Near the end of every year, predictions are made on what to expect in the coming year when it comes to technology. This year, the conversation has taken a turn to how technology will transform jobs at a pace -and on a scale- never seen before.

Business models are slowly disappearing, and workplace structures are no longer stable. Technology is amplifying the need for a change in the job market. Unfortunately, many people are in careers that may soon become obsolete.

But can automation create more jobs? Will it help improve sectors like education and finance? And is society ready for the social and economic implications of artificial intelligence? This is what my next piece in the Huffington Post focuses on- finding ways to work with technology to stay ahead of the curve. Read about it here.

Committing to coast-to-coast innovation

Canada is charting a forward-thinking path; a path that fuels innovation and opens new opportunities for economic growth. And as we continue to grow, our prosperity depends on the progress of not just a couple cities, but every city and town coast-to-coast.

This past summer, I had the opportunity to travel to the east coast’s provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. During my visit, I witnessed the work of several small, but impressive tech hubs that are fostering innovation – something that the east coast is establishing a reputation for.

A recent Entrevestor report shows that there are almost 400 startups in Atlantic Canada, including the likes of Proposify and Radian6, which was acquired by Salesforce – two examples among many in a vibrant Atlantic Canadian startup community. Because of the growing movement outside of metropolitan areas, our national startup ecosystem is developing, encouraging more diverse forms of innovation and empowering people throughout the country to express their ideas through tech.

As this continues, there is a clear effort from our leaders -in business and in government- to head bold opportunities for economic growth. But there should also be efforts made by tech hubs throughout the country to continue partnering with one another and create mutually beneficial opportunities and help Canadian companies scale.

Incubators like Venn Innovation in Moncton, Planet Hatch in Fredericton, Volta Labs in Halifax and Charlottetown’s new Startup Zone are strengthening the pathway to job creation and economic prosperity in the region. And the DMZ understands that partnering with emerging startup ecosystems like these will allow entrepreneurs to have greater access to national and international markets.

This is why we’re focusing on finding ways to better support the diverse and tight-knit startup sector in regions such as the east coast to continue growing and scaling Canadian companies that think globally, but are headquartered in our cities and regions coast-to-coast. By expanding our existing national effort in creating soft landing opportunities, staff exchanges, strategic knowledge sharing and other initiatives with tech hubs and post-secondary institutions, we’re not only creating strong ties among our national ecosystems, but helping each other become active producers of technological innovation that have a social or economic impact at home and abroad.

Canada has all the ingredients to be a global leader, which includes the talent, leading post secondary institutions and an incredibly supportive community. Our way forward relies on diversifying our efforts to support future generations of innovators in all provinces and territories. When this becomes a key component on a national scale, we will continue to see made in Canada startups become the best in class.

Startup culture has received a lot of attention lately.

As a certain type of culture has pervaded the public’s perception of the global startup community, it gives us the opportunity to see what we can improve on as we move forward not just internationally, but also on a local level.

As Federal Minister Navdeep Bains has said in the Toronto Star, we live in a “transformative period where our diverse… and welcoming society seeds innovation and entrepreneurship.” And as we continue to work towards success in the modern economy, there are several players, including government, which are critical to ensure that such cities as Toronto succeed on the world stage.

Incubators like the DMZ are a major stakeholder that have an integral part to play in the future of the startup community. As this community develops and matures, so must the incubators, accelerators and innovation hubs that help foster their growth. It’s important for the DMZ to continue to set higher standards when accepting startups because resources should be focused on those we know will create social or economic impact. And when accepting those companies, it’s important to develop programs that will not only provide hard skills needed to help them grow and scale into world-class businesses, but also those soft skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur. These skills range from engaging your audience with a compelling pitch to having the empathy to understand your customer. A lot of this has to do with being open to feedback. To rephrase what Rumsfeld once said,  entrepreneurs know what they know, they know what they don’t know, but they don’t know what they don’t know. And that’s where places like the DMZ come in.

It’s also the job of an incubator to bring out the not so glamorous parts of startup life. As the startup community grows, entrepreneurs and incubators should not only share successes, but also failed attempts. Entrepreneurs need to share more than just the cool open bar events. We need to be open about the moments where our emotions run high. We need to share some brutal truths like the fact that many startups don’t see a dollar in revenue until six months to a year into working seven days a week, 16 hours a day. This is what people need to know about the real life of an entrepreneur.

So when we speak to aspiring entrepreneurs, let’s talk about more than just “being your own boss,” because it’s important to show that “being your own boss” is a double-edged sword. When that’s understood, we can create an ecosystem that doesn’t just have a growing number of players, but grows with quality players who know that building something truly innovative takes a lot more than just an idea. Let’s make the term ‘entrepreneur’ one that people strive towards and not just a label used after trademarking a business. And once we do that, we can separate the ones who are doing this for the right reason and the one’s that are performing in “entrepreneurial theatre”.

Currently, we have different types of people with different training and different experiences starting businesses in Toronto. And that’s a great thing. It’s also a point that we kept in mind when creating the DMZ’s advisory council. But as a community, we need to select those startups whose ideas have the best chance at success and whose people realize that there is a great difference between saying you’re an entrepreneur and actually being one. And there is an even greater difference between loving what you do and being obsessed with it.

Innovation economy

An executive director must prepare an organization for what lies ahead. This means understanding shifts in various verticals from organizational silos to discovering innovation opportunities. It also requires finding the right performance indicators that will increase those activities that create repeatable results.

This past year the DMZ has found measurable outcomes from our corporate partners that contributed to our overall mission in supporting startup success. With a few —Goodman’s LLP , BMO and IBM , among others– under our belt, we have learned much about developing impactful partnerships that have been mutually satisfying and rewarding.

As the newest member of HuffPost’s lineup of contributors, I share my thoughts on the importance of partnerships in a market rooted in innovation as well as the challenges and benefits of corporate collaboration.click to Read about it .