Entrepreneur and startup evangelist Ash Maurya kicks off T4G-sponsored Launch36 Accelerator program in Saint John, New Brunswick.

Ash Maurya, best-selling author of “Running Lean” and a startup evangelist, kicked off Propel ICT’s Launch36 Accelerator Program on January 25 at the Hilton Trade and Convention Centre in Saint John.

The day-long event was a “boot camp” for entrepreneurs to learn Ash’s Running Lean approach and trade ideas and insight, said David Baxter, Propel ICT’s President and T4G Limited’s VP Innovation.

“A great day,” he said, “so many interesting business concepts and ideas were shared; from a startup offering live video streaming from and to mobile phones, to a company working on a cloud-based service to improve quality assurance procedures in food manufacturing plants.”

Our investment in entrepreneurship now extends beyond our own growth business model and into the community as a means to develop a strong ICT sector in NB.

Toronto-based T4G, with offices in Saint John, Moncton and Fredericton, is a company with an entrepreneurial culture throughout the organization. And it is a big supporter of Propel ICT and its entrepreneurial goals in New Brunswick. For example, 10 T4G employees were in attendance at this event.

“Our investment in entrepreneurship now extends beyond our own growth business model and into the community as a means to develop a strong ICT sector in NB,” Baxter said. “Just today, I was approached by three different people who said they were referred to T4G because of our entrepreneurial pedigree.”

Ash, a widely acclaimed speaker and presenter, energized the crowd with his well-known passion for teaching founders how to run their businesses lean, David added. There were about 60 participants at the event.

Propel ICT is a nonprofit organization focused on mentoring early stage technology startup founders and the Launch36 Accelerator Program is an ambitious campaign to launch 36 new technology companies in New Brunswick over the next 36 months.

Originally known as propelsj, Propel ICT initiated a similar campaign which resulted in 20 new companies including Radian6, Mariner Partners, Brovada and Ambir, where more than 210 new full-time jobs were created in the Saint John region from 2006-2008.    

“With our revamped Propel Accelerator program and a big name like Ash Maurya to support us and help kick things off, we are well positioned to hit our Launch36 target and produce significant entrepreneurial impact on the province of New Brunswick,” Baxter said.

“And at T4G it was great to have Ash visit our Saint John office the day after the Launch36 event to give T4G employees in a more informal setting deeper understanding of his methods and how best to apply his techniques to the services industry in general and T4G in particular,” he added. 

“T4G is an innovative, entrepreneurial company with so much talent working here that I can confidently say the best is yet to come,” Ash said after visiting the Saint John offices.