Vancouver is refunding the $500,000 deposit for a major international electric car race that was supposed to have happened earlier this month before organizers pulled out.
The two-day event was scheduled to start on July 2, and included a Nickelback concert, before being cancelled by its organizer, One Stop Strategy (OSS) Group, who have previously said it would be rescheduled to next year.
But four weeks after the cancelled event’s original date, ticket-holders have complained about not receiving refunds. The city said its repayment of the organizer’s performance security payment for the event is contingent on giving fans their money back.
It was to be the first Formula E event in the city, and promoted as an economic boon, selling thousands of tickets to the False Creek-area races.
One of those fans waiting for a refund is Andrew Chobaniuk, who said he could not get any response after repeated request from organizers and ended up reporting it to his credit card company.
It reimbursed him the $210 he paid for four tickets to see the Vancouver races.
“Absolutely no word from the Formula E organizers despite numerous emails to them,” he told CBC News in an email. “Received a refund from my credit card company pending an investigation.”
“It’s disappointing — you look forward to car racing finally making a return to Vancouver after all these years, and you’re left feeling swindled. Given the lack of communication from the organizers … I have no faith in OSS at all.”
One Stop Strategy Group did not respond to multiple requests for comment Friday.
Decision came ‘after intensive review’ with city
On Friday, the city said its deposit return would have “no financial impacts” on its budget, and was only made on the condition that “that the funds be used by OSS to pay its financial obligations” including refunding ticket-holders, suppliers, or event sponsors.
“Questions about funds being paid or refunded by OSS to ticket-holders, suppliers, sponsors, and/or other potential creditors should be directed to OSS,” the city said in a release.
An electric Formula E race car prototype is seen on a display stage at CeraWeek energy conference in Houston in this 2019 file photo. (Kyle Bakx/CBC)
On April 22, the city announced that the event’s organizers called off the event, exercising their rights under the Host City Agreement. At the time, the city said in a statement it hopes “to announce a new date in the near future.”
At the time of the cancellation, OSS said the “incredibly difficult” decision came “after intensive review” with the city.
“Delivery of a world-class event is of the utmost importance” to the group, it said, promising to communicate with ticket-holders “to inform [them of] their options.”
Coun. Michael Wiebe co-sponsored a motion last year that supported hosting the event the city.
“I know the management company didn’t work here, but I still believe it can be a great event,” he said in an interview Friday. “It was going to be a big weekend, I’m disappointed because it’s an opportunity for Vancouver.”
He stepped aside from voting on the city-issued deposit refund because he himself bought tickets to the cancelled event, and is now among the thousands who have not yet received a refund.
“I haven’t yet, but I’ll wait in the back of the line,” Wiebe said. “I want to make sure the people that really deserve the funding are getting it.
“We’re saying, ‘If you are going to take the $500,000 return, there are certain people that need to be paid, and the funding can only go to specific things … That includes ticket-holders, suppliers and others.”
Controversial races
The Formula E races have been controversial in other cities.
In 2017, Montreal city officials announced they would pull the plug on a Formula E race that was set to take place in that city the following year.
The mayor said the event was “headed straight for a financial fiasco,” and that taxpayers would be on the hook for $35 million.
But one year ago, the City of Montreal agreed to pay a settlement of $3 million to Formula E Operations, which puts on electric car races around the world. It had sued the city for $16 million after the city cancelled their events in 2018 and 2019.
Formula E isn’t the organizer of the Vancouver event, though it appears to have a degree of oversight with regard to the OSS Group-promoted race, which is part of the Formula E series.
Evan Dunfee’s biggest competitor Tuesday was someone he couldn’t even see.
A year after smashing his own national record in the 10,000-metre race walk at the Harry Jerome Classic in Burnaby, B.C., the Canadian was back and looking to repeat the feat.
Dunfee finished first with a time of 40 minutes 38.99 seconds on Tuesday, but couldn’t beat the 38:39.72 he posted in 2021.
“It was tough out there, thinking with like, 500 [metres] to go being like, ‘I just finished this race this time last year,”‘ he said. “You know, never fun to be lapped by your ghost but it’s just a different point.
“Last year, I was in the best shape I’ve ever been in leading into Tokyo and everything was going better than I could have possibly imagined.”
Dunfee followed his performance at last year’s Harry Jerome Classic with a bronze-medal performance at the Tokyo Olympics, finishing the 50-kilometre race walk in 3 hours 50 minutes and 59 seconds.
