My Press Release: University of Waterloo Students Behind New Startup Boom
University of Waterloo students are behind a boom in new startups launching in Waterloo, Ontario. Buddingup, Unsynced, and Findit Off Campus are the newly launched startups. It seems VeloCity, a startup incubator unveiled in 2008, has sparked renewed entrepreneurial spirit at the University of Waterloo.
Robin Speziale of Buddingup, Ted Livingston of Unsynced, and Paul Lee and Krishna Sivaranjan of Findit Off Campus represent a new generation of entrepreneurs from the University of Waterloo. And while not all entrepreneurs behind these new startups were members of VeloCity – a campus incubator for Waterloo students – they can thank VeloCity for renewed entrepreneurial spirit at the University of Waterloo.
These new student-launched startups vary in concept. Buddingup.com, a job site for students and new grads, was founded by Robin Speziale, an Honours Arts and Business student at the University of Waterloo. Speziale states he started buddingup.com to “provide students and grads a better job search experience”. Buddingup features entry level, internship and co-op job listings.
Among the VeloCity hatched startups are Unsynced and Findit Off Campus. Ted Livingston founded Unsynced.com, a music platform for the Blackberry, recently selected as one of 16 finalists in the international BlackBerry developers contest. Also, Paul Lee and Krishna Sivaranjan launched FinditOffCampus.com, a student housing site that offers an interactive map with local business search and bus route display feature to ease the housing process for students.
Buddingup, Unsynced, and Findit Off Campus were all launched by University of Waterloo students. No wonder StartupNorth writer Jevon MacDonald recently stated that “This pretty much makes Waterloo the go-to university for students serious about doing a startup”. MacDonald explains that “we have a bit of a thesis here at StartupNorth… that the biggest problem with the startup environment here in Canada isn’t that VC’s aren’t investing as much as we might like these days… but we think that the biggest issue is that there is no push that gets an early stage idea from the notepad to the web.”
Since opening in fall 2008, University of Waterloo’s VeloCity has been a welcome solution to Canada’s startup problem. Sean Van Koughnett, director of VeloCity, recently stated in Imprint – University of Waterloo’s official campus newspaper – that VeloCity has “largely met or exceeded the expectations of students, partners, and administrators”. “For students, it[VeloCity] has provided them with an opportunity to develop ideas they feel passionate about, to work and live with like-minded students, and to build professional networks.”
Indeed, the University of Waterloo is fostering a new generation of startups and the entrepreneurs behind them. For soon-to-be graduating high school students looking to join the new startup boom in Waterloo, Ontario – the University of Waterloo is a great place to start.
Canadian Cell Phone Providers Uncompetitive
Walk into Bell, Telus and Rogers and the prices just hit you. Why should we pay $699 (no contract) for a Blackberry Storm? Well, I called Bell today and asked that question. The ‘customer care’ rep had no answer.
Hold on, Blackberry’s are made in Canada and we pay more to hold one than our friends to the South? But, don’t blame it on RIM, blame it on our fat, overweight, greedy cell providers… oh and the government – but that’s a different story.
Financial Post has done some recent digging and it can be safely said, the telecom industry in this country is at an appalling state. “Canada’s wireless industry is one of the weakest in the developed world”. And thats not even the kicker. Merrill Lynch ranks current Canadian wireless penetration at 65% – just ahead of Indonesia and Iraq. Just ahead of Indonesia and Iraq? Wow.
So, what this means it that we’re getting screwed. Among developed nations Canada ranks dead last in penetration, meaning that competition is extremely low in this country. And we pay a higher price because of this fact.
So what does this mean for Bell, Telus and Rogers stocks? Well, for now they are riding high but at the same time shaking in their boots. Why? Because a group of new wireless providers are ready to crash their party.
Soon you’ll be seeing ads for Globealive, Shaw, Quebecor selling phones to you. Take a peak at Globealive’s Wind Mobile website – they actually want to treat us as PARTNERS, not lowly, desperate customers.
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In 2008, Canada held a spectrum auction, meaning the federal Government put wireless space up for sale. So, companies jumped on the opportunity, bid on wireless regions in Canada, some coming out as nation- wide wireless providers and others not.
