About 150 Startups

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, MVP Mondays are typically held on the 2nd and 4th Monday of every month from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Mountain Time (GMT -7).

The format is a series of speakers, panels, MVP pitch sessions and successful examples of MVP development.

The series is designed to help aspiring, first-time, and early-stage technology entrepreneurs and product managers accelerate the development of a successful technology product offering by learning a repeatable data-driven process to validate their value proposition, pricing and product offering and seeing relevant examples they can see what an exceptional MVP looks like.

MVP Mondays

'Typically' held the first and third Tuesday of the month (between September and June), each session features technology entrepreneurs receiving feedback and new perspectives from a panel of five highly successful technology salespeople who have over 100 years of combined tech sales experience.

Tech Sales Tuesdays

, Founder Fridays are typically held on the 1st and 3rd Friday of the month from September to June.

Each month, we purchase 100 copies of the author's book, we both read a copy, interview an author about the best parts of their book in a fireside chat format, and, before the end of the Zoom call, we share a link where participants can provide their mailing address so we can ship them a free copy of the author's book.

We are currently seeking author / book suggestions for March to June 2024. 

Please call or text Craig Elias (+1.403.874.2998) if you have an author or book you would like to suggest.

A recording of that Fireside Chat is then emailed to all those who registered for the session. 

Recordings of past sessions are linked to the words FIRESIDE CHAT in all caps in the "Past Sessions" section below.

On the third Friday of the month, we return to discuss what participants learned from the interview and from the book and how that can be applied to startups, the startups community and Alberta's tech sector.

Those who register for the entire series or individual sessions will receive recordings of the Fireside chats they register for.

Founder Fridays are a series of fireside chats with authors of books that are 

 held on the 1st and 3rd Friday of each month; the initiative is based on the success of a fireside chat with Ian Hathaway (Brad Feld’s co-author on their latest book) that had 600+ registrants and gave away all 100 copies of The Startup Community Way to attendees from across Alberta in less than two minutes.

Each month you can register for either or both of two sessions:

Founder Fridays are designed to support Alberta’s entrepreneurs, mentors, investors, ecosystem builders and service providers by:

Founder Fridays is a joint initiative of 150 Startups, Bow Valley College, Futurepreneur, Rainforest Alberta, and the Venture Mentoring Service of Alberta and are made possible by the generous support of 

Central Alberta Regional Innovation Network

FIRESIDE CHAT in call caps below is linked to a recording from that session. 

Call or text Craig Elias (+1.403.874.2998) if you have any questions or suggestions for future authors and their books. 

Founder Fridays

This event has two different ticket types. 

One if you want to attend in person at Platform Calgary and  another if you want to attend online via Zoom***.

​Then join two gifted pitch coaches with unbelievable track records as they present their newest collaboration that shares:

By the end of this session, you'll be able to demonstrate why investors should choose you and fund your idea.

*** The event will be recorded, so register even if you can't make the live session in order to receive an email with a link to the slides and recording after the event.

The globally connected presenters are active ecosystem builders who have been part of incubators, accelerators, and pitch competitions across North America like 

Their goal is to help aspiring, first-time and early-stage entrepreneurs gain entry into respected accelerator programs, land investments, and win pitch competitions.

5 Ways to Attract Investors

Are you a founder, startup mentor, early-stage investor, or board game lover interested in learning how to launch a successful product without draining your bank account, damaging your reputation, or bruising your ego?

If so, join us for a special Innovation game night that will test your 

 will help Calgary entrepreneurs, mentors, and angel investors improve their skills 

 that simulates the experience of launching a successful product.

 is an innovation commercialization board game out of Norway created in collaboration with the creator of the Lean Canvas - Ash Maurya - and the author of Testing Business Ideas - David Bland.

It's an amazing way to learn how to apply lean start-up methods that is educational, competitive and a little addictive.

Call or text Craig Elias (+1.403.874.2998) if you have any questions before registering.

P.S. If you want to get a head start learning how to play the game, watch 

We are playing inside KPMP Ignition Center that is inside Platform Calgary

Playing Lean Game Night - Innovation Week YYC

*** The event will be recorded, so register even if you can't make the live session in order to receive an email with a link to the recording after the event.

