Introducing the Ask Harley web series for Young Entrepreneurs

July 16, 2009

Techvibes is excited to announce a new site feature designed to empower student entrepreneurs across Canada. We’ve enlisted serial entrepreneur Harley Finkelstein to answer the questions that young entrepreneurs have today when thinking about a digital media business.

Why Harley?

He’s a young entrepreneur who has launched a number of successful tech start-ups and gives back to the community by serving as a mentor to the Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation (OCRI) and sitting on the loan committee for the Canadian Youth Business Foundation (CYBF).

In 2007, Harley founded Innoventure Capital, a unique seed financing firm that provides funding and strong mentorship to early-stage start-ups. On top of that, Harley recently completed his law degree at the University of Ottawa and is currently completing his MBA at the school’s management faculty.

Why Techvibes?

Harley approached us with a unique proposition that we couldn’t turn down. You see, thanks to his involvement in numerous entrepreneur support organizations, Harley gets his fair share of start-up related questions via telephone and email. While helping out fledgling student entrepreneurs one-by-one is rewarding, Harley knew that there was a more efficient way to share his experience and knowledge considering the tools available online.

Techvibes is a hyper-local technology blog with a focus on digital media start-ups and a readership spread out across Canada – so it seemed like a no-brainer.

What’s next?

On Wednesday, July 29th at 8:00pm EST we’ll launch the Ask Harley weekly web series where Harley will answer questions about starting a business in today’s digital economy.

Ask Harley will be a live interactive video broadcast using the Ustream.TV platform embedded in the Techvibes blog. Viewers will be able to submit questions for Harley in advance of the broadcast or ask questions live through Ustream or Twitter. Here is a sample of the kinds of questions Harley will be addressing:

Should I incorporate or register my new business?
What is the best type of financing for my new start-up – Debt vs. Equity, SBL, municipal/government loans, angels, seed, or friends/family/fools?
What’s the best way to market my product online – viral v. PPC, social media vs. conventional media?

All broadcasts will be archived on Techvibes for future reference and will become an invaluable resource for future digital media entrepreneurs.

Submit your questions now for the inaugural Ask Harley broadcast via Twitter at @AskHarley, by email to AskHarley@techvibes.com, or by simply commenting on this blog post.