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After writing several posts on startup accelerators and incubators, I received an email from Jason Della Rocca. He’s been working on designing a game incubator in Montreal. It’s a good idea, and one that I believe makes sense for the city. As I’ve said before, you have to play to your strengths, and in Montreal there are tons of big game companies. These companies can (and do) create spill-off entrepreneurs and indie game studios (although not to the extent that I’d like to see.) These big game studios also attract talent and money into Montreal. And there’s executive-level talent and top-level mentorship available as well.

Montreal is a good place, and perhaps a unique place, for building a game incubator.

Jason and I have spent some time going back and forth on how a game incubator could work. The game space has some advantages and challenges versus the web-centric world that most of us live in. One advantage is that games can monetize right away. You can charge for a game and deploy it through key distribution channels (I’m focused almost entirely on mobile iOS and Android games), or you give the game away and monetize through advertising, virtual goods, etc. The mechanisms for making money in gaming are well-known, accepted and proven. That’s quite a bit different from the web consumer world where monetization often only happens after you have a critical mass of users, and it’s not always obvious how you can do it (a lot of web users shun advertising, for example). So game monetization is fantastic.

But there are also challenges. Building a single successful game doesn’t necessarily equate to building a successful business – at least not a venture-backable one, or one that can be acquired. Game companies need to build multiple games – or franchises – that can demonstrate repeatable success and ideally a technology platform underneath the game(s) that has value as well. I’m certainly not saying it’s easy to build a successful game or game company…

Here’s Jason’s post with his latest thoughts (and some of mine) on building a game incubator: http://www.realitypanic.com/archives/476. I’d encourage you to go read the full post.

Here’s a quick summary of how it would work:

1. There’s a 6-month incubation phase (not too dissimilar from what we see with Y Combinator or TechStars, with a bit more hands-on Year One Labs thrown-in)
2. Projects graduate to the Studio or break out on their own (or fail.) The Studio is an actual game studio, which serves as a place for incubated projects to go and continue developing their games. Each team at that point is like a department or “pod” within the bigger Studio entity. The reason for this is twofold: (1) some projects/teams will need more than 6 months to bake fully and prove (or disprove) that they can scale and grow successfully on their own; (2) some projects/teams may not be massively scalable, but may be viable (i.e. profitable) games. In the latter case, these projects/teams won’t necessarily be fundable, and it won’t make sense for them to break out on their own. But as part of the collective Studio, they can add significant value. The Studio is a business onto itself, with multiple departments or “pods” that are each creating value. The sum of the parts is worth more than the individual parts on their own.
3. In some cases, projects that go into the Studio may eventually break out, when it’s clear that there’s a (potentially) massively scalable business led by a solid, entrepreneurial team.
4. Projects that break out (either from the Incubator or from the Studio) become separate businesses.

So you have an Incubator that’s attracting talent, baking projects/teams and outputting games. The Studio is a holding ground for projects/teams that need more time to bake and a fully functioning game studio that itself is a business with significant value. And the overarching corporation (that runs everything) owns a piece of the projects in the Incubator, the Studio, and those that ultimately graduate.

Here are some reasons why I like it and think it can work:

1. It focuses on a specific niche, which means there’s leverage in a number of places. People can move from one team to another more easily. Mentors, investors, etc. are more focused. You can line up acquirers just in the gaming space and build all the necessary relationships to implement the full food chain you need.
2. People joining the incubator don’t have to be hardcore entrepreneurs. They need to be entrepreneurial, but the bets you’re making aren’t exclusively on the people’s ability to start and run companies. The Studio for example, is a great place for director-level type individuals to continue building and designing games, without being full-fledged entrepreneurs. This should hedge some bets in the gaming space, which is less entrepreneurial, but has plenty of talent.
3. The Studio (assuming the math works) is a unique asset that you don’t see with other incubators. You could have 10 individual games being developed inside the studio with 10 quality teams; the Studio should be profitable and therefore be attractive as an acquisition (based on financials and talent.)
4. I haven’t seen this done in the gaming space, which means there’s an opportunity to do something different and stand out. From the perspective of building a startup ecosystem in Montreal, this could be the kind of spark that really makes a difference.

There are lots of details to work out. Jason is now working on a financial model to see if this makes sense. And it’s not clear yet if there’s enough entrepreneurial talent in the game space to build a successful, sustainable (read: profitable!) game incubator/accelerator. But I have a feeling there is, and it’s a matter of evolving the model so it makes sense for everyone and then working like crazy to attract the best talent, mentors, investors, etc.