I have a long term sell on Bell, Telus and Rogers. At the moment they’ll suck as much money out of us until the party ends. Wireless Intelligence indicated that as of the end of Q1 2009, profit margins for Canadian wireless providers were amongst the highest in the developed world – about 44%. Theres no stopping them from selling us $699 Blackberry’s… until the new kids in town arrive. Look forward to healthy competition, lower prices, better phones in the near future.
Analysts will put an axe through Rogers, Telus and Bell, once profit margins on wireless divisions are squeezed due to increased competition. But analysts aside, we – consumers – will determine the fall of these behemoths.
My Wikipedia Page Was Deleted
Today, I made my Wikipedia page. And today, my Wikipedia Page was deleted. Those Wiki editors are fast. I thought that after reading blogs and articles on boosting your personal brand by creating a page on Wikipedia, I would give it a try.
At 12:10 PM today I submitted my Wikipedia page. And at 12:15 PM I received a deletion notice. Apparently, Wikipedia wants notable people on Wikipedia. MC hammer, Vanilla ice and other people are apparently notable, which leads me to ask: Who is a notable person?
Below is a screenshot of my Wikipedia page minutes before it was deleted. Did Wikipedia delete your page? Comment about it.
Must See: Axe Toronto Summer Job
Axe Canada is hiring in Toronto for Summer 2010. According to the Axe Consumer consultant job description:
- A guy and girl will be hired
- $10,000 salary for 2 months
- Free apartment for job duration
But get this. “Work both individually and as a team to conduct in-depth field research on the Canadian dating landscape. In other words, date and tell.” Sounds crazy? fun?
Facebook versus Myspace: Internet Popularity Contest
The battle between Facebook and Myspace for the social networking crown has long been talked about. However, I find it interesting how with the advent of the internet – websites and internet companies quickly come and go.
I think back to Netscape. Explorer came onto the scene then Firefox now Chrome. These major browsers all within little more than a decade. The rise and fall of websites and browsers in this case hits home that the internet does not completely reflect the traditional marketplace. For example, brands such as Tide, Coca Cola, and Mcdonald’s have been popular brands for decades.
My theory is that because entrance into the internet market is a easy as setting up a website with low capital requirements in most cases, many are encouraged to capitalize on the internet. However, keeping competitive is key else risk being pushed off the internet landscape.
Below is as an example of the rise and fall of social networking on the internet (Google Trends). Myspace once held the crown, now passing it to Facebook. And Facebook is definitely experiencing amazing growth.
Review – Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2
The following review of Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 was written by great friend and Technical Consultant for Buddingup, Edward Lau:
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Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 is awesome! It’s an enjoyable game with a good story. It also doesn’t get too RPGy, which some people complain about, since the last few Ultimate Alliance games had more RPG elements. However in my opinion, I found this to be better, since this means that there aren’t useless powers to accidentally give points to. And seriously, its a superhero game – we want the action.
its a superhero game – we want the action.
Overall, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 a good experience, both single player and multiplayer (by that I mean offline co-op, I haven’t tried online yet). The only complaint I have are the loading times, but its not that bad. Loading times are only around half a minute or so… which is far better than Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.
it strikes a good balance between being easy and too hard
I’m quite happy that I preordered Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, since it looks like they were sold out very quickly, and I got Juggernaut! While Juggernaut isn’t one of my favourite characters, he’s actually quite fun to use, so that’s good. And I’m pleased with how the developers included some of the lesser known heroes instead of only the popular ones. Plus, its not an easy game either, but it strikes a good balance between being easy and too hard. You should definitely try out the game.
Check back for more reviews by Edward Lau in the future.
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Edward Lau is currently attending the University of Waterloo for computer science. He is also Technical Consultant for buddingup.com.
Nintendo Wii Price Drop: $199.99
Following Son’ys move in dropping the PS3’s price to $299 this past month, Nintendo has dropped the Nintendo Wii’s price $50 to $199.99. The Nintendo Wii $199.99 price tag will take effect September 27, 2009.
Does Increase in Starbucks Spending Mean the End of Recession?
I have seen more and more people drinking Starbucks. Does this signal the end of the recession?
When the financial crisis hit the U.S. , Starbucks suffered from cut back in consumer spending. In the news, reporters claimed consumers slashed Starbucks coffee from their daily routine in order pay off credit cards, fill up gas, and buy groceries.
