NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

Northumberland CFDC announces FedDev Ontario Scientists and Engineers in Business (SEB) Initiative in Northumberland

Northumberland County, ON - Funded by FedDev Ontario, and in collaboration with the Municipality of Port Hope's business incubator IDEAHUB, Regional Innovation Centres (including Innovation Durham Northumberland - IDN), the Northumberland Manufacturers' Association (NMA), our regional colleges and universities, and other partner networks, SEB will offer an array of exciting possibilities for entrepreneurial training and support.

Eligible "STEM Entrepreneurs" will have an undergraduate degree or three-year advanced college diploma in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM), or will be current graduate/doctoral students or post-doctoral fellows in these fields who have a market-ready product or process innovation that they wish to commercialize in Northumberland County. 

Click here for Northumberland CFDC Media Release.

Click here for Rick Norlock, MP Northumberland-Quinte West Media Release.

or for further information contact:
Wendy Curtis, Executive Director, Northumberland CFDC
905-372-8315 wendy.curtis@northumberlandcfdc.ca

Posted January 18, 2012

Port Hope's IDEAHUB Welcomes New Tenant, Owned Entertainment

Port Hope, ON - Port Hope's IDEAHUB is welcoming a new tenant to its roster with Owned Entertainment Inc., joining the Municipality's business incubator. The fledgling film production company will move in immediately and eventually occupy a substantial portion of the second floor in the Peter Street building.

Deputy Mayor Jeff Gilmer, Chair of the Economic Development and Tourism Committee, sits on the Business Incubator Management Advisory Committee (BIMAC), "We are very excited to welcome another high caliber tenant to the IDEAHUB, particularly with the increasing interest in filming in our area. We believe Owned Entertainment will play an instrumental role in providing new opportunities to support the growing film industry within our local and regional community"

Deborah Clifford, Manager of Northumberland Campus of Fleming College and Chair of BIMAC stated, "The Committee looks for potential tenants with a high level of knowledge and skill in their area. Mr. Hergott has a wealth of knowledge and experience in the film industry and Owned Entertainment Inc. is an excellent fit for IDEAHUB that will not only benefit Port Hope but the entire region."

Owned Entertainment President, James Hergott grew up in the area and is excited about the many advantages that IDEAHUB offers for his new studio. The first film to be produced at the local studio is already in the works and agreements are in place to produce several more in the next few years, Mr. Hergott anticipates that the studio will grow quickly, potentially occupying the entire second floor of the IDEAHUB building in the near future, "The studio will focus primarily on Mixed Martial Arts and action movies filmed in Northumberland County and produced in-house. The plan is to eventually move into other genres of film and expand our facilities so that we can open the studio to other production companies."

With a comprehensive filming policy and resources already in place, Port Hope is recognized as a prime location for filming and has hosted a number of prominent productions. The provincial government offers substantial financial benefits for film production outside of the GTA and Port Hope offers a number of additional benefits including minimal traffic, less noise and lower costs for parking, hotels, etc, than a larger city location along with excellent filming locations in a short distance. The introduction of a production studio right here in our own community will raise our profile and continue to attract new business from the Canadian film industry.

Port Hope's IDEAHUB opened in 2010 as a full service business incubator for new and emerging entrepreneurial companies. Federal and Municipal funding helped establish IDEAHUB, but leases are negotiated between the tenant and building owner and the Municipality does not subsidize the leases. With a completely unique approach of public/private partnership funding structure, IDEAHUB is quickly becoming a highly sought-after model of business incubation in Ontario.

For more information contact

Judy Selvig

Director, Economic Development & Tourism
905.885.2004

jselvig@porthope.ca 

James Hergott, President

Owned Entertainment Inc.

Owned Entertainment (Canada) Inc.
jameshergott@gmail.com

ownedentertainment.ca  

Posted September 29, 2011

IDEAHUB and the Business Advisory Centre Northumberland Partnership Announcement

PORT HOPE, ON - The Municipality of Port Hope is pleased to announce an exciting new partnership. The Business Advisory Centre Northumberland (BACN) will be opening a satellite office at Port Hope's IDEAHUB on Peter Street.

IDEAHUB is Port Hope's business incubator providing office space, administrative support, and mentoring to owners of fledgling business ventures. The Business Advisory Centre Northumberland provides information, support and development services to businesses and entrepeneurs across Northumberland County and already works closely with potential and existing IDEAHUB tenants. This new arrangement will make BACN easily accessible not only to existing IDEHUB tenants but to anyone in Port Hope who is looking for mentorship and guidance for business and entrepreneurial initiatives.

Deputy Mayor Jeff Gilmer is looking forward to the new BACN satellite office location, "This new partnership will enhance the complement of services we already offer through the IDEAHUB and will strengthen the presence of both organizations in the greater community."

Rob Day, Business Consultant with BACN stated, "We're excited about being able to enhance the services we provide to the small business community. This new partnership with the IDEAHUB is a 'win-win' for everyone involved."

Effective today, the BACN satellite office will operate on part-time hours and by appointment at IDEAHUB, 260 Peter Street, Port Hope. For more information visit IDEAHUB www.myideahub.ca and http://www.bizdevelopment.ca

 Posted June 29, 2011

Port Hope's IDEAHUB Showcased for Business Community

PORT HOPE, ON - Port Hope's IDEAHUB was showcased at a well-attended Information Session on March 3, 2011. More than 60 members of the region's business community were in attendance to hear presentations from current and prospective tenants, and IDEAHUB partners, Fleming College, Northumberland Community Futures Development Corporation, University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT), Northumberland Manufacturers Association (NMA), Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), Port Hope & District Chamber of Commerce.