With a nagging upper-hamstring injury, the 31-year-old said he isn’t in quite the same form this season, but he’s working his way up to July’s World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Ore.
Where his race walking career goes after this season, however, remains unclear.
Dunfee said he’d love to compete in the 20-kilometre race walk at the Paris Olympics in 2024, but right now he’s looking ahead to another passion: municipal politics. He’s running for city council in Richmond, B.C., this fall.
The new challenge has been really enjoyable, Dunfee said.
“There’ve been days where I’ve been like ‘Ah, I know, I have to go do my like easy 10k. But I really want to read this 200-page planning document,”‘ he said. “I just dove headfirst into this municipal politics thing and I’m trying to find a new way to use my platform and my community involvement to find some fun ways to really contribute to my community in new ways.”
The two-time Olympian will have one advantage over the other candidates heading into the vote on Oct. 15.
“If nothing else, I’m going to be the most efficient door knocker,” Dunfee said with a smile.
This year’s Harry Jerome Classic features several Canadian Olympians, including Madeleine Kelly, who finished 31st in the women’s 800m in Tokyo and Damian Warner, who took gold in the decathlon.
MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) – As you make your summer plans, you may want to consider a visit to Janesville!
There are a number of events coming up in Rock County in the month of June.
At the beginning of the month, there’s an event in conjunction with National Trails Day at Riverside Park on June 4.
The following Saturday, Classic Cruzers return to downtown Janesville on June 11.
Mid month, the city is hosting the Town Square Grand Prix — also in downtown Janesville. The road bike race will take place on June 16.
Finally, there’s a fundraiser to celebrate Anthony Bourdain at the end of the month. The Sandwich Bar restaurant will host the ‘Negronis for Tony’ event on June 25 with 5 dollar negronis and all proceeds go to HealthNet of Rock County to support mental health services.
To learn more about upcoming events or new establishments in Janesville, check out the Janesville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau website.
Ticket holders have been told their passes will carry over to next year, but no Vancouver event has been confirmed yet for 2023.
Alan Walrond showing his purchased tickets for the 2022 Canadian E-Fest race event, in Vancouver on May 19.Photo by Arlen Redekop /PNG
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Disappointed fans who bought tickets for the cancelled 2022 Vancouver Formula E car race are frustrated they’ve been told to wait for refunds.
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Last October, soon after tickets went on sale for the inaugural Canadian E-Fest race event, Alan Walrond spent $682.50 for a pair of VIP, two-day grandstand seats. Organizer said they sold 33,000 tickets for the event, which was originally scheduled for the Canada Day long weekend this year but was abruptly called off in April, less than three months before race day.
Last week, Walrond and other ticket-holders received an email from E-Fest organizers, saying: If you would like to carry your tickets over to the 2023 event — no action is required. Your tickets will automatically be carried over.”
Ticket-holders unable to attend next year’s edition will receive refunds, the email said, and “the refund process will be communicated after the announcement of the 2023 Canadian E-Fest date.”
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But, to Walrond, “that makes no sense.”
“I don’t see why I have to wait until the 2023 date is announced,” he said. “I’m upset I can’t get a refund … If you have the money, give it back to me. And what if there is no 2023 (race)?”
Other frustrated ticket-buyers also contacted Postmedia News, wanting refunds and worrying about their money. They all received the same email from E-Fest organizers stating: “We have logged your request for a refund. We will begin the refund process once the postponed date is announced this coming June.”
It would have been Vancouver’s first time hosting an event for the Formula E Championship, an electric car race series that launched in 2014 and this season was intended to include 16 races in cities around the globe. The Vancouver event was being organized and promoted by Montreal-based One Stop Strategy Group, or OSS.
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Dignitaries and officials gather around a race car after the announcement of the Canadian E-Fest program at the Douglas Hotel in Vancouver on Sept. 29, 2021.Photo by Mike Bell /PNG
No one from OSS was available for an interview Thursday but a representative sent an emailed statement to Postmedia with the same language from last week’s email to ticket-holders, saying the 2023 Canadian E-Fest “will be a spectacular event in Vancouver.”
But it doesn’t yet appear to be confirmed whether there will be a Formula E race in Vancouver next year at all.
Last week, international motorsports news outlet The Race reported: “The possibility of a Vancouver E-Prix taking place in 2023 depends upon if the promoters of the troubled event are able to give assurances that it could go ahead before the World Motorsport Council convenes next month.”
