Bringing Montreal Tech Watch Back to Life

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.

If you enjoyed this post, please share it!

April 6, 2010 Posted in Montreal by Ben Yoskovitz

http://www.afroginthevalley.com/ Sylvain Carle

Yes. Definitely. But this will be quite a balancing act. I know there is a lot of interest in bringing it back, but it should not be a “commercial” effort. But it must be sustainable. Quite a challenge, not an impossible one.

I had a good discussion with Philippe Telio (@ptelio) about doing this a few weeks ago, we think it would fit well with Startup Camp, but I don't want this to be about a turf war… It should be by the community for the community.
http://twitter.com/alexbfree Alex Bowyer

I didn't realize it had gone away!

Yes, I definitely agree Montreal needs Montreal Tech Watch. I found my job through it as well as meeting a lot of my current network through tech events mentioned on it.

Perhaps you can write a list of what help is needed?

BTW, what happened to the site/to Heri? It wasn't clear from your post.

Alex
http://twitter.com/brunomorency Bruno Morency

Ben,

I miss MTW as well, Heri did a very good job getting this up and it would be sad to see it disappear. I'm interested in helping.

Maybe we could figure out what to do with during the unconference before StartupCamp?
http://macournoyer.com macournoyer

I owe a lot to Montreal Tech Watch and Heri, this is what got me into the Montreal startup community. I'll support an initiative to get it back any way I can.
http://startupcfo.ca startupcfo

Definitely would love to see MTW, especially as the level of startup activity in Montreal is on the rise and about to get even bigger.

Startupnorth does a good job of at least keeping current with links. They're not Canada or Toronto specific, but still useful.

I guess the challenge is finding people with time and the ability to write great, new content.
http://www.instigatorblog.com Benjamin Yoskovitz

Sylvain – I think it should be a “commercial” effort. Very few things motivate as much as being paid for working your butt off. And that's what MTW (or any other similar site) would need – a dedicated person, near full-time that can afford to work on it.

I don't think the “community” could drive a site like MTW successfully on an ongoing basis.

Now, having said that, I don't think the site has to be a “for-profit” endeavor (although it could be, there's nothing wrong with profit!) … but at least the person or people who manage the site daily should be compensated.
http://twitter.com/brunomorency Bruno Morency

“It should be by the community for the community.”

I'm with you on that one!

It used to be a de facto “neutral” entry point for anyone in Montreal interested in getting active in the tech startup community.

We need to become a lot better at showcasing what we're doing here. It should be the source for anyone (in or out of Montreal) to learn more about our community.

Ideas:
- merge directory of people and companies from techenterprise (which is basically a simpler, local Crunchbase)?
- Feeds from relevant Twitter lists?
- If Heri has no time to blog anymore, can we form a group of regular “guest poster”
- Calendar of events (simply help Felipe's keep Mtl NewTech's calendar up-to-date)?
- Have Raymond's StartupDigest content posted?
- There's a lot of video footage from events (NewTech meetups, StartupCamps, …), should we open a “MtlTechWatch YouTube/Video channel” linking to all of them?

… what else?
http://www.afroginthevalley.com/ Sylvain Carle

Ben, that's what I meant by sustainable, we are saying the same thing with different words…
chriscomeau

GamesMontreal reports the Montreal video game industry news (and jobs), if that interests anyone.

http://www.gamesmontreal.com/
http://www.instigatorblog.com Benjamin Yoskovitz

I don't think the challenge is as much finding the people to write great content, it's paying them for their effort that's not as straightforward. But I do think it's doable to accomplish.

Heri did a great job of writing objective articles, and he was well-tapped into the overall scene.
http://philgo20.com/ philgo20

That's the site that introduced me to mtl startup scene and i'd like to help.

I think we'll need to attrack some newcomers too, who recently joined the community when Mtltechwatch was less active and are not so much aware of it.
http://www.DenisCanuel.com/ Denis Canuel

Like @macournoyer said, many of us owe a lot to MTW. I think it was the first “good site” when I started getting involved in the “scene”.