IDEAHUB, launched on April 9, 2010, is a business incubator offering flexible space to new business startups at a reduced rate along with a variety of services including business mentoring, marketing, legal, financial and administrative support. Located at 260 Peter Street in a 22,000 sq. ft, privately owned facility, the centre enables startup businesses to increase their chance of success by reducing the time and cost of establishing and growing a business. IDEAHUB currently has two tenant companies and the Management Board is reviewing two tenant approvals and working with eight potential tenants.

Jeff Gilmer, Deputy Mayor/Chair of Economic Development and Tourism, was pleased with the event, "This is a great opportunity to showcase IDEAHUB to the business community; ours is a completely unique approach in Ontario and Port Hope is quickly becoming known for our innovation in business incubation. In fact, we have received inquiries from several communities around the province looking to implement our model in their area."

The facility was made possible by a unique public/private partnership. Federal and Municipal funding helped establish IDEAHUB, but leases are negotiated between the tenant and building owner and are not subsidized by the Municipality.

Judy Selvig, Director of Economic Development highlighted the potential of the incubator approach, "the National Business Incubation Association reports that 84% of incubated businesses stay and grow out into the community upon graduation and 87% are still in business after five years, this is an excellent statistic considering in Ontario 67% of businesses fail to meet their fifth year."

After the presentations, the 60 attendees were offered tours of the facility and an opportunity to speak with tenants and partners. More information on IDEAHUB and the application process for prospective tenants is available at www.myideahub.ca 

IDEAHUB Hosts Entrepreneurial Program on Behalf of Fleming College

Launch of Business Success Program in Cobourg

Presented by the Business Advisory Centre Northumberland, the Business Success Program will focus on business retention in Northumberland County. Its key components include business coaching, educational seminars, business visitations and personalized ongoing service from the Business Advisory Centre.

The program supports IDEAHUB tenants and all Northumberland businesses including the Municipality of Port Hope.

Interested individuals and business owners are invited to attend the official launch of the program on Monday, Nov. 29 at 10 a.m. at Victoria Hall in Cobourg.  For more information about the program please contact the Business Advisory Centre at 905-372-9279.

Posted Nov 23, 2010

IDEAHUB's first tenant prepares for take off in Port Hope

New business incubator helps entrepreneurs from concept to commerce

PORT HOPE -- As businesses look to trim expenses, Xentelligence is there to help. For the past two months, Port Hope's IDEAHUB has been home base for a firm that promises to reduce operating costs, increase overall efficiency and work productivity for small and medium sized businesses, first in Northumberland County and then across Ontario.

"I think that we definitely have an edge being here," said Mohit Sharma, who commutes from Toronto to the 22,000 square foot Peter Street facility several times a week with his partner Sumith Ragunathan to grow his business in what he calls an "untapped market" for the services Xentelligence will offer. "I think this is the best launch pad we could have."

With reduced rates and flexible office space, IDEAHUB offers the firm a variety of services related to business operations, including marketing, financial and administrative support.

The incubator, a unique private and public partnership, provides early stage companies with a nurturing, instructive and supportive environment during the critical stages of starting up, according to governing partners, the Municipality of Port Hope and the Northumberland Community Futures Development Corporation (CFDC).

The principle goal of the hub is to increase the chances for start-ups to succeed by shortening the time and reducing the cost of establishing and growing their businesses. The former University of Ontario Institute of Technology students who recently completed an internship at CFDC say they chose Port Hope to grow their business over the city because they saw the area was in need of business driven technology solutions.

"We're trying to offer all the universal intelligence we can," said Mr. Sharma.

Once Xentelligence is up and running, it will offer all kinds of new technological treats including a special radio frequency tag that can track inventory (and people) and other solutions to provide employers and employees with 24 hour out-of-office accountability.

"The sky's the limit," Mr. Sharma said of services offered by Xentelligence. "They're much more cost effective, like a virtual office wherever you go."

A grand opening will be hosted at IDEAHUB to showcase the company and provide an opportunity for networking with members of the community, businesses and other partner organizations.

IDEAHUB's mentors and advisors are a major factor in the success of member companies, according to information provided on the IDEAHUB website. They include seasoned professionals with sound business skills and reputations of success in all areas of business development including planning, sales, marketing, manufacturing, legal, accounting, human resources and financial. Mentors and advisors provide real life wisdom, information and resources to assist in guiding member companies from start-up to successful graduation from IDEAHUB out into the community.

^{Nov 6, 2010 Northumberland News}

Xentelligence Inc. 
Introducting First Member Company to IDEAHUB

Recently joining the IDEAHUB business incubator program is Xentelligence located in Suite 105 at the Hub.  A Grand Opening will be hosted to showcase Xentelligence and provide an opportunity for networking with members of the community, businesses and our partner organizations.  Details for this event will be posted soon.

Xentelligence provides information technology solutions that will allow local business operations to increase their organizational productivity, improve efficiency, and reduce operational costs.  Learn more about Xentelligence.

^{Posted Oct 28, 2010}

Municipality of Port Hope Announces Launch of IDEAHUB

IDEAHUB Port Hope Business Incubator is a full service business resource for new and emerging companies that provides the stimulus to be successful and mitigates many of the risks associated with launching a new business. IDEAHUB offers its member companies reduced rate flexible office space at 260 Peter Street, a 22,000 square foot facility. The project is a unique public and private sector partnership offering member companies a variety of services related to business operations, including marketing, financial and administrative support. The incubator is tasked to provide early stage companies with a nurturing, instructive and supportive environment for entrepreneurs during the critical stages of starting up a new business. The principle goal is to increase the chances for start-ups to succeed by shortening the time and reducing the cost of establishing and growing their business.

Posted Apr 8, 2010

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