ToIRL Feb 2024

Welcome to the sixteenth edition of Toronto IRL - where we find the best IRL business + tech events in Toronto, and curate them, so you don’t have to go searching.

Events (Sorted by Date)
🔒 - semi-public, must apply to attend
👤 - I am attending

Web3 Dinner Club Hosted by Superlink
Time & Place: Tues Feb 6 @ King West
Notes: 12max, for startup execs building in web3.
🔒👤 Ticket Link - Free (90% full)

TechTo: Together Hosted by Jason Goldlist
Time & Place: Mon Feb 12 @ Rotman
Notes: Combination of speaker panel + networking + after party. Attracts a very broad audience, so good for expanding beyond your usual network. Speakers may or may not be relevant to you, but production quality is always top notch.
Ticket Link - $40

Founder Poker Hosted by Derek Jouppi
Time & Place: Tues Feb 13 @ Art Haus
Notes: Monthly application-only founders community. Poker is just for fun, and they teach you how to play.
🔒 Ticket Link - Free

Fuckup Nights Hosted by Marsha Druker
Time & Place: Thurs Feb 15 @ Stackt Market
Notes: Speaker panel + networking, where presenters get vulnerable and share a personal career story. Food & beverage for purchase.
Ticket Link - $36

$1M ARR Founder Hotpot Hosted by Eric Lay
Time & Place: Thurs Feb 15th @ Downtown
Notes: Private dinner hosted in partnership with Aquifier and Virio.
Ticket Link

Todotoronto Networking Social, Business Owners Hosted by Nehmat Kaur
Time & Place: Thurs Feb 15th @ Sheraton Centre Toronto
Ticket Link - $30

Networking Night by Staples Studio Hosted by Elsa Khailil
Time & Place: Thurs Feb 15th @ Staples University Ave
Ticket Link - $10

SaaS Partnerships Professionals Private Dinner Hosted by Will Taylor
Time & Place: Thurs Feb 15 @ King West
Notes: SaaS Partnerships professionals only. Limited to 12 attendees
🔒👤 Ticket Link - (50% full)

Roundtable on Branding, Funding & HR Hosted by Ryan Wong
Time & Place: Weds Feb 21 @ CreatorClub
Notes: Speaker panel + networking.
Ticket Link - $30

TechTO: Marketing Hosted by Jason Goldlist
Time & Place: Mon Feb 26 @ 105 George St
Ticket Link - $30 early bird

TO Founders Brew Tech Mixer Hosted by Daivik Goel
Time & Place: Mon Feb 26 @ Amsterdam Brewhouse
Notes: Millennial founders.
Ticket Link - Free

Entrepreneurs and Business Owners Mixer Hosted by Andrea Lo
Time & Place: Thurs Feb 29 @ Goodman Pub and Kitchen
Ticket Link - $30 early bird

Performance Marketing / Growth Leaders Private Dinner Hosted by James Zhao
Time & Place: Thurs March 7 @ King West
Notes: Agency owners or Fractional CMOs. Limited to 12 attendees.
🔒👤 Ticket Link - (90% full)

My Progress on hosting 24 dinners in 2024: 2/24
Last month I brought out 10 Exec Coaches.
If you are an industry leader or influencer with a following, DM me as I have slots for Q2.

Top Reading Of The Month
I came across this diagram from Robert Kiyosaki which really struck a chord. Most people progress in this order: employee, self-employed, business owner, investor.

A lot of people say they are gonna start their own business, but really what they are doing is becoming self-employed. Running a solopreneur agency is an example of this.

To own a business, you should be able to be 100% hands off and still make money. Owning rental properties with a hired property manager is a decent example of this.

Job Postings / Seeking People

My friend is hiring a First Sales Hire at his seed stage HR startup (raised $2M). I am helping him interview candidates. DM me on LinkedIn if you’re qualified.

If anyone knows a business broker, someone who buys and sells businesses in Toronto less than $1M EBITDA, please DM me as I have a buyer interested.

Event Organizers I Am Tracking And Aggregating
RI.Events, TechTO, FuckupNights Toronto, Aceocial, Founders Poker, TodoToronto, TorontoEventHub, Ryan Wong, Daivik Goel, Happier_Social. Sometimes I add Bitcoin Bay / Solana Toronto events if I feel relevant to a broad audience.

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