The same sad thing happened with many other sites, including my own. We look for the answer while helping out others but when we find it, we tend to forget our “roots” and where we came from.

Heri did more than MTW, he was actively involved in many other side projects in Montreal, like many of us were. Where are the BarCamps and DemoCamps? Just as MTW was very strong, these camps helped bring the community closer. This is how I met a lot of peers in real life. This is how I realized that there were other people “like me” sharing this desire to create, and who knows, earn some money in the process.

I think we were all thinking that Montreal could outpace silicon valley anytime. At least that's how some of us saw it a few years ago.

People evolved. I did. I guess I have my own start-up in the fact that I sell my services. I'm not a dot com millionaire like many of us thought (or hoped) we'd be but the business model works well for me…!

Does MTW still have a place? You bet! Who should take care of it and how should it be done? Many of us thought about it and found no perfect answer.

But even when we could all feel the decline, Heri didn't give up. He and I met a few times to discuss how to bring MTW to the next level. We got some VC people involved but even though we had many ideas, transforming them into reality was beyond our grasp (time-wise).

Meanwhile, other newcomers took the opportunity and one very good alternative is http://www.mtlnewtech.com/

The reality is that I believe Montreal needs a non-profit organization to provide services and manage events.
http://www.instigatorblog.com Benjamin Yoskovitz

OK. But my words were better, right? *smile*

Certainly I don't want a turf war, but I do think you need an impartial person or persons to operate MTW. Or as impartial as is possible.
http://www.instigatorblog.com Benjamin Yoskovitz

That's not a bad idea at all actually…hhhm…
http://www.afroginthevalley.com/ Sylvain Carle

Great idea. Live discussion at StartupCamp is a good way to achieve consensus.
http://www.instigatorblog.com Benjamin Yoskovitz

Although I'm not sure consensus is the big issue. Money will be. But I was looking for a topic to tackle at the StartupCamp unconference. This certainly might be it…
http://www.flowventures.com/ Raymond Luk

I agree with Ben that for something like MTW to work it has to have a strategy to sustain itself long-term. The problem with having one person (eg Heri) volunteer is that eventually they have their own projects (they're entrepreneurs after all). We either need a bigger group of volunteers and/or some money to pay people to stay interested.

There are plenty of examples in other cities of community organizations run by groups of people (Communitech in Waterloo, NY Tech Meetup, OCRI in Ottawa). We should learn from these examples.

The main thing I worry about is becoming a Montreal Tech Mafia! There's no better way to discourage entrepreneurship than having the “cool people” run everything. We need an environment where anyone/everyone feels they can contribute (because they can).
http://www.embrase.com/ Phil Telio (@ptelio)

Great initiative, and Ben you are the right guy to get the juices flowing at MTW again.

As with many others, MTW was a catalyst for us. Without Heri and MTW I am not sure how we would have gotten the first Startup Camp event off the ground. MTW was our promotional strategy and thanks to Heri we got the word out in no time.

Things I liked:
- Objective opinion on startups
- Clean list of things to do
- Unbiased view of the eccosystem

I am a firm believer in creating a “sustainable” or even profitable venture out of MTW. It will require dedication and funding to get it back, and I am sure plenty of advertisers and sponsors will see the value in our tech-scene blog.

You can count on me and Embrase for day-to-day support as well as financial support.

Phil
http://www.instigatorblog.com Benjamin Yoskovitz

Great Phil. I also think it's not going to be too hard to draw in the right financial support to make MTW (or an alternative) sustainable. With the right financial support + people behind MTW to write regularly, share the vision and keep things moving, we should be all set.
http://www.facebook.com/assassindra Indra Prasetya

Hi, Ben…
fmspider

Keep posting stuff like this i really like it.
fmspider

Keep posting stuff like this i really like it.
http://heri.madmedia.ca Heri

And also Blitzweekend, Denis, that was a hell of an experience!
http://heri.madmedia.ca/ heri

I agree also the best sustainable model is this: “It should be by the community for the community.”