Once again, here’s Jason’s blog post – http://www.realitypanic.com/archives/476 – stay tuned for more details!

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

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The International Startup Festival is happening in Montreal from July 13-15th. Mid-summer is a great time to visit Montreal, and now entrepreneurs, investors, and anyone interested in tech startups has the perfect to visit.

The Startup Festival is a multi-day event focused on the business of startups. The schedule is still being fleshed out but I guarantee that it’s going to be chock full of great speakers, events and activities. They’ve named a bunch of speakers already including: Dave McClure, Howard Lindzon, Chris Shipley, Jeff Clavier, Paul Kedrosky, Sean Ellis and more.

Startups can apply to pitch at the event: http://www.startupfestival.com/en/call_for_pitches/.

This is going to be an international event – there will be lots of people attending from Canada, the US and Europe. Montreal is a unique city for bridging all of those markets and people.

I’m helping out with the Startup Festival through NextMontreal (as a media partner) and in promoting the event through my network. The event team are all friends, and I’m a huge supporter. Plus, I suspect we’ll be doing some off-event activities through Year One Labs as well.

With the recent acquisition of Tungle (by RIM), more financings taking place in Montreal and a bunch of upcoming activity, the city is heating up. And the International Startup Festival will be a great opportunity for people interested in startups to get together, learn, and have fun.

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As part of our effort to find and recruit the best entrepreneurs into Year One Labs, the four partners are doing “Office Hours” in Waterloo, Toronto and Ottawa. More details here.

Year One Labs is based in Montreal, and entrepreneurs (companies) that get into the Lab will need to be in Montreal (for ~12 months.) But we’re not looking exclusively in Montreal. In fact, we’ve been getting interest from all over the place. It is easier to recruit entrepreneurs closer to home, and we’ve already met some very interesting people in Waterloo, Toronto and Ottawa. So that’s why we’re going there in-person to hang out.

“Office Hours” means all four partners (myself, Alistair Croll, Ian Rae and Raymond Luk) will be hanging out for a few hours to meet and talk to as many entrepreneurs as possible. This is exclusively for entrepreneurs. It’s extremely casual. There will most probably be beer.

Here’s the schedule:

• Waterloo – Tuesday September 28th 1:00PM – 3:30PM (Velocity Centre – U Waterloo) — RSVP
• Toronto – Tuesday September 28th 5:30PM – 8:00PM (Jet Cooper offices – 20 Maud Street) — RSVP
• Ottawa – Wednesday September 29th 4:00PM – 6:00PM (Code Factory – 246 Queen Street – 2nd floor) — RSVP

Please RSVP with the links above so we can estimate how many people are coming.

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On April 6, 2010 I wrote a blog post about resurrecting a Montreal tech news site. And today, it’s launched.

Please visit NextMontreal >>

Along with the NextMontreal team (and in particular, Patrick Tanguay!) we’ve been working a ton to get the site ready. I’m very pleased with what we’ve accomplished in such a short time.

The goal of NextMontreal is to serve as a news and opinion hub for everything related to tech in Montreal. We’re broadening the focus to include big companies as much as startups, and other tech sectors like life sciences and gaming, just as much as those we spend our time working in, namely Web and mobile. Providing a primary hub for all tech news in Montreal is going to add a lot of value in terms of increasing awareness (inside and outside Montreal), cross-pollination of ideas across sectors and more.

Even before launching, we’ve brought on some fantastic sponsors: Beyond the Rack, Microsoft, Bridgescale and d’Astous Groupe Conseil. These people recognized the importance of what we’re trying to do and were willing to support us on day one. Thank you.

We’ve put together a great team of Featured Columnists. And more will join us. These are folks that are pushing Montreal forward in the world of tech, locally, but even more importantly, abroad. No city can survive on its own. Our markets are not local, they’re global. Some stories are local, and we hope to create real meaning at a local level, but we need folks on the outside – acquirers, big companies, talent, investors, etc. – looking in and paying attention. That’s part of NextMontreal’s mission.

I’m excited to keep pushing Montreal forward and using NextMontreal as a community platform for doing so. I hope you enjoy the site, read through the great content that’s already published, and stay tuned for much more.

Visit NextMontreal now!

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The Art of Marketing is a conference being held in Montreal on September 30th. They’ve got a star-studded lineup, including:

• Seth Godin on Leadership & Creativity
• Jeffrey Gitomer on Customer Loyalty & Sales
• Avinash Kaushik on Brand Measurement & Analytics
• Mitch Joel on Digital Marketing & Social Media
• Max Lenderman on Experiential Marketing
• Andy Nulman on Strategy & Innovation

It’s rare to get all of these folks (even the Montrealers in the group!) in Montreal at one time, so if you’re interested in marketing, social media, analytics, etc. it’s worth checking out.

