Grow your Startup faster by building your network

‍Propel’s ATLANTIC STARTUP ECOSYSTEM

If you are trying to build a startup today without getting any help or taking any advice, you are likely going to fail, and as a result of not getting help, your failure will likely cost more and take more time than if you had asked for help

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with others.” - African Proverb

Why do I need to network?‍

Building a successful startup is hard enough - not learning from the mistakes of others in an ecosystem that is as supportive and inclusive as the Atlantic Canadian Ecosystem is a failure of your duty as a director of your startup.

According to this Neil Patel blog post, All successful startups that succeed have one thing in common - Networking.‍

Pro Tip: The post also outlines 7 ways that networking can take your startup to the next level.
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“Networking is the #1 unwritten rule of success in Business.” - Sally Krawchek

How can Propel’s Ecosystem help me?‍

As a technology accelerator, Propel’s role in the ecosystem is to provide help and resources to startup founders through our Accelerator. That includes connecting founders with mentors, fellow entrepreneurs, and other resources that can help them succeed. That is our mission - to help founders succeed. 

Propel has been growing its network and ecosystem of thinkers/doers and investors for more than 15 years. We have done this to continuously improve the delivery of our services and expose founders to the latest ideas.

We constantly strive to connect with bright thinkers and doers across North America. We collaborate with authors like April Dunford and Ash Maurya, inspirational Startup founders like Caterina Rizzi and Tyrre Burks, Startup builders like Mark Roberge and Marcel Lebrun, teachers like Danyelle and Tristan Pollock, and investors like Eva Lau and our very own Gerry Pond.
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“If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” - Sir Isaac Newton

Propel’s ecosystem is a networking tool that allows you to find players in the Atlantic Canadian Startup Ecosystem and connect with them via their LinkedIn and social media accounts.

It's completely voluntary and you can include as little or as much information as you like about yourself, your company, and how to connect with you. If you are ready to join the hundreds of community members already using it?

The ecosystem includes:

• mentors who have knowledge in your industry or a particular technology
• Local and National Investors who might currently be looking for investments.
• Startups raising funds and soon which companies are hiring or seeking talent.
  

If you are already on our Ecosystem, take a spin over now to make sure it's up to date here.

Networking during a Global Pandemic

While in-person networking has been restricted over the past 4 months and in many places is still may be on pause - relationship building is not.

Ethan Rotberg’s excellent piece urges you not to let Covid-19 stand in the way of valuable networking.

“Just because we are quarantined and we don’t have our traditional ways of networking, does not mean that networking goes on hold,” said J.T. O’Donnell on her podcast, JT Talks Jobs.

What other tools are out there?

Last year, Entrevestor created a very useful tool for navigating and understanding the complexity of the Atlantic Canadian Ecosystem through its 

http://entrevestor.com/ac/road-map.

It included information on starting your own venture, moving your startup to Atlantic Canada, accessing funding resources, and accessing investors. The plan was for it to be updated annually so we look forward to an update in the fall.

In Conclusion

In a post-COVID-19 environment, we will all need to be a little more creative about how we network. We will likely all work from home a little more, close more sales via Zoom, and connect with customers and partners without ever leaving our homes or offices (or Home Offices).

All of this is why we launched the Propel Ecosystem on our website and It's growing every month with new founders, mentors, investors, and partners. 

Its something we will continue to offer to the Startup community. It's not a finished product. It's not meant to replace Facebook or LinkedIn or good old fashioned meetups but it might be a way for you to find out who else is working on AI-powered supply chain software in Atlantic Canada! 

Thanks

Derek Latham

Startup Coach, Propel
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Apply to our Startup Summer Showdown today!

From July 9th to August 6th qualifying applicants to Propel are eligible to enter the Startup Summer Showdown Contest. The contest is open to early-stage (pre-revenue - less than $1000 monthly recurring revenue) companies. Full contest details are available here. The winning startup will win a prize package consisting of cash and in-kind services valued at over $50,000 designed to help them launch their startup and begin their entrepreneurial journey.  

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