By Robert Frank
www.thesuburban.com
Laval’s tech whizzes love to make entrepreneurial whoopee.
More than 130 information technology mavens mixed at the Palace convention centre, April 16, looking for a quick hookup.
Their objective wasn’t salacious, though. The event, organized by the city’s economic development agency Laval Technopole and the Laval-Laurentian-Lanaudière branch of the IT Action Network, encourages local businesses to cross-pollinate.
“It’s a speed dating event where a man or a woman will sit down for five minutes to get to know one another’s business,” Technopole chairman David de Cotis told The Suburban. “They pitch what their companies can do, what kind of clients they have and explore how they can help one another and hopefully, by the end of the night, get hooked up with someone.”
Registration in last week’s event was up 44 percent from the maiden effort last year, despite serious competition for participant’s attention that night.
“Even though the evening coincided with the Canadiens first hockey playoff match, every single person who had registered showed up,” observed Laval’s economic ambassador, Councillor Paolo Galati.
While the initial objective is to inspire local tech firms to buy local, Technopole tech director Jean-Marie Pressé is more farsighted.
“It’s a springboard for Laval’s economic growth,” he said. “Beyond sourcing purchases here and creating tech projects, in the long-term, we aim to broaden the range of new tech products on the market and attract foreign clients.”
Other speed dating organizers included the Business Development Bank of Canada, Rogers Communications, Intergraph, Lauréat Desmules, Meritek, St. Hubert BBQ, Omni Group and IT consultant Éric Poirier.
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