Inaugural Haltech awards showcase local success by Nathan Howes Special to the Beaver 13 | Thursday, June 9, 2016 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com Tech-savvy organizations like Haltech Regional Innovation Centre are helping make Halton a hotbed for innovation, says Michele Romanow. Co-founder of Buytopia.ca and entrepreneur on CBC's Dragons' Den, Romanow was the keynote speaker at the inaugural Halton FUTURES Innovation Summit and Awards Thursday (June 2), held at the Oakville Conference Centre. Romanow headlined a list of speakers from global corporations, high-growth startups and research leaders from the area and beyond. Haltech, which works with tech entrepreneurs and companies to accelerate innovation for business growth, hosted the event in partnership with Halton Region and its four municipalities. With Halton in close proximity to Waterloo and Toronto, where there are many prominent technological firms, Romanow said it gives the region a "ton of advantages to take forward." "I think there are great organizations here, like Haltech, that really allow you to meet the innovators, meet people that commercialize technology and really build something special," Romanow told the Oakville Beaver in an interview following her presentation. She said Halton has the potential to establish itself as a major hub for startups since businesses must grow and be global in their reach. Romanow cited Bill Mantel (assistant recent years, Romanow said many things can be done to address the issue, particularly how "we plan areas, the way we have government support and infrastructure, and the way we provide tax breaks," to allow local businesses to remain open. "You need to build environments to support entrepreneurs and support local businesses, as well, because I think that's one of the reasons we get to have really rich communities," she said. Before age 30, Romanow created four businesses and completed an engineering degree and MBA from Queen's University. She said it isn't easy for anyone to start a business, and she focused on her next opportunity when she started her career. "You find what you're looking for, so if you look for all the times you see discrimination, you'll probably find it. If you look for all the awesome opportunities that are out there, you will find them," said Romanow. The Dragon launched her first business, the Tea Room, a zero-waste coffee shop on campus, in 2006 while studying engineering. She then created Evandale Caviar, a verticallysee Path on p.32 Michele Romanow deputy minister, Ontario Ministry of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure), who, at the event, stated two per cent of the global economy comes from Canada, which is a "really important insight," she said. "When we think about this, there's nothing wrong with building a great company in Halton. But having tons of ties to Waterloo and tons of ties to Toronto, where you leverage all those resources, and then start to grow from there, is key," said Romanow. While numerous small- and medium-sized businesses in downtown Oakville have closed in THE SUMMER HEAT IS COMING NOW IS THE TIME TO REPLACE YOUR FURNACE AND AIR CONDITIONER! $ UP TO WITH CARRIER IN REbATES CASH COOL 1,715 APPLEBY SYSTEMS Delivering Home Comfort from our family to yours sinCe 1967 *Limited Time offer. O.A.C. See store for details. 10 YEAR PARTS & LABOUR WARRANTY* We Service All Makes of Central Air Conditioners and Gas Furnaces LE B A U VAL PON COU& SAVE CLIP Count on the professionals to ensure your system keeps you cool all summer long. Have a system tune-up on your furnace, air conditioner and or fireplace and receive up to $45.00 off. Limited time offer and cannot be combined with any other offer. MAINTENANCE OFFER · 24 HOUR EMERGENCY SERVICE · QUALIFIED MECHANICS · QUALITY WORKMANSHIP APPLEBY SYSTEMS FIREPLACE, HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING CONTRACTORS SHOWROOM 2086 Speers Rd. Oakville Mon - Fri 8AM - 5PM Saturday 11AM - 4PM SHOWROOM PHONE 24 hr hotline OAKVILLE 905-825-1893 BURLINGTON 905-335-3203 HAMILTON 905-540-9153 905-825-1929 www.applebysystems.ca