Brand Strategy Toronto

Making the case for service design

How do you communicate the value of service design at your workplace? Where does your team stand, **and** what is your role within it? We all know service design creates value, but pinpointing exactly *where* your org stands, and what role you should be playing to move it forward, is a different skill entirely. This session is about getting clearer on that. **Format:** Design jam **What to expect:** * A quick icebreaker * Opening context — a fast recap of the article and why it matters * A spotlight share — one person walks us through where their own org sits on the model, and what that's actually looked like in practice * Main activity — working solo, then in pairs, then as a full table * A quick close — one small thing to try shifting this month **To get ahead:** Read the [Service Design Maturity Model article;](https://service-design-network.org/community_article/the-service-design-maturity-model-a-strategic-framework-to-embed-service-design-into-an-organisation) it's a quick one, and it'll give us a shared language for the night. The model breaks organizational SD maturity into five stages Explore, Prove, Scale, Integrate, Thrive) and tracks how a service designer's role shifts through each: from scout > doer > trainer > facilitator > leader. No need to have it all figured out before you arrive. Just come ready to think out loud with a few new people. See you there!

Sunday Board Gaming (Corner Cafe)

🔥Toronto Founder Walk | Marketers, Entrepreneurs & Business Owners

A lot of people in this group work with entrepreneurs every day — or are entrepreneurs themselves. Agency owners, marketers, consultants, freelancers, creators, startup founders and business owners often end up at the same conferences and seminars... …but don't necessarily get much time to actually know one another. So instead of another marketing presentation, we're trying something simpler: # 🚶 Toronto Founder Walk A casual Sunday walk along Toronto's Harbourfront where entrepreneurs, marketers and business owners can meet through natural conversation. No slides. No speakers. No sales presentation. No forced networking exercises. Just: **Walk. Talk. Meet someone interesting.** ### The idea I've been involved with entrepreneur and community events in Toronto since 2016, and this new series grew out of the **18,000-member Toronto Entrepreneurs & Start-ups Facebook community**. One thing I've noticed over the years is that the best connections rarely come from exchanging as many business cards as possible. They usually happen when you spend enough time talking to someone to discover: > “Oh, this person actually thinks about things in an interesting way.” That's what we're trying to create. ### 📍 Location **Toronto Harbourfront** We'll meet around **Simcoe WaveDeck / Harbourfront Centre**, near The Power Plant. Exact meeting instructions will be provided through Luma. ### 🕔 Time **Sunday · 5:00 PM – approximately 6:15 PM** Please arrive a few minutes early. ### 🚶 Format About **75 minutes walking along the waterfront**. We'll help make introductions at the start, but this is intentionally informal. Possible conversations might include: * What's actually working in marketing right now? * Growing an agency or service business * AI and automation * Customer acquisition * Entrepreneurship * Building a personal brand * Sales * Hiring * What you're currently working on * Or something completely unrelated to work You don't have to talk marketing for 75 minutes. The activity is simply there to make meeting people easier. ### Who this is for Especially relevant for: * Entrepreneurs * Agency owners * Digital marketers * Consultants * Freelancers * Creators * Startup founders * Business owners * Growth and marketing professionals You don't need to sell marketing services. You just need to be genuinely interested in meeting other people who build, market or operate businesses. ### What this is NOT This is not: * A lead-generation mixer * A seminar * A pitching session * A place to aggressively collect prospects If your main objective is to distribute business cards to everyone, this probably isn't the right event. If you'd enjoy meeting a few thoughtful people and seeing where the conversation goes, it probably is. ### ☕ Optional afterward We'll finish the formal walk around 6:15 PM. Anyone who wants can continue for coffee, food or a drink nearby. ### 🎟 How to reserve your spot **Meetup RSVP does not confirm attendance.** Please register through Luma: 👉 **[https://biz1.ca/walk-mkt](https://biz1.ca/walk-mkt)** We keep the walks relatively small, so please release your spot if your plans change. ### 📱 Future events For first notice of upcoming casual entrepreneur events, join **TES Social on WhatsApp**: 👉 **[https://biz1.ca/wa](https://biz1.ca/wa)** Upcoming formats may include: * Founder walks * Small dinners * Breakfasts * Marketing/AI discussions * Sports * Wellness * Social activities ### 🙌 Want to host or contribute? We're looking for people interested in: * Hosting * Co-hosting * Photography * Video * Reels * Venue partnerships * Activities * Event support 👉 **[https://biz1.ca/host](https://biz1.ca/host)** Come curious. Leave the pitch at home. Hopefully meet someone worth seeing again. #DigitalMarketingToronto #TorontoEntrepreneurs #FounderWalk #MarketingCommunity #TESSocial

