Irving Schwartz

RIP Irving Schwartz

An amazing individual.

Irving Schwartz was been involved with more than 30 different companies over the years, from the Schwartz Furniture Showrooms and Seaside Cable, to nursing homes, computer software & oyster fishing, to Bio Medical products . Irving was also co-founder of the Canadian International De-mining Corps. He says his proudest accomplishment was being appointed to the Order of Canada.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/story/2010/09/18/ns-cape-breton-businessman-death.html

http://www.capebretonpost.com/News/Local/2010-09-18/article-1773069/Irving-Schwartz-dies-at-81/1

You were there when we needed you. Thank you!

You were there when we needed you. Thank you!

Almost two weeks ago now, we were relaxing at the end of a long day. My wife and I were looking forward to our 18-year-old daughter returning from South America the next evening. The trip was something she had been working towards for over two years. We were happy for her but also very concerned for her safety.

We were expecting to hear from her before midnight to confirm that all was well for the long journey home the next day. Quito/Ecuador, Miami, New York, to Halifax would be enough to make even the experienced traveler unsettled.

At about 10 pm, I sent her a text to see when she would call. She asked if it would be ok if she called a little later. Approximately 30 minutes later I received a txt from her stating “call now. it is an emergency”.

My heart skipped. I immediately dialed her number. Of course it rang and rang and no body answered. I looked at my wife and told her about the message. I called four more times no answer. We were both trying to be calm but were very concerned. Her extensive travel was supposed to be coming to an end and now this.

I sent her a text to try and connect. She responded to call now. I called, she answered.

“Are you ok? What’s going on? Why didn’t you answer? Are you safe? I said frantically and realizing I was not even giving her an opportunity to answer. She responded obviously very upset, “I am safe.” “Dad, I don’t know what to do now, our passports have been stolen. We have a flight in the morning at 6.30 am and we have no passports. What am I going to do?”

While I knew we were in for some complications, my fear that she was harmed settled. We chatted about the fact that she was safe and we would help her figure things out the best we could.

I grabbed my laptop and typed “canadian passport emergency Ecuador” into the google window. Within less than 10 minutes I was connected with a government of Canada Foreign Affairs Passport specialist. I told her the story and she calmly walked me through our options.

Now it is not appropriate to go into all of the details of this scenario, but as a worried parent with a daughter in a foreign country with no passport and a flight out in less than twelve hours, etc, etc I was blown away with the treatment we received.

Our daughter was serviced by the Canadian embassy in Quito/Ecuador and then by the fine folks at the Canadian consulate in Miami the next day so as to obtain temporary travel documents.

The professional service we received was truly amazing and included an official actually driving her and her friend back to the airport so as to ensure they made their flight.

My daughter was back home in her own bed in less than 36 hours later from her realizing her passport was stolen. This was part luck but mostly because of the efforts of others.

My wife and I sat up in bed that night and stared at the ceiling, I said, “Ok from now on no one leaves the cul-de-sac without an escort.” We laughed that off and recanted the whole scenario from the beginning.

Our daughter, my wife and I played a role in the successful return by being calm and working with the officials to get them every thing they needed as fast as possible. We were glad to have had a copy of her passport here and one in her luggage. We were glad to reach 4 non-family references that agreed to sit by the phone to wait for the embassy to call. We spent hours on the phone, provided info via email, fax, worked with the airlines, etc, etc.

That being said, I am so grateful for the fine Government of Canada folks in Ottawa, Quito Ecuador, and Miami that were so proficient in helping us.

You were there when we needed you. Thank you!

Dan MacDonald

Age

Had an interesting week when it comes to the topic of age.

Met with a very bright up and coming marketing expert this past week. He was probably half my age, yet we seem to connect over a hour long meeting on several levels especially around the social media mega trend.

Went cycling on Saturday with some friends and some folks I hadn't met before. The age range of riders literally went from 25 to 65. There was a 20 something guy joined us after we had already riden 20K or so. He sort of looked at us with a "hmm wonder if i will end up waiting for these guys along the ride" stair. The 65 year old set the pace (30+ Kph avg) for most of the 50 Km ride. On a couple of the larger hills, he dropped us behind, then like a gentleman looked back and waited up. We appreciated it.

