After a summer hiatus, MontrealNewTech‘s Demo Night returns this Friday with a Back to School edition.

“I don’t believe in new resolutions after Christmas. how can you reflect after couple days off and a marathon of gargantuan feasts? Our Christmas is actually Startupfest; our dear friends Phil, Pam, Kat, Maude, and all their dream team organize every year this amazing startup celebration that, in the last 7 years, has become our startup pilgrimage. It’s a great way to celebrate, reflect, and mark a new beginning, especially after the usually quiet August in Montreal,” Ilias Benjelloun, Creative Director of MTLNewTech told MTLinTECH.

“So, after summer, ‘back to school’ season, really is ‘back to the hustle’; whether you’re a a student, and entrepreneur or a professional back in the pit! But it’s also a good moment to try new ways to see how to better connect, empower and contribute to the success of our ecosystem.”

Several startups will be demoing, including We3, SmartHalo, Fleexer, and others.

“This Friday, we are lucky to have five startups that are either built by or for students. We are presenting 4 projects of the students of LAB12, the most recent coding ‘unbootcamp’ by the non-profit Les Pitonneux that is using a very original learning circle format to keep it affordable. And finally we will have the presentation of an awesome research project on artificial intelligence by our friends of Data Performers.”

MtlNewTech has also made some new commitments for the 2017-2018 season, including: having four to six tech startups pitch at each event, having one to three researchers present what they are working on, trying to connect beyond Montreal and focus on other Quebec ecosystems, and developing a better ‘giving’ ecosystem.

To enact the last point, Demo Night this year will be donation based as opposed to the $10 charged for the last four years. Everyone is welcome to come for free, and anything they wish to donate to support MtlNewTech’s mission is appreciated.

“We really believe that economic developement happens by helping making ‘inventions’ become ‘commercialized innovations’. Between 2008 and 2014, we focused mainly on helping launch startups, find cofounders and find funding. But funding is just part of the equation. From 2014 and 2016, the focus was to go beyond the product and focus on connecting startups with clients, especially for B2B entrepreneurs with enterprises. Still that’s not enough. That’s why for 2017/2018 season, our vision is to be at the crossroad of invention, entrepreneurship and commercialisation by bringing together researchers, entrepreneurs and enterprises. ”

Demo Night starts at 5 pm this Friday, September 15th at Notman House. Startup demos start at 6:30, and the night will conclude with networking at 8:00 pm. You can RSVP here.

“At the end of the day, innovation really is just: invention + entrepreneur + market (enterprise or consumer). We saw amazing dynamics in play in latest couple ones with startups and researchers presenting in front of a crowd of students, aspiring entrepreneurs, startups, VCs, and professionals. From now on we will try to make this format recurring.”

Photo credit - Eva Blue