BEDC E-Newsletter
September
What's New at TechPlace 
Following a successful Grand Opening at the end of June, TechPlace had a busy summer welcoming almost  500 guests into the space. Check-out some of TechPlace's highlights below! 

TechPlace welcomed their latest Launch Pad company 3terra in August.  Read more online. 
TechPlace is on the map! Look for our sign next time you pass by. 

TechPlace welcomed the Honourable MPP Charles Sousa and Honourable MPP Eleanor McMahon on July 20th. 
MP Pam Damoff visited  TechPlace on August 25th. 

The City of Burlington's satellite office open! On Thursday mornings City of Burlington building, planning and permitting representatives are on site to answer your questions. W alk-ins are welcome, but appointments are recommended. Send us an email at  [email protected]   to schedule one today.

Find out more information on TechPlace here or come down for a visit! 
Open Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm, located on the 8th floor of 5500 North Service Road. 
You asked, we listened! Introducing the...
Small Business Pack 

T his summer BEDC pulled together an all encompassing resource package for small businesses located in, or locating to, the Burlington area. The pack serves to help guide your small business through the environment, spaces, programs, and resources that can help your business grow. 
Burlington Business Success: WayPay

Founded in 2014, WayPay is a Burlington based financial technology company that you're going to want to watch!  WayPay streamlines the accounts payable process for small-medium sized businesses by connecting to any accounting platform and automatically reconciling payments sent to local or international suppliers from any combination of bank and credit card accounts. 

In July 2017, WayPay joined the latest batch of companies to participate in 500 Startups in Silicon Valley. Paul Abrams, Vice President of Marketing & Communications made time in his busy schedule to sit down with us and share some more insight into their success.  
How has being located in Burlington helped WayPay succeed?

As a B2B service, the Burlington business community provides us with incredible access to a huge infrastructure of businesses across a wide array of sectors. Beyond the Burlington borders, our location provides us with easy access  to the entire Golden Horseshoe business community. Whether we are in Toronto for meetings with partners, or visiting with clients in Niagara, our office provides easy access to the greater GTA business community. Aside from physical location, we have been able to recruit incredibly strong "west-end talent" across all areas of our business including sales, marketing, operations and tech/development. We are finding that a lot of younger staff would much rather stay local than head into the city and brave the hours of weekly commuting!

What is next for 
WayPay?


In July we were pleased to begin working with 500 StartUps in San Francisco/ Silicon Valley. Several members of our leadership team have been down in SF working with the best-of-the-best in the world of FinTech. The ongoing engagement will see us create strong strategic partnerships as we look to expand our business globally in the coming months. While there are still plenty of business opportunities for us here in Canada, our sights are set on global expansion in the not-too-distant future. 
Do you have any advice for other entrepreneurs looking to start up in our community?

There is a 'bubbling' of tech companies coming out of the woodwork here in Burlington. We are honored to be one of them! We look forward to working with others in the world of tech to learn and grow our respective businesses. The beautiful TechPlace space will provide the catalyst for this sharing. For those thinking of starting their own business, tech or otherwise, the Burlington community provides sensational support and resources...you are smart to pick this as the place to begin your own adventure.

From left to right: Paul Chappel VP of Sales, Roberto Ramesar Co-Founder & CEO and Paul Abrams, Vice President of Marketing & Communications. 


2016 Census - Income Update 
Statistics Canada has released Income data, including information on Burlington's trends in Median Household Income, Low Income, Savings, and Income for Couples and how we compare regionally and provincially. In Burlington, the overall median total income of households in 2015 was $93,588, an increase of 5.5% from $88,736 in 2005. Burlington has household incomes that are above average for the Hamilton CMA, Ontario and Canada, but below average compared to Halton Region, Oakville and Milton. A more detailed analysis can be found on our website here.   
Congratulations Burlington Winners of The PROFIT 500 Canada's Fastest-Growing Companies
Secure Sense was named the Fastest-Growing Information Technology Firm for the second consecutive year. This Burlington based technology information security company employs 35 people and saw five year growth of 3,044%. Read more online.

Prodigy Game (SMARTeacher) was named in the top 10 of Canada's Fastest Growing  Start-ups with two-year revenue growth of  1,168%. As Canada's second fastest growing start-up, Prodigy Game employs 60 people in Burlington. Learn more about Prodigy Game here.
Mohawk College Enterprise Helps Spark Innovation at City of Burlington
Mohawk College Enterprise (MCE) delivers customized training and consulting services to organizations across Ontario. Recently, the City of Burlington took part in MCE's Future Ready Leadership program. Participants learned new skills from leadership to project management and more. They also developed project charters and plans through concepts they learned during the program. One of those projects was Innovation Café which is currently being implemented within City of Burlington with great support. To learn more about Innovation Café and MCE's Future Ready Leadership program, visit the case study here.
Stay in the Loop! 
BEDC Named 'Best Tech Start-Up Support Service - Canada' 
In August BEDC was named 'Best Tech Start-Up Support Service - Canada' by TMT News. The awards are circulated to 82,000 firms globally to vote, nominate and recognize the exceptional and ground-breaking work undertaken by firms in this expansive industry. BEDC is thrilled about this achievement and is excited to continue building on this success at TechPlace.
Burlington ranked in the Top 10 Small Cities for Business Friendliness by FDi's American Cities of the Future 2017/2018

Burlington ranked 10 th  in the Business Friendly Environment category among small cities. The report cites Burlington's strategic location and proximity to several top post-secondary institutions as key highlights that help to attract a number of high-profile companies in a range of industries. This includes everything from advanced manufacturing, food processing, metal fabrication and packaging to financial services, IT, life sciences, and transportation and logistics.
Read more online.
Peel Halton Workforce Development Group's Employer Survey
This is the seventh annual Peel Halton Employer Survey. Last year over 800 responses were collected from local employers. This year's survey aims to probe the impact of technological changes on local businesses in terms of employment, skill needs, talent management strategies, retirement, and company culture.  The main purpose of this anonymous online survey is to build a picture of the Peel Halton labour market from the employer's perspective. Are you a Burlington Employer? Take the survey.
Upcoming Events 
Leadership Summit for Women 
McMaster Innovation Park
November 7th 10:00am - 3:00pm

BEDC Is thrilled to be a sponsor at this year's Leadership Summit for Women hosted at McMaster Innovation Park in partnership with Mohawk College and vital GHA community members. This conference is an annual community-wide event that brings together women, trans* individuals, and allies from the GTHA communities. This event provides the skills, space, and support for all participants to reach their full potential as individuals and as collaborative members of a community. Learn more online  here.
Developing a Global Mindset
Halton Region & Canada-Ontario Export Forum
November 22nd 9:00am - 12:00pm

In this half day seminar you'll learn what it takes to become a successful exporter. You'll also receive an overview of the key export support resources and partners that can help you get ready to go global.
Halton FUTURES Innovation Summit & Awards
Oakville Conference Centre 
October 17th 8:30am - 5:00pm

This year's 2nd Annual Innovation Summit event will shed light on how smart, innovative technology solutions are transforming the delivery of healthcare services from the hospital ER to the clinic, and addressing the key challenges in our healthcare system so as to enhance the patient experience and wellness outcomes. 
October Lunch 'N Learn 
Innovation Factory 
October 17th 11:30am - 1:30pm

Innovation Factory's Lunch 'N Learn sessions are a great way to get out and network while enjoying a delicious catered lunch and learning something new! Past speakers have included seasoned experts in a variety of industries, along with dynamic startup founders sharing their candid entrepreneurial experiences. This month's topic and speaker is TBA at the time of this newsletter. 

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