Startup City: Fostering Innovation in Vancouver

Join us for a panel on improving startup culture in Vancouver. Meet innovative thought-leaders and mold-breaking politicians to discuss the startup economy, and how the city can become more agile, digitized, and able to retain its top talent. The event is part of Vancouver Startup Week, and will be hosted by Abubakar Khan, who is running to be Vancouver’s youngest ever city Councillor and will be the moderator for the evening. The panelists include: Brittany Whitmore, CEO of Exvera Communications and Executive Director of TEDx Gastown Jeremy Becker, CEO of MedConnect Nejeed Kassam, Executive Driector of The Better Canada Initative Neil Patel, CEO of Kabuni Praveen Varshney, Partner at Varshney Capital   Itinerary: 6:45: Door’s Open 7:00pm-8:30pm: Panel discussion 8:30pm-9pm: QA Khan, is one of the youngest candidates in the race for Vancouver City Council, at 24, he comes from a generation where tech plays an integral role in one's work, social, and overall lives. His proposal to create a Tech and Innovation (T&I) team within City Hall shows his clear support for the tech industry. The T&I Team would be in charge of digitizing the permit process, hosting city-backed policy Hackathons, and creating a Startup Division to take a fresh look at the mechanics of city procedures. Besides ‘Tech and Innovation’, the other two pillars of his platform are also inseparable from the tech world. ‘Affordable Vancouver’ aims to build housing, office space, and cut down on costs to enable innovators towards flourishing in Vancouver. In tackling the ‘Mental Health Crisis,’ Khan will also help the creators in the Tech world live with greater levels of wellness outside of work. The ways in which tech can be best utilized to improve mental health are limitless; Khan aims to push forward. Spots are limited so register soon! Time: 6:45pm-9pm, Sept 25th Location: UBC Robson Square