LP Maurice

My 2013 Year in Review

LP Maurice
LP Maurice
Dec 31, 2013 · 4 min read

Hey 2013, you’ve been amazing!

Let’s take a quick look back.

Launches

Here are a few projects I’ve launched in 2013:

  • Swell. Yup, this was the year where I decided to start writing and sharing back some of my thoughts with the world. Since August, I’ve published 30 posts for a total of approx. 40,000 words. Read the blog.
  • Start-up Open House Montreal. On October 30th, over 1,200 participants connected with 40+ startups around Montreal. The idea was to open up Montreal’s vibrant start-up community for other Montrealers and visitors to discover. Check it out.
  • GeoDonation: Launched in December, the site attracted 1000 visitors in its first week. The non-profit project is a giving map that indexes 1,000 donation bins and other drop-off points from 10 charitable organizations. The idea was to make it easier than ever to give physical goods back to our community. Learn more and give today.
  • Busbud Office. Launched in October, the office was a labour of love and the result of a collaboration over many months with the talented architects from FAD design house. Countless revisions later, Busbud had a new home that reflects our values. The office also received acclaim for its design and was the host to many events, including the 1st edition of Startup Grind in Montreal. Read more about the office.

Growth

A few projects launched in 2012 are doing great too!:

  • Busbud: After raising $1.2M in May, our team scaled from 5 to 20 team members (4x growth) in 2013. More importantly, we’ve worked hard, hit major milestones and positioned the company for an even greater 2014. Read our blog or follow us on Twitter.
  • Entrepreneurs Anonymous: Our mysterious little group of entrepreneurs grew from 22 to 220 members in 2013 (10x growth). The idea for EA remains the same: provide a monthly social meetup for entrepreneurs to connect. If you’re an active entrepreneur (and you must be to join!), sign up now.

Awards

Mentoring

Mentoring has been a big part of my 2013. I’ve met some seriously awesome young entrepreneurs.

I am proud to have joined the following organizations as a mentor: Founder Fuel (Montreal), The Next 36 (Toronto/Canada) and Startup Weekend (Montreal, Quebec City and the world).

A Swell Blog

It was fun to start sharing my thoughts with you this year! With all the positive feedback I’ve received, I’ll definitely continue to write in 2014.

I’ve covered such varied subjects as:

That said, my highest impact post was likely Entrepreneurship in Montreal, a regularly updated list of resources for budding entrepreneurs in Montreal.

I also had to chance to interview some folks doing amazing things, like Morgan Carter, award-winning green architect, Patrick Tanguay, editor of the inspired magazine The Alpine Review, and Juan Carlos Londono, social entrepreneur and initiator of non-profit project 100 in 1 Day Montreal.

If you missed out on the start and why I started blogging in the first place, this was my first post.

I also have lots planned for 2014! If there are any interesting themes that you’d like to see explored relating to travel, design, entrepreneurship or life, let me know!

Gratitude

Thanks to my amazing network of collaborators. Those who have pushed me and those who I have pushed to deliver better work. Let’s make an even bigger impact together in 2014!

Thanks to those who have helped along the way. You’re awesome.

Thanks to my friends and family and all those who have been patient. You keep me grounded.

Finally, thanks to you the wonderful readers of this blog! It’s been fun reading you and exchanging with you.

Best wishes to all for the new year!