Join us for the launch event SWING RIOT in the Lower Atrium.

Swing riot is a dance event that promotes Lindy Hop, good swingin’ jazz and the Montreal street culture.
Check out the great energy of this group and meet its founder Alain Wong.
Alain will also be on Thursday’s panel “Dare to Be Different” at 2:30 pm.

Frank shares with his audience how he started his various businesses. First, the engaging story of the early years of the Second Cup gives his listeners the inside story on the growth of a Canadian retail landmark. Then he talks about some of the challenges he overcame in starting Proshred Security, a document shredding service, today a national business stretching across Canada and into the USA and Europe, but one that his potential clients in the early days didn’t even think they needed.

Bringing his entrepreneurial spirit to the not-for-profit sector, Frank’s listeners will hear about the serendipitous meeting that became Street Kids International, and how the War Child (Canada) came into existence, and how a late-night phone call from the Minister of External Affairs became the Canadian Landmine Foundation.

Tying all this together with his view on the three fundamentals that made all this work for him, Frank leaves his audience with fine examples of where one person can go, and provides a roadmap on how to get there.

A friendly discussion with renown comic book artist Yanick Paquette, illustrator and cover artist of popular superhero icons, such as Batman and Wonder Woman. The convivial conversation will tackle Yanick’s road to fame, life as a freelancer as well as tips for aspiring artists.
Come listen, laugh and question the Montreal based super hero of comics.

Join us for an afternoon discussion with these four amazing out-of-the box creative individuals who bring art and design to Montrealers.

YES, it is possible to be in the business of doing good! Elizabeth will cover the basics of this business concept that’s changing communities and shaking up industries around the globe. She’ll also showcase how social entrepreneurs use innovation to tackle longstanding social problems and drive change.

Lotfi will share what the connection is between audacity and innovation; how to manage your constellation and what are the few paradigms you need to keep in mind when building a new venture. Join us for a high energy evening with this creative and dynamic personality.

On Monday night following our keynote speaker, Lotfi El-Ghandouri, students take center stage to pitch an idea for a commercial business or social enterprise. The audience gets to vote the 10 teams who go on to the finals on Thursday, so bring all your friends to encourage the students and vote for your favorite team. The grand prize is truly unbelievable!!! Please follow the registration link to save your spot at the Den.

As children, we are told that we can do anything and become anyone. Our limits are only set by our imagination. Yet, once we enter the school system, our creativity is replaced by conformity and most spend a lifetime trying to regain the artist within. It is however possible to reclaim your spark, discover what drives you, create work that makes you happy and live the life you want.

There is no path to successful entrepreneurship, except for doing exactly what you want to do always, consistently confusing work and pleasure, and never compromising………………………………………..

(Justin’s work has been featured in major media including the New York Times, Boston Herald, Vice, TechCrunch, Billboard and Music Radar and has been interviewed by leading business publications such as Inc, Fast Company, the Next Web and Canadian Business) – Not to be missed.

What do food trucks, meetup groups, travel apps and empowering women have in common?
These four entrepreneurs tell Robert their secrets to success

Adopting a nonconformist perspective, Kim Deland has taken up several entrepreneurial projects as far back as childhood. Her projects have always been excuses to manufacture, test and sell products, try different revenue models, but also immerse herself in authentic situations. Kim realized several years into the process that she has always taken the same path with two approaches, one from the point of view of an entrepreneur to end up with a lucrative business and one from a designer focused on user-centered development. This presentation is the story of her journey through these projects from two points of view: of design and of entrepreneurship.

In his presentation, Juan will share his personal experience as an entrepreneur, inventor and physicist. How it all got started, conditions prior to launching, the struggles, the successes, the failures, and he will present his newly developed molecular 3D printing and applications (technology at the nano scale).

Following our keynote speaker, we have a Meetup event with Montreal NewTech, a non-profit organization dedicated to the success of Montreal startup entrepreneurs. Five startups will present in front of an audience of programmers, engineers, entrepreneurs, investors, students and other interested parties. The event is an incredible opportunity to meet potential co-founders for your next startup, or find valuable talent.

Christopher will talk about his journey from being a Dawson College student and Eweek volunteer, to spending time with a mentor and working with startups. He will present all the lessons he has learned along the way and what he believes the future of VR and AR will look like based on his experience in this very new technological happening.

There has never been a better time to be a tech entrepreneur. Let’s all WAVE on the big yellow BUS to coding SCHOOL with these awesome trailblazers.

Need a starting point for your startup branding, visual presentation and identity?
Bob Hendriks will share his approach and lessons learned in this session with practical tips and examples. During this presentation you will get a deeper insight into what factors play a role and determine the success of branding your startup.

Thomas Edison famously said that he hadn’t failed, but found 10,000 ways that didn’t work. As the founder of FailCamp and a « merchant of failures », Francis will talk about how industries, scholars, designers, and entrepreneurs, have tried and failed for centuries, and why you should too. From Noah’s Ark to fast prototyping, to rule-breaking and reckless behaviour, this promises to be one fun ride.

How often do you get to meet an entrepreneur to pick their brain in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere? Sometimes all a future entrepreneur needs is a mentor and a nudge in the right direction. This event brings together future entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial leaders in the community. You will have 15 minutes to ask each entrepreneur your burning startup questions. Come and meet them right after our keynote speaker, Francis Gosselin, presents: Success Is Overrated – Why Finding Things that Don’t Work Is the Only Way to Win.

Laura will inspire you with her talk about leaving the corporate world to become a filmmaker. She’ll talk about the steps she took to make that big change and give practical tips, relevant to artists and entrepreneurs, that helped her to go from inexperienced dreamer to award-winning emerging filmmaker.

Woah!!! This panel’s got something for everybody! Meet these engaging young entrepreneurs who are unique in every way — from growing food vertically to making your grandpa’s vintage frames, to killing it on the dance floor and making things go viral. This should be interesting. You do not want to miss this exciting and unique panel. Good luck to our host Robert Soroka, we can’t wait to hear his one-liners for this one.

Dr. Murgita will be discussing the basic steps you must take to use the intellectual property protection systems so that you can ensure ownership through the steps of development and commercialization of your invention.

Did you know that Google supports entrepreneurship? Since 2011, Google has launched Campuses and formed partnerships that support entrepreneurs across 125 countries.

We have a treat for you this year! The grand finale of Dawson’s Den takes place right after our evening keynote speakers Marijke Hoste, Account Executive and Philippe Rivard, Product manager at Google. Come and meet our finalists and witness the creativity, talent and courage of these Dawson College students and alumni. After the winner is selected, we will be raffling off the Passport prize!
Please select a spectator ticket when registering.