One can get old, or one can be young as they age.
I am looking seriously at the latter.

Age only matters if you let it.

Piling On - Dog piling - Late hits

I find it quite interesting how some social media participants "pile on".

Piling On: An illegal play where several players jump on the player with the ball after he's been tackled. Also Known As: dog piling, late hit.

There is no doubt that brands deserve the criticism they receive - most of the time.

When people pile on to criticize, when they have themselves not been affected nor even understand the issue at hand, it is far from genuine.

Just saying.

Mixed Feelings Impacted

Mixed Feelings Impacted

Like many Canadians I have mixed feelings on Canada’s role in conflicts around the world.

I know there are people who are unable to defend themselves who need the world to help. As the father of two teenage daughters, who I am confident will have bright futures in whatever they decide to do, I can only imagine the pain and despair of girls their age in parts of the world where they are not able to go to school. As we now know, this is only one of the many injustices they face.

I do NOT however have mixed feelings when it comes to my support for and genuine respect of those Canadians who serve in the military. While I cannot really relate to the commitment they make to serve, I know that the commitment and impact on their lives is huge.

Over the last couple of months, I have met three unrelated people who have amplified my respect for those who serve. I thought sharing a little about these people would in some small way make a difference.

1. My wife and I have befriended a couple where the guy (father of three girls) is a military chopper pilot who has served in the middle east.
Update: Father is preparing to Afghanistan in March.

2. Our new neighbours are spending lots of family time together these days as the dad prepares for his third tour (this time for 7 months) in the middle east.
Update: Father has returned from Afghanistan with injuries.

3. I purchased a 2nd hand road bike this week from a guy I never met before. Through small talk on line, on the phone, and finally when we met, I find out that he is in the military and has already served in the middle east, will be returning in the next 12 months, and is currently caring for his two children under 5 while his wife finishes her 7 month tour.

These three military family stories (which I have only summarized at a high level for obvious reasons) have really opened my eyes and my mind about the types of Canadians who are literally putting their lives on hold and on the line to help others. It was only through the process of getting to know these people that I realized the unbelievable sacrifice they have already made and are making.

I found myself being at a loss for words. What could I possibly say to these amazing Canadians which could do justice to their commitment and sacrifice. The only thing I could come up with was: “Thank you”.

As I heard myself say these words I felt somewhat guilty and lame, but in all three cases I believe those simple words were truly appreciated.

So what have I taken from all of this?

-When we hear and discuss the merits of Canada’s role in conflicts around the world we must always remember and realize the impact of on lives on both sides of the conflict.

-We must appreciate all what we have in Canada and realize that we are among the luckiest people on earth. We all find ourselves complaining about everyday things like the traffic, the weather, the length of a line up, yet these things are so so trivial in the big picture.

-We have a moral responsibility to help those in the world who are unable to defend themselves.


- Our role on the ground in these conflict areas is important.

- The people who have decided for their own reasons to serve our country and make a difference need our support, respect and thanks.

-A genuine “Thank you” is appreciated.

Dan MacDonald
danmacdonald100@gmail.com

Update:
November 11, 2010

Lest We Forget.
Remembering all those who have served and their loved ones.
See updates above.

What is Mentoring ?

I was scheduled to speak to the topic of "Mentoring" to a 4th year University Class in April. Have a work conflict that evening, so the prof asked me if I could record my thoughts so the class could still benefit...
Here is what I came up with:

What is Mentoring?

Mentoring is an important part of personal and professional development.

Mentoring is about sharing patient, constructive, feedback and guidance.

There is three classic types of mentoring relationships; General, Subject Matter Expert, and Workplace.

Mentoring relationships are developed overtime, are natural, and most importantly built on mutual respect and trust.

