The Notman House in Montreal has become the Canadian city’s epicenter for start-ups and entrepreneurs. The building was erected in the 1800s and still possesses the old rustic charm of its time however inside its walls innovative technologies are discussed and the latest Canadian start-ups are launched. The OSMO Foundation took the building over and made it an open forum for Montreal’s start-up community and has been quite successful since.
The response to the forum has been great and Notman House has had 125 events take place behind its doors. The diversity of the type of events is astounding and have included user group meet-ups, hackathons, and learning seminars. The venue has also been the headquarters of 50 start-ups and has had 10,000 entrepreneurs, investors and students pass through its doors.
The OSMO Foundation, which is a community group, has worked hard to make the old building suitable for the Montreal technology start-up community and has been raising funds to meet its goals. The main building needs fixing and upgrades while the older brick building situated behind the main one is in dire needs of repair. OSMO Foundation is only $100,000 away from its funding goal and is asking all residents of the community to come out and help the foundation and make the not-for-profit technology hub a reality.
The organization will get its hands on a host of federal and government funding if it can show $1.1 million in private contributions. The first million has been made by corporations like Teralys Capital, Claridge, Telesystem, McCarthy Tetrault, and Fasken Martineau. The remaining amount is expected to be raised from private citizens and an indiegogo campaign.
If the OSMO Foundation is successful, they will get $1.7 million in grants from different levels of government and a $4.3 million loan from Investissement Quebec and the Business Development Bank of Canada. That money will go a long way in jump starting and supporting the burgeoning Montreal technology sector. The funds will also go into creating twice the office space available right now for early-stage start-ups and add more event space. There are also plans for a cafe that will serve residents and the public. The Notman House will in the end help “not only houses start-ups but it also ensures that those start-ups, whether they succeed or fail in their businesses, are helping the next generation of start-ups.”
Source: Francis Moran
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