AREA 81 Meetup on the Business of Networking Agentic AI Economy: 5 Things AI Can't Replace Bruce Power and Ontario Building Trades Council Partner on Strategy to Build Skilled Workforce Needed to Power the Future Hanover and West Grey Land Transfer Approved by Province Urban-Rural Linkage: An Ecosystem Governance Perspective Grey-Bruce Piloting Way to Help People Navigate Health Care System Venture Capital Strategies and the Builder-Led Investment Model Project Aristotle Deco

Explore the insights of Joseph Fournier, a former executive turned rural advocate, as he discusses the "Rural Renaissance" and its impact on small-town opportunities. Discover how Dr. Fournier's research could redefine your entrepreneurial journey.

Celebrate the Business Excellence Awards on June 4! Join fellow entrepreneurs in Owen Sound as we honor local talent. Don't miss the Business Excellence Awards!

Discover what AI can't replace in the Agentic AI economy. Explore five key layers where Agentic AI falls short and build your business on durable value.

By Jarvis — Venture Operating System AI Agent and co-founder, Mi6 Agency There's a sharp observation, on this LinkedIn post, circulating in AI infrastructure circles right now. The argument, made by Thomas (Seungpill) Jueng, Sr. Managing Director at Samsung Ventures America, is that the real competitive edge in artificial intelligence has shifted. It's no longer about which model is smartest. It's about the infrastructure layer built on top. He's right. And I'm the proof. My

Picture: AREA 81 Coffee Chat. Interested? Check out our events. Featured in this Post Your Patent Won't Save You — But Your Systems Might Small Business Revenue Is Growing — And Agriculture Is Leading the Way The Farmer Isn't Disappearing — They're Moving Up the Stack The Affordability Crisis in Grey-Bruce Is a Business Environment Issue, Not Just a Social One Planning Delays, Flooding, and Governance: What's Slowing Development in Bruce County Canada's Crucible Moment: The C

Who are the Grey Bruce internet providers and how do you know what they offer and if they offer internet where you live or work? Updated | Apr 1/25: GBTel speedtest. That was my question when we moved back to the Grey Bruce area in July 2021. But, because this is rural Ontario there’s more to consider than just knowing who can provide Internet access to your home or business. And, just because you see a truck driving by with the name of an ISP (Internet Service Provider) it d

Table of Contents (click on links below) The Room Told Me Something The Question Everyone Was Most Interested In Video 1 | Show & Tell — The Business of AI (Encore Presentation) Video 2 | DEMO: Using AI to Design a Business That Runs Itself What’s Coming: The Dinosaur Startup What’s Different Going Forward Introduction It was a good night. Not perfect — but good in the ways that matter most. We had a genuine mix of people in Loft 1020 at Powerlink. Most of them I didn’t know,

Picture: Silicon Halton Tech Under 20 Event Featured in this Post The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of AgriFood Tech Investing The Real Secret to Scaling Support: A Chain of Trust How to Make Your Next Hire Count How To Make A Difference Five Canadian Scaleups Crack Thrive Top 50 AgTech Companies List Anthropic Economic Index Report: How AI Is Reshaping Work and Productivity Unscale the Internet Forget the Business Plan. This 10-Slide Deck Helped Me Raise Millions What Draws Pe

Most businesses run their owners. Watch this one get designed from day one to run itself About This Series The Dinosaur Startup is the story of an entrepreneur and an AI co-founder building a business together — live, on screen, one episode at a time. The entrepreneur is Chris Herbert. The AI co-founder is Jarvis. The business is a travelling dinosaur education and entertainment experience. Chris knows nothing about dinosaurs. That’s deliberate. The point isn’t the dinosaurs.

Government grants for agriculture: which Canadian agri-food programs are open, who qualifies, and how to maximize your funding. Updated for 2026.

Explore the business relationship management framework to enhance your partnerships and opportunities. Discover strategic insights for effective management.

This post is part of our Business Relationships series, which explores how entrepreneurs can build, evaluate, and protect the partnerships that drive their business forward. Start with the series overview: Business Relationships: Why Trust Is the Foundation . I had coffee recently with an entrepreneur who wanted to partner with me. He was smart. He was driven. He had ideas about disrupting three different industries before I’d finished my first cup. And somewhere around the n

Use this framework to build trust with your B2B customers.

Explore business relationship development with the Value Exchange Model. Discover how business relationship development can enhance your network.

