NorthBridge Consultants’ Canadian Business Blog is dedicated to bringing businesses news and information to help companies identify and access the most appropriate government funding programs.

We offer opinions and insider information that can provide a pulse on government initiatives, the health of the Canadian economy, and firsthand thoughts from Canadian business owners.

NorthBridge Summer 2016 Newsletter

Lean Six Sigma Innovation Editor’s Welcome — Lean Innovation: The Art of Making Less Into More Continuous improvement in business is about more than just a set of operational principles to increase efficiency. It is a mindset, and a coprorate… Read more »

Top 5 Innovations in January

January 12, 2016 – Planetary Resources and 3D Systems print first ever 3D object from asteroid materials. The U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act, passed in November 2015, give companies the right to mine asteroids and to run a private… Read more »

Student Start-ups: Success of Velocity

Velocity was created for the purpose of giving students at the University of Waterloo access to resources to turn their innovative ideas into successful start-up businesses. Through Velocity, students at the University of Waterloo are fostered as entrepreneurs through first-hand… Read more »

Crowdfunding in Canada

Pebble’s Eric Migicovsky jump-started his company by selling 85,000 pre-sold watches and generating $10 million in advance revenue through Kickstarter.  Unfortunately, Kickstarter isn’t readily accessible to Canadian companies.  Migicovsky’s initial company was based in Waterloo (part of University of Waterloo’s Velocity… Read more »

Why Venture Capital is so Important

Greg Smith, president of Canada’s Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA), described the current landscape of Canadian entrepreneurship: “Canada has an historic opportunity to become an innovation leader by making major investments that enable our best technology businesses to… Read more »

Is Entrepreneurship Waning in Canada?

The Globe and Mail recently  addressed the fact that in recent years, the relative impact of self-employment across Canada has been waning.  Self-employment has always been an important feature of the Canadian economy; the OECD lists Canada as one of the… Read more »

Venture Capital Fundraising Concerns in Canada

According to 2011 year-end figures from the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association, a four-year high of $1.5 billion from VC was disbursed to Canadian startups last year.  Although this was the highest level since 2008, this was far… Read more »