Nearly everyone has experienced it. You get introduced to somebody for the first time and within seconds, you can't remember their name. Not to worry, even though the name and facial recognition part of your memory may not be the strongest, Jean-Luc David and the Toronto based team at Cardign (yes, it sounds like the sweater) are here to help.

With over 31,000 hours of your life spent studying or sitting in class, you would think that all of your hard work as a student would logically lead to securing a high paying job. After graduating in Canada, it's estimated that one in three grads will end up in a low-skilled job. Add that to the ever mounting student debt and the odds are definitely not in your favor once you graduate. Trying to find a way to get ahead, students have been turning to sites like SpringTern to stand out.

Mike Holmes and the team at SlingRide aim to make the lives of Toronto's commuters a little less excruciating. Working out of the MaRS Discovery District as part of the JOLT accelerator, Mike and his team have launched a ridesharing community that is fully integrated into a user's social network. The site focuses on connecting people who are commuting in the same general direction and maps thousands of nearby coffee shops that allow drivers and passengers the ability to safely meet and coordinate rides in a simple and social way.

With the stores and aisles stocked full of beauty supplies, the average consumer has a lot to choose from, and wading through all the big budget marketing to find a quality product can be challenging. Loose Button is helping to take the guesswork out of finding your new favourite beauty and lifestyle products. Aside from the excitement of receiving a beautiful box filled with trendy new goodies, there is a chance you may find a product you can't live without. Loose Button allows online consumers to sample products before committing to a luxury price tag.

Friday, October 26th 2012 marked the 3rd annual TEDxToronto conference in Toronto. Growing from 100 participants to now over 1,300 at the Sony Centre, TEDxToronto has developed into one of the biggest independent TED conferences in the world.

TED - which stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design - is a conference that showcases some of the most thought provoking speakers from across the globe. Highlighting individuals who speak about positive and social benefits, TED carries the tagline "ideas worth spreading", which was front and centre at this year's event. The unique factor of TEDxToronto is that although the name is consistent with the overall TED brand, the event was independently organized by a group of Toronto volunteers.

Crowdfunding is one of the latest buzz words to grace the technology community. Think of crowdfunding as a way to finance a project by reaching out to your potential customers and asking them to invest a small amount of money towards turning your idea into reality. Crowdfunding focuses on allowing individuals to prepay - at a hefty discount - for a non-existent product or service while it's still an idea. If there is enough interest, and potentially enough money is raised through pre-sales, the idea gets validated and the project kicks off.