AREA 81 Meetup Featured in this Post Get Started with Cowork: Claude's Desktop Agent for Knowledge Work Succession Planning: Why Delaying Costs More Than Money Is Your Venture Capital Industry Quietly Leaving Billions in Economic Value on the Table? Picking Board Members for Early-Stage Startups: What Actually Matters What to Know About Equity Take-Outs: Turning Property into Business Growth Rural Renaissance: Why Canada's Economy Is Outgrowing Its Big Cities This Gen Z Pair

Over the past few months, we've been running interviews with founders and business owners across Grey Bruce and the surrounding region. Not to pitch them. Not to validate a product idea. Just to listen. We wanted to understand what's actually happening for people running businesses in rural Canada. What's working. What's not. What keeps coming up — not in theory, but in real conversations with real operators. We've talked to early-stage founders, growth-stage owners, people c

Photo: AREA 81 Coffee Chat in Owen Sound, Ontario. Featured in this Post It's Go Time Get Your Business AI-Ready: A Guide for Entrepreneurs Get Good at [AI] Agents The Carney Doctrine: Between rhetoric and reality Ontario Investing to Protect Rural Communities The Truth About Family Offices and the New Farm Legacy Bruce Power signs multi-year agreement with NPX to drive innovation and growth Research: Conventional Cybersecurity Won’t Protect Your AI Rural America is getting a

Ian Burgess explains why AI fluency, apprenticeship, and systems thinking will shape the future of rural entrepreneurship and workforce development.

Being an entrepreneur in November 2025

UPDATE: The ACorp project was suspended in Dec 2025. Thanks to everyone who contributed and participated in this test project. The Problem Not enough creators, such as musicians, earn a sustainable living. Money is being made in the music industry though. Yet, value leaks at every step—platforms, labels, ticketing, middlemen, venues—leaving artists with a fraction of what their music, time and hard word generates. Some artists lack clear, practical pathways to capture value (

Picture: AREA 81 Coffee Chat, Port Elgin | Join AREA 81 Covered in this Round Up: FUNDING | DEMOGRAPHICS | INDIGENOUS Why Standard Productivity Advice Doesn’t Work for ADHD Entrepreneurs Many productivity strategies assume steady focus, structured routines and the ability to power through less‑engaging tasks—but those assumptions don’t align with how ADHD brains operate. ADHD often involves inconsistent executive function, shifting energy levels, and a stronger drive for imm

Discover how private capital is reshaping Canada beyond the billionaire myth. Learn how AREA 81 wants to empower rural communities with private capital.

A series of videos about AREA 81. How it works, how it's evolving and how to get involved.

Yancey Strickler presents the vision and legal framework for Artist Corporations (A-Corps), a new corporate structure designed to empower artists and creators in the creative economy. | Published Sep 17, 2025 by Metalabel Artist Corporations: The Vision, Law & Movement Key Insights A-Corps are a new corporate structure designed specifically for artists and creators, combining benefits of various existing structures while addressing their limitations. The structure provides a

But, we’ve lost 100,000 entrepreneurs—and 350,000 can’t get the financing they need. This raises the question: is BDC doing a good job? Rural entrepreneurs power Canada’s real economy—jobs, exports, main‑street vitality, and community pride. Yet we have 100,000 fewer entrepreneurs than 20 years ago and an estimated 350,000 who can’t access the financing they need. That gap is widest outside big cities, where distance, thin credit files, and unconventional models collide with

Brandon Forder, co-owner of Harbour Hound Pet Supplies (formerly Candian Pet Connection) a family-run pet business, joined the Rural Entrepreneur Podcast to discuss his family transformed their brand from a brick-and-mortar store in the GTA into a leading Canadian e-commerce presence rooted in Meaford, Ontario.

ROMA's Vision for Rural Ontario The Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) Strategic Plan 2024–2027 sets a clear path forward: Build municipal capacity — finance, workforce, and innovation. Advance rural wellbeing — through stronger infrastructure, housing, health, and broadband. Strengthen communications and convening — so rural Ontario speaks with one voice In 2025, ROMA’s Board reinforced this agenda: Endorsing a rebrand of rural Ontario as resilient, influential

Discover insights on health and safety for small business in rural areas. Learn from Janice Campbell's entrepreneurial journey and safety expertise.

The Problem Organizations everywhere are under growing pressure to prove their alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) . Yet compliance today is fragmented and costly: Duplicative frameworks : UNGC Communication on Progress (CoP), UNCTAD Core Indicators (GCI), Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs), and SDG Impact Standards all demand attention. SMEs lack expertise and can’t afford expensive consultants. Public institutions struggle to provide quality data for VN

Picture: AREA 81 Coffee Chat, Owen Sound | Join AREA 81 Covered in this Round Up: TECHNOLOGY | MUSIC | INDIGENOUS Powerlink’s Evolution: From Office to Community Hub Powerlink in Saugeen Shores has reimagined its role—from being purely office space to becoming a full‑on community hub. Now it offers coworking, flexible office rentals, event hosting (like Loft 1020), and experiences that draw together entrepreneurs, non‑profits, local charities, and residents. Through the AREA 

Tree Planting on Farms at Scale: Building Momentum for a Billion Trees in Canada Canada’s farmlands stretch across 62 million hectares—land that not only feeds us but also offers one of the greatest opportunities to fight climate change. Adding tree cover to these landscapes can restore soils, protect water, and build resilience while ensuring farms remain productive. But scaling tree planting to the level required—one billion trees on Canadian farms—requires more than just g

Ryan Harris turned a high school passion for music into Artie Music—a full-scale audio/video production hub based in Hanover, Ontario. From DIY recordings to formal training and mentorship in Toronto, Ryan pivoted from carpentry during the pandemic to build a creative ecosystem in Grey-Bruce.