Wed Board Gaming (Corner Cafe)

Testing Craftsmanship Evolving in the Age of AI | Toronto Meetup

**Testing Craftsmanship Evolving in the Age of AI \| Toronto Meetup** AI isn't replacing testers, it's reshaping what testing craftsmanship means. After two decades of watching the discipline evolve, one thing has stayed constant: the testers who win are the ones who keep growing their judgment, not just their tool stack. Join The Test Tribe's 15th Toronto Meetup for a deep, honest look at where testing craftsmanship is headed as AI reshapes the role, and what still can't be automated away. **Event Details** ● Date: 26 August 2026 ● Time: 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM ET ● Venue: [20 Toronto St, Toronto, ON M5C 2B8, Canada](https://maps.app.goo.gl/WUfTxyU1LuVJfX1Y6) **What's on the Agenda?** **Testing Craftsmanship Evolving in the Age of AI** **Speaker: Jacky Zhang, Test Architect, General Motors** Drawing on two decades of hands-on experience in automation, computer vision, OCR, and large-language-model experimentation, Jacky traces how testing craftsmanship has evolved through major technology shifts, and argues that AI is the next transformation, not a total disruption. He'll unpack the real barriers to AI adoption in testing, hallucination, limited generalization, compliance constraints, infrastructure cost, and unclear ROI, and make the case that lasting testing value still depends on stable engineering foundations, critical thinking, and a deep understanding of quality goals and human needs. **How This Meetup Solves Your Problem** If your team is being asked to "adopt AI in testing" without a clear picture of what that actually means day to day, this session cuts through the hype. Jacky offers a grounded, practitioner's view of where AI genuinely helps, where it falls short, and how testers can evolve from script executors into quality strategists, knowledge architects, and human-centered risk explorers. **Why You Should Show Up** * Understand which testing foundations remain essential even as AI capabilities grow. * Get a clear-eyed view of AI's real barriers: hallucination, generalization, compliance, cost, and ROI. * Learn how to reframe your own role as AI reshapes what "testing" means. * Meet fellow testers, automation engineers, and QA leaders from Toronto's testing community. **Become a Speaker at The Test Tribe events** Wish to share your insights with the community at a future event? Submit your talk idea [here](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc8xebmOBD2WYXwGKWj7GteY-tMLaj-aZzQk88MAsE0LUiMUQ/viewform) and our team will get back to you, if the idea resonates with them too. **About The Test Tribe** The Test Tribe is the world's largest software testing community, empowering testers globally since 2018. With 700+ events and 150K+ members across 130+ countries, we bring testers together to learn, grow, and connect through meetups, conferences, cohorts, masterclasses, and more. By RSVPing, you agree to our [Terms and Conditions](https://www.thetesttribe.com/website-terms-conditions/) and [Privacy Policy](https://www.thetesttribe.com/our-privacy-policy/) and consent to be contacted by The Test Tribe and our event partners.

