Converge 2.0 Brings Big Toronto Names To The Windsor Arms Hotel

“If you start from anywhere, you can go everywhere.”

Just one quote from the panelists at Converge 2.0 at the beautiful Windsor Arms Hotel, a follow-up event from the very successful Converge Toronto event that happened two months early.

Converge 2.0 was the second Converge event hosted and presented by Madflower Creative Group and Omega Group, which showcased a great mix of two events, the exclusive Showcase Panel followed up by a networking gala, which included some great vendors as well.

The First Impressions

After walking into the arches and large foyer of the Windsor Arms Hotel, it brought an element of escape to the busy Toronto streets. After walking into the room, we graced ourselves with a nice glass of wine and waited for the panelist to educate and motivate us with their charm, knowledge, and pathways through life.

The spots filled up behind us with people looking great in both bright colours to combat the weather that day and stylish stripes and sport coats, which brought emphasis to their outfits and away from their other solid tones.

The Showcase Panel

Massoud Abbasi kicked off the panel and introduced all of the panel members after they all sat down and cracked the lids on their water bottles, ready to deliver their 10 minutes about themselves. The Showcase Panel was moderated by the Editor of The Report On Small Business, Sean Stanleigh, who asked some great questions and pushed the panelists’ answers further.

After the introductions were made, the first speaker of the night was Paul Etherington, a Toronto-based philanthropist, who focused on the importance of giving back to your community. Obtaining the finer things in life based on a dedication of your craft or motivation to do something big for yourself is great, but Paul stressed that giving back and giving opportunities to others bring a brighter smile on your face. He has contributed his time to multiple foundations, including the Special Olympics, and has created high-class galas and events to really bring a great message to entertaining events.

To the right of the very inspirational Paul Etherington was the charismatic motivational speaker and entrepreneur, Stuart Knight. Stuart was a prime example of an entrepreneur actually talking about his steps to success. With a lot of speakers, they might talk about what things are like at the top, but some miss the steps needed and tipping points needed for someone to get up to those next plateaus. He brought humor, stories, examples and brought forth his own honesty which came through in his presentation.

Thirdly, there Deborah Gee, who is the director of sales for Oliver & Bonacini, a restaurant chain brings great palettes of food mixed with well-designed restaurants to big tourist areas around Toronto, like the TIFF Bell LightBox, among other popular destinations. Deborah brought her views about how she got her start and why she loved working with entrepreneurs. She pushed herself and O&B to bigger events and expressed the importance of differentiating yourself from the pack.The final panelist for the night was music director RT!, an award winning director who has worked with multiple international stars and continues to give back to his community with The Remix Project. He talked about how The Remix Project that he helps as a mentor, acts as a bridge for young individuals and artists to bring opportunities to youth who want to get into the entertainment business.

What was a treat from last Converge event was the Windsor Arms Hotel’s newly designed lounge, The Living Room, that was finished that night and provided a nice waiting area before the room was flipped and the space was turned into a networker’s playground.

The Bottom Line

This was a great event for the entrepreneurship, business owners, and young professionals to get a new-found confidence in their own ideas and collaborate with people all around the city of Toronto. Topics and quotes from the the panelists made for great conversation starters throughout the networking portion of the night and with the undertone of collaboration put into the atmosphere from the panelists, we think it made for more business cards being passed out around the room.

Thank you to Omega Group and Madflower Creative Group for the invitation and for Windsor Arms Hotel for letting us have us within your beautiful space with so much Canadian spirit and talent.

Here is the Windsor Arms Hotel Toronto is located:

18 St. Thomas Street,

Toronto, ON

M5S 3E7

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