s Baked Goods!
October 1, 2014
IT’S A START 2015 Pitch Competition – Applications Now Open! Pitch your business, convince the judges of its value, wow the crowd in under 3 minutes and you will have the chance to incredible prizes including cash, space, mentorship and more! Deadline is January 30, 2015! For more details, click here.
October 1, 2014
Congrats to Dave and the team from 13AM Games on being featured with the City of Toronto’s – Enterprise Toronto website! 13AM Games: Local incubator helps start-up team make gaming dream a reality
July 28, 2014
The Incubator hosted guests from Buffalo State College’s Small Business Development Centre, State University of New York (SUNY). Startup firms Kuchnier Games and Giveffect presented demos of their work.
May 27, 2014
The IT’S A START Pitch Competition was held on May 10, 2014 at Digifest – 20 entrepreneurs had the opportunity to present their business idea to the jury which included Joe Ellis (Intel), Mathew Wilson (Pinetree Capital), Michael Kosic (XYZ Interactive), Mark Jones (Seneca), Monica Contreras (OCAD U) and Laura Jo Gunter/JP Amore/Luigi Ferrara (George Brown College).
Congratulations to all the winners!
Grand Prize Winner:
Peekapak is a monthly subscription pack for kids ages 3 to 7, delivered to a family’s home each month. Each pack contains an illustrated storybook that features the Peekapak Pals, a cast of recurring characterswho guide children through interactive adventures, engaging crafts with all the required materials and educational tidbits.
Second Prize Winner: Giveffect is the leading crowdfunding platform for charitable fundraising. Whether you are a charity, change-maker or a corporation that wants to give back – Giveffect’s got you covered.
Third Prize Winner: Apartmint is an online platform that integrates finding a rental, screening a tenant and transacting rent.
People’s Choice Winner: Set Scouter connects filmmakers looking for the perfect set with property owners looking to rent out theirspace for production.
April 22, 2014
Digital Media & Gaming Incubator Supports Young Entrepreneurs in Toronto Dr. Eric Hoskins, Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Employment announced the successful Strategic Community Entrepreneurship Projects this month in Ottawa. The Strategic Community Entrepreneurship Projects (SCEP) program will provide grants to not-for-profit organizations to help 15-29 year-olds — from high-needs communities and vulnerable populations — start a business. The program will help fill the gap for young people who want to be entrepreneurs, but who are not eligible for other self-employment programs. George Brown College’s Digital Media & Gaming Incubator was one of the recipients of the SCEP to help support young entrepreneurs in Toronto with its “Empowered Youth Start-up Hub” which will be launched this summer. The Hub will help youth build the necessary skills to launch their own small business! More details on how to apply will be available shortly and more information about the overall program is available here.
Contact: A. Lee at (416) 415-5000 x 2103 or alee@georgebrown.ca.
April 7, 2014
George Brown College’s Gaming Incubator hosts the Intelligent Community Forum on April 14! The City of Toronto is one of the top 7 candidate cities. The Top7 Intelligent Communities of the Year provide role models for the world’s best practices in creating competitive local economies and vibrant societies in today’s hyper-competitive global economy, which broadband communications is increasingly linking into a dynamic whole. Other candidate cities include Columbus, Ohio and New Taipei City – winning city to be announced on June 5 in New York!
March 3, 2014
The Digital Media and Gaming Incubator is now part of Canada Media Fund’s Accelerator Partnership Pilot Program (A3P) designed to provide producers of digital media projects funded through CMF’s Experimental Stream with better access to mentorship, market and capital.
February 9, 2014
Creative Camp wrapped up today and what a weekend it has been! Guest speaker Chris Carder, accomplished business storyteller and entrepreneur, shared his insight about what goes into an effective pitch along with great examples from his career. Mentors were teamed up with entrepreneurs and one-on-one pitch preparation sessions were held throughout the day.
February 6, 2014
A big thank you to everyone who submitted an application to IT’S A START! Our first round finalists will go on to participate at the Creative Camp this upcoming weekend, February 8th and 9th. Creative Camp is a weekend of business coaching, individual mentoring, pitch preparation and more. We are pleased to announce that there were 40 start-ups who made the first round!
January 31, 2014 ![JOHN_YAU_UBISOFT_1[1]](http://www.gaminginc.ca/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/JOHN_YAU_UBISOFT_11.png)
School of Design Game Development Student was Finalist in UbiGallery Contest John Yau, a student in the Game Development program, was selected as a finalist in the UbiGallery Contest, hosted by Ubisoft, one of Canada’s top video game production companies. His work was displayed at the Ubisoft event last week, along with the work of 15 other students from 5 local colleges. John’s piece, titled Gallant Falls, will be on display in the Ubisoft Gallery for the remainder of the year!
January 29, 2014
Toronto is So …. Smart The City of Toronto has been selected by the Intelligent Community Forum (IFC) as one of the 21 finalists for the Top Seven Intelligent Communities of the year! The IFC will be visiting Toronto this Spring as part of their site visits and George Brown College will be one of their stops!
October 25, 2013
Global News Toronto Profile Think Dirty was recently interviewed by Global News Toronto – read the story about how “Canadian app rates ‘dirty’ ingredients in cosmetics and personal care products” here at www.globalnews.ca
Think Dirty wins $50K Spin Master Prize for Innovation.