Elevate Toronto 2017
There is a major festival going on in Toronto where thousands of people clutch their show passes and fill theatres to fawn over their idols.
There is a major festival going on in Toronto where thousands of people clutch their show passes and fill theatres to fawn over their idols. If your first inkling is that this is the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), you’d be mistaken. This festival, with fans just as rabid, celebrates Toronto’s innovation and tech community.
Elevate Toronto, the brainchild of Razor Suleman, former CEO of Achievers, is a 3-day cheerleading session for the region’s corporate innovators, venture capitalists, incubators and tech talent – all highlighting Canadian success and the city’s commitment to sustained growth in this sector.
Some of the most recognized faces in the business took turns at the mike, sharing messages of inspiration, pride and the uniquely Canadian startup experience: Vinod Khosla, Anthony Lacavera, Salim Ismail, Michele Romanow, Alex Norman, Bilal Kahn, Bruce Croxon, to name just a few.
Cheerleader Mayor John Tory
Mayor John Tory boasted about the sheer number of tech companies, tech jobs and tech grads in the pipeline (a whopping 250,000); and spoke about the city’s first ever Director of Civic Innovation, and first Advocate for the Innovation Economy Portfolio.
Much was said about our enormous talent pool – and the importance of its diversity as a catalyst for success. There was also a fair bit of hand wringing over our far too modest approach to unqualified success; our inability to think bigger, take risks, get global.
Two messages came through loud and clear:
- It isn’t the big companies who are innovating. It’s the smaller ones changing the game.
- Not all cool innovation comes from fresh, new startups. Companies who have been growing steadily (and *surprise* are profitable, too!) are participating fully in the tech scene.
Startups aren’t the only success story
Take BlueCat, for instance. Our gregarious co-founder, Michael Hyatt, was a (caffeinated) fixture on panels and at networking events throughout the festival. Tonight, he will proudly accept the Elevate Centurion Spotlight Award for BlueCat for achieving an exit over $100M CDN. (Not to brag, but it was 4x that 🙂 )
We are paving an alternate path to Canadian tech success. Not exactly a startup, we’re a 15+ year old organization growing 20% annually and employ nearly 400 people. BlueCat is a $70M company whose success in DNS networking is now the launch pad for our next venture – network security. Oh, and we’re hiring.
BlueCat, and other companies like us, exemplify the spirit of innovation and unique culture celebrated at Elevate.
Mayor Tory summed it up nicely: “It is the prosperity created from our city’s technology sector that makes those other Toronto festivals possible.”
Key takeawaysKey takeaways are generated with AI assistance. Because automated summaries can occasionally contain errors or miss important context, always refer to the full blog post for complete information.Elevate Toronto, a three-day festival founded by Razor Suleman, spotlights the city’s innovation and tech community by bringing together corporate innovators, venture capitalists, incubators and tech talent to celebrate Canadian success and sustained sector growth. Speakers including Vinod Khosla, Anthony Lacavera, Salim Ismail and Mayor John Tory emphasized Toronto’s large and diverse talent pool (about 250,000 tech workers and grads), the need to think bigger and take risks, and the important role smaller and established companies — not only fresh startups — play in driving innovation. BlueCat Networks, a 15+ year old DNS networking company growing 20% annually with nearly 400 employees and approximately $70M in revenue, was recognized with the Elevate Centurion Spotlight Award for achieving an exit over $100M CDN and is using its success to expand into network security while actively hiring.
What is Elevate Toronto and who attends it?
Elevate Toronto is a three-day festival created by Razor Suleman that celebrates Toronto’s innovation and technology ecosystem. It brings together a mix of corporate innovators, venture capitalists, incubators, tech talent and public leaders to highlight Canadian success stories and the city’s commitment to sustained growth in the tech sector. The event features well-known speakers from the business and startup community—such as Vinod Khosla, Anthony Lacavera, Salim Ismail and Michele Romanow—and includes panels, networking events and awards recognizing local companies.
What themes and concerns were emphasized by speakers at the festival?
Speakers at Elevate Toronto underscored Toronto’s large tech talent pool—Mayor John Tory cited about 250,000 tech workers and graduates—and emphasized the importance of diversity as a catalyst for success. They also expressed concern that the region is too modest in its ambitions, urging companies to think bigger, take more risks and pursue global opportunities. A recurring message was that innovation is often driven by smaller and established firms, not only by new startups, and that profitable, steadily growing companies are integral to the city’s tech ecosystem.
How was BlueCat Networks highlighted at Elevate Toronto and what are its business priorities?
BlueCat Networks was spotlighted at Elevate Toronto, where co-founder Michael Hyatt participated in panels and networking events and accepted the Elevate Centurion Spotlight Award for achieving an exit over $100M CDN. The article notes BlueCat is a more established company—over 15 years old, growing at roughly 20% annually, employing nearly 400 people and described as a $70M company—whose success in DNS networking is serving as a launch pad to expand into network security. The company is also actively hiring and was presented as an example of a non-startup success driving innovation in Toronto.
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