You might notice some of my ads around the Engineering and Math buildings. The ad looks like this:

I’m looking for someone that’s interested in starting a business with me in the advergaming market. You can read more about advergaming here:

It’s a Game. No, It’s an Ad. No, It’s Advergame

Wikipedia - Advergaming

How Advergaming Works

I need someone that is talented in Flash, ActionScript and/or Photoshop. Read more about the idea here.

Let me know if you’re interested! Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

- Peter Kao

I’m not going to lie to you, this is probably the most useful post thus far on my blog (if you’re a young entrepreneur, that is).

Here’s the list of all the grants and loans (aka free money) for young Canadian entrepreneurs residing in Ontario:
Ontario:

Youth Entrepreneurship Partnerships Grants for NON-PROFIT Organizations- provides funding of up to $100,000 per year for up to 3 years to non-profit organizations in Ontario that facilitate the development of an enterprising culture amongst Ontario’s youth (typically between the ages of 12 – 29) by providing them with educational, experiential, and entrepreneurial opportunities and programs.
Young Entrepreneurs Program: Summer Company - up to $3000 for students between 15 and 29 to start a summer business.

Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program - not clear on the benefits, it’s like an “after hours” co-op program for more info contact:
Ministry of Education and Training – MET Hotline Telephone: (416) 326-5656, 1-800-387-5656

For the complete list, click here

Enjoy.

- Peter Kao

I was pretty amazed to see this on the bulletin board (the physical one and not the digital one, silly) the other day.

It’s a brand new student residence dedicated for University of Waterloo students who wish to start their own businesses on campus. The poster and website don’t explain a whole lot, but here is the gist of it…

[Read more]

My apologies to my peers who were volunteers at the Canadian Undergraduate Technology Conference ‘08, but the conference was really really bad. The atmosphere of the event felt very “last minute.” The delegates were rude, clique-y and anti-social. Presenters, who are the main attractions and contributors to the conference, were only given t-shirts as prizes. This made me feel both embarrassed and a bit ticked off. Also, the TechExpo blew too. It was suppose to showcase emerging technologies, but instead was an open-floor for companies to promote themselves or recruit undergrads.

Well, that was my one minute rant. Any longer might be considered to be offensive (not that it hasn’t ticked off the volunteers already.

- Peter Kao

In addition to my last article, Best Countries to Start a Business, here’s a list of the best states for startups which is also from Fortune Small Business. You can read the full article here, but I have provided summaries for the top 5 below:

1. South Dakota

No tax on personal income, capital gains or corporate income. Little crime and low energy costs.

2. Nevada

No tax on personal income, capital gains or corporate income and low property taxes. However, consumption and gas taxes are one of the highest in the nation.

3. Wyoming

No tax on personal income, capital gains, corporate income or capital gains. Cheap electric utility costs and gas taxes, but high in property and consumption-based taxes.

[Read more]