, Brandy Old and Craig Elias host a Fireside Chat with 

, a book that provides tools, frameworks, templates, and visualizations that can be used to create new ways of measuring innovation.

The commonly used financial metrics of jobs, revenues, and funding tend to be 'lagging'  metrics that do not fully represent the impact of Innovation Efforts that can take years to show up.

During this session, you'll learn how to develop, deploy and use a system to complement the current financial metrics and develop leading metrics that predict the future and measure the impacts of  Innovation and ecosystem-building initiatives.

100 copies of Esther's book have been purchased and will be given away during the event.

 is made possible by the generous support of Bow Valley College, The Hunter Family Foundation, the Calgary Innovation Coalition, Alberta Innovates, and The Central Alberta Regional Innovation Network (CARIN).

Innovation Accounting w/ Esther Gons

Created by two of Alberta’s best-known ecosystem builders, 

, this session titled “Will That Idea Fly: How to Help a Startup Grow Wings” is a natural extension of the Lean(er) Canvas Mentoring Overview and Guide Book they created together back in August of 2020.

Designed for EiRs, Mentors, Startup Program Facilitators, and Incubator Administrators, this live 60-minute Zoom session shares how mentors can help aspiring, early-stage, first-time, and student entrepreneurs avoid some of the biggest and most common mistakes entrepreneurs make when starting a business.

It combines concepts from startup experts like Ash Maurya, David Bland, Geoffrey Moore, Melissa Kaufman, Mike Raab, Renee Mauborgne and W. Chan Kim with original concepts they developed by helping hundreds of entrepreneurs validate their business ideas.

Will 'That' Idea Fly

Did you know that being just six months late to market can result in a startup missing one-third of all the profit it would ever generate?

The corollary of that data point is that when you get a product to market  six months sooner, you generate 50% more profit over the life of the product.

In today's fast-paced business landscape, the key to successfully scaling a startup is using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to get to market sooner.

If you are an entrepreneur or a business leader, then join us for this free online event to learn four ways to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to scale your startup faster and increase the likelihood of its success from:

This session is designed for early-stage companies, their founders and business leaders who:

The session will walk you through how you can use AI tools like 

P.S. This session description was written with the help of ChatGPT.

4 Ways to Use AI to Scale a Startup

Are you a founder, startup mentor, early-stage investor, or board game lover, interested in learning how to launch a successful product without draining your bank account, damaging your reputation, or bruising your ego?

 will help Lethbridge entrepreneurs, mentors, and angel investors improve their skills 

Copies of the book Founded will be given to those who attend.

Playing Lean Game Night - Lethbridge

Are you a founder, startup mentor, or early stage investor interested in learning how to launch a new product without draining your bank account or bruising your ego?

 will be in town for one afternoon to help Saskatoon entrepreneurs, mentors, and angel investors improve their skills 

 is an innovation commercialization board game out of Norway created in collaboration with the creator of the Lean Canvas - Ash Maurya.

Playing Lean - Game Night

 is five afternoons of speeches, panels, innovation challenges and pitch competitions designed to connect and upskill Alberta's startup community and tech ecosystem that is 

available in person and virtually via Zoom

See the available discount codes for startups, online-only (via Zoom) and students in the ticket section below. 

This year's event awards over $75,000 in cash and prize, and all the ticket proceeds in a 

crowd favourite pitch competition for high-school students

, the author of seven business books, including the best-selling books 

100 copies of Mike's book Fix This Next will be given to those who purchase tickets for the entire week and attend his Monday afternoon session in person.

Each day features a different theme based on the levels of Mike's "Business Hierarch of Needs."

While the event is designed as an in-person event - held at Bow Valley College - to benefit the rest of the province, this event is also made available 

 so those who can't attend in person can still benefit.

All those who register will have access to the recordings after the event.

​All funds generated from ticket sales are awarded to the winners of the

​Tickets for the entire week are only $100 per person, and day tickets are $25 per person, with the following discounts (coupon codes) available.

The following codes can be used to get a discount - 

PLEASE BE HONEST and only use a coupon code if it 

​Members of equity-seeking groups can call or text Craig Elias (+1.403.874.2998) to receive a coupon code to participate either in person or virtually at no charge.

