Mark Evans › Comments

"Oliver: I agree that if BB10 can keep BlackBerry users in the fold, that will be a key victory. The second "bucket" is people who are going to get a smartphone. Right now, BB isn't option but BB10 could change that." - Mark Evans

"I've been using Unroll for several months - works great." - Mark Evans

"Good post. In Canada, I would argue there are no agencies that serve startups - be it branding, marketing or PR. It leaves individual practitioners like myself to fill the void - at least when it comes to marketing strategies and tactics. Mark www.markevans.ca" - Mark Evans

"It is interesting that Brad encourages a lot of activity. To me, it seems there is a lot of events going on in Toronto. At mesh '13, we're going to expand our startup program - more details to follow on." - Mark Evans

"We're doing well and there are many positive signs but I think there's more to do to get the local community into a healthy and sustainable place. Thanks for the invite to Brad's talk." - Mark Evans

"You're right; I think more and in-depth coverage of Toronto startups would be a great way to highlight the exciting things going on." - Mark Evans

"So how could we make that happen? Is it a matter of reaching out to key members in other communities to see if they would get involved in what we're doing, and visa versa? Thanks for the comment. Mark" - Mark Evans

"Agreed. In fact, I'd like to see startup entrepreneurs with a drive to become big companies as opposed to taking the money and run when a $20M or $30M offer rolls in from a strategic buyer." - Mark Evans

"Totally agree, which is why it's puzzles me when startup entrepreneurs claim to have no competition. The reality is it exists even if you can't see them...or you choose to ignore them." - Mark Evans

"I agree competition is a good thing because it drives innovation and products that meet the needs of consumers. Thank for the comment." - Mark Evans

It's easy to dismiss or diss Facebook but do so at your own risk. - Mark Evans

It's easy to dismiss or diss Facebook but do so at your own risk. - Mark Evans

"As a startup marketer, I definitely support the idea but it is always surprising to see many startups look at marketing as a "necessary evil" - something they have to do after developing their product and hiring a sales person to drive sales.  A key element that startups fail to realize is marketing is, in many ways, storytelling, and telling a compelling story is how you attract the attention of customers, partners, employees, media, bloggers and investors. Without good stories to tell, you have no way to spread the word about your product, regardless of how good or valuable it is. Startups need to stop looking at marketing as a cost or something they don't understand so they avoid. Instead, they need to look at it as a key pillar in how their product is developed and consumed by different target audiences." - Mark Evans

"The lack of series B investors is the most striking. Anyone Canadian startup looking to raise more than $5-million has few options, which lets U.S. VCs snap up the best Canadian opportunities." - Mark Evans

"I wish there were more Real Ventures. Hopefully, Real is a sign of a new breed of VC." - Mark Evans

"Let's hope the federal government's interest and activity trickles its way to institutional investors. Thanks for the comment!" - Mark Evans

"Sounds like a make-work project. For clean-tech, maybe I'll try to partner with my friend, Tyler Hamilton. Thanks for the suggestion!" - Mark Evans

"Thanks. That was a definite miss." - Mark Evans

"Each circle has a title - e.g. Incubator, Accelerator, seed, etc." - Mark Evans

"Agreed! :)" - Mark Evans

"Yes, I agree that marketing can't be in a silo; it needs to be integrated into product development and sales strategically and tactically. Thanks for the comment." - Mark Evans

"Sounds like a great gig!" - Mark Evans

"Great resource. Lots of new people to follow on Twitter. cheers, Mark" - Mark Evans

"Wave is ad-supported. It reads your data to deliver targeted advertising." - Mark Evans

"Someone has to be writing big checks, otherwise all the big deals will be snapped by U.S. investors, or startups will be bought before they can really grow." - Mark Evans

"Great list - going to check many of them out. By the way, it's Evernote, rather than Enernote." - Mark Evans

"Great list - going to check many of them out. By the way, it's Evernote, rather than Enernote." - Mark Evans

"I agree that an outside perspective can provide value. In the long-term, I think social media works best, particularly for smaller companies, when it's done in-house. Thanks for the comment!" - Mark Evans

"I've learned this lesson first-hand. To be honest, it was a big head scratcher to see beautiful, modern furniture arrive when we would have been happy to stuff from Ikea or Staples for a lot less money. That said, I think most startups are pretty frugal these days." - Mark Evans

"You're absolutely right. I describe it as being "too close to the fire" because you lose a sense of the bigger picture." - Mark Evans