November Updates
Toronto Global Visits Burlington
In November, Burlington hosted a visit from Toronto Global , an organization that represents municipalities in the region to attract investment, as part of a familiarization tour of Halton Region. The tour started at TechPlace and then continued to the Walkers Line Corporate Centre . Later in the afternoon, a walking tour of Downtown Burlington was guided by Brian Dean, Executive Director of the Burlington Downtown Business Association. The group then visited NUVO Network to showcase the state-of-the-art film studios available in Burlington. The tour ended at Aldershot GO. Our team looks forward to continuing to work with Toronto Global and we are currently servicing a number of leads that emerged following this tour.
Photo left: Members from Halton Region Economic Development, Toronto Global, and Burlington Economic Development on tour bus. Photo right: Toronto Global receives a tour of one of NUVO Network’s three fully-equipped state-of-the-art studios available for rental.
Improving Customer Service at the City of Burlington

In direct response to Rolling Out the Red Carpet Recommendation 16 (City Org Structure and Business Processes Review), the City of Burlington has developed two new roles dedicated to providing excellent end-to-end experience for customers. These new roles will allow for better integration on business development between Burlington Ec Dev and the City. Angela Morgan has been appointed the Executive Lead-Customer Experience and Mike Greenlee, Interim Customer Experience Manager-Business Development. Both Morgan and Greenlee bring an incredible depth of municipal knowledge to the roles.

The Burlington Economic Development team prides themselves on delivering a premium customer service experience to all businesses they engage with. These two roles will encourage seamless integration between the work economic development does and the City. Take a look at the Progress Reporting Dashboard to see the status of all 22 recommendations here.
What is the Red Tape Red Carpet Task Force (RTRC)?

The RTRC is an initiative announced by Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward at the State of the City in January 2019. Its purpose is to use a series of events and feedback options to identify the challenges and obstacles facing growth and relocation of businesses in Burlington, and develop actionable solutions to keep Burlington Open for Business. Learn more .
Mayor's Take

“The customer experience is critical for companies looking to do business in Burlington. I am confident these new roles and our realigned customer experience strategy will position our city for success when attracting businesses to locate here, aiding them with their challenges and supporting their growth. These new roles will work alongside the Burlington Ec Dev team to support businesses in our community”
Branded Burlington is Open for Business
Branded Burlington is open in Village Square! Branded Burlington is a clothing and lifestyle brand that offers quality products made in Burlington for Burlington.

Owner and Founder Brittany Hills is a born and raised Burlington native, dedicated to creating products that the Burlington community will love. Mayor Marianne Meed Ward was at their grand opening to welcome them to the community. They are now open in Village Square (Unit 10 Upper) Tuesday through Sunday and available online.
Photo left: Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward wearing her Branded Burlington t-shirt next to founder Brittany Hills. Photo right: Branded Burlington store in Village Square.
Fastest Growing Kids Coding Company in North America Now in Burlington
Photo: Shauna Chan, Co-Owner, Code Ninjas Burlington; the Honourable Karina Gould, MP Burlington; Shawna Stolte, Burlington Ward 4 Councillor; Keri-Lyn Smith, Centre Director, Code Ninjas Burlington; Ian Chan, Co-Owner, Code Ninjas Burlington.
The fastest growing kids coding franchise in North America is now in Burlington! On November 9th, Code Ninjas officially opened their doors to the Burlington community. Code Ninjas teaches children computer coding and problem-solving skills while building fun video games. To find out more about the Burlington Code Ninjas location, click here.  
Ontario’s Fastest Growing Fresh Food Retailer Opens Burlington Location
Ontario's fastest growing fresh food retailer Farm Boy has opened its newest location in Burlington! The 23,000+ square foot store opened in Alton Village on December 5, and the store will create 120 jobs in the first year. The Burlington location will deliver local shoppers a world-class food experience with exceptional customer service and an abundant selection of the freshest foods. At the grand opening event, Farm Boy staff and shoppers were welcomed by Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward. Find out more about Farm Boy here.
Photo Left: Burlington City Councilor Angelo Bentivegna and Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward show support as Jeff York, Co-CEO of Farm Boy presents a $5,000 donation cheque for the Joseph Brant Hospital Foundation to Ashley Davidson, Chief Development Officer of Joseph Brant Hospital Foundation.
What's Happening at TechPlace?
Central American Company BeltecHub Technologies Inc. Joins Soft Landing Program

TechPlace is thrilled to welcome BeltecHub Technologies to its Soft Landing program. BeltecHub Technologies is a Central American company that will open their Canadian headquarters later this year through TechPlace’s Soft Landing Program. BeltecHub Technologies was introduced to Burlington through a delegation with LatAm Startups, a not-for-profit organization that helps Latin American startups scale in North America.  Read more here .
Lion’s Lair Winner IRIS R&D Joins the TechPlace LaunchPad Program   
The Winner of the 2019 Lion’s Lair pitch competition is the newest company to join the TechPlace LaunchPad program. Founded in 2018, IRIS R&D Group is an Artificial Intelligence company that provides cities with technology to solve transportation, mobility, public safety, and infrastructure challenges. In September 2019, IRIS R&D Group won the grand prize of $35,000 cash at the well-known Lion's Lair pitch competition in Hamilton. The competition spans three months and gives ten companies the opportunity to pitch their business to a panel of top business experts. Read more here.
Photo above: Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward meeting with the IRIS R&D team.
Spero Careers Canada and myBrokerBee Officially Move into TechPlace    
Photo above: Elizabeth Plouffe from Spero Careers Canada talking with Burlington Mayor Meed Ward. Photo below right: Burlington Mayor Meed Ward meeting myBrokerBee team.
TechPlace is excited to welcome Spero Careers Canada to the LaunchPad Program. Founded in Burlington by Elizabeth Plouffe, Spero Careers Canada’s mission is to remove barriers to employment and skill building by connecting youth and adults on the autism spectrum to NANAWorks. NANAWorks will help to eliminate the current barriers for employment success and reduce the current 85% unemployment rate within the autism community. Moving into TechPlace will provide them with space to validate their training programs and tools through hosting workshops and beta-testing events. Read more here.
TechPlace also welcomes financial technology company myBrokerBee to the LaunchPad program. Founded in 2017, myBrokerBee is a Peer-to-Peer software marketplace that allows mortgage brokers to easily find the best private lender for their clients/borrowers. The myBrokerBee team have been endorsed users at TechPlace for over a year, regularly accessing the hot desks and meeting rooms. Moving into a LaunchPad will allow them to continue to grow their company. Read more here.
Upcoming Events
Business Before 9 - Quality Hotel Burlington
When:   December 17, 2019
Where:  Quality Hotel Burlington
Come out to network with various businesses in Burlington! Hosted by the Burlington Chamber of Commerce.
2020 Business After 5
When:   January 15, 2020
Where:  La Salle Banquet Centre | Edge Hospitality
Join the Burlington Chamber of Commerce and network with other businesses at the banquet centre overlooking Burlington Bay.
Burlington Economic Development InvestBurlington.ca