It can't be commercial, or even government-funded, because who knows what will happen if a grant stop

TechEntreprise needs an overhaul as well
http://heri.madmedia.ca/ heri

“Montreal Tech Mafia” I loved the way we organize(d) startupdrinks and Blitzweekend (open to anyone, as long as you contribute)
http://www.instigatorblog.com Benjamin Yoskovitz

Money has to come from somewhere to pay the person or people who would run MTW (or a similar project). That money will likely come from multiple sources, some of which will disappear over time. And there will be new sources of revenue that show up too. That's the nature of running anything – for profit or non-profit – that requires $$ to operate.
http://www.instigatorblog.com Benjamin Yoskovitz

I don't think MTW's place at this stage is in organizing events. There's a LOT of heavy lifting that has to be done there, and MTW should really focus on reporting the news.

Others have taken up the mantle on various events, and there are people who are figuring out ways of accelerating and improving this.

I'd like to see MTW (at least initially) focus almost exclusively on content. Montreal needs a startup content hub.
http://heri.madmedia.ca/ heri

Ben, (and all other Montrealers commenting on the post), thanks for the post

For me, blogging takes a lot of time. It's fun and I loved it for the first 2/3 years, but I never planned it to be my primary activity.

As others pointed out in this thread, I think there needs to be an initiative by the community, for the community. I want to contribute, but as I wrote previously, I can't plan it to be my primary activity.
http://www.instigatorblog.com Benjamin Yoskovitz

Heri – if I run something at the StartupCamp unconference, I hope you'll consider attending so we can learn more from you on what it took to run MTW.

I'm confident we can find others to take on the effort – as you pass the proverbial baton – but your involvement would make a huge difference in whatever the community decides we should pursue.
http://www.DenisCanuel.com Denis Canuel

Yes it was more than great. That event made me realize that there is no shortage of talented and innovative people in Montreal.

There is just a lack of understanding how to turn projects into an start-ups.

Even thought we had numerous and (amazing) people involved, I believe that the feeling most people got once the event was over was: “ok it was fun, what next?”.

This is something that needs to be addressed. People, including VC's, invest in companies and an idea is not a company.

But in the end, I would re-do this experiment anytime!
http://heri.madmedia.ca/ heri

that was one great experience, one that I enjoyed the most, with working with the team, organizing, brainstorming and finding the format, and achieving the weekend

Also, yes, BlitzWeekend was step 1, but it needs a step 2. I'm looking at programs like Boulder's TechStars and I find it inspiring
http://www.instigatorblog.com Benjamin Yoskovitz

Heri – I think step 2 is coming in a number of ways from a number of places. Raymond Luk is doing interesting work. FounderFuel is coming, and they've got some interesting stuff, grassroots efforts coming. Phil at Embrase is doing some as well.
http://twitter.com/twtfelipe Felipe Coimbra

Great initiative, Ben. We have all missed MTW. I, personally, found out about most startups/people here through it. And I'm very thankful to Heri who introduced me to a lot of people when I moved to Montreal.

I agree pretty much with every point Ben made:

- We need somebody (or more people) dedicated to it and who is compensated (very important).
- Content focused (for both local community and external wanting to learn about Montreal Startups)
- Inclusive + impartial

We NEED to get it back. Count on me to help in what I can. And great idea to talk about it during StartupCamp unconference (or maybe we should even meet before?) It might take a few meetings to get everything we need to get it moving again:

- find people who can do it
- find ways to fund it (sponsors, ads, etc.)
- what will it include (news, video, events, twitter, interviews, french/english, etc)

What do you all think about meeting sometime next week? Open to all who wants to contribute to brainstorm about these ideas?
http://twitter.com/DavidDufresne David Dufresne

Happy to help by contributing Valleywag-type rumors and juicy gossip about the Montreal tech scene (or in any other way that would be more productive, although I can't think of any).
http://heri.madmedia.ca heri

