You're building a tech company here. You've heard the siren call to Silicon Valley. In every sense, the Valley is "it" for all things tech -- a hotbed for top talent, expertise, networks and capital. But while the allure is strong, there are many great reasons not to be there. CEO and co-founder Mike McDerment has spent a decade building FreshBooks, a cloud-based accounting software company with more than 10 million users, from here in Toronto. Please join us at our next Quarterly Dinner on March 25th as Mike shares his experience building from home and his vision for a thriving Canadian tech sector. Mike's talk will be moderated by Howard Gwin. 

Following Mike's presentation we will be holding our first Annual General Meeting. At this AGM we will be conducting some important business for AceTech including:

• approving our new bylaws
• voting in a slate of Directors for the Board
• reviewing the 2014 Annual Financial Statements
• sharing the 2015 Vision and Strategy for the Organization

We are very hopeful that all of our CEO and Executive members can attend.   For those that cannot, your roundtable leader will be providing and collecting Proxies to allow them to vote on your behalf.  Please fill one out if you are unable to attend.  Invitations have already gone out.  Be sure to register online to attend. 

While at first blush a User Conference might seem like a simple yes or no proposition, something that has more to do with the size you are at than the value you might gain from it, the decision to host and effectively execute an exceptional User Conference can have an incredible impact on your business.

A User Conference is a forum for your customers to collaborate. A place where they upsell each other without you even being part of the conversation. It`s a unique opportunity for you to inspire and excite them with what is on the horizon and for their fellow users to show off the unique ways they are leveraging your technology. The connections that are made at a User Conference last well beyond the conference itself, it`s a breeding ground for smaller regional and industry user groups. Done well, a User Conference is the cornerstone of your retention marketing strategy, it delivers upsell revenue, stickiness and brings you closer to your customers than you could have imagined.

In this talk Kristy Sadler, VP Global Marketing at Intelex, will cover not only what it takes to put on a great User Conference but how to structure that conference so it has positive long term impacts for your business. The audience will hear how the Intelex User Conference initially hosted just 70 clients and has grown to over 230 clients, 5 sponsors and 19 speakers in just five years.

Invitations have gone out to our members.  Be sure to register online to attend!

Public Software, SaaS and Internet Company Financial Performance

Software Industry Mergers and Acquisitions

Software, SaaS and Internet Deals: Transaction Volumes, Median Exit Valuations, Highest Value Categories, and Market Insights

Software M&A 2015: What Lies Ahead?

Results of our 2015 Buyers Survey and What It Means for You

Exit Timing: Our Latest Research and Guidance

Knowing When, and How, to Achieve Your Highest Exit Multiple

 And finally:

Lessons Learned From Guiding and Advising Three Thousand Software Companies Over 25 Years:

Topics Currently Under Consideration:

• The Software Company Achilles Heel: How to Overcome It

• Pricing Licenses, Subscriptions and Services: Knowing When to Hold 'Em or Raise

• Revenue vs. Profit: Choosing Wisely When You Can't Have It All

• R&D and Product Strategies That Propel Higher Exit Multiples: Out Front or Far Ahead?

• Growth Equity Tradeoffs: Are You Really Investment Needy, and Worthy? Are You Prepared for the Downside?

• Stock Options: When Sharing the Wealth Doesn't Make Sense

• Board Governance: Be Careful What You Ask For

• Your Management Team: How It Impacts Salability and Exit Value

• Know Your Limits: When and Where to Get Help

• Business Wisdom: Buddhist Practices and The Mindful CEO

Attention Acetech Annual Retreat Attendees: Want some guidance about an area that's particularly troubling to you? Suggest an additional area you'd like Ken to cover during his keynote by emailing [email protected]
 

Leadership on the Edge - Lessons learned on the world's great mountains

We are thrilled to confirm that Tony vanMarken will be joining us at our Annual Retreat in June.  Tony uses unique video footage and photographs from over 30 high altitude expeditions including his ascent of Everest and the SevenSummits to provide audiences with a powerful and inspiring audiovisual experience.

With a look back at some of the great successes and failures in the world of mountaineering as well as his own experiences Tony looks at the lessons learned on the world's great mountains and how they can be applied in a business context.