The Tech West Collective, an association of Alberta-based tech companies, is hosting its first networking event this month in an effort to attract more talent to Calgary.
The event, taking place on November 30, will allow attendees to network with the sponsoring companies, learn about what’s happening for Calgary’s tech scene, and demo the sponsoring companies’ offerings. The collective is made up of seven Calgary-based tech startups who plan to scale quickly in the coming months. These companies are on the hunt to fill a variety of new roles, needing everything from mobile and full-stack developers to SaaS sales, client success, and marketing.
“We need to let people know there is a strong, exciting tech network here in Calgary with world-class opportunities.”
“We’re dramatically scaling our business, and that means our company alone needs 40 to 60 people in the next year,” said Lucas McCarthy, CEO of event ticketing startup Showpass, one of the members of the collective. “We know we aren’t the only tech company in the city that needs great people, but it’s not being socialized enough. We need to let people know there is a strong, exciting tech network here in Calgary with world-class opportunities.”
The collective is made up of Showpass, AltaML, which connects AI researchers with industry stakeholders, workforce management platform Avanti Software, ATB Financial, Benevity, a charity-focused tech platform, Kudos, an employee engagement software company, and Replicon, a time tracking software company. This networking event, being hosted at the Sheraton Eau Claire in downtown Calgary, is set to be first of what the group says will be many.
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“Our vision is to bring some much-needed attention to the Calgary and Alberta tech sectors,” said Kelly Thompson, board member of Showpass and vice president of marketing at Avanti Software. “As Calgary diversifies, we need to let the world know the stories of our startup and entrepreneurial culture, our people, and the innovative technology that’s developed here.”
The mission of the collective is to expose Canada and the world to Calgary’s tech companies and draw in more entrepreneurial talent to the city. Calgary is currently keen on drumming up interest in its ecosystem and spotlighting the growth of its budding companies. Benevity, for example, recently closed a $40 million Series C in October, while Showpass was acquired Toronto-based event app Token Mobile Solutions, at the same time as it reported 83 percent year-over-year revenue growth.
Image source Wikimedia.