On May 10th, Nuscreen took a short walk down the street to the Rangle.io office to attend Rightsleeve’s second ‘Market’ event. Rightsleeve, headquartered in mid-town Toronto, specializes in creating branded merch for companies. Market is an event series they created which aims to connect startups with marketing specialists and other industry professionals. Through a panel of experts, startups are able to gain expert advice in front of an audience. If you haven’t started following Rightsleeve and their event series we suggest you do!

The first speaker of the night was marketing veteran Jeff Goldenberg, author of Growth Hackers and Head of Growth at Borrowell and TechStars Mentor –Nuscreen got a signed copy( Thanks Jeff!). We have been passing it around the office so expect a review very soon!

Next, three startups pitched their business to the audience and finished it off with a a question directed to the expert panel. Among the panel were Amanda Connon-Unda, Sr. Marketing and Communications Manager at Rangle.io, Saul Colt, Director of Non-Traditional Marketing at Hubba, Melissa Nightingale, Head of Marketing at Wattpad, and Michael Riley, President & CEO at Proof Craft Spirits.

Pitch #1: Hi Mama

Hi Mama (Happiness is Memories and Magic) is an app created for Early Childhood Educators and caregivers to communicate with parents. It provides a quick and easy way for childcare programs or caregivers to record and share the child’s activities ranging from fun activities to important milestones in the child’s life. Hi Mama is currently investing heavily in content creation, as it is their leading traffic generator. Additionally, they have created their own awards such as “The ECE (Early Childhood Education) Award” and a “Daycare Spotlight”.

High quality content ALWAYS matters for a startup. You have to keep your standards high, because high quality content adds credibility to a new name and contributes to brand recognition. The value of content is significant, whether it is for a long-term or short-term objectives. Saul Colt (Hubba) encouraged HiMama to find creative ways to get PR coverage — starting with local press — to spread some of the financial burden and responsibility of a marketing campaign. Doubling up on credibility is key, especially when the service involves children.

Pitch #2: Stathletes

Stathletes is a company that takes pride in being able to dissect information in the game of professional hockey like none other — quite literally, as their data collection is higher than any other sport analytic software. Their process systematically breaks down the game, providing information on players and team performance tendencies. They were even recently featured on TSN.

Stathletes posed a question about who to focus their marketing on. Saul advised them to “pick one group and beat that group to death”. Stathletes’ media coverage is high, and with a focused marketing plan, they are sure to be very successful.

Pitch #3: Optimity

Optimity focuses on illness prevention and employee wellness. When employees are happy and healthy, your business is much more effective and efficient! The “Optimity Wellness Program” is a centralized data driven hub which is designed to manage wellness initiative, improve engagement and reduce health costs. The app syncs with your calendars, and helps make an employee’s day more productive and healthy, such as reminding you to drink a glass of water or encouraging healthier nutrition.

Their current marketing demographic is the HR department, however the most success has been when the Founder, (Jane Wang), is able to speak face-to-face with the CEO or key decision maker in the organization. The panelists said that in order to succeed, Optimity needs to refine and define what the value of product is and why a CEO should invest in it.

Rightsleeve’s Market was an educational and inspirational event. Everyone gave genuine feedback and was incredibly supportive of one another. We had a great time being surrounded by our fellow entrepreneurs and listening to advice that we ourselves could implement within our own business and for our clients.