Two important notes:

1. Get a discount! Click this link to get $50 off the regular admission price. Cost will be $349 to sign up.
2. Wait for the contest! The folks at Art of Marketing have agreed to do a contest with NextMontreal.com (when we launch) to offer 2 FREE tickets.. We’re working on the contest and it will get launched immediately after the site is launched (which will be at some point in August, to allow for enough time before the conference).

You can learn more about the conference and the speakers at The Art of Marketing.

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It’s been a few months since I instigated the return of a Montreal technology news site. And today I’m pleased to announce that things are actively moving forward on the project.

NextMontreal.com will be a news and opinion site for Montreal technology.

The site won’t be launched for awhile, but you can stay up-to-date by following NextMontreal on Twitter.

I’ve assembled an initial team including myself, Phil Telio, Sylvain Carle and Patrick Tanguay. I’m certain more people will join this team in the very near future. We need more people to join.

I’ve got great sponsors already on board (I won’t name them yet!) and more on the way. As I said in a previous post, it’s important to establish financial stability, so people that dedicate their time to NextMontreal on an active basis are compensated. We won’t be able to pay everyone — but we hope the community will rally to support NextMontreal and we’ll bring on great volunteers to cover events, stories, etc.

NextMontreal won’t be exclusively about Web and mobile startups. Certainly the team involved spends most of their time in that world, but we want to expand NextMontreal to cover a much broader range of technology: gaming, life sciences, etc. We won’t get perfect coverage – there’s just too much going on – but our goal is to get substantial coverage across multiple tech sectors and communities in Montreal.

The site will be news-driven, first and foremost. We’ll have op-ed pieces as well from great columnists in multiple tech sectors.

We’re also very pleased to have Heri involved from Montreal Tech Watch. We’ll be working with Heri to make sure his content gets added exposure through NextMontreal. We’ll be exchanging ideas, stories, and working to collectively connect the various tech sectors in Montreal and raise Montreal’s profile as a vibrant tech center.

I believe there are 3 key audiences we need to reach:

1. Grassroots Recruits: There are more and more students and young people that have yet to discover Montreal’s tech world. Startupifier is a group of students from various schools / universities in Montreal that have self-organized to help out. This is a key audience for NextMontreal. We want to draw grassroots recruits into the tech community.
2. The Community Itself: Truth be told it’s not really a community. There are too many people doing too many different things to lump everyone into one giant “tech community.” But it’s clear that people within each individual community aren’t even getting the news they need.
3. The Corporate World: Tech companies (of any kind) need customers, investors, partners, acquirers, etc. All of those entities are in “the corporate world” (versus “the startup world”). I’m making broad generalizations, but I’m sure you understand what I mean. The tech community, especially amongst startups, does itself a disservice if it doesn’t draw in investors, large corporations and other organizations that have an interest in what we’re doing. And this is both in Montreal and outside. We need the corporate world’s attention, and NextMontreal will drive that.

Montreal needs a central tech news hub – and our goal is to realize that through NextMontreal.com.

Over the next little while, here’s what we’ll be looking for:

• Contributors. If you believe you can contribute to NextMontreal in some way, please let me know. We’ll need volunteers to cover events. We’ll need people in various tech sectors (that we’re not experts in) to partner with us to find interesting stories, report the news, etc.
• Story Ideas. If you’ve got an interesting tech story, we’d like to hear it. Doesn’t matter if you’re in Web, mobile, gaming, security, hardware, or something else. We’re looking for all sorts of stories. We’ll be covering the investor world and bootstrapped businesses as well.
• Sponsors. One of my primary goals for NextMontreal is that it be sustainable (even if I get hit by a bus, NextMontreal must live on!) Anyone interested in reaching the broader tech community in Montreal should speak with me about how we can work together.

Getting to this point has already been a challenge. And the future isn’t entirely clear either. This is a major undertaking with quite a few moving parts, lots of varying interests, and a very important mandate. Montreal needs NextMontreal. It’s why I decided to instigate the project in the first place. And I’m certainly not the only one that believes in it. My hope – over the next month or so – is that we’re able to coalesce all the necessary pieces and launch something significant, meaningful and valuable. Stay tuned…

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About 2 months ago I put out a suggestion that we bring Montreal Tech Watch back to life or something similar to it. The site helped people a lot, and I’d like to see that happen again. I’d like people to be able to discover the startup ecosystem in Montreal, find jobs, find co-founders, share news, attract people to events, etc. All of that was happening with Montreal Tech Watch. I did discuss Montreal Tech Watch with Heri, but nothing came of it. I certainly wish him the best!

