What to do at Collision 2022 Toronto

Collision Conference 2022 (make sure you use the #collisionconf in your social media) will be an incredible experience for everyone attending, but it can be overwhelming for those who are attending for the first time. So I wanted to give a perspective on what you can expect from Collision, which is rightfully earning the title of "fastest growing tech conference" in North America.

This means that you can expect a lot of meetings, organized or random to occur, and they can be as fruitful as you are prepared. To set the stage, there will be over 33,000 attendees from over 140 Countries, representing entrepreneurs, investors, industry partners and media. Regardless of your own status, there are some common things that will make your experience better.

To start download the Collision app ahead of time.

There are a number of things that you can do, including setting up your profile, establishing who and what you are looking for, and providing you with suggestions ahead of time so you can make connections and set up meetings with the people who can make the greatest impact during your time at Collision.

Not only will you be provided a list of recommendations, you can search for specific industries, investors, partners, media or companies where you can request a connection and begin a chat. When someone connects with you, you will have access post conference for follow up. So make sure you send me a request and I'll be happy to connect.

You will also have a schedule of all events in the app, where you can search by tracks. For example, you will see tracks such as ContentMakers, Crypto, Future Societies, MoneyConf, Venture etc. Schedule also has a curated section that can help you find events based on your role or interest. For example, for designers, for developers, for investors, for women in tech etc.

You will want to go through these as multiple events, panels and presentations are occurring everywhere throughout the conference across 9 stages. By knowing where you want to prioritize, you are in a much better position to be in the places you need to be, learning the content you came to understand, and surrounded by the people you want to meet. Add them to your schedule and you will be ready to make the most of your time at Collision.

In addition to events, there is a very large exhibition with exhibitors from around the world. They change each day. So don't make the mistake of thinking you can go back to one that interests you the next day. They won't be there.

The exhibits are broken out into different industries, stages of the business and grouped together in sections on the exhibition floor. Depending on your interests, you will want to do a quick sweep to get your bearing and find out who is exhibiting on each day. As of today, we don't know where eQuo will be, or on what day. So make sure you leave enough time in between sessions to hit the exhibition floor. Better yet, find out what companies you want to make sure you see on the app, and connect with the companies to arrange a meeting.

If you happen to be an exhibitor, you will have access to a special area with seating. It is a great area to meet with people. But the exhibition ground is very large. You can also set up meetings in various other areas throughout the area, including the food court which is located inside, or even in the areas located outside on a nice day.

There is a lot happening during the day, but there are also fun things to do at night, after all, this is Toronto. For anyone who hasn't been to Toronto, the city is very, very safe. You will want to observe normal precautions in any large city, but there is a lot to do and explore.

Getting your bearing, the conference is located at Exhibition Place, commonly known as the CNE, or Canadian National Exhibition Grounds. It is to the South of Toronto and you will be able to access Taxi's or Uber very easily to get around. Toronto is a great city to walk, but you will want to grab a ride to any one of the 158 neighbourhoods that make up Toronto (https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/data-research-maps/neighbourhoods-communities/). If you get lost, remember the lake is always to the south, and Toronto is set up on a grid. Everything marked East, is located to the east of Yonge Street, and everything marked West, is West of Yonge Street. Yonge really is the central street for the city.

Some great places to start are Queen West (https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attractions-g155019-Activities-zfn8150907-Toronto_Ontario.html), Chinatown (https://www.tripadvisor.ca/AttractionsNear-g155019-d155491-Chinatown-Toronto_Ontario.html), Liberty Village (https://diaryofatorontogirl.com/liberty-village-toronto/), Downtown (https://www.thecutlerychronicles.com/things-to-do-downtown-toronto/).

You can also check out a new addition to Toronto, called the Stakt market, Canada's largest shipping container market. (https://stacktmarket.com/) It's really amazing with lots to do.

If you have some time, the Distillery district is always amazing as well, but it is located further East of the city, closer to the Don Valley River. (https://www.thedistillerydistrict.com/)

For restaurants, you literally can't name a type of food that isn't available in Toronto. From cheap and tasty to expensive and memorable, there will be a lot to choose from. Here is a list to get you going, but ask around for peoples favourites. https://www.cntraveler.com/gallery/best-restaurants-in-toronto I'm going to recommend that you head to Kensington Market (https://www.kensington-market.ca/) where you will have access to multiple restaurants, and you are literally beside Chinatown.

I hope that this has been useful. Enjoy Collision 2022 Toronto and enjoy Toronto. Feel free to reach out to me directly in the Collision app, via LinkedIn, or stop by the eQuo exhibit. I'll update this once we are confirmed on the date and location.

And please check out what we're doing as eQuo (www.equoshift.com)

About eQuo

90% of our entrepreneurs are building "small" companies, yet our infrastructure is made for scale-ups pursuing billion-dollar valuations.

There's a mismatch in the marketplace, and founders building smaller businesses — no matter how great or profitable they may be — don’t have access to the same support.?

And, if those founders happen to be persons with disabilities, non-heterosexual, non-cisgender or facing geographic, gender, racial or wealth barriers… they're even less likely.

eQuo is changing that.

We’re building the first matchmaking platform that connects small businesses with investors, capital, customers, and talent. With eQuo, entrepreneurs get access to the support they need to grow, while accredited and retail investors get access to great small businesses.