Part 1 of 2 Mentoring - Dan MacDonald
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HcSX_u4xzw

Part 2 of 2 Mentoring - Dan MacDonald
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R39hhdthAVo

Dan MacDonaldHalifax,
Canada
danmacdonald100@gmail.com

Leadership and Innovation

“Leadership and Innovation”
Dan MacDonald
President and CEO, Innovacorp, Halifax Canada
Mount Saint Vincent University February 4, 2010

I have been invited to share some insights on these two concepts.

Leadership and innovation have been the topics of 1000’s of books, speeches, programs, and articles over the years.

So what the heck is Dan MacDonald going to say that has not already said ?

Well, I would like to like to humbly share with you how these two things, leadership and innovation are critically important to us all, especially when they come together.

Leadership:

When we think about “leadership”, we might immediately think about people of power like the prime minister of Canada, the US president, a military general, or maybe a CEO of a company.

Yes, I suppose these are examples of leadership, but I believe “leadership” is not about a title.
Leadership is not really something you just claim, are appointed to, or obtain through some kind of certification.

Leadership is not only a concept that is relevant at the top of an organization; I believe it is relevant at all levels of an organization.

Leadership requires two key things; perspective & courage.

Perspective:

A leader knows where they are trying to go and what they are trying to achieve.

Leaders can articulate the end game and what success looks like.

While a leader knows where they are trying to go and what they are trying to achieve, it is NOT important for the leader to have to know every specific step or how they are actually going to specifically achieve the objective.

Leaders break new ground, where is no defined path or process to follow.

Yes, leaders of course have a view of generally how they will move forward and are confident they will achieve the objective, but at the same time they do not know exactly how they will reach the end point.

Courage:

A leader has the courage to move forward toward the end goal, without knowing the exact path.

Many people and stakeholders around the leader raise issues, risks, what-abouts, showstoppers, warnings, biases, etc.

A leader looks to understand and deal with this input while she\he moves forward, rather than getting paralyzed by them.

Leaders combine perspective and courage to confidently (not over confidently) move toward the objective.

-Leaders know full well they will rarely take a straight forward path, but instead make course

corrections along the way.

- Leaders understand there will be challenges but keep focused on the end goal while navigating the issues that arise.

- Leaders step up.

- Leaders are not always right, welcome constructive challenge and solutions oriented debates

- Leaders respect the team and more importantly are respected.

- Leaders are not afraid of failure.

- Leaders are ready to take the blame but not the credit.

- Some of the best leaders, lead from the back.

- Leaders achieve excellence while striving for perfection.

Everything I have said about leadership is as true for a CEO as it is for the manager of team of 6 professionals.

So let’s pause the leadership angle and move to innovation.

Innovation

Innovation is about creating value out of new ideas, whether it’s new ways of doing things, new products, or new services.

Example: When we think of examples of innovation we think of the iPod, space travel, the Internet, the blackberry, etc. Yes these are innovations, but innovations are not just for the multi nationals they are for any size company or organization.

Take the drive thru window, while we take it for granted today was a significant an innovation. Significantly increase the top line of an establishment with minimal investment and maximizing the leverage of what you already have.

Organizations must continually innovate to remain relevant and competitive, let alone grow.

Failure to innovate inevitably causes organizational malaise, and invites the competition to come and take market share.

Innovation – straight forward, right?

For many organizations, it is not so straight forward.

As organizations grow, many migrate from being the challenger attacker to being challenged and attacked.

The problem usually lies in inadvertently allowing a culture to emerge that does not foster innovation.

Strict policies, procedures, and product and project management styles put in place in the name of consistency and best practice often lead to a culture of risk aversion and dampened creativity.

In 1948, William L. McKnight, then president of Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing, directed the management of his company as follows:

"As our business grows, it becomes increasingly necessary to delegate responsibility. This requires considerable tolerance and mistakes will be made. Management that is destructively critical when mistakes are made will kill initiative. It's essential that we have many people with initiative if we are to continue to grow.”

While many turn to the latest best selling business books and industry gurus for advice on just about everything, Mr. McKnight’s wisdom after 50 years still makes good common sense.

