In 2018, I learned about the Collision conference in the same way that most Canadians did: through a widely shared video from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Collision conference
Collision initially requested $3.8 million, a free venue, free internet, and paid travel for press, speakers, and its team, as first reported by the industry publication BetaKit.
It currently receives approximately $6.5 million per year. That money is used to put on a flashy event with a celebrity lineup, a massive mailing list, a shady history, and even search ads against homegrown Canadian conferences like Startupfest. Collision is now asking for $40 million to stay in Toronto. Our governments must refuse this request.
It would not make a good partner if it were a spouse. Toronto is its third city, following Las Vegas and New Orleans.
The company’s self-proclaimed business model is to “love ’em and leave ’em,” extorting host cities and enriching itself with a three-year global bidding war.
Collision’s sister event, Websummit, relocated from Dublin to Lisbon after the city resisted its demands. Lisbon agreed to a prenuptial agreement, which is a 10-year contract with penalties for early termination. Despite this, Websummit Rio will take place in 2024.
Then there’s the International Startup Festival, which I founded and is simply known as Startupfest around the world.
Since 2011, it has been a watershed moment for Canadian and international entrepreneurs, growing 40% year over year and welcoming nearly 60 countries to Canada. Startupfest operates on a shoestring budget, with only a small amount of government funding.
In fact, our growth slowed for the first time in 2019, when our government effectively paid the foreign-owned Collision to come here and compete with us.
Consider what Startupfest could accomplish with $40 million. Or a level playing field, for that matter.
There’s no denying that Collision is a fantastic piece of entertainment. It’s entertaining to hear household names and movie stars discuss their successes, but unless you have millions of dollars and millions of followers, there’s not much a fledgling startup can learn from these stories.
Any Startupfest attendee, on the other hand, will tell you about hands-on learning, unparalleled access to world-class experts, and a genuine sense of belonging.
To read our blog on “Collision 2023: Innovate with Canada B2B program of TCS,” click here