Montreal Tech Watch succeeded at pointing a spotlight on the tech startups in Montreal. For that, we owe Heri a great deal.

Things are picking up in Montreal. There’s a lot going on. And now more than ever we need a site similar to Montreal Tech Watch – dedicated to reporting on the big and small tech startup stuff going on in Montreal on a consistent basis. With that in mind, along with Phil Telio, we’re launching a new tech startup site for Montreal. In order to do it properly, we need to hire a Chief Editor.

There’s still a fair amount of details to work out, but here’s how I see it going down:

• The Chief Editor will be paid. I don’t believe the site can succeed with volunteers alone.
• This won’t be a full-time job, so part-timers can apply, but I would expect it to take a few days per week at least, possibly more.
• Phil Telio and I will be responsible for raising the money needed to operate the site. We have a budget in mind. We’ll be looking to corporate sponsors to help out. If there are any corporate sponsors out there interested in owning some real estate on what will quickly become a Montreal startup focal point, get in touch!
• We will look for volunteers to help write stories, participate at events, promote the site, etc. One person can’t do this alone.
• The site will most likely be run as a non-profit.
• The budget will be used to pay the Chief Editor, potentially pay other writers, infrastructure (site design, hosting, etc.) And we may be able to do some other interesting things too.

This new site won’t be designed as a “ra ra” platform for Montreal. Certainly, we hope it will have a positive outlook and promote Montreal, but it also has to be as balanced and impartial as possible. We need the site to tell real stories about what’s going on. It can’t be a platform simply for patting ourselves on the back. We owe ourselves more than that.

We want to launch the site as soon as possible.

So what are we looking for in a Chief Editor?

• Strong writing abilities. English and French (if possible). When applying, please send some writing samples, or links to stuff you’ve written online.
• A strong understanding of the current tech and startup scene in Montreal. Ideally you’re already a member of the community, and you’re ready to stand out. Even if you’re not a current active member of the Montreal tech startup community, you want to be involved.
• You “get” startups. Maybe you’ve worked at a startup in the past. Or you’ve started companies in the past. Or you just love startups and know what’s going on.
• You have opinions and aren’t scared about publishing them. It’s important that the site not simply be a cheerleader for Montreal startups. It has to be more than that. And people are attracted to a voice that’s strong, purposeful and opinionated.
• Strong Web skills in terms of using WordPress (our platform of choice), blogging, social media, social networking, SEO, traffic building. If you can hack around a bit in PHP all the better. Having some Web/tech abilities is helpful, but I don’t want people to not apply due to a lack of Web tech skills.
• Ability to manage others. We hope (and think) we’ll have a strong group of volunteers ready to write guest posts, attend events, etc. So you need to be able to manage people effectively.
• Good networking skills. You’ll need to be out and about, attending events, meeting people, etc. You have to enjoy interacting and networking.
• Passion for the Montreal startup ecosystem. Simply put: you have to love startups. And you have to be very interested in being at the center of the ecosystem in Montreal.
• Opportunistic. Frankly, you shouldn’t do this for the money. Yes, we’ll be paying someone but you’re not going to be retiring in Maui off this gig. So you need to be opportunistic, and recognize the benefits of being in the public eye and how to leverage that for your own benefit (be it your own startup, consulting gig, network, etc.)

The Chief Editor will be responsible for the editorial strategy and content behind the site. Phil and I won’t be dictating that in any way. We’ll be overseeing the budget and helping attract funds, and provide mentorship and guidance throughout the process. But the Chief Editor will be in charge.

So you in?

To apply, please email me at byosko@gmail.com. I’ll need writing samples (or links to stuff you’ve written), and a good sense of your current social media presence. And please focus on the points and skills described above. Thank you!

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So here’s the scoop — I’m starting a new company. I can’t tell you the name (don’t have one), and can’t tell you what it’s about (not ready). I also can’t tell you who is involved (except for me, of course). I can tell you that it will have a strong mobile component.

I realize that’s not a lot of information. I don’t plan on doing this in stealth, but there are some reasons that I can’t announce much right now.

But I can tell you that I’m looking to hire a senior Ruby on Rails Developer.

