In-person events driving collaboration, innovation in Winnipeg’s tech community

Each and every Thursday at the King’s Head Pub, more than just pleasant conversation is shared among pints.

In the late afternoon, you’ll find folks from Winnipeg’s tech and startup community networking, discussing ideas and, yes, enjoying a few beers.

It’s a welcome change after two years of pandemic Zoom calls.

“The problem in a work-from-home environment is you can’t have that conversation," said Paul Card, VP of technology with Neo Financial, a financial technology company with offices in Manitoba.

“You don’t fall off topic and don’t get that opportunity to meet people you otherwise wouldn’t,” said Card, one of the founding organizers of Tech Thursdays at the King’s Head Pub.

Each week, a short presentation is given at Tech Thursdays from a company in the Winnipeg tech space.

It’s a way for the community to see what other companies are up to, while also providing a chance for burgeoning startups to network and learn from their peers.

“The advantage you get (in Winnipeg) is kind of that prairie feel of being collaborative,” said Card, “There are lots of partners here, lots of competitors to (Neo Financial) but we love to bring everyone together.”

Given the public house setting and welcoming energy, some compare Tech Thursdays to a popular NBC sitcom.

“We’re kind of like the TV show ‘Cheers,’ everyone knows your name,” said Adam Vitt, business development manager with Economic Development Winnipeg.

“We got that small city feel with a big city reach and (talent) pool.”

It’s a comparison others in the tech community make, including Kelly Fournel, CEO of Tech Manitoba.

“We really come behind each other,” said Fournel, “It’s not about which organization but about a multitude of organizations coming together to say we are a community.”

Whenever Fournel meets someone interested in Winnipeg’s tech scene, she usually tells them “Come to the King’s Head Pub… It’s the perfect way to get to know the community in Winnipeg.”

Tech Thursdays technically runs from about 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. and is a precursor to Startup TNT’s long-running happy hour event held right after on the King’s Head’s main floor.

Startup TNT helps companies raise early-stage capital. The organization’s happy hour event is meant to provide a space for founders to learn from each other and also meet potential investors.

“The camaraderie that gets built around in-person events is really important and you can’t replace it,” said Gloria Thom, Startup TNT’s Manitoba lead.

Startup TNT, along with its happy hour event, also organizes a bi-annual investment summit, an eight-week competition that takes startups through the process of raising capital and links them to investors.

The first summit held in Manitoba and including Manitoba-based companies finished in mid-November.

“Our summits are sector agnostic,” said Thom, “So whatever type of business you’re building, this is a really good place to come out and say ‘hi’ to us, get your company on our radar.”

Stephanie Westdal, co-founder of Theory Mesh, a software that traces food products from where it’s grown to the table or grocery store, competed in Startup TNT’s autumn summit, which wrapped in November.

While Westdal says the event was an invaluable experience in terms of learning the best ways to be prepared to speak with investors, she also credits events like Startup TNT’s happy hour for elevating the local startup community.

“Events like these have really helped Manitoba find its footing in the start-up community and take that to a national level,” said Westdal, going on to compare launching a startup to creating a painting.

“You start with the little strokes, you show people who you trust, and then you grow it,” she said, “Then you bring in other people who are having the same issues, same challenges and same successes.”

David Peters’ company, Construction Clock, a labour-tracking app designed for the construction industry, won Startup TNT’s inaugural summit in Manitoba.

As a winner, Construction Clock will receive a substantial financial investment. Peters adds the experience itself was something of a reward.

“It was a very difficult process, lots of challenges to overcome and I feel like it made our company significantly better when we got through it,” said Peters.

He credits in-person events for pointing him toward the summit and similar opportunities.

“We’ve gotten significant exposure so we can really go from a startup to a scale-up company,” said Peters.

“I feel like we’re at the start of a start-up community here in Winnipeg that’s really starting to thrive.”