Waterloo EDC Blog

Necessity is the mother of invention.

We’ve heard that term a lot in the last few weeks as companies around the world shift their focus from standard product lines to something – anything – that will help during the COVID-19 crisis.

It’s hard to find a more dramatic example of this sort of pivot than InkSmith.

A little over two weeks ago, they were an edtech company working with teachers around...

Bonfire really is the Waterloo Region story all wrapped up in one company.

The company’s founders studied at two of our post-secondary institutions, Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Waterloo. They had a brilliant idea aimed squarely at solving a big-picture problem. They went to Silicon Valley for Y Combinator, but came home back for the talent, ecosystem and culture.

What makes...

This year is becoming history in real-time.

In Waterloo Region, March is when everyday life shifted from business-as-usual to a once-in-a-lifetime crisis. There was no lack of headlines, even when you remove the health element of COVID-19. We cancelled events and closed offices, just like everywhere else.

That isn’t what this wrap-up will focus on. Instead, this wrap-up will look at what we’re...

For most of Waterloo, the news was a surprise. Carta – a California-based equity management platform – was coming to town and they were launching their local office with a 50-person workforce.

How was this possible?

Just weeks before, Kik Interactive – a well-known Waterloo-based tech company – announced that it was pivoting to focus on cryptocurrency rather than its messaging application, which...