Discovery 12 Conference Sets World Record

^[1]328 of the brightest minds in Canada speed-networked their way to setting the newest Guinness World Record in the Most People Attending a Business Speed Networking Event – Single Venue category at the Discovery 12 conference ^[2]hosted by Ontario Centres of Excellence ^[1].

The World’s Largest Business Mentoring event is the first to set the “Most People Attending a Business Speed Networking Event – Single Venue” record. The event brought more than 160 of the brightest business leaders in the country together in one room with over 160 eager entrepreneurs in a timed networking event

To achieve the record, the World’s Largest Business Mentoring Event had to have a minimum of 250 participants; be timed; and each participant had to achieve a minimum of 20 distinct interactions lasting three-minutes each that were recorded and verified on-site by an official Guinness World Records judge. ^[3]

‘This is a tremendous achievement and a unique once-in-a-lifetime experience for both the mentors and protégés involved in the event,” says Dr. Tom Corr, President and CEO, Ontario Centres of Excellence. “The intensity and knowledge-sharing that happened on the floor could not be replicated like this anywhere else. It has also given participants the foundation to form new and on-going dialogue that could result in future partnerships and collaborations which is really exciting.”

“I would like to extend my congratulations to the Ontario Centres of Excellence and to the over 300 mentors and participants who made achieving the World Record for the largest business mentoring event a reality,” said Brad Duguid, Minister of Economic Development and Innovation. “The room was full of creative minds and endless possibilities – a clear demonstration of commitment to building Ontario’s innovation economy.”

“The success of this record was derived from the level of detail that went into organizing it,” adds Philip Robertson, Adjudicator, Guinness World Records. “This particular record was attempted before unsuccessfully. But this time, it wasn’t just about the record, it was important to see the protégés and mentors walk away with a meaningful exchange.”

The event ran in a speed-networking format and was facilitated by Canada’s queen of networking, Donna Messer, author, speaker and trainer for ConnectUs Communications Canada. Ontario Centres of Excellence worked with Jeremy O’Krafka founder of MENTORnetwork a business that works with entrepreneurs serving organizations to support their mentorship programs through mentor recruitment, training, events and program management, to assist in structuring the event.

Some of the notable participating mentors included:

• Sir Terry Matthews, Founder and Chairman, Wesley Clover
• Bill Tatham, CEO, NexJ Systems
• Albert Lai, Big Viking Games
• David Teten, Partner, ff Venture Capital
• Rick Segal Founder, Fixmo
• Doug Cooper, Co-Founder, Splintir

Participating protégés included

• Oleg Gutsol and Evgeny Tchebotarev, CEOs and Co-Founders of 500px
• Alexander Rink, CEO of Gazaro
• Mohan Nadarajah, PlayLabs

Discovery brings together the best and brightest minds in industry, investors, academia, and government to showcase leading-edge technologies, best practices and research in the areas of clean energy, advanced health, digital media and information and communications technologies and advanced manufacturing. Named Canada’s Best Trade Show for two year’s running (2010 and 2011), the annual Conference and Showcase attracts approximately 2600 attendees and over 350 exhibitors.

DAY 2 Highlights include:

• Making tomorrow’s grid smarter, greener and more cost effective – novel ways of storing electrical energy with companies including Temporal Power, Electrovaya, London Hydro and Hydrostor

• How Blue is your Bottom Line – How communities and businesses are addressing their bottom lines to make water a priority and taking advantage of its opportunity

• David Teten, serial entrepreneur, Partner with ff Venture Capital and Founder and Chairman of the Harvard Business School Alumni Angels of Greater New York, will discuss free and ridiculously-low-cost tools to refine a start-up idea and provide insights into what you can learn from the customers who need your solution the most

• How Ontario is growing globally competitive companies in the water sector while implementing solutions in our own communities and providing high-value jobs

• See the next generation of rapid prototyping technology with examples of parts being made right before your eyes

• Discovery Innovation Showcase – Explore over 200,000 sq. feet of new ideas, innovations and solutions in CleanTech, Health, Digital, Information and Communications Technologies, Advanced Manufacturing and more, that are shaping the future of Ontario