David, you're polluting my inbox with comments updates!

lol

anyway, I think everyone agrees there's a need and also have the same ideas, although no *sustainable*, long-term solution
http://heri.madmedia.ca/ heri

not sure about startupcamp unconference, too much people, not sure how 300 people would make a good brainstorming session
http://heri.madmedia.ca/ heri

Alex, I'm back in Montreal, but the most important thing is that I'm not planning to have blogging as my primary activity

Did you read montrealtechwatch? I think I was beginning to post less and less when you began to be involved in the startup scene
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=628606611 Daniel Drouet

I absolutely agree with Ben on this, having a single authoritative source of news and an easy way to reach the entire community was, and still is, critical. We need one or more people who are dedicated to the job, i.e. compensated for their efforts, if this is to be sustainable. However, I don't think finding the money will be *that* hard. Count me in to help get this initiative off the ground.

Btw Ben, I also miss the tech entrepreneurs' breakfasts held at Bistro Etc.
http://www.instigatorblog.com Benjamin Yoskovitz

Heri – I don't expect 300 people at the unconference. Last time there were maybe 50. And there may be multiple tracks/sessions … it's not yet clear.
http://solutious.com/ delano

Same here! I owe a lot to Heri and MTW for getting me into the startup community when I got back to Montreal last summer. I'll help any way I can.
http://www.afroginthevalley.com/ Sylvain Carle

Ben, you are pretty much spot on (at least, that's the plan).

We will make the afternoon a real unconference, from 1PM to 6PM and I am expecting about 40-80 participants with as many sessions as needed, in an open space format/grid.

Of course this grid will be seeded by a few suggestions we get prior (like this discussion). I think we will be able to manage 2-3 sessions in parallel, with some parts done with everyone (at least opening+closing of the afternoon).

I'm just back from WhereCamp in SF and I am as energized as ever on the format (this is an slight euphemism to avoid using the words “psyched”, “thrilled” and “bullish”).
http://www.kryptiva.com/ Karim Yaghmour

I very much enjoyed Heri's even-headed approach. That's what made me a regular reader. Having that kind of voice back would be a huge bonus for everyone playing in the MTL startup ecosystem.
http://www.kryptiva.com Karim Yaghmour

level-headed
http://mycibb.com/ muthukumar

ya, i agree Montreal helped build a stronger community.
http://johnbeales.com/ John B

I miss the breakfasts too. I was thinking about that the other day.

For MTW, this is kind of a detail, I think it might really help expand the community if all articles were published in both English & French. I know it's hard for me to read in French, and I imagine there are a lot of really smart Francophone entrepreneurs out there who find it hard to read in English.
rikuseppala

Yes, this is definitely something that would be valuable. We were discussing this as well with our team at startupsquare.ca and hope we can help blogging as well. I'm very interested in helping out, and I think all of the people on our team are as well.
http://www.instigatorblog.com Benjamin Yoskovitz

Riku – You're one of the people I absolutely want to speak with as we get this project rolling. Make sure you come to StartupCamp and bring the entire StartupSquare gang (and others) with you.
rikuseppala

Unfortunately I'll be in Finland (for two weeks) when StartupCamp is on, but I'm sure most of our team will be there. Count me in for a meeting at any time.
http://twitter.com/attractr David

I started the Montreal Stuff blog with the intention of filling this gap – specifically because MTW went away. I'm posting Montreal tech events + anything else that interests me. I'll keep doing it.
http://heri.madmedia.ca heri

I think English is ok. Because after all we are talking about technology here. And English is the lingua franca in technology, due to the fact that development is done in English.

Ben Yoskovitz

I'm VP Product at GoInstant.

I'm also a Founding Partner at Year One Labs, an early stage accelerator in Montreal. Previously I founded Standout Jobs (and sold it). MY BIO >>

Startup Resources

A collection of posts I've written over time on key subjects: