This month We Are Wearables Toronto has partnered with Best Buy Canada to look at the furrier side of wearable tech: PET WEARABLES. That's right! Fido is getting connected and we are featuring some of the leading wearable and IoT companies that are transforming pet care completely.
Hear from experts and get hands-on with technologies that are furthering pet fitness and health, changing the way we train and enable remote monitoring and play. Our stage and demo area will host: WonderWoof, Binatone, Petbot, FitBark, CLEO Collar, FiFO and Petcube.
In addition we are pleased to welcome Animal Planet TV host and bestselling author, Brad Pattison and vet, entrepreneur and futurist Adam Little of LifeLearn as part of our pet wearable panel.
Of course, what would a pet wearable be without animals! Get ready to take some epic selfies with some of these furry friends thanks to our friends at Best Buy Canada:
Moxie, a registered child friendly and reading certified St John Ambulance Therapy dog and the star of the kids book series Adventures of Moxie & Chicken who was also featured on Mashable for her use of GoPro
Geronimo, a silver Fox
King Julian, a ring-tailed Lemur
Tigger, a red Kangaroo
(All Exotic animals provided of Hand On Exotics courtesy of Best Buy Canada)
Eats by Pizza Pizza, open bar and giveaways are also in store for this event!
IMPORTANT: You are NOT ABLE to bring your pets to this event, but please bring pictures!
Agenda
6:30-7:00PM: Doors open, food & bar served + demo area begins
7:00-7:15PM: Opening Remarks by We Are Wearables & Best Buy Canada
7:15-7:30: "The WonderWoof Story: Why Women Are Key" presented by Betsy Fore, CEO & Founder of Wondermento
7:30-7:45: "The Dog Days of Data" presented by Dr. Adam Little, Director of Partnerships and Innovation, LifeLearn
7:45-8:15: Panel: The future of pet care with wearables and IoT with:
Betsy Fore - CEO and founder, Wondermento
Jon Broday - Director of Sales, Binatone
Zayn Jaffer - Director of Merchandising for Emerging Businesses, Best Buy Canada
Brad Pattison - TV host of Unleashed & author of bestselling author of Brad Pattison Unleashed
Dr. Adam Little, Director of Partnerships and Innovation, LifeLearn
Moderated by Tom Emrich -Founder, We Are Wearables
8:15-10:00PM: Networking including bar & food + demo area featuring:
Wondermento, creators of WonderWoof - a dog tracking app and wearable device that monitors your dog's daily activity
Binatone, exhibiting Motorola Scoutrainer 25 remote dog training system & Motorola ultrasonic dog bark training collar
Petcube, interactive wireless pet camera
FitBark, doggie activity tracker
CLEO Collar, a pet wearable that tracks and analyzes vital signs and reunites lost pets with their owners
FiFO, product from Linxee Wireless, ultrathin and fashionable bluetooth smart tag for your pets and valuable items
Petbot, video-enabled remote pet monitoring and treat dispenser
Exotic Animals including a red Kangaroo, red-taileed lemur and silver fox from Hands on Exotics
Moxie, a registered child friendly and reading certified St John Ambulance Therapy dog and the star of the kids book series Adventures of Moxie & Chicken
A big thanks to our June 2015 event partner Best Buy Canada
and to our sponsors MaRS Discovery District Centre, Uproar PR, EY Canada, and BetaKit!
About our Speakers
Betsy Fore is a midwesterner by heart and an inventor by trade -- having designed toys and games for leading entertainment companies for the past 8 years. Beginning her career in the US, she has invented products for toy giants Mattel® and Hasbro® including such brands as Polly Pocket, WWE, UNO, and more. Betsy was most recently in the UK at leading London tech firm, Mind Candy® where she developed the Moshi Monsters digital brand into a physical franchise of toys and games which became the number one toy brand in the UK. Betsy has developed over 100 products to date leading up to the launch of Wondermento. She strives to do everything with a sense of wonder.
Brad Pattison is best known for his television series, At the End of My Leash which aired as In the Dog House in the United States Ion Life CBS Network and in South America on Discovery/Animal Planet. The show aired its sixth season in Canada in 2010, where it aired on Slice. At the End of My Leash also aired on Animal Planet in the UK, the Home Channel in South Africa, Norway on FEM, Sweden on SVT2, and Finland on MTV3. It also appears in Italy and Germany, across South America and in over 100 other countries. The first season of new series called PUPPY SOS aired in Canada in 2011. Pattison is the author of four books, Dog Babysitting Course for Kids, Synergy between Man and Dog, Brad Pattison Unleashed (Best Seller). Synergy is available in print through Lulu.com. Unleashed is published by Random House. The Puppy Book is published by Random House and was released in 2012. Visit Brad’s site www.bradpattison.com
Jon Brody has been with Binatone for nearly 2 years and is responsible for many mass and electronics retailer relationships as well as business development. Prior to Binatone, Jon spent time at Jawbone after 6 years in the housewares industry primarily with Hamilton Beach. Jon started his career in Minneapolis at Target Corporation which has provides him with a deep understanding of the partnership his retailers seek from the vendor community. Jon is a graduate of Indiana University and lives in Indianapolis with his wife and two children. In his free time he partners with his wife in leading a team of people selling Rodan & Fields skincare. When he’s not working he enjoys supporting his Indiana Hoosiers, working out and playing with his children. Their dog, Stella, is a 6-year old yellow Lab who is constantly “testing” the latest and greatest products from Motorola.
Dr. Adam Little is a veterinarian and entrepreneur whose passion is to work on creative solutions to addressing human and animal health issues. He is a graduate of the Ontario Veterinary College at the University of Guelph and the Graduate Studies Program at Singularity University. Adam has founded multiple ventures at the nexus of technology and the human-animal bond. He now serves as Director of Innovation and Strategic Partnerships within LifeLearn where he looks at the fastest moving technologies and how they can be incorporated into animal health.
Zayn Jaffer is Director of Merchandising for Emerging Business at Best Buy Canada. He is responsible for developing the growth strategy for the categories of Wearable Technology, Smart Home Control, and Musical Instruments. Leading a team of merchants and product managers, Zayn is focused on driving key product launches, diversifying the product mix, optimizing the in-store experience and creating strong vendor partnerships. Zayn started his career at Best Buy Canada as the Senior Merchant of Laptops in 2005 and quickly grew through the ranks to become the Director of Merchandising in the business categories of Digital Imaging, Computing Solutions, Home Theatre, Home Audio and most currently Emerging Business. Most recently, Zayn’s strategic direction and steadfast leadership were integral in the successful execution of two of the biggest new category launches this year for Smart Home and Wearable technology. An avid sports fan, when he’s not hard at work, Zayn can be found playing or watching sports and cheering on his favourite Vancouver team – Go Canucks Go!
About Our Exhibitors
Wondermento is a female founded, focused, and funded entity that strives to lovingly integrate the convenience of mobile apps with the tangibility of elegant hardware. The company seeks to build more interactive applications and devices with an emphasis on the connection between efficient, healthy living and thehappiness of play. Wondermento was founded in November 2013 in London, they have offices on two different continents and are continuing to build out their hardware for different markets. WonderWoof, a product of Wondermento, is a dog tracking app and device that monitors your dog’s daily activity based on their size, breed and age. The app calculates how often they need to eat, exercise and socialize to ensure a happy life with you! Learn more at http://wondermento.com/
Binatone is the Official Licensee of Motorola Mobility for monitoring products worldwide and other companies including lifestyle products and additional technology start-ups. Binatone designs, manufactures and markets high-quality Motorola products in close cooperation with Motorola Mobility. Binatone also designs and markets products under its own brand, and other consumer brands. For over 56 years, Binatone maintains its position as a key player in the consumer electronics industry by offering innovative products and solutions. Learn more at www.binatoneglobal.com
Petcube is an interactive wireless pet camera that helps you stay connected to your pets when you are not at home. Petcube lets you watch, talk and play laser games with your dog or cat from anywhere using your smartphone. You can share access to your pet video cam with your friends, family or anyone else on Petcube network. Download free iOS or Android App today to discover Petcube's worldwide pet lovers community. Learn more at https://petcube.com/
