I instigated the first Montreal Tech Entrepreneur Breakfast over a year and a half ago because people were complaining that there was a lack of casual get-togethers for entrepreneurs, techies, investors, etc. It was straightforward to do at the time, and with the help of Sylvain Carle we got the ball rolling.
The goal was to give people a meeting time and place – in the morning (for those of us that can’t do evening events as easily) – that was casual, without presentations, to meet, catch up and encourage new people to get out and meet the community.
Over the last couple of months, things have tapered off. This is primarily because I’ve been swamped; and unable to host, run and promote the Tech Entrepreneur Breakfasts. But it was never my intention to run things, or create an event that required any significant organization to begin with … nevertheless, we’ve seen participation drop off.
With Heri’s help at Montreal Tech Watch we’ve got a great discussion going on what to do with the Montreal Tech Entrepreneur Breakfasts.
This is an important discussion for the community to have, and I’m glad it’s taking place on Montreal Tech Watch, which serves as the primary hub for startup folks in the city. As the community grows and evolves the needs of that community will also change, and that’s a good thing.
If you haven’t already taken a look at the discussion taking place, please do so now.
Personally, I think we need casual gatherings, where no one is doing a presentation (we already have BarCamps, DemoCamps, StartupCamps, etc. for that), and it’s easy for newbies to join in, sit back and get a feeling for what the startup community has to offer. I think we need events that are as “frictionless” as possible, with low barriers to entry…
The two best things about the Tech Entrepreneur Breakfasts in my mind have been:
- Catching up with friends / contacts
- Meeting new people
I also think we need other types of events, where presentations may play a role. I think we need “entrepreneur-only” events where we can bring in a few veteran entrepreneurs to tackle specific issues, do Q&A sessions, etc. But I’m not sure the breakfast is the place for that…
At the end of the day though, it’s not up to me. I don’t want to own it. I’m happy to promote the breakfasts, participate and be there for the startup community, but as I point out in the comments on the MTW post — it’s not about me, it’s about the community and what they want.
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