Board Gaming for Dads - York Region

\*\*NEW LOCATION UPDATE\*\* HELLO Everyone, We are happy to announce that our 6 year running group will be moving our weekly event back to our old location which is now under the Fionn MacCools banner. Game night will be at Fionn MacCools at 125 York Blvd #135 in Richmond Hill. Start time is at 7 PM sharp, so please do you absolute best to show up at least a few minutes before then. If you feel you are running late, let us know in the group chat or contact one of the organizers directly. If you are new to the group, we are made up of a friendly group of Dad's who like to play large variety of Euro style games both new and old. We encourage everyone to please try and support venue partner with food and/or drink orders, if at all possible. While the organizers usually bring a number of titles, it's fairly common for attendees to bring a game or two of their own to these events. You may want to keep in mind factors like game duration and table space required, set up time and repacking time. If you do not have anything to bring, don't feel like you have to, we've got you covered. Because the player count is usually not known precisely until everyone shows up, having extra games around with varying player counts helps when deciding what to play. Looking forward to seeing you at our next event!! PLEASE RSVP if you are coming, cheers!!

Toronto Founders and Entrepreneurs Networking at 5 Elements Espresso Bar

Join the Toronto Founders Hub every other Saturday at 3:30pm for our regular meetup at 5 Elements Espresso Bar. Sit down with other entrepreneurs to network and discuss business ideas or strategies. \- Broaden your network \- Get critical feedback \- Socialize in low pressure setting I look forward to seeing you!

NORTH YORK (Sheppard Yonge) - Practical Philosophy Meetup 🇨🇦

**🏛️ WHAT'S PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY ABOUT?** Practical Philosophy is a weekly meet-up that brings critical thinkers together for an opportunity to dive deep on a topic, practice communicating, and building a community. All with no ‘official’ philosophy knowledge required! 😎 Practical Philosophy is based on the idea that philosophy should be accessible to all, and not something reserved only for academics. Each week we choose a topic, and the goal is to use the conversation to develop our critical thinking and communication as we explore that topic. The goal is to help develop our Critical Thinking, Communication, and Community 🙌 **📓 HOW DOES IT WORK?** Each week, we pick one topic and discuss it. The topic for the week is shared, generally in the [Whatsapp group](https://chat.whatsapp.com/B7LyJIeBlaH5VtXkMJTTph?s=cl&p=i&ilr=0), along with jump-off points to get the conversation going. When groups get bigger than 7-8 people, it’s important that we break into smaller groups. This way we are able to maintain a conversational flow as opposed to having our meetups feel like a discourse or lecture. **General Meeting Agenda** Each Practical Philosophy meet-up follows this general timeline: * 19:00-19:15 - People arrive and chat, get to know each other before the official start. * 19:15-19:25 - Meeting introduction, explanation of Practical Philosophy and the topic for the week, read the guidelines and the overview so attendees know what to expect in terms of timelines. * 19:25-20:45 - Break into small groups - introduce yourselves and general thoughts on the topic, open discussion afterwards. At this point the group can review the ‘jump-off’ questions as needed, but they are just there to help guide the conversation. It’s not obligatory to answer them. * 20:45-21:00 - Bring everyone back together to discuss conclusions of the topic - each group gives a short 1-minute summary. Organizer concludes the meeting and everyone takes a group photo. * 21:00 - The official meeting is over but it’s a great opportunity to get to know people in a non-structured environment, so we often stick around, chat, and get to know each other. **🧧PRICING?** Practical Philosophy is operated entirely on voluntary donations! If we are meeting in a café, buy a beverage! Donations are 100% voluntary, but they help us to bring the gift of deep conversation to people around the world. If you'd like to support, you can [donate here](https://www.zeffy.com/en-CA/donation-form/donate-to-practical-philosophy)! (Practical Philosophy is a registered Canadian charity) **💛 WHAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY** **🗣** “I feel like Philosophy Club helps someone build their own belief system through a series of perspectives while not promoting what’s right and wrong” - Ekam 🗣 “I got hooked from day 1 (the topic was authority) and felt it was the right place for me. I feel it is a place where people can go to learn and discuss new perspectives and increase critical thinking and community by interacting with people who might challenge your point of views but at the same time encourage you to have openness and mind flexibility.” - Daniel **🤓 FAQ** * **Do I need to study or read anything to attend?** No preparation is necessary. This isn’t a study of other thinkers. We want to know what you think about the topic, not what an old philosopher thought. If you have a perspective from a religion or a school of thought to share, throw it on the table and we’ll discuss it. * **Is there a specific philosophy that Practical Philosophy is focused on?** The goal of our meet-ups is to not have dogmatic discussions, and flex our critical thinking muscles. Because of this, we want to hear from every realm of thought, and don't study a particular school. * **Is it mostly men that attend?** Surprisingly, no! Although often, philosophy is seen as a Candelabra affair in a dark room with a bunch of guys, our Practical Philosophy meetups are generally 50/50 between genders, and we don’t meet in any dark rooms. * **Can I come alone?** Of course you can, we encourage it :) * **Can I be late?** Please don't be! We do have a 15 minute grace period where we allow people to funnel in while we hang out, but after that if you arrive too late, it disrupts the flow of the conversation. * **Where do you meet?** The location is posted in Meetup and our [Whatsapp group](https://chat.whatsapp.com/B7LyJIeBlaH5VtXkMJTTph?s=cl&p=i&ilr=0) for this location. It is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that you join the Whatsapp group! If you want to know what other cities have a Practical Philosophy Club, you can see our chapters on our [website](https://www.practicalphilosophy.club/). 🤝**POLICY** To respect our members privacy, we ask that no one privately message a member without first getting explicit consent. (This looks like speaking in person and being asked to message privately.) Contacting or texting other participants without prior consent is not permitted and may result in removal from the group. Practical Philosophy reserves the right to enforce this policy at its discretion to maintain a safe and respectful environment. **PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY CLUB - Philosophy, everywhere. ✨** We started in Practical Philosophy back in 2021 and there are now 70+ chapters in over 35 countries, including Canada, Spain, Japan, Mexico and many more! 🗺️ **\*\*\*** **Join our [Toronto Whatsapp](https://chat.whatsapp.com/B7LyJIeBlaH5VtXkMJTTph?s=cl&p=i&ilr=0) 👈** **Follow us on [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/practicalphilosophyclub/) 👈** **Our [website](https://www.practicalphilosophy.club/) 👈**