Formula E COO and deputy CEO Alberto Longo told The Race that this year’s Vancouver event’s cancellation was “very unfortunate,” saying: “It was a big failure from the promoter.”
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“The main reason was actually one of the stakeholders, which basically were going to do all the garages, we were told that the contract was signed a while ago, and it wasn’t,” Longo said.
Formula E didn’t reply to a request for comment Thursday.
In the weeks leading up to the 2022 event’s cancellation on April 22, Postmedia reported that the OSS Group had missed deadlines at city hall and hadn’t submitted key documents, including proof of insurance and signed contracts with the owners of private properties where the event was planned to take place.
Before the event’s cancellation last month, the City of Vancouver confirmed the OSS Group had paid two tranches of security deposits, totalling $500,000, but had failed to submit other documents required before an event permit would be issued.
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In response to Postmedia’s questions Thursday about the status of the deposit money and the prospect of a 2023 event, a City of Vancouver representative sent an emailed statement saying: “OSS Group has recently initiated a discussion with the city about the possibility of staging the Formula E event some time in 2023. We anticipate that OSS’s security deposit for the 2022 event will be part of this discussion.”
Mitch Evans pilots his Jaguar I-TYPE during the 2019 New York ePrix in Brooklyn with the Manhattan skyline in the background.Photo by LAT Images
In an emailed statement, B.C.’s Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor-General said the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act has refund provisions that may apply in situations where a ticketed event is cancelled.
For his part, Walrond hopes Vancouver does eventually host a Formula E race, and he would love to attend. But, he added: “People have lost confidence. If they have (the event) and I go next year, I’m buying a ticket the day of.”
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“It was a decision made between the organizers and the City of Vancouver,” according to spokesperson Kirsten Mihailides. “The timeline and parameters for the event were not achievable.”
The Formula E event planned for Vancouver this summer has been postponed. Photo by Alastair Staley /LAT
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Vancouver’s first Formula E Race proposed for False Creek this summer has been called off.
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One Stop Strategy (OSS) Group, the Montreal-based promoters organizing the Canadian E-Fest, said Friday the three-day festival has been “postponed until 2023.”
“It was a decision made between the organizers and the City of Vancouver,” according to the OSS Group. “The timeline and parameters for the event were not achievable.”
As of Friday afternoon, the event did not have a permit from the city.
In a statement, the City of Vancouver confirmed OSS Group had “elected to exercise its rights under the Host City Agreement to postpone the Formula E Event … to a future date.”
“The City and OSS Group will continue to work together and hope to announce a new date in the near future.”
The Canada Day long weekend festival — for which more than 30,000 tickets had been sold online, organizers said — was to include a live Nickelback concert, a business conference focused on climate change solutions, celebrity events and a headline Formula E electric car race.
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“Arrangements will be made for those who purchased tickets,” the OSS Group said. “The process of the 2023 event is still being finalized by OSS and the city.”
The event was billed as a “major asset to Vancouver” and its mission was to “accelerate the change towards sustainability” as part of the Formula E electric series that hosts televised championship races in countries all over the world.
When city council discussed the prospect of E-Fest in April 2021, councillors and staff discussed the importance of ensuring Vancouver wasn’t financially on the hook. Costs were to be “borne by the organizer, and all city service costs to be recoverable from the organizer,” according to a motion from Couns. Sarah Kirby-Yung and Michael Wiebe, which was approved.
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The event was expected to generate an estimated $80 million economic spinoff for the city’s tourism and hospitality industry and 3,000 jobs.
“One of our main missions is to work closely with the City of Vancouver and the False Creek residents to ensure this event is here to stay and that we leave a lasting legacy … be that charging stations, improvements to facilities or items of significant interest,” Matthew Carter, CEO of OSS, said when announcing the venture last July.
Earlier this week, city hall confirmed to Postmedia it had received $350,000, the second instalment of a security deposit from the OSS Group.
Organizers had a deadline of 11:59 p.m. Thursday to provide additional items before an event permit would be issued, including proof of insurance, a safety plan, outdoor concert licensing, and confirmation of private property agreements. It was unclear Friday which were turned in.
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Postmedia had earlier learned a partner producing the business conference portion of the Canadian E-Fest event had abruptly pulled out, advising stakeholders in an email that “numerous issues” had made their involvement “untenable.”
