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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, December 9, 2011 · 34 Silicon Halton a forum for hi-tech community By Nathan Howes OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Technology. Community. Growth. These are three ideals that foster the grassroots approach of Silicon Halton (SH). Oakville entrepreneurs Rick Stomphorst and Chris Herbert started the venture two years ago as a platform to provide support and partnerships that encourages growth for those in Halton's hi-tech community. SH members participate in two ways ­ online at its LinkedIn forum, and during monthly meet-ups to discuss their businesses, knowledge and networks. There is no cost to join, and the only rule is you must work or reside in Halton. "We're focused on growing and establishing this roots in our community among IT professionals, entrepreneurs and companies so that they really understand there is a strong presence of technical professionals and people that want to write about tech," said Herbert. "We're all working together establishing a strong foundation of grassroots community that will help companies grow." But SH isn't a typical association ­ there is no pressure or "luring," and it's up to the members to decide where they want to take things. No one is prevented from posting in its LinkedIn group or asking a question at a meet-up, Herbert said. When members meet, , there are four themes to an event and bumped into each other," said Stomphorst. "Here they find the synergy to create more business and wealth between them and hopefully that will materialize into additional jobs as well." Besides the CEO P2P group, there is one for solo entrepreneurs. November's topic was branding because "we all struggle with the same issues, but different perspectives," Stomphorst said. "We try to elevate everyone's level of knowledge one step higher, so we can be more productive, create more jobs, create more wealth for the region," said Stomphorst. An encouraging idea to come out of Silicon Halton is a social media application for sports enthusiasts called yapAgame, Herbert said. "It's like Twitter for sports enthusiasts and fans and athletes. You could be on yapAgame having tweet-like conversations back and forth with Leafs fans about the game coming up, the game currently on (etc)," said Herbert. "YapAgame was facilitated by a Silicon Halton member where he went to a meet-up looking for developers with a business idea. I was using it yesterday (Nov. 13) watching the CFL quarterfinals. It was really neat." Members will be gathering shortly for SH's 26th gathering titled, Why Your Startup Isn't Getting Funded and How To Change It. Typically, between 50 and 60 people attend each one to educate themselves and network with others. "When you create a business, you're creating jobs. When people come to our events, they're vetting their business ideas in a safe forum to get some candid feedback and they're creating companies," said Stomphorst. "The ideas are in their heads ­ they have skills and knowledge. All that exist within this community existed before Silicon Halton. We've just been the glue and we can be a catalyst to help people accelerate their business," Herbert added. SH will host its next meet-up at Dueling Pianos/Wendel Clark's­ Entertainment Central in Oakville on Tuesday, Dec. 13. at 7 p.m. It is located at 370 Dundas St. E. MICHAEL IVANIN / OAKVILLE BEAVER CONNECTED: Chris Herbert, left, and Rick Stomphorst, started Silicon Halton, which owns a virtual entity and provides a platform for Halton tech companies to dream, discuss, develop, test, and launch their business ideas. discussed -- growth, technology innovation, optimization and networking. "We have formalized every type of event we're going to have. When you come to the event, if you're just interested in the educational component of it, we post well in advance what it is going to be so you get some sort of f learning exercise out of that," said Stomphorst. The LinkedIn forum and SH website allows members to discuss ideas and opportunities before and after each meet-up, Stomphorst said. Links to blogs, minutes from the event and questions and answers are posted once the presentation is finished. "By doing that we've really enriched the deepness of the conversation because you have a fighting chance of seeing the person who posted that comment at the next meet up," said Stomphorst. "I'm always telling people outside of Halton if they want to see something really neat to come and watch. People are coming because there is this unique value and learning experience when they do attend." Word of mouth is key to the growth of SH and its current 550-plus membership. The venture has also launched separate peerto-peer (P2P) groups for members ­ including a CEO P2P group involving eight CEO's from companies in Halton. The groups meet monthly on a pre-selected topic or theme. "We've seen CEO's meet each other at the events and recognize there is a synergy between them if they paired up and worked on projects together. These are established companies in Halton with at least 20 to 30 staff each and they didn't know the other existed until they came out AN UNFORGETTABLE DINING EXPERIENCE AWAITS YOU... Cynthia's Chinese Restaurant Young Seniors Discount For Those 55 and Older Mention this ad and your entire table receives a % 20 DISCOUNT December 13, 14 and 15, 2011 Evenings only, reservations required. Enjoy fine Chinese cuisine in an atmosphere with the perfect mix of elegance and exuberance. Live Music Every Thursday Night Beginning at 6:30 pm 2460 Neyagawa Blvd., #1, Oakville 905-338-1818 www.cynthiaschinese.com Look for our flyer in today's paper! 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