The Scaffold Institute provides instruction, mentorship and workshops for local gaming entrepreneurs.
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Matt Toner’s story with game development began when so many other tech stories ended: the 2001 dot-com stock bubble crash. After finding work as a game writer, Toner worked his way up in the industry, eventually becoming a game producer and working on a smart playground in 2019 until investments plummeted in 2020 after playgrounds became off-limits due to COVID-19.
But Toner’s tech story didn’t end there, either. His work and talent had not gone unnoticed by major investors, who suggested Toner set up a fund for game makers in Western Canada. Toner himself had noticed a lack of funding for Alberta game makers, and in an effort to give the province a seat at the table, decided to create
Scaffold Institute is a cohort-based accelerator program that aims to double the number of small and medium-sized businesses in Alberta’s gaming sector by fostering innovation and attracting investment for promising start-ups. Master classes hosted by some of the top names in tech will teach participants about investment attraction, marketing staffing and partnership development through year-long classes.
“There’s no shortage of hardworking, positive, entrepreneurial-minded people in Alberta,” says Toner, Scaffold’s executive director. “All those boxes are ticked, but there’s not a lot of early-stage capital to help them go from being a garage band to becoming investable.”
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