

Impact Ventures: Y Combinator for Canada? - mikeyur
http://www.techvibes.com/blog/impact-ventures-a-y-combinator-for-canada

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paulgb
Extreme Ventures launched an incubator program in Toronto last month also.
<http://www.startupnorth.ca/2009/06/03/extreme-university/>

It's good to see something in the Waterloo area, but I'm reserving judgment
until I see what they're offering. They've been a bit quiet considering they
are launching a pilot this fall -- perhaps they already have the first batch
companies selected through their network.

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farhan
I run the ExtremeU program (<http://bit.ly/WwgJR>) and we are in our third
week with 3 teams cranking away in our space at Yonge and King (Toronto). They
can move fast because they are integrated with our agile development practices
at <http://www.xtremelabs.com> (in the same space), they get expert onsite
resources (dev, graphics, etc.), they get connected them with external gurus.

Our weekly speakers have been phenomenal (@ricksegal, @ryazwinski,
@albertsupdates), they take questions and are available for help after their
talks (which are recorded). I can't wait to bring in the remaining weekly
speakers.

I think what Impact is trying to do is amazing. More power to them!

Farhan (@fnthawar)

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paulgb
Good to know. I should have been clearer in my original comment, but the
second paragraph was referring to Impact, not Extreme. I know some people
involved with Extreme VC/Xtreme Labs and I think what you guys are doing is
great.

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wglb
But correct me if I am wrong--doesn't the Y Combinator model depend on some
very seasoned VC guys, namely pg? Waterloo certainly has serious technical
talent, but one thing sticks in my mind is PG's suggestion to the startups
that a weekly email to them can be key to their success. Without that or its
equivalent, it might not quite be the Y Combinator model.

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netsp
A Y Combinator for India might be something interesting.