Meetup Event: Business Builders & Job Seekers — Coffee + Clarity Session

I get a lot of messages from people who want to connect for different reasons—partnerships, potential investment, help building a leveraged business model, or job opportunities. This meet-up is a casual but **structured** way to meet in person, quickly understand what you’re working on, and determine clear next steps. ### **📍 Location** **Second Cup** 4841 Yonge St · North York, ON ### **🕓 Time** **Aug 20th, 2026** **6:00 PM – 9:00 PM** *** ## **💵 Attendance Fee (Important)** * **Free for job seekers only** (if your primary purpose is employment. Please message me on the Meetup Platform). * **$10 for business-related attendance**, including: * business model feedback / guidance * partnership discussions * investment-related conversations * strategic support / “how do I move forward?” planning *If you’re coming for both job + business advice, it’s considered business-related and the $10 applies.* *** ## **✅ RSVP (Required)** Please RSVP so I can plan seating and manage time fairly for everyone. *** ## **What this meet-up is (and isn’t)** **This is an intro + screening session** designed to: * meet you briefly * clarify your direction * identify fit * suggest the next best step **This is not** a full consulting session, a guaranteed job interview, or a promise of investment/partnership. Those decisions happen after follow-up, if there’s a fit. *** ## **Format / Timeboxing** To keep it fair, conversations will be **timeboxed (approximately 5–10 minutes per person)** depending on turnout. You may stay and listen to other discussions. *** ## **What to bring (typed + prepared)** ### **If you want help with a business model** Bring a **typed 1-page plan** (rough is fine) including: * what the business does * who the customer is * how it makes money * what you’ve done so far * what you need help with right now ### **If you’re looking for a job** Bring **two printed copies** of your resume. ### **If you want to partner with me** Bring a **typed outline** including: * your concept (clear + simple) * **your responsibilities** (what you will personally do each week) * **your expectation of my responsibilities** * what success looks like (timeline + goals) ### **If you’re seeking investment (or want to discuss it)** Bring a **typed summary** including: * what traction you have (sales/users/LOIs/partnerships—anything real) * how much capital you’re seeking * exactly how the funds would be used * why you’re the person/team to execute *** If this sounds like you, join me at **Second Cup on Aug 20th from 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM**. If you are looking for a job, please use the meetup messaging feature to message me and I will add you to the event.