Here are the details:

• I say “senior” because I need someone that has the potential of being a co-founder with me. I’m not really looking for “employee #1″ — that’s boring and just doesn’t fit into my plans (although we’ll see what happens.) You might not be ready to be a co-founder right off the bat, but I need you thinking that way.
• If you have experience with mobile development, especially on the iPhone, that will be helpful. If you don’t, that’s OK. But you’ll have to learn. And want to learn.
• You have to be in Montreal. You can relocate (I can’t pay for it), but you have to be working from here.
• You know who Eric Ries and Steve Blank are, although you don’t have to be a zealot of either. (I’m not interested in religious nuts. A smart, strong understanding of what those two are about will be helfpul.) Add Sean Ellis to that list.
• You’re not exclusively interested in coding in a dark room with lots of caffeine. If you want to live in a tech bubble or tech silo, you’re a code monkey and that’s no good for me. (And yes, I’m being obnoxious on purpose.)
• Ideally you’ve done A/B testing before, and used analytics properly. And you enjoyed both a great deal. You think. You test. You think. You act. In that order.
• You do recognize that a 9×5 job and workload just aren’t realistic for a startup. And even if they were, you wouldn’t want them because work = fun.
• Last, but certainly not least, you want to have a lot of fun in the SUPER-EARLY stages of a crazy startup. And this is as early as it gets.

Please don’t hesitate to ask me any questions you might have. In fact, I encourage them.

To apply, please email me: byosko@gmail.com. Send me whatever you think will catch my attention (No naked pictures, please!)

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Montreal needs Montreal Tech Watch. When the site was active it provided a great deal of exposure to Montreal, and helped build a stronger community. There’s a lot going on in Montreal for tech startups and entrepreneurs, but without adequate reporting, too much of it doesn’t get the attention deserved.

This is not to blame Heri or anyone that was involved with Montreal Tech Watch. I can’t emphasize that enough. Heri did a lot for Montreal, more than most. And the site took a ton of work and there was no pay. I completely understand Heri’s dilemma. But Montreal needs Montreal Tech Watch.

I have some ideas for how to restore Montreal Tech Watch and/or start something in a similar vein. But it’s going to take a lot of support from Montreal entrepreneurs, investors, service providers, sponsors, etc.

I’d like to see who is interested in bringing back Montreal Tech Watch (or a similar site dedicated to the tech, entrepreneur and startup scene in Montreal). If you are interested, please comment on this blog post. Tell me (and everyone) what you liked, didn’t like, where you’d like to see Montreal Tech Watch (or a similar site) go, how you could help, etc. I’m going to be reaching out to people in a little while to see what we can do.

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People of Montreal…you have been summoned!

There are a bunch of great new (and repeat) events coming to Montreal very soon. If you’re in a startup, thinking about it (hello students!), or just curious about the world of startups, you should attend:

1. Startup Square Soiree: April 13, 6pm EDT. This is the launch event for a new organization run by students (from various schools). The group is called Startup Square and the event details are here: http://www.startupsquare.ca/node/8. I’ll be giving a quick presentation on how I started in the wild, wonderful world of entrepreneurship and there will be a host of other speakers too. This is a great way for entrepreneurs and students to meet each other.
2. Startup Lessons Learned Simulcast: April 23rd, 12pm-9pm EDT. This is taking place in San Francisco, but they’re going to be showing the full event live in a bunch of different cities. Barry Paquet got Montreal signed up. He’s looking for a location, and details are to be confirmed, but you can sign up here: http://leanstartupmontreal.eventbrite.com/. Tickets are limited!! If you want to see who will be speaking, check out the official conference site: http://www.sllconf.com/. It’s a kick ass group. Sign-up right now.
3. Startup Camp Montreal 6: May 6, 3pm-10pm EDT. Startup Camp is a mainstay of the Montreal tech and startup event scene. It’s organized by Embrase and Phil Telio. It’s a great event, one of the biggest we have. And this time around, there will be two amazing speakers — Dave McClure and Andy Nulman. There will also be a handful of startups presenting and remember — one lucky startup is going to be flown to Tokyo along with Dave McClure and a bunch of other startups for his “Geeks on a Plane” trip.
4. UXTalk Montreal: April 21, 5:30-8pm EDT. The UX, UI and design people in Montreal have put together this event, which happens on a regular (monthly?) basis. They get good turn out. I’ve heard good things about the event, and if you’re interested in UX/UI/design and connecting into that growing network of people in Montreal, this is the place to be. Sign up here: http://uxtalk-3.eventbrite.com/.

To keep up on everything that’s going on in Montreal, sign up for The Startup Digest. Just pick Montreal and you’re all set!

Things are picking up in Montreal. Now is the time to participate, get involved and push the startup ecosystem forward.