Arielle Beaudoin (co-founder and CEO of Lori.Biz), Nadia Lakhdari (VP Programming of C2MTL), Katherine Korakakis (ProMontreal Entrepreneurs), and Despina Sourias (Regional Entrepreneurship Officer)
I was asked recently if attending an expensive conference like C2MTL had any benefit. The truth is, any conference is only as good as the people attending make it. If you are open and ready to meet people, then any conference is good…Right? Right, but C2MTL is a special case. I have been to hundreds of conferences in many countries on a variety of topics and nothing compares to the experience of attending a C2MTL conference.
First of all, the lineup of speakers and their perspectives on business, life and society is unparalleled. The master classes, as they are called, take you on an in-depth ride of a variety of topics by experts in the field, and give you concrete tools and actions that leave you better equipped and considerably more knowledgeable on the topic than before you entered the room.
Despite this, what makes C2MTL stand out above all other conferences is the caliber of the people attending the conference and the atmosphere that the C2MTL team creates. There is no other conference that I’ve attended where all participants are ready and willing to meet with you and talk to you, help you out, give you advice, and share know-how. They are called BrainDates and they are, in my opinion, what makes C2MTL rise above all the rest.
I was able to help out others at the conference who booked a time with me to discuss topics ranging from starting a business, to helping set-up a battered women shelter in a social entrepreneurship model. I was also able to benefit from advice from people at the conference who enlightened me on topics that I’m going to consider going forward in my own work.
So, to answer the question of whether or not C2MTL is worth the money, the answer is a resounding YES. Here are some tips if you can’t afford the ticket:
- You can volunteer. There are many volunteer opportunities available at the conference.
- If you work at a not-for-profit you can get visitor passes to enter C2MTL and although you don’t get access to the main room where the speakers are, you can listen and watch the conferences from the big screen located at the agora.
I hope to see you all next year at the 2016 edition, which I am sure will not disappoint.
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