Digital : Innovation + Job News

With the emergence of social enterprise, and the increasing visibility of many social, and especially environmental, issues, many more investors are becoming interested in using private capital to not only generate revenue, but also tackle some of our greatest problems. Helping to match investors with the enterprises that might achieve these goals: Social Venture Connection (SVX), an online platform that's just been launched by MaRS with the help of the Province and several private partners.

Billed by the Ontario government as the first such system in North America, SVX is a registered dealer with the Ontario Securities Commission. At launch, 12 ventures (including both non-profit and for-profit enterprises) were registered, ranging from an organic farm supply company to ZooShare, which is piloting a biogas plant at the Toronto Zoo. Their goal is to attract what are dubbed "impact investors," ones who have "a focus on achieving positive social and/or environmental outcomes and modest to market-rate financial returns," according to SVX's website. 

It's the first step towards a larger goal of creating a full-fledged regulated market, one that functions much like any mainstream exchange but with an explicit focus on social impacts.

Because SVX vets the enterprises that apply to be listed, and also provides some support services to the ones that make the cut, the idea—or at least the hope—is that those enterprises that do get selected will have an easier time attracting investors. SVX is also actively working to identity potential investors, ones who are known to have an interest in the social implications of the ventures they support.

To be eligible for consideration, ventures must have been incorporated in Ontario for at least two years, and have revenues between $50,000 and $25 million a year.

Writer: Hamutal Dotan
Source: Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment

Founded in 2011, MaRS's Data Catalyst gathers data from partners in several sectors—healthcare, entrepreneurship, and energy—and analyses it to help support the development of the province's innovation economy. This past weekend, Data Catalyst organized the city's first ever Green Energy Hackathon, to give local app and product developers a chance to work with some of that data as well.

Data from many of the province's smart metres—from 2.7 million households, to be more precise—is currently being gathered in what's called the Green Button initiative. It's the Green Button open API that was made available to participants at the Hackathon—data that enables users to better understand how Ontarians are actually using their energy. Using that data, participants at the hackathon came up apps that do everything from help individuals know the best time to use certain appliances to warning small businesses about impending weather disruptions.

"There's a big hairy problem about how to engage people in their use of energy," says Joe Greenwood, program director of Data Catalyst. That problem, he goes on, has a lot to do with behavioural economics: even though we could save money by changing our energy consumption habits, it turns out people aren't entirely rational in how they handle such choices—which leads to the thorny question of how exactly to induce them to alter those choices.

On the bright side, Greenwood explains, Ontario has also made one of the biggest investments in smart metres, which creates a big opportunity for smart developers to give people the capacity to manage their energy use more effectively. Because we're starting to learn more about how we currently consume energy, we can start experimenting with tools that will motivate people to consume it better.

One key theme Greenwood noticed in the apps that were started at the Hackathon—some of which will be getting support for further development—is simplification. Though energy companies and large corporations may look at charts and graphs to help them determine their choices, individuals work differently; many of the developers started looking at giving rewards—badges or air miles, or using humour—as tools to help people change.

Writer: Hamutal Dotan
Source: Joe Greenwood, program director, MaRS Data Catalyst

"Creative destruction." It's an economics term that captures the dynamic cycle in which economies make progress--develop and integrate innovations and create new sectors and industries--by destroying the previous systems.

It's also the name of a new lab based out of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. That lab has just seen its first cohort of participants complete and eight-month boot camp, designed to give participants the pragmatic knowledge and real-world connections they need to make their ventures flourish.

One distinctive feature of the program is that acceptance in no way guarantees completion: in fact, nearly half of the original group doesn't make it through to the end. Participating ventures, each of which have between one and five members, meet periodically with mentors over the course of the program to establish milestones for their companies' development, and track progress along the way. After each round of meetings, those that are weakest get dropped from the program--of the 18 original participating ventures, only eight completed the program.

Worth noting: those eight now have an equity value estimated at $65 million in total.

Creative Destruction Lab came about, explains its director, Jesse Rodgers, after "looking at the gap that exists in education and research….there's certainly a failure in terms of connecting with [the] right people. The biggest thing that's messing with early stage entrepreneurs is the judgment in how to get where they want to go, and get there faster. They can't get the right mentors, they can't get the right coaches - that's a scarce resource."

As for what distinguished the ventures that successfully completed the program from those that did not, Rodgers says, it came down to one simple element: "Team dynamic. All the ones that didn't make the cut had team issues." It was surprising, he said, just how powerful this factor was, and how universal its influence. "Regardless of industry, the common thing is just the people, and how they work."

Writer: Hamutal Dotan
Source: Jesse Rodgers, Director, Creative Destruction Lab

The most interesting of the opportunities we've seen this week:

The Ontario Brain Institute, a major hub for research and medical commercialization, has two key positions open. They are looking for a knowledge translation lead and a communications lead; both for their outreach program.

Also looking for communications help is TechSoup Canada, which helps organizations with a social mission--non-profits, charities, social enterprises, and the like--make better use of technology. It's an entry level position, and those with compentence in French are particularly encouraged to apply.

In the environmental sector, the University of Toronto's sustainability office, which is charged with improving that institution's sustainability, is hiring a campaign coordinator to support and supervise a team of 10 students. It's a five month contract, but there may be opportunities to extend.

In senior hires, the Royal Ontario Museum is looking for a new managing director of ROM Contemporary Culture (formerly known as the Institute for Contemporary Culture) to take charge of positioning the centre as it evolves.

And in city-building organizations, non-profit 8-80 Cities, which works to make streets, transportation, and public space vibrant and available to all a city's residents, has two positions open: a director to lead some specific projects, and a more junior project coordinator, to support the organization's work.

Do you know of an innovative job opportunity? Let us know!

Entrepreneurship can come at any age--and often it can come very early in a person's working life. Hoping to give a leg up to some of the country's youngest and most promising entrepreneurs is The Next 36, a nine-month program that provides intensive mentorship and support to 36 undergraduates and recent graduates. They've just opened up applications for their 2014 cohort.

Program participants work in teams of three, each of which will develop a business aimed at the mobile technology market.

That doesn't mean that only developers and the technologically-oriented should apply though: participants come from all disciplines. The key quality applicants should demonstrate is leadership, explains marketing and events director Jon French.

It's not the sector that matters so much as the characteristic, someone with the ability to "look at an opportunity or challenge and turn it into a positive," he says. To that end, "a track record of excelling at at least one thing" is the single most important factor Next 36 looks for when selecting its finalists, which have included top athletes and musicians as well as coders and engineers. (In previous years participants have been split into roughly one-third technology majors, one-third business and commerce majors, and one-third students with a background in the humanities.)

While program participants spend their time with Next 36 developing a new business, immediate impact matters less than establishing the skills for long-term success, French says. Their main goal is that in 10 or 15 years, some of Canada's leading entrepreneurs will have come through the program, having learned the hard and soft skills they need to build viable businesses throughout a long entrepreneurial career.

Writer: Hamutal Dotan
Source: Jon French, Director of Marketing and Events, The Next 36

Publishing technology company ScribbleLive recently announced that it has secured $8 million in new funding, via a group of several venture capitalists. (Their last major financing announcement came in November, 2011, when they landed $4 million in venture capital funds.)

Though you might not be familiar with the company's name, you've almost certainly encountered their products--the digital publishing tools they offer are used by many major media outlets, ranging from Reuters to ESPN. ScribbleLive focuses on real-time event coverage and on engagement tools; more recently they've expanded into syndication, giving outlets opportunities to distribute their stories to other publishers and bring in additional revenue.

The Toronto-based company currently has 43 employees locally and seven elsewhere. Expanding that team is at the top of their priority list, says CEO Michael De Monte. The new funding will enable ScribbleLive to pursue growth in two main areas: expansion into other regions (there are plants for New York and the American west coast) and expanding Scribble Marketplace (its new syndication tool). By year's end, De Monte estimates the company will have grown to about 65 positions. He anticipates they will hit 100 by the end of 2014.

ScribbleLive recently celebrated its fifth birthday, and we asked De Monte what changes he's seen in Toronto's innovation sector over that time.

"There is a community here that is supportive of new startups," he says, "but it was hard to find five years ago. There's more of it now."

More community, but perhaps not quite enough support for it. "There are a lot of other cities that are doing a lot more for their startup communities, " he goes on, "that have really embraced the innovation spirit."

In Toronto, by contrast, "we do a lot of talking about it," but don't take enough action, he says. De Monte cites the digital pockets he's seen in other cities--communities within cities that are wired, and offer supports, amenities, and professional development support for young workers--as something Toronto should aspire to.

"We do have pockets here," he concludes, "but it's always felt a little disconnected."

Writer: Hamutal Dotan
Source: Michael De Monte, CEO, ScribbleLive

It is the bane of every teacher's existence: grading. Though essential, it's also repetitive and time-consuming. It is also increasingly prone to concerns about inequity: from grade inflation to inconsistent standards across different classrooms, sometimes parents, students, and even teachers themselves have a hard time deciding just what the grades they have assigned actually mean.

Aiming to help with both those problems is Toronto startup Crowdmark. Founded by two University of Toronto mathematics experts--the department's associate chair, James Colliander, and graduate student Martin Muñoz--Crowdmark provides teachers with a suite of tools to facilitate faster grading, and enables teachers to handle large volumes of grading collaboratively.

To use Crowdmark, teachers input the questions for a test into its customized PDF-maker. The result is a full printout of that test, in which each page of the copy received by each student has a customized code printed on it. Students write the test as usual, completing their answers by hand, and then teachers scan those tests into Crowdmark before doing their grading online. Because each page of each test has a unique identifier, Crowdmark's cloud-based tools can then sort the tests on a number of axes--by student, or by page of the test.

A group of grade three teachers could, for instance, collaborate on writing a test, and then split up the grading so that one teacher grades all the students' answers to question one, a second teacher grades all the answers to question two, and so on. It can be faster than looking at a whole test student by student, and it ensures that every answer to a given question is graded according to the same criteria, rather than changing based on which teacher is doing the grading.

"Teachers are very excited right now about an idea called moderated marking," says Colliander, which is essentially an attempt to strip teacher biases, grade inflation, and other variations out of the grading process, so there is consensus on what, say, an "A" means in any particular set of circumstances. "The shuffling of paper prevents many teachers from engaging in this kind of assessment."  

In addition to the tools that can make initial grading more efficient, Colliander believes, because tests are stored in the cloud in an organized way, teachers will be able to glean more information from them--more easily tracking a particular student over time, for instance, or seeing how test difficulty changes year by year.

"There's a desire for a much more rapid, iterative way of learning," Colliander concludes. His hope is that Crowdmark will give teachers the capacity to keep pace with that.

Started with $200,000 in seed funding from the University of Toronto, Crowdmark has recently seen that boosted to $600,000--some from the university, and some from MaRS Innovation. Crowdmark also recently completed two pilot projects working with teachers in grades 3 and 6. The company is currently meeting with venture capitalists and putting together a Series A round of funding. They plan to launch publicly in time for the 2013/2014 academic year.

Writer: Hamutal Dotan
Source: James Colliander, co-founder, Crowdmark

When Extreme Startups launched in early 2012, co-founder Sunil Sharma says it was with a very specific goal in mind: find "high potential, disruptive, early stage tech companies" and give investors a first crack at supporting them.  Formed by a collective of venture capitalists, the tech incubator's goal is to hone in on young companies with the best chances of success, and boost their odds further.

Applications are now open for the fourth cohort of participants in Extreme Startups. Each cohort consists of five companies; each company receives $50,000 up front, mentorship, and streamlined access to more than $150,000 funding (through the Business Development Bank of Canada and the Ontario Centres for Excellence) once they have completed the 12 week program. 

In exchange, Extreme Startups gets a ten per cent stake in each company, distributed across the venture capitalists who make up Extreme's investors (the distribution of equity varies in each case).

We asked Dale Millstein, a visiting associate at Extreme Startups, what advice he had for potential applicants. "Apply!" he said. "It sounds pretty simple, but most people are afraid."

Whether or not an applicant is chosen, he says, going through that process is worthwhile. Extreme's goal is to foster community, and applying helps get new companies' names out, and exposes them to opportunities that may bear fruit later on.

As for who is likely to make the cut, Millstein says, the selection committee will be especially "looking at the quality of the team and technology talent," something he identifies as particularly important for younger companies with little experience in the marketplace.

Extreme Startups is accepting applications for this round of investment until August 9, 2013.

Writer: Hamutal Dotan
Sources: Dale Millstein, visiting associate, and Funil Sharma co-founder, Extreme Startups

In the world of books, major publishing house Penguin is hiring a digital and social media coordinator to both maintain their websites and work on engagement campaigns. Also the literary sector, the Ontario Arts Council is looking for a literature officer to help manage their grants programs. The post is for a five-year term.

Hart House, the cultural hub at the University of Toronto's downtown campus, is looking for an education and production coordinator for a 10-month contract to provide support to their theatre programming. Finally, the Canadian Opera Company is seeking an assistant music librarian. It requires a strong background in music and familiarity with standard office computer programs.

UNITY, a charity that works to empower youth through artistic self-expression, has three posts available. They are hiring a program coordinator, a festival & volunteer coordinator, and a managing director, operations. Contracts, qualifications, and salaries vary per posting. 

If you're interested in urban agriculture, non-profit Cultivate Toronto is looking for a community relationship manager. The organization focuses on creating food gardens in people's front and back yards, and the position involves developing and maintaining relationships with program participants.

In technology jobs, the Ontario Public Service is on the hunt for a senior interactive developer with significant experience working with open source technologies and platforms.

And finally, in leadership positions, the Jane Goodall Institute is looking for a new CEO. The position requires experience both in conservation and in financial management, and they are hoping to find a billingual candidate. Among environmental groups, think tank Pembina is looking for a single candidate to split their time between two functions: director of development for the Pembina Institute, and exective director for the associated Pembina Foundation.

Know of any innovative job opportunities? Let us know!

The most interesting opportunities we've spotted this week:

Harbourfront Centre is looking for an integrated communications specialist. It's a fulltime contract position for someone to develop marketing and media plans--both strategy and implementation.

Also in the cultural sector is ArtsSmarts, which helps organize classroom-based arts education programs. They are on the hunt for a project coordinator to help with several programs. It's an early (but not entry) level position, and the post is a nine-month contract.

Finally in this area, WorkInCulture, which supports career development in the cultural sector (in fact, it's the source of those previous two job listings) is seeking a marketing and communications manager; the position is permanent and fulltime.

MaRS Discovery District has a video production unit, which creates event and promotional videos for MaRS and its clients. They need a production/post-production manager to oversee this work and provide strategic advice as necessary. Meanwhile, the Mozilla Foundation is hiring a web developer with at least two years of experience.

For those with an interest in the environment, the Georgian Bay Land Trust needs a new executive director. The position is based in Toronto, but does require frequent travel to Georgian Bay. The charity is hoping to find someone with five to ten years experience, preferably in a non-profit.

In the social services sector, the Jane/Finch Community Centre is looking for a program manager for their Women Moving Forward initiative, a poverty-reduction program for mothers in their twenties. The centre is also looking for a mobilie community financial worker. This position is for someone who works from a variety of locations in the community providing financial management education.

Finally, the Ministry of Transportation is looking for a communications lead to oversee stakeholder and public engagement for the PanAm Games. It's a senior, temporary position that will run for up to two years.