The business conference, called E-Volve, was billed as “a transformative business and innovation conference … where top executives, global and local leaders, and market influencers shape the future of e-mobility, transportation and electrification.”
OSS Group had said it was producing the conference in partnership with Globe Series, a Toronto-based company responsible for major events, including the Globe Forum climate and sustainability conference in Vancouver.
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But on Wednesday, a representative of Globe Series sent out an email to stakeholders advising they were pulling out.
“As a values-driven organization where honesty, integrity and transparency are key to who we are, we want to let you know that we are no longer supporting OSS Group (event producers) on delivering the E-Volve conference,” said the email, which was obtained by Postmedia.
“Numerous issues have made our involvement in this initiative with OSS untenable, and as a result we do not believe we can produce a high-quality event nor service our partners in the current time frame.”
The email went to say: “Despite this setback, we strongly believe that the Canadian E-Fest and the FIA Formula E World Championship race are not only important steps on the road to net zero, but represent an enormous opportunity for Vancouver, B.C. and Canada,” adding: “We would love to be involved in the future of the Canadian E-Fest/Formula E race should it be delayed/postponed and new leaders are put in place.”
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A Globe spokesman confirmed to Postmedia the email was authentic, but said he could not discuss details of what led the company to back out.
In a statement Wednesday, the OSS Group said Formula E principals were in Vancouver all week to “understand the actual situation with the different suppliers, as well as meeting with city officials and other stakeholders for the delivery of the Vancouver E Prix.”
“Formula E is the governing body to the Vancouver E-Prix only, not for the E-Volve event or other ancillary events included in the Canadian E-Fest, and are here to ensure a world class motorsport event will be delivered to all who have, and will purchase tickets, to attend from Vancouver and internationally,” the statement said.
More news, fewer ads: Our in-depth journalism is possible thanks to the support of our subscribers. For just $3.50 per week, you can get unlimited, ad-lite access to The Vancouver Sun, The Province, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Vancouver Sun | The Province.
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Nine Networking, Workshop and Fireside Chat Events in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee, Focused on Connecting Angels, Investors and Startup Founders for increased scaling of companies that matter in Scotland
Ash Maura, bestselling author of ‘Scaling Lean: Mastering the Key Metrics for Startup Growth’ will be headlining nine events throughout Scotland.
The Startup Race, an accelerator program reinventing how startups both scale and connect with investors, announced today that it will host nine events in Scotland, each headlined by bestselling entrepreneurship author Ash Maurya. The nine events in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dudee, will focus on connecting angels, investors and startup founders for future economic growth in Scotland and the United Kingdom. Maurya, who is one of the world’s leading business startup gurus is the thought leader behind Running Lean,’ which is both a book and an entrepreneurship movement. As the Austin, Texas-based author headlines the nine events around Scotland, he hopes to meet Scottish entrepreneurs and investors to discuss how to systematically identify risk in their business model at every stage. The events are supported by both The Startup Race through a partnership grant with the Scottish Government’s Technology Ecosystem Initiative.
Ash Maura, bestselling author of ‘Scaling Lean: Mastering the Key Metrics for Startup Growth’ will be headlining nine events throughout Scotland.
The Startup Race, an accelerator program reinventing how startups both scale and connect with investors, announced today that it will host nine events in Scotland, each headlined by bestselling entrepreneurship author Ash Maurya. The nine events in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dudee, will focus on connecting angels, investors and startup founders for future economic growth in Scotland and the United Kingdom. Maurya, who is one of the world’s leading business startup gurus is the thought leader behind Running Lean,’ which is both a book and an entrepreneurship movement. As the Austin, Texas-based author headlines the nine events around Scotland, he hopes to meet Scottish entrepreneurs and investors to discuss how to systematically identify risk in their business model at every stage. The events are supported by both The Startup Race through a partnership grant with the Scottish Government’s Technology Ecosystem Initiative.
EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Startup Race, an accelerator program reinventing how startups both scale and connect with investors, announced today that it will host nine events in Scotland, each headlined by bestselling entrepreneurship author Ash Maurya. The nine events in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dudee, will focus on connecting angels, investors and startup founders for future economic growth in Scotland and the United Kingdom. Maurya, who is one of the world’s leading business startup gurus is the thought leader behind Running Lean,’ which is both a book and an entrepreneurship movement. As the Austin, Texas-based author headlines the nine events around Scotland, he hopes to meet Scottish entrepreneurs and investors to discuss how to systematically identify risk in their business model at every stage. The events are supported by both The Startup Race through a partnership grant with the Scottish Government’s Technology Ecosystem Initiative.
