TORONTO, Aug. 26, 2015 /CNW/ - The who's who of Canada's tech community will be in Toronto on September 17 to recognize eight extraordinary companies who achieved significant milestones over the past year. A wave of high profile exits combined with two businesses valued in excess of a billion dollars has created an unprecedented level of excitement and pride in the Canadian tech ecosystem.
Each company will be recognized at an awards ceremony held at the residence of Razor and Kari Suleman on September 17th in downtown Toronto. "Now, more than any other time in history, Canadian entrepreneurs have access to capital, startup talent and the ability to reach customers around the globe," says Razor Suleman, Spotlight Awards Founder. "This is a great opportunity to celebrate their accomplishments and shine the spotlight on them as role models for the next generation of high impact entrepreneurs." Suleman promises that this celebration will be the social event of the year for Canadian tech founders, investors, influencers & ecosystem builders, along with select US VCs & media
All proceeds from the awards will be donated to The Next 36, a national non-profit charity that provides mentorship, seed capital and founder development to Canada's most exceptional young entrepreneurs.
The recipients of the 2015 Spotlight Award are:
Centurions ($100M+ exits)
- Achievers
- Chango
- Plenty Of Fish
- Recon Instruments
- Stingray Music
- Verticalscope
Unicorns ($1B+ valuations and exits)
- Shopify
- Slack
The Co-Chairs of the awards include:
- Jordan Banks, Global Head of Vertical Strategy at Facebook
- Scott Bonham, Co-founder of GVC Capital
- Anthony Lacavera, Founder, Chairman and CEO at Globalive Holdings
- David Ossip, CEO and Chairman at Ceridian
- John Ruffolo, CEO at OMERS Ventures
- Reza Satchu, Managing Partner at Alignvest Capital Management
- Angela Strange, Partner at Andreessen Horowitz
The Spotlight Awards are generously supported by sponsors; Cumming & Partners, Choate, Google, KPMG, McMillan, TMX and Uber and delivered in partnership with the C100. To sponsor, donate or learn more, please visit: http://www.spotlightawards.ca/
About The Next 36
The Next 36 addresses Canada's deficit of high impact entrepreneurship by providing world-class founder development, business mentorship and venture building programs to promising young entrepreneurs. It was founded by a small group of business leaders and academics and is championed by Founding Patrons W. Galen Weston, Paul Desmarais, Sr. and Jimmy Pattison. We believe that by fast-tracking the development of Canada's most talented young innovators, we will help create industry-changing businesses and grow Canada's long-term prosperity. The Next Founders is the second program from The Next 36 and is designed for young founders of high growth start-ups looking to scale quickly. The Next 36 is supported through strong national partnerships with EY, MaRS, MasterCard, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP and TD Bank Group.
SOURCE The Next 36
Sarah Legault, National Director, Development, The Next 36, [email protected], 647-259-8943 ext. 107
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