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Hygienists are ditching dentists’ offices to set up their own clinics
Ashley McCarthy’s workday often starts at a Calgary-area school, but she’s not a teacher. She’s one of an increasing number of dental hygienists who have opened up their own businesses, taking advantage of recent changes in provincial regulations. Story
‘It’s tablet hell': Growth in delivery options leads to ordering chaos for restaurants
There are just sixteen seats at Soufi’s, a downtown Toronto Syrian fast-casual restaurant and no fewer than five tablets propped up on the counter. There’s the point-of-sale system (POS), which serves as the restaurant’s cash register from Square, but also individual tablets for delivery services, including Foodora and Uber Eats, and another for the mobile payment and pickup app Ritual. It’s not pretty and it’s not efficient. Story
Nearly half of Canadian entrepreneurs say mental-health issues interfere with their work, study shows
Crying almost every day was a clue for entrepreneur Jenny Jay that something was wrong. November and December of 2018 were two of the most successful months revenue-wise for her business, the Double Jay Collective, a Greater Toronto Area photography and videography agency. But those months were two of the worst for her mental health. Story
Toronto startup Xanadu raises $32-million to help build ‘world’s most powerful computer’
A Toronto startup aiming to build the world’s most powerful computer by harnessing the quantum properties of light has raised $32-million from leading early stage financiers in Canada and the United States. Story
WHAT WE’RE READING ELSEWHERE
Tech startup founder was forced out of company so investors could make ‘gobs of cash,’ lawsuit claims
A Vancouver woman who launched her own financial tech firm is suing her former backers, alleging that they stole the company from her. Kathryn Loewen, a software developer turned startup entrepreneur, filed a 46-page civil lawsuit in California Superior Court on Jan. 22, accusing seven defendants of fraud and financial improprieties. CBC
‘The priorities have shifted’: Nearly half of Canadian firms plan to spend on employee training, satisfaction
Nearly half of Canadian business leaders surveyed for a new report said they plan to boost spending on skills training for their staff in the next two years. CBC
Kelowna entrepreneur develops low-cost aviation video black box recorder
Ephraim Nowak is hard at work preparing to mass produce his company’s latest development, SkyVU. “It’s a novel cockpit video recorder for small aircraft that are currently not required to use a black box recorder,” said Nowak, CEO of Percept Systems Global News
Debit-card startup says Facebook’s crypto project is ‘ripping off’ its logo
Facebook Inc.’s cryptocurrency project Calibra is drawing more flak. Former Morgan Stanley currency trader Stuart Sopp, now chief executive officer of teen debit-card company Current, accused Facebook of “ripping off” his startup’s logo for its new crypto venture. Current tweeted a comparison of the two images on Wednesday. BNN Bloomberg
A cross-lake ferry from Niagara to Toronto? A P.E.I. startup wants to make it happen
If Paul Paterson can get his idea for a green cross-lake ferry between Toronto and Niagara off the ground, he doesn’t want to be slow about it — but he does want to be careful. Toronto Star