FitBark is leading the charge in changing the way humans understand the health and the behavior of their dogs. FitBark is an alum of the Sprint Accelerator powered by Techstars (the #1 startup accelerator in the world), and was recognized by the Kauffman Foundation as one of the five most promising startups in North America. Our first product is a beautiful doggie activity monitor made in the shape of a tiny, stylish dog-bone that comes in five barking colors. It monitors your dog’s everyday activity and turns it into BarkPoints, so you can track progress. It easily attaches to your dog’s collar and syncs with the free iOS and Android app (no subscription required). Since a successful Kickstarter campaign where the company reached its goal in 27 hours, FitBark has been pre-ordered in more than 45 countries. FitBark is designed in Italy and proudly made in the USA. Learn more at
CLEO Collar is the most comprehensive pet wearable to date. From tracking and analyzing vital signs, to tracking location and reuniting lost pets to their owners, to the innovative PetAvatar, CLEO Collar is a virtual pet-sitter for your best friend. Learn more at http://www.cleocollar.com/
PetBot is a pet technology company focusing on creating meaningful connections between pets and their owners through intelligent technology. We make the PetBot, a small household device that enables audio/visual interactions, treat dispensing and automated pet training. Our unique device combines machine learning with audio, video, and treat dispensing to allow simple and powerful interactions to take place in a much more natural way than our competitors. Our long term vision, beyond the PetBot product, is to become the leading pet technology solution by providing a suite of integrated products and services to enhance the remote pet-care experience. Learn more at
FiFO: product from Linxee Wireless, ultrathin and fashionable bluetooth smart tag for your pets and valuable items. Learn more at http://www.linxeewireless.com/
About Our Sponsors
Best Buy Canada is a specialty retailer and e-tailer of consumer electronics, personal computers and entertainment software and also operates the Geek Squad (www.geeksquad.ca), a 24-hour technology support task force. With nearly 200 Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile stores across Canada, our store employees and Geek Squad Agents are committed to delivering product solutions that enable easy access to people, knowledge, ideas and fun. Best Buy offers the largest selection of wearable technology and accessories in Canada with more than 200 products ranging from fitness trackers and smart watches to brain-sensing headbands and pet wearables. Best Buy stores across Canada have launched new in-store sections dedicated to wearable technology as well as a new online wearable tech hub with everything you need to know about wearable technology including blogs, product reviews, videos and more.
MaRS Discovery District is a mission-driven innovation centre located in Toronto. MaRS works with partners to catalyze, accelerate and amplify innovation. MaRS supports entrepreneurs building Canada’s next generation of growth companies.
Uproar PR is an innovative consumer technology public relations and social media agency. Along with their other technology practices, the firm has successfully built brand recognition for its wearable tech clients. Within the Toronto and Waterloo communities, Uproar works with Thalmic Labs, Bionym Kiwi Wearables and PUSH. With Uproar's media relations experience, those companies have been featured in media outlets including The Today Show, Business Insider, New York Times and CNBC, just to name a few. The firm specializes in developing campaigns that drive awareness and sales, creating industry buzz.
BetaKit covers Canadian startup-news and tech innovation.
EY Canada helps media, technology, telecommunications and retail companies adapt to change, manage risk, meet regulatory requirements, foster product innovation and develop new business models. Our team of experienced industry professionals in Canada and around the world — supported by the EY Global Centres of Excellence — provides a multidisciplinary team of assurance, advisory, tax and transaction services to help you achieve your objectives.
About Our Partners
Belight: Billy Lee is a Photographer capturing events of our times to be shared and remembered. #event #conference #photography #photojournalist #documentarian #life #technology #wearable #startups #entrepreneurship #education #time #learning #change #better #experiences #humanevolution #involution #balance #awareness #creation #creativity #design Find him at @makingsenses or billy@belight.ca
Quick Attack Productions: providing video support for WWTO
Pizza Pizza: As a restaurant, pizza maker, employer, business partner and caring company, Pizza Pizza delivers. The Pizza Pizza network, including Pizza73, is composed of more than 600 traditional and non-traditional restaurants coast to coast, employing over 3,000 Canadians. We provide a flavourful, varied and high-quality menu to pizza-lovers of all ages and tastes. As a result, our organization has become a leader in the quick service segment of the Canadian foodservice industry, and one of the top pizza restaurant chains in the country.
Interested in speaking at or sponsoring the event? Want to join the team? Or have some feedback? Email the Toronto team at toronto@wearewearables.com.
Title image source: Fitbark