Ontario start-ups to meet with major Madison Avenue influencers and US investors in NYC

TORONTO, Jan. 26 /PRNewswire/ - A group of leading Ontario digital media companies and venture capital investors will head to New York City next week as part of a delegation organized by MaRS Discovery District.

As part of the visit, delegate companies will present at the prestigious OnMedia NYC 2011 conference. OnMedia NYC 2011 is a two-and-a-half day executive gathering held on Jan. 31 - Feb. 2, 2011. The conference features some of the most innovative companies, eminent technologists, influential investors and respected tech journalists in the digital media market. The conference is hosted by Tony Perkins, founder and editor of AlwaysOn, and features keynotes from media personalities such as Mark Cuban, billionaire investor and Internet entrepreneur.

Prior to the OnMedia sessions, MaRS will host an investor luncheon on Jan. 31 featuring CEO presentations from the MaRS delegation.  Several Canadian investors will attend from firms such as Blackberry Partners Fund, GrowthWorks, iNovia Capital, MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund, Real Ventures, Rho Ventures, Rogers Ventures and Verdexus.  Notable investors from the NYC area will also be in attendance. Following the luncheon, the delegation will visit prominent digital media startups in the Union Square area.

"We are bringing a group of companies focused on digital media innovations that add considerable value for customers in key areas such as marketing, branding, advertising, research and public relations," said MaRS CEO Ilse Treurnicht. "New York City is a key market where innovators, influencers and investors are shaping the digital media sector on a global scale.  With our mission focused on building Ontario's next generation of innovative companies, MaRS is committed to facilitating targeted investor introductions and business development for high-potential clients in these select markets."

The companies in the MaRS delegation are bringing innovative technologies and business models to market that focus on everything from optimizing organic search; hyper-local advertising for user generated news; next generation live event sports gaming; advertising supported small business accounting software; and social engagement ranking platforms to measure media influence. 

The Ontario companies attending are:

• gShift Labs (search engine optimization): www.gshiftlabs.com
• InGamer Sports (live event social gaming): www.ingamer.com
• OpenFile (user-generated online newspaper): www.openfile.ca
• PostRank (social engagement and influence ratings): www.postrank.com
• Viafoura (online user engagement): www.viafoura.com
• Wave Accounting (free accounting application for small businesses): www.waveaccounting.com

About MaRS
MaRS Discovery District (www.marsdd.com) is a mission driven innovation centre located in Toronto and networked across Ontario, focused on building Canada's next generation of technology companies.  MaRS works closely with entrepreneurs to grow and scale their ventures into global market leaders in life sciences and health care, information, communications and entertainment technologies, clean tech, advanced materials and engineering, as well as innovative social purpose businesses.

SOURCE MaRS Discovery District