Practical Philosophy Meetup - Toronto 🇨🇦

**NO PHILOSOPHY EXPERTISE REQUIRED!** **🏛️ WHAT'S PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY ABOUT?** Practical Philosophy is a weekly meet-up that brings critical thinkers together for an opportunity to dive deep on a topic, practice communicating, and building a community. All with no ‘official’ philosophy knowledge required! 😎 Practical Philosophy is based on the idea that philosophy should be accessible to all, and not something reserved only for academics. Each week we choose a topic, and the goal is to use the conversation to develop our critical thinking and communication as we explore that topic. The goal is to help develop our Critical Thinking, Communication, and Community 🙌 **📓 HOW DOES IT WORK?** Each week, we pick one topic and discuss it. The topic for the week is shared, generally in the [Whatsapp group](https://chat.whatsapp.com/B7LyJIeBlaH5VtXkMJTTph?mode=gi_t), along with jump-off points to get the conversation going. When groups get bigger than 7-8 people, it’s important that we break into smaller groups. This way we are able to maintain a conversational flow as opposed to having our meetups feel like a discourse or lecture. **General Meeting Agenda** Each Practical Philosophy meet-up follows this general timeline: * 19:30-19:45 - People arrive and chat, get to know each other before the official start. * 19:45-19:55 - Meeting introduction, explanation of Practical Philosophy and the topic for the week, read the guidelines and the overview so attendees know what to expect in terms of timelines. * 19:55-21:15 - Break into small groups - introduce yourselves and general thoughts on the topic, open discussion afterwards. At this point the group can review the ‘jump-off’ questions as needed, but they are just there to help guide the conversation. It’s not obligatory to answer them. * 21:15-21:30 - Bring everyone back together to discuss conclusions of the topic - each group gives a short 1-minute summary. Organizer concludes the meeting and everyone takes a group photo. * 21:30 - The official meeting is over but it’s a great opportunity to get to know people in a non-structured environment, so we often stick around, chat, and get to know each other. **🧧PRICING?** Practical Philosophy is operated entirely on voluntary donations! If we are meeting in a café, buy a beverage! Donations are 100% voluntary, but they help us to bring the gift of deep conversation to people around the world. If you'd like to support, you can [donate here](https://www.zeffy.com/en-CA/donation-form/donate-to-practical-philosophy)! (Practical Philosophy is a registered Canadian charity) **💛 WHAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY** **🗣** “I feel like Philosophy Club helps someone build their own belief system through a series of perspectives while not promoting what’s right and wrong” - Ekam 🗣 “I got hooked from day 1 (the topic was authority) and felt it was the right place for me. I feel it is a place where people can go to learn and discuss new perspectives and increase critical thinking and community by interacting with people who might challenge your point of views but at the same time encourage you to have openness and mind flexibility.” - Daniel **🤓 FAQ** * **Do I need to study or read anything to attend?** No preparation is necessary. This isn’t a study of other thinkers. We want to know what you think about the topic, not what an old philosopher thought. If you have a perspective from a religion or a school of thought to share, throw it on the table and we’ll discuss it. * **Is there a specific philosophy that Practical Philosophy is focused on?** The goal of our meet-ups is to not have dogmatic discussions, and flex our critical thinking muscles. Because of this, we want to hear from every realm of thought, and don't study a particular school. * **Is it mostly men that attend?** Surprisingly, no! Although often, philosophy is seen as a Candelabra affair in a dark room with a bunch of guys, our Practical Philosophy meetups are generally 50/50 between genders, and we don’t meet in any dark rooms. * **Can I come alone?** Of course you can, we encourage it :) * **Can I be late?** Please don't be! We do have a 15 minute grace period where we allow people to funnel in while we hang out, but after that if you arrive too late, it disrupts the flow of the conversation. * **Where do you meet?** The location is posted in Meetup and our [Whatsapp](https://chat.whatsapp.com/B7LyJIeBlaH5VtXkMJTTph?mode=gi_t) group for this location. It is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that you join the Whatsapp group! If you want to know what other cities have a Practical Philosophy Club, you can see our chapters on our [website](https://www.practicalphilosophy.club/practical-philosophy-locations/). 🤝**POLICY** To respect our members privacy, we ask that no one privately message a member without first getting explicit consent. (This looks like speaking in person and being asked to message privately.) Contacting or texting other participants without prior consent is not permitted and may result in removal from the group. Practical Philosophy reserves the right to enforce this policy at its discretion to maintain a safe and respectful environment. **PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY CLUB - Philosophy, everywhere. ✨** We started in Practical Philosophy back in 2021 and there are now 50+ chapters in over 25 countries, including Canada, Spain, Japan, Mexico and many more! 🗺️ **\*\*\*** **Join our [Toronto Whatsapp](https://chat.whatsapp.com/B7LyJIeBlaH5VtXkMJTTph?mode=gi_t) 👈** **Follow us on [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/practicalphilosophyclub/) 👈** **Our [website](https://www.practicalphilosophy.club/) 👈**