Coupon codes are entered in the payment box that appears on the right when purchasing a ticket. Click on the word 'Redeem' - as shown in the orange box in the image below to enter a coupon code.

 will go through the 5 levels of The Business Hierarchy of Needs from his book Fix This Next. 

Mike Michalowicz knows that every business has a hierarchy of needs, and if you can understand where you are in that hierarchy, you can identify what needs immediate attention. Simply fix that one thing next, and your business will naturally and effortlessly level up.

, this panel will feature four entrepreneurs who will share what they fixed and how to establish predictable 

Next, the Innovation Challenge has in-Person and online participants form teams of up to four (4) to compete for $2,000. The prize will be awarded to the team selected as having done the best job applying the sales component from Mike’s Hierarchy of Needs content to a local early-stage company. 

The day ends with a regional pitch competition that has the top two proceeding to the finals held at the end of the final day.

 this panel will feature four entrepreneurs who will share what they fixed and how to grow 

and keep the organization healthy and secure a safe environment. 

Next, the Innovation Challenge has in-Person and online participants form teams of up to four (4) to compete for $2,000. The prize will be awarded to the team selected as having done the best job applying the profit component from Mike’s Hierarchy of Needs content to a local early-stage company. 

The day ends with a regional pitch competition that results in the top two proceeding to the finals, to be held at the end of the final day.

 this panel will feature four entrepreneurs who will share what they fixed and how to 

organizations and what the needs are to ensure that companies can run -and grow- no matter who is on the team. 

Next, the Innovation Challenge has in-Person and online participants form teams of up to four (4) to compete for $2,000.The prize will be awarded to the team selected as having done the best job in applying the profit component from Mike’s Hierarchy of Needs content to a local early-stage company.

and serial entrepreneur will share her vision and what are her organizations doing to create an 

That session will be followed by a crowd favourite pitch competition where six high school students will compete for all the ticket proceeds from the event. 

Once the crowd favourite pitch competition is over, we’ll have the finals of the 150 Startups pitch competition, where six first-time entrepreneurs from Alberta’s publicly funded post-secondary schools compete for an additional  $17,500 in cash and $36,000 US in scholarships to the Draper University

Only those who purchase tickets for the entire week and attend Mike's Monday session in person  will receive a free copy of Mike's book Fix This Next. 

Innovation Rodeo - 2023

These are the sessions for students working on the Lean Startup Challenges and getting ready to pitch in the $25,000 pitch competition.

These sessions will take place every Monday from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm (MDT) and Tuesdays from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm (MDT) until Tuesday, July 4th.

Student Startup Mentorship

, and online via Zoom, where participants are put on teams led by some of Alberta's most promising first-time entrepreneurs, learn how to validate promising business ideas, and compete in a Crowd Favourite Pitch Competition.

NOTE:  Sessions with a Z** next to them will be also available online/virtually via Zoom for those who are unable to attend in person

All funds generated from ticket sales are awarded to the winners of the Crowd Favourite Pitch Competition held on Sunday morning.

Tickets are $30, and the following codes can be used to get a discount - 

PLEASE BE HONEST and only use a discount code if it 

Members of equity-seeking groups can call or text Craig Elias (+1.403.874.2998) to receive a discount code to participate fully at no charge.

The in-person sessions listed below all happen on the second floor of the south campus of Bow Valley College, and you enter via the main doors on the C-Train tracks.

Once inside, head up the main stairs to the second floor, and we'll be in the room behind the two sets of double doors immediately on your left when you come up the stairs.

All those attending online should receive an email 60 minutes and 5 minutes prior to our start time with a personalized link to join a Zoom session.

The Top 10 Mistakes First-Time Entrepreneurs Make

As the founder of China’s massive Alibaba (Jack Ma) says, “You learn nothing by learning what successful entrepreneurs did well. You learn more by learning and avoiding the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make.” This session will share the Top 10 mistakes entrepreneurs make.

Having a promising idea for a product or service is not a guarantee of success. 42% of startups and early-stage businesses fail because not enough people want what is being sold. This session will help you avoid being part of that statistic by helping participants identify a problem people will gladly pay to have solved.    

