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My Go Global Experience

The Northwestern Ontario Innovation Centre launched their first Go Global program in May 2017 and I was thrilled to be a part of this 15-month program. When I first heard about the Go Global program I was finishing my business degree at Lakehead University looking for my first full-time job.  Coming straight out of University and getting thrown into the real world of sales was quite daunting but looking back at it I am so happy I had the opportunity be part of this program and the great team that runs it.

10th Annual RBC Innovation Awards The Northwestern Ontario Innovation Centre hosted its 10th Annual RBC Innovation Awards luncheon, which once again sold out with over 170 people in attendance to celebrate and recognize innovative companies and individuals In Northwestern Ontario. Over 30 nominations came in from across Northwestern Ontario for five award categories which include Marvin Detweiler Advisor of the Year, Innovative Project of the Year, Young Innovator of the Year, Innovation Hero of the Year, and Innovative Company of the Year. “We are excited to be celebrating the 10 th  year of the RBC Innovation Awards. This event has continued to grow, and illustrates that Northwestern Ontario is really becoming an innovation hotspot.” States Judy Sander, Manager of the Northwester Ontario Innovation Centre. The 2018 Winners are: Innovative Company of the Year:  Rent Panda is a new one-stop shop for rental housing needs. By focusing on both the tenants and the landlords Rent Panda strives to keep community in mind and is focused on building safe neighbourhoods. Their clean and crisp branding is scalable and they are working on new technology to include products and services such as online rent payments. Young Innovator of the Year:   Cody’s idea (URIDE) is a ride sharing app specifically for the Thunder Bay market. The app has been developed and launched with much success. URIDE partners with a local car service to be able to provide rides to meet the demand.  Being very community oriented Cody and URIDE offer many discounts to users, with a portion of the proceeds from each ride going to different organizations and initiatives throughout Thunder Bay.   Marvin Detweiler Advisor of the Year: Dan Munshaw is the Manager of the Supply Management Division at the City of Thunder Bay.  His passion for innovation is evident from the numerous companies he has advised and the number of connections he has provided to clients over the years. Currently, Dan is a member of the Advisory Board for CE Strategies and is an active member of the Innovation Centre’s Board of Directors.   Innovation Hero of the Year:  Taylor Gorrie from Taylorpedia has created a place in school for children who’ve fallen victim to bullying called The Safe Zone. Taylor has taken her own negative experience and turned it into a positive space, helping many in the process. Taylor shines a bright light on our city with interviews that she shares on Taylorpedia, and now she’s expanded her “hero”-like traits into helping children and giving them confidence.   Innovative Project of the Year:  Freshwater Cuisine’s effort to utilize 100 % of every fish it purchases has expanded into developing a proprietary organic liquid fish fertilizer. Working with a Thunder Bay based biochemist, Freshwater Cuisine has begun experimentation on a 'recipe' which to-date has yielded impressive results. This project is tied closely to the company's commitment to local food security, as the end goal is to provide the remote First Nations communities of Ontario's North the ability to produce local fertilizer for the increasing number of community gardens.

Building an Innovative Team

When you hear the word innovation, a lot of people immediately think of technology. That’s not always the case though, innovation can be seen across all sectors. Whether its innovating a new product, changing the way you communicate with clients, or changing the process of how you do something.

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Three Years of Innovation Highlights

As is tradition every fall, the Northwestern Ontario Innovation Centre unveiled their new infographic highlighting client success at this year’s annual general meeting. This infographic represents data from the 3-year period from 2015-2017. Collected from the annual survey completed by the Innovation Centre’s clients the data demonstrates the economic impact on our region and helps the Innovation Centre tailor services and programs to the needs of the entrepreneur.

The Scariest Entrepreneurs Are The Ones Who Know Everything

Most entrepreneurs are interesting, dynamic and intelligent people whom I love supporting.  It is not always easy to know which entrepreneurs will be successful and those who won’t.  However, over my many years of interacting with entrepreneurs one key trait that spells failure is the “know it all” mindset.  Starting and growing a business requires knowledge of finance, marketing, customer behaviour, operations, human resources, leadership, technical skills and that is just to name a few areas.  No one person is an expert in all of these areas.  It is scary to meet an entrepreneur who thinks they do not need to leverage input, advice and other people’s experience.  These entrepreneurs are heading down the road to failure and make me fearful.  Being the smartest person in the room is not that smart.