🚀Toronto Founder Walk Entrepreneurs, Startups & Business Owners

## 🚶 What if networking was just going for a walk with interesting people? I've seen a lot of people in this group saying they want to meet more founders and business owners — but without another formal networking event. I've been organizing entrepreneur and community events in Toronto since 2016, and after seeing the response from the **18,000-member Toronto Entrepreneurs & Startups community**, I thought we'd try something much simpler. ### Toronto Founder Walk **Sunday · 5 PM · Harbourfront** About 75 minutes walking along the waterfront with a small group of founders, entrepreneurs and business owners. That's basically it. No presentations. No name tags. No awkward networking exercises. No hard selling. Just walk, talk and hopefully meet **one or two people you'd actually want to see again.** We're keeping the first one small while we figure out what works. If people enjoy it, the idea is to make **Sunday at 5 PM at Harbourfront** a regular thing. 📍 Harbourfront 🕔 5:00–6:15 PM 🚶 Around 75 minutes ☕ Optional coffee/drink afterward **[RSVP: https://biz1.ca/walk-ent](https://biz1.ca/walk-ent)** We're also using the TES Social WhatsApp Community to announce upcoming walks, dinners, sports, activities and other casual gatherings first: 👉 [https://biz1.ca/wa](https://biz1.ca/wa) #TorontoEntrepreneurs #TorontoFounders #FounderWalk #EntrepreneurCommunity #TESSocial

Model Mondays - Spotlight On Model router in Microsoft Foundry

AI agents rarely rely on a single model to solve every task. In this episode of Model Mondays, we'll explore how model router helps developers apply a hill-climbing approach to agent development by continuously finding better models for different steps in a workflow. Learn how to evaluate models, compare performance across providers and model families, and dynamically route requests to the model best suited for each task. Through discussions and demos, we'll show how model router helps agents improve quality, efficiency, and cost by treating model selection as an ongoing optimization process rather than a one-time decision. *** * [Explore the Resources](https://github.com/microsoft/model-mondays) * [Read the Newsletter](https://aka.ms/model-mondays/newsletter) * [Continue the conversation on the Discord](https://aka.ms/model-mondays/discord)