Now you know a problem you can solve, you need to determine who is the user is and who the ideal client – they are not the same thing - and reach ideal clients when they are most likely to become your customer. 

Now that you have identified the problem you are solving and a client who will pay, you need to create a compelling value proposition that creates instant interest in what you do. Something that gets people to ask, “How do you do that?”   

This session will share what funders are looking for in entrepreneurs and their businesses, how to deliver a high-impact pitch and avoid the eight red flags that kill funding opportunities.

The winner of a Global Billion Dollar Idea Competition, who was also the CEO of a company twice chosen by Dow Jones as one of the 50 most promising startups in North America.  

A co-founder and advisor to multiple Canadian StartUps that have grown to tens of millions of dollars in revenue - one of them currently has revenue of over $100 Million and is still growing!  

One of Alberta's most knowledgeable Lean Canvas facilitators who created a student accelerator based on Ash Maurya's Lean Canvas model.

A visual thinker who helps entrepreneurs tap into their creativity so they and their customers ‘see’ the full potential of their idea.

This is the kick-off weekend for the summer skills development program, part of a province-wide entrepreneurship initiative called 

During the summer skills development program, some of Alberta's most promising first-time entrepreneurs are provided cash to improve their business ideas while preparing for an Alberta-wide pitch competition, held during the Innovation Rodeo, that gives away $25,000 in cash and awards three $12,000 US scholarships to a five-week entrepreneurship boot camp held in Silicon Valley.

 The kick-off weekend and 150 Startups are made possible by the generous support of RBC and the Hunter Family Foundation. 

Startup Weekend: In Person & Online

 and Wind Mobile, this session shares multiple ways mentees can get the most from the time they spend with mentors and will cover topics like:

The content being shared was created by extensive research and the discovery of founders and entrepreneurs across Canada.

Registrants will receive a recording from the session as well as a participant package that includes "The 25 Principles of Menteeship."

All we ask in return is that you sign or have signed 

 which has 10 values and principles (listed below the QR code that takes you to the page where you can agree to the social contract), and help build an equitable startup community and tech ecosystem.

The 10 values and principles of Rainforest Alberta's Social Contract are:

- I embrace diversity, strive to create equal opportunity for every person, and am open to meeting anyone in this community.

 - I understand that I will receive valuable help from others for free.

 - I will give trust to others before expecting to receive trust in return.

- I agree to "pay forward" whatever positive benefits I receive.

 - I will be nice and treat everyone fairly. I will take advantage of no one.

- I will bring people together and listen, as none of us is as smart as all of us. I believe in the big tent. I believe we gain strength through diversity.

- I will be truthful and frank. I will break rules and call out elephants in the room.

 - I will create teams to play, dream, experiment, iterate, and persist. I understand mistakes happen. Failing quickly and cheaply are acceptable ways of testing new ideas.

- I will open myself to learning from others. I am eager to act to learn. I will share my knowledge in the spirit of the Creative Commons to help nurture learning in others.

 - I will lead at times and follow at other times. Each person acts as a role model for everyone else. I will live by these ideals and enforce them as a member of the Rainforest community.

Free Mentee Training w/ Brice Scheschuk

If you answered yes to any of the above, then join us for a free (online and in-person) session as one of Canada’s top sales experts (#15 globally and #1 in Canada on LinkedIn’s list of top 50 B2B Sales Experts in both 2018 and 2019) shares their sales secrets.

See below for a quote from when this session was held live at Australia's largest community of industry-agnostic, highly scalable tech startups – Fishburners.

The feedback from the forms was very, very positive. Never seen a larger audience at our workshops or members stay back asking questions for so long!” 

Georgia Marshall | Community Manager, Fishburners Sydney Australia

If you live anywhere near Collingwood, Ontario, attend in person by registering at

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/sales-training-for-solopreneurs-startups-and-side-hustles-tickets-547851507607

A recording of the session will be shared with all those who register.

Craig Elias (aka Orange Shirt Guy) was twice chosen as the world’s #15 Sales Expert (#1 in Canada) by LinkedIn.

He is an award-winning entrepreneur, educator, author, highly sought-after startup advisor and a gifted pitch coach - who once helped the female founder of an early-stage technology company win two different $100,000 pitch competitions in less than 24 hours.