“As I always say, ‘Building a scalable and successful business starts with knowing what to measure and how,’” said Ash Maurya, entrepreneurship thought leader and the author of The Lean Canvas. “Being able to bring this mission to Scotland with the support of both The Startup Race and the Scottish Government’s Technology Ecosystem Initiative, in order to meet with like minded individuals – this is a true honor.”
The events intended to connect angel Investors, venture capitalists and high growth entrepreneurs, kick off on May 3, 2022. Each event is free with limited capacity, and each attendee will receive a copy of Maurya’s new book, Running Lean.
Dundee 3rd May
Glasgow 4th May
Edinburgh 5th May
The nine events with Maurya are part of the runway to kick off a £10,000 Startup Race under The Startup Race brand and company. Founded by Startup and VC veterans Michael Clouser and James Shoemark, The growth hacking competition begins in May 2022, with a Hackathon (£5,000 Cash prize), and continues through the fall of 2022. A winner will be announced and awarded the £10,000 cash prize in December of 2022.. Currently, more than 300 Entrepreneurs (and Angel Investors who will observe their performance) have already registered their interest in taking part. The Startup Race will be partnering with Scottish Investors to run a £300,000 Startup Race and then a £1,000,000 International Startup Race in 2023.
Mr. Maurya’s visit to Scotland is focused on meeting Scottish Angel investors and Scaleup Entrepreneurs to discuss how funded Scaleups need NOT accelerate their business into a wall but can instead continue to exploit the “Lean Startup principles” as competitive advantage and organizational dynamic to achieve revenue and profit growth. Entrepreneurship topics may range, but a core focus will be on discussing how to systematically identify what’s riskiest in a business model at every stage in order to know how or what to optimize.
“Introducing Ash Maurya to the Scottish startup community has been a goal for quite some time, and we are thrilled to be able to launch this partnership,” said Michael Clouser, co-founder of The Startup Race. “We hope Scottish based startup founders, angels and investors find value in these events for future growth in all of their entrepreneurship endeavors.”
Ash Maurya has been an entrepreneur for nearly three decades, and has been in search of a better, faster way for building successful products since 2010. His mantra is “Life’s too short to build something nobody wants.” Greatly inspired by the works on Customer Development and Lean Startup pioneered by Steve Blank and Eric Ries, he became very well-known in the global lean startup community and went on to create the highly popular one-page business modelling tool “Lean Canvas” and write two bestselling books that taught entrepreneurs how to implement the philosophies – “Running Lean: How to Iterate from Plan A to a plan that works” and “Scaling Lean”. He also founded LEANSTACK, which provides world-class tools, courses, and training that help early-stage entrepreneurs find repeatable and scalable business models. Ash is praised for offering some of the best and most practical advice for entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs all over the world. Driven by the search for better and faster ways for building successful products, Ash has developed a systematic methodology for raising the odds of success built upon Lean Startup, Customer Development, and Bootstrapping techniques. Ash is also a leading business blogger and his posts and advice have been featured in Inc. Magazine, Forbes, and Fortune. He serves as a mentor to several accelerators including TechStars, MaRS, Capital Factory, and guest lecturers at several universities including MIT, Harvard, and UT-Austin. Ash serves on the advisory board of a number of startups, and has consulted to new and established companies.
ABOUT THE STARTUP RACE
The Startup Race, based in the UK, is a hackathon and accelerator dedicated to proving that sales and revenue are the true benchmark of a successful startup, rather than the initial pitch. The event and company itself is the product of a young entrepreneur asking Mr. James Shoemark in 2014, how the startup process could be gamified. Shoemark decided that a business competition using the Pirate Metrics (AARRR as popularised by Dave McLure) of Acquisition, Activation, Retention, Referral and Revenue as a benchmark for ambition, competition and growth could be the answer. He soon teamed up with Michael Clouser, a former Silicon Valley VC and other Edinburgh based Entrepreneurs and Investors to partner with him on this new venture in order to support Fast Growth startups in the UK and around the world. The first £10,000 Startup Race will continue though the fall of 2022, where a winner will be announced and awarded the £10,000 Cash Prize. After this Startup Race has completed, they will be partnering with Scottish Investors to run a £300,000 Startup Race and then a £1,000,000 International Startup Race.
EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Startup Race, an accelerator program reinventing how startups both scale and connect with investors, announced today that it will host nine events in Scotland, each headlined by bestselling entrepreneurship author Ash Maurya. The nine events in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dudee, will focus on connecting angels, investors and startup founders for future economic growth in Scotland and the United Kingdom. Maurya, who is one of the world’s leading business startup gurus is the thought leader behind Running Lean,’ which is both a book and an entrepreneurship movement. As the Austin, Texas-based author headlines the nine events around Scotland, he hopes to meet Scottish entrepreneurs and investors to discuss how to systematically identify risk in their business model at every stage. The events are supported by both The Startup Race through a partnership grant with the Scottish Government’s Technology Ecosystem Initiative.
“As I always say, ‘Building a scalable and successful business starts with knowing what to measure and how,’” said Ash Maurya, entrepreneurship thought leader and the author of The Lean Canvas. “Being able to bring this mission to Scotland with the support of both The Startup Race and the Scottish Government’s Technology Ecosystem Initiative, in order to meet with like minded individuals – this is a true honor.”
The events intended to connect angel Investors, venture capitalists and high growth entrepreneurs, kick off on May 3, 2022. Each event is free with limited capacity, and each attendee will receive a copy of Maurya’s new book, Running Lean.
Dundee 3rd May
Glasgow 4th May
Edinburgh 5th May
The nine events with Maurya are part of the runway to kick off a £10,000 Startup Race under The Startup Race brand and company. Founded by Startup and VC veterans Michael Clouser and James Shoemark, The growth hacking competition begins in May 2022, with a Hackathon (£5,000 Cash prize), and continues through the fall of 2022. A winner will be announced and awarded the £10,000 cash prize in December of 2022.. Currently, more than 300 Entrepreneurs (and Angel Investors who will observe their performance) have already registered their interest in taking part. The Startup Race will be partnering with Scottish Investors to run a £300,000 Startup Race and then a £1,000,000 International Startup Race in 2023.
Mr. Maurya’s visit to Scotland is focused on meeting Scottish Angel investors and Scaleup Entrepreneurs to discuss how funded Scaleups need NOT accelerate their business into a wall but can instead continue to exploit the “Lean Startup principles” as competitive advantage and organizational dynamic to achieve revenue and profit growth. Entrepreneurship topics may range, but a core focus will be on discussing how to systematically identify what’s riskiest in a business model at every stage in order to know how or what to optimize.
“Introducing Ash Maurya to the Scottish startup community has been a goal for quite some time, and we are thrilled to be able to launch this partnership,” said Michael Clouser, co-founder of The Startup Race. “We hope Scottish based startup founders, angels and investors find value in these events for future growth in all of their entrepreneurship endeavors.”
Ash Maurya has been an entrepreneur for nearly three decades, and has been in search of a better, faster way for building successful products since 2010. His mantra is “Life’s too short to build something nobody wants.” Greatly inspired by the works on Customer Development and Lean Startup pioneered by Steve Blank and Eric Ries, he became very well-known in the global lean startup community and went on to create the highly popular one-page business modelling tool “Lean Canvas” and write two bestselling books that taught entrepreneurs how to implement the philosophies – “Running Lean: How to Iterate from Plan A to a plan that works” and “Scaling Lean”. He also founded LEANSTACK, which provides world-class tools, courses, and training that help early-stage entrepreneurs find repeatable and scalable business models. Ash is praised for offering some of the best and most practical advice for entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs all over the world. Driven by the search for better and faster ways for building successful products, Ash has developed a systematic methodology for raising the odds of success built upon Lean Startup, Customer Development, and Bootstrapping techniques. Ash is also a leading business blogger and his posts and advice have been featured in Inc. Magazine, Forbes, and Fortune. He serves as a mentor to several accelerators including TechStars, MaRS, Capital Factory, and guest lecturers at several universities including MIT, Harvard, and UT-Austin. Ash serves on the advisory board of a number of startups, and has consulted to new and established companies.
ABOUT THE STARTUP RACE
The Startup Race, based in the UK, is a hackathon and accelerator dedicated to proving that sales and revenue are the true benchmark of a successful startup, rather than the initial pitch. The event and company itself is the product of a young entrepreneur asking Mr. James Shoemark in 2014, how the startup process could be gamified. Shoemark decided that a business competition using the Pirate Metrics (AARRR as popularised by Dave McLure) of Acquisition, Activation, Retention, Referral and Revenue as a benchmark for ambition, competition and growth could be the answer. He soon teamed up with Michael Clouser, a former Silicon Valley VC and other Edinburgh based Entrepreneurs and Investors to partner with him on this new venture in order to support Fast Growth startups in the UK and around the world. The first £10,000 Startup Race will continue though the fall of 2022, where a winner will be announced and awarded the £10,000 Cash Prize. After this Startup Race has completed, they will be partnering with Scottish Investors to run a £300,000 Startup Race and then a £1,000,000 International Startup Race.
The Giants Head Grind — Christopher Walker Memorial Race is returning to Summerland in May. However this year the fundraising event will be smaller than in the past.
The event is an uphill race from the shore of Okanagan Lake at Peach Orchard Beach up to the summit of Giant’s Head Mountain. The course is 5.6 kilometres, with an elevation gain of 500 metres.
The event was first held in 2014 and continued annually until 2019. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 event was cancelled and the 2021 race was held as a virtual race rather than a traditional contest.
This year it will be limited to 100 participants for the in-person event. Within a day after registration opened on April 13, the event had almost filled.
Aside from the start of the race at the beach, all other events including breakfast, yoga, barbecue and awards ceremony will be held at the Summerland Waterfront Resort.
“We appreciate that some people are concerned about large groups, and with the rise in the latest variants we want to ensure that everyone is feeling as comfortable as possible. We are also aware that many of our volunteers are also stretched for time as the world begins to reopen,” said Ellen Walker-Matthews, organizer of the event.
In addition to the in-person race, a supporter race package is also available this year. This event is open to an unlimited number of people. Similar to the 2021 event, the supporter package allows participants to run the race on their own, either in Summerland or at another location.
“We’re excited that it’s going to continue in a slightly different form this year,” Walker-Matthews said. “For 2023, it will be very nice to do a full event.”
The grind began in 2014, in memory of Walker-Matthews’s son Chris Walker, who died from colorectal cancer in 2013. The event raised money for colorectal cancer research and to improving the trails in Giant’s Head Park in Summerland.
Several F1 teams have allowed their drivers to not compete in the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix if they do not wish to race under the current circumstances.
During Free Practice Two on Friday, an attack on an Aramco facility some 12km from the circuit prompted an immediate meeting between the FIA, F1, and the teams.
With smoke rising in the distance, the teams and drivers released a statement saying that they unanimously agreed to plow on ahead with the weekend’s running.
However, all 20 drivers stayed for a lengthy meeting that went on until the early hours of the morning.
They ultimately decided to continue racing, even though there were some concerns raised amongst senior drivers.
Now, the teams have agreed that should a driver feel uncomfortable in competing around the Jeddah Corniche Circuit this weekend, then they would be free to not race.
“You cannot force someone to drive who doesn’t want to drive, or is uncomfortable to drive,” said Mike Krack, Aston Martin boss, in the Saudi Arabia GP team principals’ press conference on Saturday.
“We were not in that situation but if we were, we would respect the opinion or concerns of the driver and try to talk, try to understand, to find an agreement.
“Ultimately, you need to respect what they want to do.”
Meanwhile, Mattia Binotto, Ferrari team principal, who has agreed that there is “no right reason” to stop racing this weekend, has revealed that there have been no requests from the Scuderia’s personnel.
“No one has left, no one is willing to leave,” said Binotto. “But just to say, before coming, we as Ferrari certainly tried to get our own information, making sure that everything was secure.
“We got in contact with the local authorities, with the Italian consulate here just to be sure that everything was under control, and our people know that. They know we are taking care, that we are sensible.
“Finally, if someone left, as for the drivers, it is important to listen, to come back to them and try to explain and make sure that any decision is a proper one.
“But I am pretty sure that with the way things are going, all the people in the team trust us, they are relaxed and feel really safe.”
McLaren’s team principal Andrea Seidl echoed Binotto’s thoughts adding that the Woking-based squad are working together as a team throughout the weekend.
He said: “The same on my side. No one from the team has approached me so far wanting to leave.
“It was very important to make sure the team is well informed of all the information that we have got as well.
“That is what we did and that is how we go now into the rest of the weekend as a team.”