So logically, an increase in Starbucks spending should mean that consumers are again confident in the economy and their financial status, thus signalling a broader trend in increased consumer spending i.e. cars, houses that will thrust us out of recession for good.
Invest in Starbucks.
EB Games + GameSpot in Canada
Lately I’ve noticed EB Games in Canada are converting to Gamestop. For background information, Gamestop is EB Games parent company, with over $8 billion in revenue. On top of EB Games coverting its stores to Gamestop branding, all new stores are using the Gamestop brand. Is EB Games dead?
No. Gamestop seems to be riding on the model Best Buy used with Futureshop in Canada. Canada’s market isn’t incredibly saturated, so there is definitely room for more competitors in electronics, mobile and gaming. Best Buy realized that Futureshop was operating solo as a major general electronic store in Canada. So instead of re-branding each Futureshop to Best Buy when Best buy bought them out, they let Futureshop keeps its branding.
Why? Best Buy figured that if they owned the competition, they could watch the revenue roll in, keep customers happy and most importantly block out new electronic entrants into the market. To further their strategy, Best Buy made sure Futureshop and Best Buy were 2 different experences.
Gamestop seems to be running on the same model Best Buy used in Canada. By branding some EB Games as Gamestop and opening new stores as Gamestop, the parent company ensures entrants are blocked out from the market, while giving consumers a real or arguably perceived choice to video game purchases and game trade-in’s.
Warren Buffets Investing Lessons from Financial Crisis 2008
Warren Buffet. Investor extraordinaire and one of the rishest individuals in the world. He is also one of the calmest individuals in the world. The financial crisis 2008 did not sway him like many investors, politicians etc. In fact, Warren Buffet was so confident in the strength of the U.S. and world economy that he plowed money into GE, Goldman Sachs and BYD near the low point of the financial crisis.
I like Warren Buffet’s lesson here. Buy stocks when the market is at a low point. The credo to buy low and sell high is very important to investing. Warren Buffet hits it home when he says: “Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful”. With Buffets logic, when investors are greedy stocks are inflated and when investors are fearful stocks are low.
Another Buffet investing lesson comes from what stocks he invested in during the financial crisis. Is every stock out there a good buy when the stock is low? No. Buffet would be the first to stress a stock is literally a piece of a company. And if you buy a piece of a terrible company, you own a piece of a terrible company. GE, Goldman Sachs and BYD are great companies. Warren Buffet scored by investing in these stocks when prices were depressed.
Funny George Bush Quotes: Lego George Bush
Back in the summer of 2004 I made stop motion animation Lego films for fun. Below is my first lego film – Funny George Bush quotes where Lego George Bush says the best Bush Quotes. Enjoy.
Google of Job Search – Simplyhired & Indeed
The job search should be easy. Two job search sites I have used to find co-op jobs are Simplyhired.ca and Indeed.ca. These sites are the Google of job search. Indeed and Simplyhired are so good because:
- jobs are aggregated from Monster, Workopolis, Careerbuilder and more job sites
- jobs are also pulled from company career pages
- all the jobs on the internet are on one spot
An example search for co-op jobs in Toronto found NEW HP , Telus , RBC and IBM co-op positons. sweet.
I liked the job search engines that powered Simplyhired and Indeed so much, I used both job search engines for Buddingup.com to power the Canadian and U.S. job search.
Promotional T-Shirts for your Website or Business
Buddingup is in growth mode. It’s been 5 months since I launched the jobs site buddingup.com. To spur growth, I decided to start investing in promotions for Buddingup.
I decided to design t-shirts to promote the website – for guys and girls. T-shirts would allow me extensive coverage for a low price. I designed the t-shirts with Photoshop, sent designs to a t-shirt print shop and in 2 days had my set of promotional t-shirts.
I wear my Buddingup promotional t-shirt as much as I can. At the mall, at KFC, outside. If you think about it, one hour of wearing your promotional t-shirt at the mall = 100+ eyes looking at your brand.
Here are my tips for designing an effective promotional t-shirt
(1) Make the t-shirt simple
(2) Make the t-shirt easy to read
(3) Display your business name or website clearly
(4) Include a catchy, interest-grabbing phrase
(5) Use your t-shirt’s front & back real estate
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