Later renamed 3M, Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing’s innovative culture is today the envy of companies around the world. From Post-it Notes, to Scotch tape, to health care and highway safety, to office products and optical films for LCD displays, 3M’s annual revenue tops $24.5 billion USD and its market capitalization is $52.72 billion. Mr. McKnight’s focus on creating and maintaining a culture of innovation is core to 3M’s continued success.

Organizations of all sizes need to enable a culture where innovation is encouraged, continuous, and recognized.

Further, an innovative culture is one in which risk is managed, mistakes are learned from, customer and stakeholder input is welcome, and management is open minded to changes to established business models.

To some this might sound like anarchy, but it simply describes a business culture where

progress, positive change, and innovation are embraced.

Management must encourage and harness innovation across the entire organization.

Processes, policies and procedures should be constantly evolved to ensure relevancy, competitiveness, and increased value add. Organizations can effectively leverage innovation and attract and retain top talent.

Whether you are trying to increase yield, decrease costs, increase customer loyalty, diversify into new market sectors, or all of the above and more, having a culture of innovation will help position you for success.

Innovation, while not straight forward, is next to impossible if you do not have the right culture, the right leadership.

Leadership and innovation together create the magic.

These two qualities, leadership and innovation, together are the key ingredients to building a healthy dynamic organization.

These ingredients make a job, a role, a team fun, challenging and rewarding.

These ingredients are what separate a company who is attracting employees, from one who is losing employees.

Look for, observe and learn from innovative leaders.

As you all chart your course forward, I recommend you look for roles, situations, careers, where leadership and innovation exists or where you believe you can play a role in creating it.

Thank you,

Dan MacDonald

Dan MacDonald is the president and CEO of Innovacorp based in Halifax. www.innovacorp.ca

A Business Chef Specialized in Startup Cuisine

http://venturehype.com/a-business-chef-specialized-in-startup-cuisine/

Earlier this year, a startup incubator based in the second-smallest province in Canada was shortlisted as one of the two finalists for NBIA’s (National Business Incubation Association) international award, which honors the world’s best incubation methods that help startups launch, commercialize innovations and everything in between.

Get this — NBIA has 1,900 members in over 60 countries. To be recognized by the association as one of the crème de la crème in the incubation industry is no small feat. CABI (Canadian Association of Business Incubation) has also selected this incubator as the association’s 2009 Business Incubator of Year Award winner in our favorite category — Technology.

InNOVAcorp – it might be based in a small province called Nova Scotia but the effects it has on startups are anything but small. Put another way — InNOVAcorp is a business chef specialized in startup cuisine. It adds flavors to startups and helps them achieve mouth-watering growth. Their secret recipe includes 50 pounds of rock-solid incubation infrastructure, 9 full cups of serious mentoring, and 7 gallons of appetizing cash. Yum!

As with any first-rated chefs, InNOVAcorp only selects great ingredients. Venture Hype got in touch with President and CEO Dan MacDonald (aka “Big Mac”) to find out what kind of startups they’re hungry for.

VH: You were the vice president of global marketing for Nokia prior to joining InNOVAcorp. How did you get involved with the incubator?

DM: The division of Nokia I belonged to was establishing its new world headquarters. Rather than moving my family from Silicon Valley, California to New York, I decided to return to Eastern Canada. I continued my role at Nokia out of Halifax during a transition period, and was recruited to the role at InNOVAcorp in May 2005. My experience in business-building, mergers and acquisitions, and global go-to-market strategies has come in handy for my current role.

VH: Given your previous position with Nokia, do you favor mobile startups?
DM: After 6 years of being dipped in “mobility” at Nokia, I’m definitely on the lookout for mobile startups, but I’m also very sober about the complexity of the market, especially in North America.

VH: What are the key elements that make a mobile startup successful?
DM: 2009 is a much better environment for mobile startups due to the momentum of the iPhone, BlackBerry, 3G networks, etc. That being said, the mobile startups that attract our attention are those that have more than a cool mobile game, widget, or ad-based business model. They have a compelling B2C and/or B2B offering that can be monetized and is scalable to millions of users.

