To recap a bit: last night we had our Launch Event: State of Entrepreneurship at the Tunnel Multi-Lounge. The event was attended by many established and aspiring Vancouver entrepreneurs and was our first kick at bringing some of these great people together in one location. The sold-out venue was flush with young entrepreneurs of all backgrounds and it definitely sparked some great conversations. As the evening progressed we went from general conversation to a “battle of the screencasts” and got to hear business ideas from driven local entrepreneurs. The VEF team then gave their “yays” or “nays” much like you would see on Dancing with the Stars. To conclude, Geordie Rose gave a “no-nonsense” approach to obtaining funding for his company D-Wave Systems and stressed the value of  practicing your pitch and pitching big ideas. Geordie was excellent and we welcome him back any time.

Overall we all had a blast and cannot wait for the next event and our Fireside Chat Series. We will be posting our next event details soon so stay tuned. We will also be adding pictures, video (including Geordie’s presentation), information on the companies who pitched, and an online survey about what you think worked and what didn’t. Your feedback is greatly appreciated and our events will be centred on providing the most value for those attending them.

We have some big plans for our website and our various types of events. Whether you are a long-time entrepreneur or you are thinking this might be for you, we look forward to meeting anyone who has the entrepreneurial spirit.

Starting a technology company for the first time is a wild and exhilarating experience.   It takes a combination of high energy, naiveté and stubbornness. And in my experience it is life changing–whether you succeed or not.   After this you may never want a JOB ever again. 

Are you standing at this precipice – have an idea?  Want to build your own business?   Not sure where to start, but you’ve eager to get going?   Or perhaps you’ve already jumped in, but you wish you didn’t have to learn everything the hard way?    There’s a team at VEF Momentum that knows just how you feel, and wants to help you harness this energy and excitement, and encourage you to make the leap into entrepreneurship.   Our team is a mixture of aspiring young entrepreneurs, themselves looking for education and encouragement, and those who’ve been there, done that, and want to share their experiences and offer education and support.   

Our mandate is very simple:  Connect and educate a new generation of young entrepreneurs in Vancouver.  Our goal is to offer relevant content and networking opportunities to young and first time entrepreneur. Our plan is to do this through a series of open, accessible events.   And to have fun doing it.

It is a great time to be a technology entrepreneur in Vancouver.   The talent, support and expertise in this city is incredible and the buzz around technology entrepreneurship is stronger than ever.   We want to  help first time entrepreneurs become part of this buzz and  take those first ( or second and third)  steps to building their dreams.  If our program can convince even one of you that being a technology entrepreneur is worth the time, energy and risk, then we will have served a very important role in this community.

I wish that I had a dollar for every time I have heard excuses about why people delay starting their company, usually centered around not having the perfect idea or the right team or it not being the optimal time.     I can say from personal experience that a perfect company does not exist and that you won’t win every time, but by starting a company you at least give yourself the opportunity to win.  So, if you’ve got an idea,  if you’re standing at the precipice .. or if you’ve already jumped in with both feet .. Come and join us at the VEF Momentum events  - we’ll help you as you reach those dreams. 

Or, If you’ve already been there, done that and have experience to share, come and join us to share your experience, pass on your knowledge and join in the excitement.  

With that said, I thought a fitting first post would talk about Momentum at its conception. And to do that, I should probably talk about the significance behind the name. Call me cheesy, but remembering the significance behind the name of something (this name in particular) is a great way to bring you back to where you started, to make sure you’re still moving in the right direction.

The purpose of establishing Momentum was to create an organization that would help young entrepreneurs not only connect, share and learn from one another but advance their ideas and entrepreneurial aspirations. When establishing Momentum, we identified three largely untapped groups that we thought we could help:

• the student at a local university or college who wants to start a business upon graduation
• the aspiring entrepreneur working for someone else but has clear plans to start their own business in the near future
• the first-time entrepreneur who has established their business but needs to know where to go and what to do next.

But what could we help them with? Well, we could help them connect to like-minded entrepreneurs. Maybe meet a business partner, or find someone to help vet out their ideas. We could help them meet mentors and other entrepreneurs for practical advice and inspiration. We could help them promote and pitch their business ideas. We could help facilitate interaction with angel investors and make it easier to find financing.

So what did this all mean? When we took a step back and looked at the demographic we’re targeting, the different things we can help with, the program of events that will help us do all those things, what were we actually offering? Well, after a few e-mails back and forth we quickly realized – we were providing momentum. We were helping young, aspiring entrepreneurs gain traction and advance their dreams, their ideas and their businesses forward.

And so you’ll see over the coming weeks, months and years that every thing we decide to do will have that initial premise in mind. Our events, our blog posts (most of them), our meet-ups, or whatever else we decide to do will have to pass the simple test: is this helping that young entrepreneur take a step forward, is it helping them gain momentum?