Montreal’s Startupfest, now entering its ninth annual edition, is releasing details on the new 2019 agenda, including new attractions and programming for festival-goers.

“Year nine of Canada’s iconic startup conference takes a deeper dive into the content that founders need to turn their idea into a business model, then close the funding they need in order to fuel that growth,” said Alistair Croll, Startupfest’s Content Chair. “We’re adding two days of workshop content featuring renowned authors and international experts, aimed at the specific skills and challenges of founding and funding new companies.”

As Croll alluded to, Startupfest is introducing a pair of brand new workshops this year.

The Founding Workshop: “Designed to take aspiring innovators from initial idea to a sustainable, repeatable business model, this workshop is crafted in partnership with leading accelerators to ensure graduates are ready to seek early funding.”

The Funding Workshop: “A carefully curated lineup of talks, interactive discussions and hard-won lessons on finding product-market fit, growing the organization, and creating the right processes and systems to scale your business. This 2-day event culminates in the opportunity to pitch to a room of VC’s eager to invest in the next great idea.”

“Of course, the main-stage lineup is as fascinating as ever,” added Croll. “We’ll be tackling wide-ranging topics from emerging world of content businesses, to sustainability, to startup mental health. Many of our world-class keynotes will also be participating in Ask-Me-Anything style interactive discussions. And it wouldn’t be Startupfest without prizes, curated interactions, and tons of opportunities to network with co-founders, investors, and experts in the spectacular Montreal summer.”

Returning attractions

Returning attractions this year include VentureFest, which brings together fund managers and investors from across Canada and abroad to learn from leaders and network with industry peers.

AcceleratorFest will also make its return, designed for the directors, program managers and community managers who drive acceleration programs across the globe. According to the folks at Startupfest, the morning will be dedicated to content, the afternoon will provide recruiting program leaders with the opportunity to connect with startups looking for the right accelerator program for their company.

Meanwhile, the Women in Tech Bootcamp, presented by BDC Capital, will also returb. It will connect women founders and leaders of technology start-ups with the resources they need to grow their businesses.

Startupfest Version Française is back for 2019, where all the best of Startupfest, presented entirely in French.

And finally, HackerFest is back as well. Now it’s two eight-hour days of Hackathons.