As one of the Regional Innovation Centres in the province of Ontario, WEtech had the great fortune of attending the Annual Ontario Network of Entrepreneurs (ONE) Conference in Toronto this past week. This year’s Conference welcomed over 300 attendees from the almighty regional ONE network.  As I sat in the airport –  a WiFi enabled airport may I add (love Porter Airlines) – awaiting my return to Windsor, I thought I’d take a moment to capture some of my Conference takeaways/highlights. For those of you that I didn’t have a chance to see or connect with, please add me to your social networks LinkedIn or Twitter.

A big thank you to the Ontario Network of Entrepreneurs for hosting another great conference. See you all at the Ontario Centres of Excellence’s 10th Anniversary of Discovery in May! Keep up the great work!

ONE is powerful and on the right track….here’s proof! Click image to enlarge.
If you don’t know what you’re doing just stamp it with “BETA” via Greg Horowitt, Founding Partner & Managing Director T2 Venture Creation
Networking, networking, networking – Sometimes all you need to do is put a bunch of people in a room to get things done. I am amazed at all the awesome things happening in Ontario and the willingness of the network to collaborate!
It’s piggybacking not stealing – Why reinvent the wheel if you don’t have to? Isn’t that one of the goals of ONE after all? ONE members (including the Regional Innovation Centres) have all unique expertise and talents so why not leverage their knowledge and team. For example, following one of the Conference Breakout Sessions, WEtech learned that Venture Lab is actively building a Health Ecosystem. WEtech along with key local partners such as the WindsorEssex Economic Development Corporation, the University of Windsor and St. Clair College are also making progress in building a cross-border Health cluster. We look forward to connecting with Venture Lab to share best practices and build on their already growing regional Health ecosystem (or rainforest as Greg Horowitt would say).
Social Enterprises are becoming more and more popular! Check out this great list of Social Enterprise Resources provided by Allyson Hewitt from MaRs Discovery District.
Two degrees of separation – I was pleased to learn that Venture Lab Social Enterprise Client, Link2Feed has a Windsor connection. Their President Emily Branton completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Windsor – Odette School of Business. WEtech has already reached out to Emily following the Conference to inquire about having her back in Windsor to speak to our aspiring Social Entrepreneurs. See! The power of the network is strong!
Leadership – The Vision and Passion for ONE is clear and strong! Successful leaders set & communicate vision, design motivational strategies & inspire & encourage those pursuing the vision. We saw what the ONE network can do in just one year and we are eager for the future.
Roots before branches via Greg Horowitt, Founding Partner & Managing Director T2 Venture Creation. You can’t grow without roots!
Traits of an Entrepreneur: balance, passion and focus via Greg Horowitt, Founding Partner & Managing Director T2 Venture Creation
ONE: Superpower for entrepreneurs? I’ve had the pleasure of being a part of this network since its inception and I truly see the power that it and its members holdd. ONE is all about assisting entrepreneurs and that’s a superpower we can all love. If you’re an entrepreneur reading this blog, take advantage of the ONE superpower.