Are you hiring or do you know of a great job opportunity? Let us know!

The most interesting and innovative opportunities we've spotted this week:

There are a good number of interesting openings in media right now. Canadian Journalists for Free Expression are hiring a digital development coordinator to work on IFEX, a network of organizations that promotes free expresion as a human right. Also, a new Canadian affairs and cultural magazine called Depict is launching soon. It will consist entirely of visual elements -- infographics and "visual storytelling" -- and they are looking for both a creative director and a graphic designer.

Continuing with the media opportunities, Global News is looking for a project manager with at least 3-5 years of experience to handle several digital projects. And finally, a very significant opening at the CBC: they are on the lookout for a new managing editor of cbcnews.ca--a senior position for someone with at least five years of related experience.

Moving on to the environmental sector, the Toronto Atmospheric Fund was established by the municipal government to provide support to new initiatives that combat climate change. They are currently seeking a summer intern for a 12-week project. The position is paid and candidates should have completed some graduate level work in public policy or environmental studies.

Real Food for Real Kids provides healthy catering for child care centres and camps, with an emphasis on local and organic ingredients. They are looking for an assistant kitchen manager.

In medical research, the Ontario Brain Institute is hiring for three six-month internships: one in industry relations, one in community outreach, and one in finance and governance. All the positions are paid, and applications are due by the end of this week.

And finally, Toronto-based financial software company FreshBooks is hiring for several positions, including a MySQL developer and a product manager.

Are you hiring or do you know of an innovative job opportunity in Toronto? Email Yonge Street's innovation and jobs editor Hamutal Dotan to let her know. 

Government, academics, and entrepreneurs will descend on the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on May 14-15, for the fifth annual Canada 3.0 conference. Organized by the Canadian Digital Media Network (CDMN), the conference focuses on the commercialization of innovation and aims to help boost the profile of Canadian digital media internationally.

Canada 3.0 was started in 2009 as the main outreach element of what was then the newly-formed CDMN. The first four conferences were held in Stratford, Ontario "because we see digital media as very much being a part of the creative industry as well as technology," explains Kevin Tuer, CDMN's managing director. It's moving to Toronto this year, he goes on, because having established itself it's time to grow and become a "national force."

Over the coming years, the conference will be moving to different cities across the country. Toronto is their first step along this path. It is also, Tuer says, "a great way for the DNA of Toronto to be showcased" to international attendees. Next year's location will be announced on the first day of this year's conference.

When we ask how things have changed in the five years since CDMN and the conference got off the ground, Tuer says he's encouraged by the increasing awareness of the need for innovation and growing support for initiatives such as incubators and accelerators in government. He's also seen "a lot more exposure for Canada on a global scale." Not quite enough though--that's also still our biggest weakness, he thinks. "There are amazing people, there are amazing companies--they are world class--but we don't do a very good job telling our stories."

Digitization is happening now, Tuer warns, and we don't have much time left to claim a place as a leading nation in the sector. The CDMN is hoping that by bringing government into the room with academics and entrepreneurs wrestling with these questions every day, the country's leaders will be able to gain a better understanding of just what the challenges, and opportunities, look like.

Writer: Hamutal Dotan
Source: Kevin Tuer, Managing Director, Canadian Digital Media Network

The most interesting of the job opportunities we've come across this week:

News broke this week that Kirstine Stewart, executive vice-president of English-language services at the CBC, was leaving that position to spearhead Twitter's first Canadian office. She's not the only person they're hiring: the social media company is currently on the lookout for an account executive and an account manager.

Also in tech openings, digital ad agency Dare Toronto is looking for a front end web developer with 4-5 years experience. Another firm, Usability Matters, is on the hunt for a graphic designer.

The Women's Healthy Environment Network works on promoting environmental health. They are looking for a volunteer, part-time executive director to lead their board.

