Cultivating Startups

Lots of ideas for startup ecosystem builders to discuss, debate, adapt and adopt in the 2018 Startup Genome report. It's one of the few examinations of what world-class ecosystems look like and how to get there—and something that every ecosystem organization should read and consider. Some of the topics discussed on this episode: Local Connectedness: New in this year's report and a critical component of all strong ecosystems. We give a big thumbs up to the report's contention that "collisions" and events aren't enough to build a startup community. Subsectors: Startup Genome looks at the growth of "deep tech"—technology subsectors that are typically more research-heavy and attract older, more experienced and educated founders. They see these subsectors as an opportunity for smaller ecosystems to become leaders. We look at what they identify as the subsector strengths of Canada's ecosystems. Founder Mindset: Are there attitudes and traits that are more likely to lead to strong startup founders or business builders? Startup Genome has introduced a new factor that looks at what traits help founders succeed. And we look at why we still think the Startup Genome reports are must-reads even though we give little credence to their rankings—and why we worry that the Ontario government may be latching on to the wrong takeaways from these reports. Links: Startup Genome 2018 report Hockeystick database

The Canadian federal budget was delivered on Tuesday and we start the show with a quick look at two items that may not get a lot of attention but may have a big impact on the startup ecosystem. It wasn't said directly, but it looks like the CAIP program will not be renewed next year. It has provided millions of dollars in funding to organizations like Communitech, MaRS, Ryerson DMZ, Invest Ottawa and many others across Canada. IRAP has been a source of funding for some of Canada's top startups, but the government wants to see them supporting larger projects, which will likely mean larger companies as the recipients. We also run through the supercluster winners, announced since the last show. We then take a deeper dive into a planned incubator in Gananoque, Ontario and look at the bigger issues around how small urban and rural areas can reasonably participate in the "startup revolution." The business plan says "The incubator’s success will be predicated on its ability to position itself as a world-class technology incubator"—how plausible is this in a town of 5,200 people with no university or college and very little ICT talent, companies, customers or investors? Links: Gananoque Incubator Feasibility Study [PDF] (Item 7 attachment) RiverLaunch Business Plan [PDF] (Item 11 attachment) Executive Director - Business Incubator [PDF] Budget 2018 [PDF] N100 Evolution RC100 Accelerate Muskoka: Business Acceleration Feasibility and Business Plan Development [PDF] (pages 54-79)

An expert review panel recently completed a report on the Ontario Network of Entrepreneurs (ONE)—the main program of the Ontario government for providing funding to organizations supporting tech or innovation companies and startup ecosystem. The ONE's Regional Innovation Centres are located in 18 cities across Ontario. And the review panel has recommended big changes: they want the government to become "a strong central authority" in the management of the program and recommend a diminished role for MaRS and for many of the regional organizations at the core of the ONE—many of which would no longer be called regional innovation centres. Communitech and Invest Ottawa would be promoted to Provincial Innovation Centres, and the panel recommends a "significant increase" in the province's funding of innovation programs. On this episode, we dedicate the entire show to a look at the expert review panel report with a focus on some of the more contentious recommendations. The panel humbly suggests that its recommendations will be criticized because they are "disruptive to those vested in the status quo." Well, we have problems with the status quo ... and with some of the review panel's suggestions. On the podcast we discuss why some of the recommendations would be a step backwards for Ontario. Links: Building Global Winners: The Expert Review Panel Report on the ONE [PDF] Statement on the Ontario Network of Entrepreneurs Report (Ontario Ministry of Research, Innovation and Science) Ontario Network of Entrepreneurs Ontario Commercialization Network Review (2009) [PDF]

We're back this week and it's the show we can only do once every five years. What are the fastest growing tech/ICT/software centres in Canada? You'll see rankings like this all the time, but we really only have good data on this every five years when the Census numbers come out. And they just came out and we go through them on this week's show—while also looking at why it's not as simple to come up with these rankings as you may think. So, there's a lot of Waterloo in these rankings, and plenty of Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa, and Montreal—as you'd expect—and Fredericton and Windsor and London and Saskatoon and many others from coast to coast—from Nanaimo to St. John's. We can't do this again until 2022! It's a show packed with top 5 rankings. And you can follow along with these tables for most of the rankings discussed on the show, along with details of which industry (NAICS) and occupation (NOC) codes were used. Links: Data tables, 2016 Census 2011 National Household Survey: Data tables LinkedIn post: Canada's fastest growing ICT (software) hubs Brookfield Institute: The State of Canada’s Tech Sector, 2016 CBRE: "Waterloo Becomes Canada’s Fastest Growing Tech Talent Market, Toronto Retains its #1 Position" Startup Muster 2017 report Cantech Letter: "Canadian startups should be filing quarterly reports, this founder says"

