Four industry experts - Neil MacDonald, Daniel Shapiro, Bruce Toner, and Robert Eberschlag - provide their insights into going public with the TVX

Did you know that in 2005 the TSX Venture Exchange brought $6.06 Billion to listed companies? The entire Canadian VC investment for the same period was a fraction of that. Those kind of numbers make entrepreneurs think twice about where to look for funding.

I spent the better part of yesterday attending the Toronto Venture Exchange's Entrepreneurial Bootcamp. MC'd by the capable Sean Wise of Wise Mentor Capital, this session kicked off a seven city trans-Canada tour that ends November 9th in Ottawa.

How was the experience? The presenters managed to make an inherently complex process understandable - well, almost. In fact, for the money, the TVX BootCamp is by far the best organized information session I've attended. What did I learn? A lot. The BootCamp is not just for entrepreneurs. There were many audience members from the VC and Investment Banking community. Why? The TVX provides savvy investors with another way to fund early-stage companies.

But first an aside. I meant to blog the session live yesterday but the Metro Convention Centre's wireless connection cost a truly mind-numbing amount of money:

Welcome To The MTCC Internet Access Zone

Advance Rate: $795.00 / Standard Rate: $895.00 - Includes One Cat5 Cable and Two Access Codes

Please Enter Your Access Code - Once Code Is Entered It Can Not Be Used On Any Other Computer.

Note to the MTCC management - you guys have got to be kidding. If I were a conference organizer that ridiculous fee alone would be enough to keep me from ever booking a conference at your facility again... In today's marketplace having low cost or free wireless connectivity is almost as important as having (...read more...)