He is LinkedIn user 3,956 of over 850 million users and has over 10,000 unsolicited endorsements for entrepreneurship, sales and marketing - with over 1,000 endorsements for his favourite sales topic, lead generation.

Craig is the most recent recipient of the World Federation of Colleges and Polytechnics Gold Award of Excellence in Entrepreneurship and has been:

For the last nine years, he has been the Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Bow Valley College in downtown Calgary where he runs almost 100 free online events to help build an equitable entrepreneurship ecosystem in western Canada.

Since returning from San Francisco, Craig has helped thousands of startups over coffee meetings where he’s shared his sales secrets in exchange for his favourite coffee – a tall flat white.

FREE - Sales for Solopreneurs, Startups and Side-Hustles

 is one of the top prospecting experts you will find on this planet.

 has over 1.700 reactions, almost 250 comments AND over 100 reposts.

This hybrid session (online via Zoom and in person at Platform Calgary - 407 9 Ave SE, Calgary) is designed to give participants the best possible chance of starting conversations with those who are the hardest people to sell to - those who don't already know you. 

It's an easy-to-learn method for starting conversations with prospects without the feeling of rejection.

Join us to learn a radically honest approach where prospects feel safe telling you the truth because they don't feel "sold" or "manipulated."

Those who register will be provided with a copy of the recording from the session.

While we encourage people to attend in person to connect with like-minded people, the presenter will be presenting online from Boca Raton, Florida.

 which has 10 values and principles (listed below the QR code that takes you to the page where you can agree to the social contract) and help build an equitable startup community and tech ecosystem.

- I embrace diversity, strive to create equal opportunity for every person, and I am open to meeting anyone in this community.

- I agree to "pay forward"  what ever positive benefits I receive.

This event is made possible by the generous support of RBC, The Hunter Family Foundation, Calgary Innovation Coalition, Alberta Innovates and the Province of Alberta.

Prospecting Secrets w/ Josh Braun

This free virtual mentor training session for anyone who mentors, or would like to mentor, aspiring, first-time, early stage or student entrepreneurs.

Facilitated by a co-founder of Wind Mobile (

), the session will share ways mentors can be of most value to those early in their entrepreneurial journey.

The content is a compilation of extensive research and discovery of leaders from across Canada . It details the 15 Principles of Mentorship and how they can be implemented when mentoring aspiring, first-time, early-stage or student entrepreneurs.

The session will also share information on meeting management (short and long form) as well as identifying the common mentor personas.

 that has 10 values and principles (listed below the QR code that takes you the page where you can agree to the social contract) and help build an equitable startup community and tech ecosystem.

Free Mentor Training w/ Brice Scheschuk

Whether you are an individual, a start-up founder, a scaleup employee, an ecosystem builder or a corporate innovation person there is something for everyone during Calgary's Innovation Week.

During five free lunchtime sessions, held in-person on the pitch stage at

(407 9th Ave SE) AND online via Zoom, participants will learn five ways to kick-start innovation.

Monday: Avoid the #1 Mistake Entrepreneurs Make by Building the #1 Trait and the #1 Skill Entrepreneurs Need.

During this one-hour session, participants will learn from an Ex-Google, Ex-Oracle,  mentor who recently helped a local startup generate their first million dollars in sales, the #1 trait and #1 skill Entrepreneurs need to avoid the #1 mistake entrepreneurs make.

20 of the in-person participants will have the opportunity to attend a special two-hour masterclass by 

Tuesday:  Getting to Yes With Potential Customers

During this session, participants will learn from 

, the executive director of Techstars Austin, the three W's of customer acquisition and how to identify the key drivers of their business.

20 participants of the in-person session will receive a copy of Amos' latest book, 

Wednesday: Intellectual Property (IP) Strategies that Defend Your Business

Defensibility is the #3 thing investors look for when evaluating the investability of a business.

One of the ways you can defend your business from the competition is to build a moat around your idea/business - as people did in the old days to protect their castle.

During this one-hour panel, moderated by 

 of the Innovation Asset Collective, four panelists will share intellectual property approaches you can use to protect your business.