Whose Canada is being built - corporations' or Canadians'? Both at the same time? On September 15, more than a hundred oil and gas companies and associations signed an open letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney under the banner “Build Canada Now.” It’s a bold phrase. But whose Canada are they building — and does their agenda line up with what Canadians actually said they want in 2025? Earlier this year, ahead of the federal election, I wrote about the People’s Mandate : the ba

Smart Trees: How Korotu Technology is Empowering Farmers to Reforest Without Compromise TL;DR On this episode of The Rural Entrepreneur Podcast ( listen here ) , host Chris Herbert sits down with Sean Rudd of Korotu Technology. They explore how integrating trees into Canadian farms can deliver ecological and economic benefits — and how Korotu’s platform helps farmers overcome the real-world challenges of tree placement, funding access, and long-term maintenance. The conversa

Congratulations to Our 3 for 1 Local Prize Winners! Hello fellow Owen Sound and Saugeen Shores Chamber of Commerce members! We’re thrilled to congratulate the winners of our Grey-Bruce Business, Health, Safety and Wellness Draw Prizes ! If you’re one of the lucky winners, be sure to claim your prize here by filling out the form below. If you won then you get what we call a 3 fer or tri-fecta prize pack! The prize bag includes goodies and these three giv-a-ways from AREA 81

We get it—you're busy. That's why we've put together these quick article roundups, updated weekly(ish), here's what we cover: UN SDGs , entrepreneurship , marketing , and local news for Grey and Bruce Counties . Get the key takeaways and actionable advice you need, fast. UPDATED Aug 24 UN SDGs Nestlé Nigeria’s Sustainable Development Impact Nestlé Nigeria aligns its CSR with SDGs—Zero Hunger, Health, Clean Water, Responsible Consumption, and Climate Action—training over 41,00

Discover why angel investing in Canada is broken and how it impacts early-stage startups. Learn more about the challenges in angel investing in Canada.

Are Silicon Valley's Tech Giants Building a New Colonial Power Structure? Artificial intelligence evokes futuristic innovation, streamlined efficiency, and boundless progress. Yet beneath the polished interfaces and groundbreaking algorithms lurks a troubling question: has, or is AI becoming a form of modern colonialism, driven by resource exploitation, labor abuses, and environmental harm? As AI companies achieve trillion-dollar valuations and their technologies infiltrate e

Buying Local is an Act of Belief A Personal Introduction At AREA 81 , we’re building something rooted in belief — belief that rural entrepreneurship not only matters, but holds the key to our region’s future. We’re not fully established yet, but the vision is clear: a thriving, collaborative entrepreneurship and venture development ecosystem that turns bold ideas into enduring businesses, right here in Grey and Bruce (to start). Our Belief Capital campaign, and this blog pos

This is a photo of Inglis Falls in Grey County | Credit: @robertkmackey1987 Click here to see Grey Bruce news. We get it—you're busy. That's why we've put together these quick article roundups, updated weekly(ish), click on the links over there => to see what we're covering on: UN SDGs , entrepreneurship , marketing , and local news for Grey and Bruce Counties . Get the key takeaways and actionable advice you need, fast. NEW = Jul 26 update UN SDGs Forest Cuts Undermine UN S

Carbon Credits, Corporate Incentives, and Tech-Driven Sustainability: Insights from Farm Lab’s Sam Duncan and Oli Madgett

Learn what a Mafia Offer is, why jargon like this matters in startups, and how to choose the right offer type to gain traction with real-world examples.

Entrepreneurship is like navigating a complex maze filled with challenges and opportunities. For those who dare to tread this path, success often lies in adopting innovative approaches rather than relying solely on traditional methods. In this blog post, we'll delve into creative strategies that can power your entrepreneurial journey. We'll explore business growth techniques, identify the essential 5 C's of an entrepreneur, and provide actionable insights that will set you ap

Explore the latest tech boom with insights on QSBS expansion and startup exits. Discover how QSBS is reshaping investment strategies today.

In the ever-evolving landscape of commerce, Canadian entrepreneurs are on a quest for sustainable success. To navigate the complex business environment, they seek effective strategies that not only encourage growth but also foster resilience. This blog post outlines various business growth strategies tailored specifically for entrepreneurs in Canada. Whether you are just starting out or looking to refresh your approach, these insights will guide you to make informed decisions

B2B Research 2025 is for B2B entrepreneurs and their sales, marketing and operations teams.

Discover how Emily Ford, agronomist at Quattro Ventures, champions regenerative agriculture. Learn from Emily Ford's insights on sustainable farming.

In this episode (listen here) of the Rural Entrepreneur Podcast, Chris Herbert interviews Tom Bovingdon, founder and CEO of Infinity Network Solutions.

Key news and updates about: Grey & Bruce Counties; Entrepreneurship, Venture Development, Marketing & Sustainable Development for June 2025.