Ottawa Business Journal

Ottawa Business Journal
Ottawa Business Journal

The Ottawa Business Journal is the leading source of business news and information Canada's national capital region. CEOs and business leaders turn to OBJ for the business news they can't find anywhere else – unique and relevant content tailored to business managers, owners, professionals and executives. With a number of media platforms available to reach our audience, Ottawa Business Journal has something for every advertiser. OBJ's scope includes its monthly newsmagazine, the largest business news website in Ottawa, OBJToday daily e-newsletter, active social media channels, a YouTube channel with hundreds of videos, multimedia industry projects and some of Ottawa's premier business events.

  1. Techopia Live: AccelerateOTT looks to shape future legends | Episode 283

    JUL 7

    Techopia Live: AccelerateOTT looks to shape future legends | Episode 283

    Ottawa’s entrepreneurs, founders and investors gathered on June 12 for AccelerateOTT, the flagship event of Ottawa Innovation Week, organized by Invest Ottawa. The one-day conference brought together many of the city’s founders for a day of keynotes, networking, and critical conversations about scaling, resilience, and the road to global impact. The theme? “Legends in the Making.” In this episode of Techopia Live, Riaz Sidi hits the floor at AccelerateOTT to speak with notable leaders from Ottawa’s tech ecosystem, including Sonya Shorey (Invest Ottawa), Nick Quain (Invest Ottawa), Fahim Sheikh (Trellis Corporation), Erin Kelly (Advanced Symbolics), Firass Sleiman (Connectit Rogers), Michelle Scarborough (Thrive Venture Fund BDC Capital), and Mary Yazdani (reasonX). From bootstrapped journeys to venture-backed success stories, this episode highlights the spirit of innovation shaping Ottawa’s economy. Hot topics included: – The path from founder to legend – How Ottawa can scale and compete globally – Building a thriving tech ecosystem rooted in community – AI adoption in Canada vs. the U.S. Whether you’re a startup founder, an investor, or just curious about the next big thing coming out of Ottawa, this episode is for you. Looking for more Techopia? 📰 Visit: https://obj.ca/techopia 📧 Sign up for the weekly Techopia newsletter: https://obj121.activehosted.com/f/5 🔔 Subscribe for more Techopia Live episodes and Ottawa tech news.

    6 min
  2. Techopia Live @ Tech Tuesday: Trading Pixels and Software for Ocean Restoration | Episode 280

    APR 15

    Techopia Live @ Tech Tuesday: Trading Pixels and Software for Ocean Restoration | Episode 280

    Techopia Live was on location for April's TechTuesday, focusing on climate action as Earth Day 2025 approaches. The event spotlighted Planetary Technologies and their groundbreaking ocean-based carbon removal solutions. Planetary Technologies was recognized as a Top 20 finalist in the prestigious $100M Carbon Removal XPRIZE. The event featured a presentation by Mike Kelland, CEO of Planetary Technologies, detailing their innovative approaches and vision for a sustainable future. Following the presentation, Veronica Farmer, VP of Marketing at Wesley Clover International, moderated a fireside chat between Mike Kelland and Jack Gulas, Managing Director of Improving and an early investor in Planetary Technologies. Reflecting on their past experience building a software company, Mike and Jack discussed their transition to addressing climate change through clean technology. The conversation explored the potential of investing in climate-focused innovation from both ethical and business perspectives. Riaz Sidi, Techopia Live Correspondent, also interviewed several attendees, including Mike Kelland (Planetary Technologies), Tiffani Westerman (WCS North America), Sal Masad (Green Carbon Products), Sergey Poltev (CapitalTek), Lindy Ledohowski (RBCx), and Devashish Paul (BluWave-ai). Looking for more information on Techopia? Visit https://obj.ca/techopia for regular updates on Ottawa’s technology sector. You can also sign up for Techopia’s weekly email newsletter: https://obj121.activehosted.com/f/

    8 min
  3. TECHOPIA LIVE WITH SERGEY FROM CAPITALTEK

    APR 4

    TECHOPIA LIVE WITH SERGEY FROM CAPITALTEK

    It’s a familiar story in Ottawa’s tech sector. An immigrant entrepreneur, brimming with technical prowess, settles in the city, scales a startup and achieves business success. This is the story of Sergey Poltev. Born in Russia, Poltev started fixing computers at the age of 12. A few short years later, along with some teenage friends, he launched an Internet cafe and computer gaming shop. Business was booming, until the Russian mafia came calling, causing Poltev to reconsider his future. He sold his share of the business, using the money to travel and study in the U.S. Eventually, Poltev found himself in Ottawa, and established an IT services company that is known today as CapitalTek. Twenty years later, the managed service provider and cybersecurity consultant counts dozens of local businesses and non-profit organizations as his customers. Poltev’s “keep it simple” approach has won him accolades, including a Forty Under 40 award from OBJ and the Ottawa Board of Trade and, more recently, a “MSP Titans of Industry” award. In this episode of Techopia Live, OBJ publisher Michael Curran speaks with Poltev about his entrepreneurial journey, the consolidation of the MSPs and how CapitalTek is staying relevant to customers. Also, Poltev does a hacker show-and-tell to demonstrate some of the hardware that is used to crack into business IT systems and smartphones. Looking for more information on Techopia? Visit https://obj.ca/techopia for regular updates on Ottawa’s technology sector. You can also sign up for Techopia’s weekly email newsletter: https://obj121.activehosted.com/f/

    24 min
  4. Techopia Live @ TechTuesday: Women Leading Tech as Angels and Founders | Episode 278

    MAR 17

    Techopia Live @ TechTuesday: Women Leading Tech as Angels and Founders | Episode 278

    Techopia Live was on location for the special International Women's Day 2025 edition of TechTuesday, hosted by Wesley Clover International in collaboration with L-SPARK, Capital Angel Network, and SheBoot. The monthly event celebrated women in technology as founders and angel investors, featuring startup pitches and a panel discussion. Four startups, Atorvia, I.Liv Performance, Quip Medical, and Sonaro, pitched their innovative solutions to a panel of investors and advisors, including Elza Seregelyi (L-SPARK), Suzanne Grant (Capital Angel Network), and Dr. Lindy Ledohowski (RBCx). The audience voted for their fan favorite, and the best pitch received a $10,000 cash prize. Veronica Farmer of Wesley Clover International moderated a panel featuring angel investors Megan Paterson (COO, Kinaxis), Coreen Bouchard (Founder, PureLogic IT Solutions), and Seema Aurora (Tech Angel Investor & Founder, TAG HR), who shared their experiences and insights. Veronica also interviewed several attendees, including Suzanne Grant (Capital Angel Network), Julia Elvidge (SheBoot), Coreen Bouchard (PureLogic IT), Karina Gasbarrino (Sonaro), and Yoobin Lee (Quip Medical), to gather their input. Looking for more information on Techopia? Visit https://obj.ca/techopia for regular updates on Ottawa’s technology sector. You can also sign up for Techopia’s weekly email newsletter: https://obj121.activehosted.com/f/

    6 min

About

The Ottawa Business Journal is the leading source of business news and information Canada's national capital region. CEOs and business leaders turn to OBJ for the business news they can't find anywhere else – unique and relevant content tailored to business managers, owners, professionals and executives. With a number of media platforms available to reach our audience, Ottawa Business Journal has something for every advertiser. OBJ's scope includes its monthly newsmagazine, the largest business news website in Ottawa, OBJToday daily e-newsletter, active social media channels, a YouTube channel with hundreds of videos, multimedia industry projects and some of Ottawa's premier business events.

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