The Digital Main Street Community Collaboration Program focuses on bringing together community members to collaboratively identify and solve one or more local main street challenges. The 5-10-15 Main Street Innovation Challenge has named its recipients, who will each receive $15,000 in funding and venture coaching from TechAlliance.
Loyal Patron BIAPromoter,, who will have a pilot project in Strathroy, highlights a list that also includes Drinks With podcast, Locorum: eCommerce rewards platform and Seedz business advertising platform.
Karen Chalmers, Director of Partnerships at TechAlliance, stresses that this was a fast-paced program.
The Digital Main Street Community Collaboration Program focuses on bringing together community members to collaboratively identify and solve one or more local main street challenges. The goal is to add resources to ongoing conversations across multiple sectors and assist with piloting solutions. Funding for this initiative is made available through the Digital Main Street program, with support from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) and the Government of Ontario.
Loyal Patron’s BIAPromoter: An opt-in text marketing tool for customers to receive instant offers and deals from all the companies in their local Business Improvement Association (BIA). BIAPromoter will pilot in Strathroy, ON. Founder: Chaun McLellan.
Drinks With: A podcast featuring small businesses invites regional owners to talk about their entrepreneurial journey and their venture. Season One guests are business owners selected from Oxford and Middlesex county. Founders: Erica Marchand and Todd Pearson.
Locorum: An eCommerce rewards platform, piloted in London, ON, connects small businesses with customers seeking products in hyper-local markets across Canada. Founder: Matthew Santagapita.
Seedz: Is a gamified business advertising platform piloted to create unique opportunities for businesses to plant offers in geographic locations for discovery in Sarnia, ON. Founders: Jessica Kiernan and Stephen Kiernan.
“With innovation and technology at the core of all these solutions, we are inspired by these founders and their vision of transforming main street” said Christina Fox, Chief Executive Officer of TechAlliance. “Working alongside each of the Main Street Innovation Challenge recipient companies, our Venture Growth coaches will deliver on our promise to enable entrepreneurs. Investing in these four regional recipients, is to invest in Southwestern Ontario’s economic recovery.”
Learn more about our 5-10-15 Main Street Innovation Challenge recipients by visiting: techalliance.ca/5-10-15Challenge.