In the cultural sector, the Ontario Public Service is looking for a senior program consultant to work in the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport, and specifically to work on major events and festivals. Canada Arts Connect is seeking a managing editor for their magazine about Canadian cultural news. It's a part-time position--about 10-15 hours per week. And the Toronto International Film Festival continues its spate of seasonal hiring: they are now on the hunt for a senior marketing coordinator for a contract that runs from May through early October.

CivicAction, the non-partisan advocacy group dedicated to city-building in the GTA, is seeking a project manager to manage the development of new programs directed at youth facing challenges in finding employment. The post is for a nine month contract.

Also in urban initiatives, non-profit developer Artscape is looking for a development associate to help with three of their major annual fundraising events.

Finally, the Toronto Society of Architects is hiring an executive administrator with some scheduling flexibility (ranging from 20-40 hours per week) to oversee their day-to-day operations.

Are you hiring or do you know of an innovative job opportunity in Toronto? Email Yonge Street's innovation and jobs editor Hamutal Dotan to let her know. 

In 2001, back when many of us were on our first email accounts and nobody had yet dreamed of Wikipedia, a new e-learning company was incorporated in Toronto.

Called NewMindsets, the company was founded to "help improve personal and team work effectiveness by offering situation-based solutions"--that is, with a focus on practical problem-solving strategies. The company's work was based on research conducted by two professors at York's Schulich School of Business, Gareth Morgan and Jean Adams.

Now, NewMindsets has been acquired by Waterloo-based e-learning company ClevrU, which wants to take the insights and content developed by NewMindsets and introduce them to clients internationally.

ClevrU is "in the space of providing a global online learning platform," explains CEO Mark Arnason. Its focus on emerging global markets requires ClevrU to ensure they have everything from servers in their countries of operations to multi-lingual services to mobile-friendly technology that can be easily used by users who may not have ready access to desktop machines. And what they are hoping they can offer those users elsewhere, in the wake of this acquisition, is insight into North American business practices.

NewMindsets' business focus, "especially around leadership learning," Arnason says, is particularly useful in this context. One of ClevrU's markets is China, where they have more than 58,000 users and 130,000 social media followers so far--and where, he goes on, "there is a thirst for North American business content." It's not, Arnason explains, an interest in traditional courses such as accounting, but rather in learning to navigate North American markets. It's the type of softer skill that can be especially important for business leaders who are accustomed to working elsewhere.

NewMindsets and ClevrU were connected in part thanks to MaRS Innovation, which introduced the two companies and helped them work out the details of the acquisition.

Writer: Hamutal Dotan
Source: Mark Arnason, CEO, ClevrU

The most interesting of the job openings we've come across this week:

Toronto incubator MaRS is on the hunt for a communications associate for a six-month internship. The work would be both print and online, and applicants must be registered with the CareerEdge program.

Business for the Arts is a national organization that tries to build closer relationships between those two sectors. They are looking for a part-time graphic and web designer to handle design and layout work on their program and event materials. Also in this sector, East End Arts (a new organization in that part of town) is seeking a managing director.

If you're interested in sustainable city-building, the municipal government is hiring a coordinator for Smart Commute to help create and implement programs to highlight alternatives to traveling by car.

In other environmental positions, Greenpeace is hiring a finance director to join their senior management team.

The Ontario Nonprofit Network (as their name indicates) focuses on strengthening the non-profit sector here. They are looking for a policy specialist to spearhead talks with the provincial government about funding reform for the sector. It's a one year contract and the position is senior.

Finally, a few social service positions of note. The YWCA is hiring a community engagement worker to help provide support around mental health concerns. The Canadian Women's Foundation is on the lookout for a new marketing coordinator to oversee the logistics of their print and online campaigns. And the Canadian Cancer Society is looking to fill several posts, including a new coordinator of volunteer engagement.

Are you hiring or do you know of an innovative job opportunity in Toronto? Email Yonge Street's innovation and jobs editor Hamutal Dotan to let her know.