#LPGROW12 WRAP UP

It’s hard to believe it was 5 years ago Danny Robinson and Maura Rodgers hosted the very first Launch Party event in Vancouver. 12 events later, LP has helped launch over 100 startups from across Canada and even companies from the States. If only LP had equity in all of the great companies that have been featured over the years, including Gist, Summify and local favorite, Hootsuite!

Hootsuite Winning the Judges Choice Award at #LPV8

BIGGEST LAUNCH PARTY EVER
Each LP seems to be bigger and better than the last. More founders are interested in demoing and more investors and influencers attend, which is a great signal to us that our startup community is growing. This year, we welcomed over 1000 people to #LPGROW12 on August 22, 2012 at the Roundhouse in Vancouver and featured 14 local startups.

MAJOR PROPS TO RAY WALIA OF LAUNCH ACADEMY
Putting on Launch Party is no easy feat. So, this year, our very own Ray Walia of Launch Academy worked with Vancouver Pixel Crafters to help organize #LPGROW12. From working with the Launch Academy volunteers and the caterers to organizing the venue, Ray did all of the heavy lifting and deserves major props for pulling off a great event.

IT TAKES A VILLAGE
We would not be able to do #LPGROW12 without the help of a very passionate group of entrepreneurs and startup peeps, who volunteered their time to make it happen. High five and follow these awesome people immediately:

Charlyne Landgraff- If you have not met Char yet, she is the Program Manager at GrowLab. Despite having two other events that day, she worked closely with Ray to make #LPGROW12 go off without a hitch.
Tera Kristen – The latest addition to the GrowLab crew, Tera helped with promotion leading up to the event and was the onsite manager for this year’s event. She rocks.
Sonia Ryan- A troublemaker at A Thinking Ape, we can always count on Sons to lend a hand. This year was no exception.
Jon Cartwright- If you enjoyed some eats from the yummy Food carts featured on the outdoor patio or noshed on a yummy brownie at the entrance, you can thank Jon and the awesome Food.ee Team. So good!
Rohit Tandon – It’s not a party unless there is good music and we have Rohit from A Thinking Ape to thank for that.
Olivia Edwards – Learning early on what it takes to be an entrepreneur, Olivia has been a huge help to GrowLab and Launch Academy during event time.
Justin Laberge – Intern extraordinaire! Justin has been sharing his social media expertise and creating a buzz for GrowLab, Launch Academy and Battlefy, in addition to helping Food.ee with a variety of tasks.
Launch Academy – LA is full of hustlers trying to build their startups in Vancouver. Many thanks to all of the LA volunteers for their help:
Oliver Zhang
Robbie Trudeau
Collin Stewart
Alain-Daniel Bourdages
Richard Hein
Andrew McNair
Gregor Kennedy
Gary Lo
Andy Yu
Jesse Appleby
Ryan Thompson
Nick Karrasch
Devin Johnston
Boris Lau
Mohamed Alborno
Tierney Milne
Tiffany Kwong
James Karg
Charles Yu
Miraj Khaled
Sean Foo
Jae Han

OUR PARTNERS
We have always partnered with companies and people, who truly care about and support Canadian entrepreneurs. This year, we would not have been able to do it without the support of:

Microsoft– MSFT is incredibly supportive of our local startup community. We would not be able to host LP without their generosity.
AThinkingApe – By now, you have probably heard about these awesome Apes, working hard to build a stellar Social Apps company in Vancouver. They make us proud. Oh, and they are hiring!
Queen’s Cross – Our good friend, Chris Greenfield, owner of Queen’s Cross pub in North Van and the Wicklow on Granville Island, has catered the last three LPs. His whole team is just awesome to work with and the food is ridiculously good. Drop by one of his pubs for a pint, delicious food, and an all around great experience any day of the week.
TapStream– A simple 2-step integration will pull back the curtain on your App Store sales & show you which websites deliver real app users.
Keir Reynolds – Everyone has Keir to thank for getting their night off on the right note as each guest’s first drink was on him.
LaBarge Weinstein– James Smith and Michael Dunlevy are all around good guys and smart lawyers, who love working with startups. After years of splitting their time between coasts, LW will finally have a presence in Vancouver, run by Mark Longo.
South Hall Events – One of the best rental companies and event organizers on the lower mainland. They always come through for a big event or a small party.
Merlin the Magician– Merlin’s mind bending close-up magic kept party goers entertained throughout the night. According to Merlin we were the most interesting group of people he has had the pleasure of performing for!
Espresso Capital Partners – Founded by entrepreneurs, Greg Smith and Gary Yurkovich, Espresso funds companies using non-traditional loan offerings.
Uber – If you have not tried Uber yet, you are totally missing out on the best ride in town. Thanks to Craig for making sure attendees got home safe after #LPGROW12.
Yaletown Venture Partners – YVP has been a great supporter of LP events over the years. Many thanks!
Voxter– There was a big surprise for guests as CEO of Voxter, Dayton Turner, gave the audience a sample of his DJ skills as he took over the Voxter sponsored DJ tables.
Uniserve Communications – Uniserve helped capture the moment at the party with their sponsored caricature artist.
VanEdge Capital – VanEdge is getting involved with startups in a big way. Thank you for your support!
PHOTO TIME
Thanks to Kyla Bailey for photographing the entire event!

EVENT PHOTO’S ARE AVAILABLE HERE.
Many thanks to YOU for coming out to celebrate entrepreneurship and making #LPGROW12 an all around fantastic event. Until next time…