VH: What other market segments excite you and what advice would you give to those who wish to invest in these segments?DM: The market segments, and more specifically the opportunities, that excite us are those that are:
highly scalable led by a competent person
sold through a simple sales cycle
armed with an unfair competitive advantage
targeted at a large, high-growth marketplace
able to deliver a rapid (3 to 6 months) return on investment

VH: You recently participated on Globe and Mail’s business incubator expert panel and provided advice to an entrepreneur who was facing go-to-market struggles. What are the common go-to-market struggles startups encounter that investors should be aware of?
DM: In my opinion, the go-to-market strategy and execution is what it’s all about. Thousands of compelling technologies, products, and services have failed to capture the market due to go-to-market misfires.
Investors must challenge the startup to share how they’ve validated their market assumptions, not by purchasing reports or research but by speaking directly to target customers and calibrating their approach through interacting with the target market.
Startups need highly relevant go-to-market expertise just as much as, if not more than, they need technical expertise. Many fail to understand this.

VH: Finally, what are the pros and cons of investing in knowledge-based startups in Nova Scotia?
DM: Unlike those in many other innovative places, startups in Nova Scotia benefit from their geographical closeness and familiarity to the large US and European markets.
In addition, they have -
access to world class expertise and highly-skilled personnel from our 11 universities and associated research institutions
the “grit and toughness” required to build a startup company
access to supportive organizations like InNOVAcorp, the First Angel Network, and NRC IRAP
Like other underserved private capital areas, knowledge-based startups in Nova Scotia can fall into the undercapitalized category.
Just For Fun

VH: McDonald’s or Burger King?
DM: McDonald’s of course. Although, if I had a dollar for every time someone asked me if I was called Big Mac or related to Ronald McDonald, I’d be a very rich man

(VH: Can we grill you?)

* Interviews are edited for clarity and readability
Join Venture Hype tomorrow as MacDonald acquaints us with InNOVAcorp’s established business model and where you’d learn about forming and running a successful incubation program.Link:
Profile of InNOVAcorp’s Big Mac

If you’re an active angel investor who frequently brings more than just money to the table, founding a business incubator to add more structure in mentoring and growing startup ventures could be your thing.
Why? According to National Business Incubation Association (NBIA), incubators might reduce the risk of small business failures, which means you’d have a better chance getting your investment back and then some, not to mention the psychological reward of giving back to the community and seeing your portfolio companies succeed.

Historically, NBIA member incubators have reported that 87 percent of all firms that have graduated from their incubators are still in business. In the general population, 66 percent of new firms survive at least two years, and 44 percent survive at least four years. It is important to note that these figures are not directly comparable, due to differences in survey methodology, time frame and other factors. However, looking at them side by side does strongly suggest that business incubation reduces the risk of small business failure and offers a valuable comparison.

In A Business Chef Specialized in Startup Cuisine, we briefly introduced InNOVAcorp, a business incubator whose incubation model has been recognized by NBIA as one of the crème de la crème in the incubation industry. We also asked President and CEO Dan MacDonald (aka “Big Mac”) to tell us more about the type of startups that would make them drool. In part 2, Big Mac gives us a quick overview of InNOVAcorp’s industry-recognized business model as a start for you to understand how a successful incubation program is run and determine whether starting one is right for you.

VH: What advice would you give to those who wish to start and run a successful incubation program to stimulate innovation and entrepreneurial spirits?
DM: I’d suggest they look into the expertise offered by the National Business Incubation Association (NBIA) and the Canadian Association of Business Incubation (CABI). These organizations have pulled together best practices from over 1,800 organizations around the world. Also take a look at InNOVAcorp’s model and approach at www.innovacorp.ca.

