History of Startup Edmonton

Startup Edmonton began in 2009 as an entrepreneur-led nonprofit working to grow Edmonton’s emerging creative and tech economy through events connecting the next-generation of entrepreneurs, investors, developers and creatives. 

The initial team at Startup Edmonton was Ken Bautista, Cindy Fulton, Mark Donovan, and Cam Linke, which formed in conjunction with the Launch Party, a networking event without formal presentations or panels, just about giving an opportunity for companies to demo their products in an informal way. 

During this time, a group called the Founders 50, a network of prominent entrepreneurial leaders working to support Startup Edmonton’s mission and vision to ignite creativity and entrepreneurial thinking in our city offered resources and support. 

From there, Startup Edmonton grew, moving into the Mercer Warehouse in 2012, offering co-working space, membership benefits and special events and programming. 

In 2014, Startup Edmonton transferred ownership from being a stand-alone non-profit to being part of the Edmonton Economic Development Corporation. Since that time it has grown each year, offering a widening number of companies a growing number of services and programming options. All the while, Startup Edmonton has continued to host Launch Party, which had its tenth anniversary in 2019. 

In 2021, Startup Edmonton moved from the EEDC to a newly specialized Innovate Edmonton. 

If you want to learn more about the first Launch Party, you can complete the time travel journey and read Mack Male’s report on the event at the time. 

As we take the next step in our journey as the newly named Edmonton Unlimited, we’re here to assure that the programs and people that make Startup Edmonton special are not going anywhere. We are excited and we are here for innovators, big thinkers and problem solvers in Edmonton. We can’t wait for what’s to come, and we include you to join us as harness Edmonton’s limitless potential.