Collision Conference 2024
The Collision Conference, North America's fastest-growing technology conference, captivated attendees along with Sprout’s Co-Founder & Managing Director, Dean Hefford with groundbreaking discussions spanning the future of AI, Content Marketing, and innovative startup solutions.
Toronto’s status as leading tech hub across North America shone bright as it served host to leaders in technology.
Held at the Enercare Centre in Toronto June 17-20th, the event brought together industry leaders, business owners & founders, along with visionaries to explore the future of technology across various sectors.
Why are we covering this?
Because it’s touted as the Olympics of Tech. And Toronto is its host. The event welcomed:
40,000+ attendees from 130+ countries
800+ speakers
2,000+ next-generation startups
1,000+ world-leading investors
300+ global partners
1,400+ journalists
Some key takeaways included:
Startup Inspiration and Innovation
Collision continued to serve as a platform for startups of various stages to showcase their innovations and draw inspiration from industry leaders. The Pitch stage served as a hub for entrepreneurs to pitch venture capitalists, and investors as they spoke to their business ideas. The event's diverse range of topics and speakers also provided valuable insights for entrepreneurs looking to make their mark in the tech world.
Toronto's Tech Ecosystem on Display
The City of Toronto took center stage at the conference with its dedicated pavilion, highlighting the city's thriving tech ecosystem. Visitors to the pavilion learned about Toronto's support for technology industries and its role in fostering growth and innovation. The Toronto Board of Trade, City of Toronto and Toronto Global were all in attendance.
The pavilion showcased home-grown technologies and capabilities in AI, CleanTech, and Creative Technology, including video game production and immersive entertainment. It also served as a platform to attract potential investors from other countries and connect local companies with potential backers at the conference.
Exploring the Collision Expo Floor
One of the primary attractions at Collision is the giant expo floor, where growing startups, established tech giants, and innovative companies showcase their latest products and services. As we walked the conference floor we saw innovation, engaged with industry leaders, and discovered cutting-edge solutions shaping the future of business.
Content Marketing – What’s next?
It was clear this year any talk of content marketing spoke to the importance of storytelling. This applies to all forms of information, including articles, social media, YouTube videos, podcasts, you name it.
The internet today is overflowing with information. Finding the right answer to almost any question is relatively easy and quick. As AI technology continues to grow, accessing information has become even more convenient for everyone.
Key takeaways?
No surprise to us, it’s what we love to do best – storytelling, and the human connection.
Attracting the attention of a potential audience should not be done through dry facts but through engaging stories. To captivate, these stories should be useful, entertaining, or inspiring.
The success of Collision Conference 2024 in Toronto serves as a testament to the city's and Canada's growing importance in the global tech landscape. We're proud to be based somewhere consistently increasing the talent pool and changing the way things are done, particularly in technology and innovation.
‘The city’s commitment to diversity plays a pivotal role.’ MOHARA, May 2024.
Diversity, education and immigration all play a factor in why Toronto is often considered the 'Silicon Valley of the North'.
At Sprout, we’re energized at the ability to see the growth of business in Canada first hand. The amount of new ideas, innovative products and business solutions was overwhelming! It is sure that AI is just scratching the surface with its application to business, and the future of work.
So what’s next?
We must support these evolving companies as they scale and move to and across the country, as well as globally. As we bid farewell to this year's event, we look forward to the continued evolution of technology, and the exciting innovations that will undoubtedly be unveiled at future conferences.
The Sprout team are heading to CERC in Montréal in September. Get in touch at hello@sprout.global if you’ll be in attendance too - we’d love to chat!