VH: InNOVAcorp’s High Performance Incubation (HPi) business model is recognized internationally as a best practice technology commercialization approach. What makes InNOVAcorp stand out from other incubation programs in terms of helping startups commercialize their technologies?
DM: InNOVAcorp has been recognized internationally by the NBIA, which has 1,900 members from over 60 countries. In May 2009, InNOVAcorp was recognized as one of the two best incubation business models in the world.
What makes InNOVAcorp unique is our combination of traditional incubation infrastructure, an international network of business mentors, and especially, the manager of an early seed and venture capital fund.
Our approach to attracting deal flow and our credibility in the business community helps make our model highly effective.

Dan MacDonald ("Big Mac") of InNOVAcorp

VH: Regarding deal flow, what can you tell us about the recent I-3 Technology Startup Competition?
DM: For InNOVAcorp to identify the “next great opportunity,” like most VCs, we need to review a relatively large number of opportunities. We have several approaches to maximizing the quantity and quality of our opportunity pipeline, including the I-3 Technology Startup Competition.
I-3 Technology Startup Competition has a proven track record in identifying high-potential opportunities and helping the business community to understand ways to support startup companies.
Through this competition, more than C$700,000 worth of seed investment and business building services, e.g. legal, accounting, marketing, and printing, will be awarded to 10 startup companies.
The competition took place in 5 geographical zones across the province. The award package for zone winners includes seed capital and in-kind contributions for the development of startup ventures:
Each 1st-place zone winner will receive a C$100,000 award package
Each 2nd-place zone winner will receive a C$40,000 award package
One provincial winner will be selected from the 5 zone winners and awarded a C$100,000 seed investment from InNOVAcorp’s HPi Microfund

VH: What kind of deals does InNOVAcorp prefer? Why?
DM: InNOVAcorp prefers syndicated deals. While we may not be the largest investor measured in monetary amount, we’re able to bring our expertise to coordinate the round.
The structured approach is directly related to the:
risk profile
syndicate at the table
context of the specific deal
realistic potential and timing of upside

VH: How much does InNOVAcorp typically invest in a startup?
DM: InNOVAcorp invests between C$50,000 and C$250,000 of pre-seed capital through its HPi Microfund, and invests between C$250,000 and C$3,000,000 of seed and venture capital through its Nova Scotia First Fund.

* Interviews are edited for clarity and readability.
Link:

Nova Scotia Steps Up

October 8, 2009, Halifax, Nova Scotia
InNOVAcorp’s I-3 Technology Start-Up Competition Attracts 133 Submissions

Today, Nova Scotians proved there is no shortage of innovation happening right here, as InNOVAcorp received 133 submissions to its I-3 Technology Start-Up Competition.

“We exceeded the number of submissions received in the 2007-2008 I-3 competition,” said Dan MacDonald, president and CEO of InNOVAcorp. “Based on the inquiries and the general buzz leading up to the deadline, we are very much looking forward to the next step in the process.”

A six-person judging panel in each zone will include representatives with relevant private-sector start-up business expertise. The judges will evaluate each entry based on the quality and significance of the business idea, the addressable market and strategy, the strength of the management team, and financial viability. The judges will deliberate and select a shortlist of five submissions from each zone to move forward to round two. The shortlist will be announced on the evening of October 22. Shortlisted businesses will have until November 19 to submit a full business plan.

InNOVAcorp helps early stage Nova Scotia companies commercialize technologies and succeed
in the global marketplace. InNOVAcorp's High Performance Incubation (HPi) business model is recognized internationally as a "best practice" technology commercialization approach. It incorporates incubation infrastructure, business mentoring, and seed and venture capital investment. InNOVAcorp engages high-potential, early stage companies to provide hands-on business guidance, customized to address specific business challenges. InNOVAcorp focuses on companies with innovative proprietary technology and/or service offerings.
For more information, please visit the InNOVAcorp website at www.innovacorp.ca.

Talking About Growth

Dan MacDonald RT @innovacorp RT @GlobeSmallBiz Tech entrepreneur @danmacdonald100 on how to assess your company's performance
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/your-business/grow/expanding-the-business/how-to-give-your-company-a-checkup/article1305284/