Hot DesQ is a program run by the government of Queensland in Australia through its Advance Queensland initiative to bring startups from around the world to Queensland and get them engaged with the local startup community. Through the program, startups receive $50,000-$100,000 in funding plus space at a coworking site in Queensland of their choice for six months. In return, startups agree to participate in local startup activities and build connections with companies in Queensland, while passing along some of their experience in growing a startup and building startup communities. This week we talk to Murray Love, CEO of Waterloo-based Ark Paradigm—one of three Canadian startups that have been accepted into the Hot DesQ program over its first two rounds. He is currently working out of the Fishburners coworking space in Brisbane. We also talk to Paul Martyn, the Deputy Director-General of Strategy and Innovation with the Queensland Department of Science, Information Technology and Innovation. He talks about what they're looking to achieve with the program and how it runs, including the "network points" startups earn by participating in the Queensland startup community. Links: Hot DesQ Advance Queensland Ark Paradigm Murray Love on LinkedIn Paul Martyn on LinkedIn What’s Hot DesQ Really Like?: FAQs from Someone Who Knows 43North 2017 Finals Qualifying Pitch: Suncayr (YouTube) 43North 2017 Finals Qualifying Pitch: SomaDetect (YouTube) 43North Entrepreneurs take state grants and flee WNY CDMN Soft Landing HQ2, eh? Amazon draws bids from Canadian cities to be online seller's other home

Montreal is home to one of Canada's largest and most dynamic startup ecosystems, and in just a few years, Isaac Souweine has gone from being a newcomer to the city (and to Canada) to being at the centre of the startup community as EIR with Real Ventures. We talk to Isaac about how he came to Montreal, how he initially got plugged into the ecosystem, working in Montreal without being fluent in French, and working with Real Ventures to help build the Montreal ecosystem, including his work as the general manager of Real's FounderFuel accelerator. Links: Real Ventures FounderFuel Isaac Souweine on LinkedIn Isaac Souweine on Twitter (@sonofsarah) Ottawa cut from short list for 'supercluster' funding The IT Factor: What Ottawa must do to brand itself as a true national tech hub

Velocity is one of Canada's most successful university-based startup incubators and an integral part of the Waterloo startup ecosystem. Its success helped the Ontario government see university incubators and accelerators in a whole new way, leading to the creation of a multimillion-dollar program across the province to fund "campus-linked accelerators." It had an unlikely beginning 10 years ago. On this week's show, Sean Van Koughnett talks about how the idea for Velocity came about, how it found supporters and avoided resistance while launching on a shoestring budget and how he sees student entrepreneurship in the broader context of student experience and student success -- an area he now oversees as Dean of Students and Associate VP at McMaster University. Links: Sean Van Koughnett on LinkedIn Sean Van Koughnett on Twitter Velocity (University of Waterloo) The Forge (McMaster University) Campus Linked Accelerator Program "Several proposals with Saskatchewan ties included on Ottawa 'superclusters' shortlist for $950-million federal funding" (Canadian Press)

Since 2014, Australia has received a detailed, annual profile of its startup ecosystem thanks to Startup Muster. And the startup community has been eager to participate, with thousands of responses last year from founders, potential founders and startup supporters. This week, Startup Muster cofounder and CEO Monica Wulff talks about what motivated her to create the survey, how Google became an early supporter, her annual roadtrips across the country to build interest and awareness, the rigorous validation process the responses go through and some of the most interesting results from last year's report. Monica also talks about the Sydney Startup Hub—an impressive 11-storey, 180,000 square-foot facility for startups, accelerators and incubators opening in the heart of the city. Links: Startup Muster Startup Muster 2016 Report [PDF] Startup Muster on Twitter (@startupmuster) Startup Muster on Facebook Monica Wulff on LinkedIn Monica Wulff on Twitter (@monwulff) Sydney Startup Hub

One of the challenges facing startup support organizations of all kinds is how do we know that we're doing a good job? Which programs are most effective? Which initiatives are worth continuing and which need to be changed or dropped? Even if we feel confident in our own activities, how would we convince someone else (including funders)? Jesse Rodgers, CEO of Volta Labs in Halifax, has written a lot about startup ecosystem metrics and has years of experience in dealing with these critical issues—both in his current role and in his previous roles running Creative Destruction Lab (Toronto) and Velocity (Waterloo). We talk to Jesse about the complex topic of metrics in startup ecosystems. You can also listen to Jessie's first appearance on the show here: Ep 01: Halifax Startup Ecosystem with Jesse Rodgers of Volta Labs Links: Jesse Rodgers's blog: whoyoucallingajesse Jesse Rodgers on LinkedIn Jesse Rodgers on Twitter (@jrodgers) Volta Labs Volta Labs on Twitter (@voltaeffect) "Why superclusters may be doomed to failure" by Jeffrey Crelinsten Ontario transfer payments >$1M to businesses, FY2017

Ottawa has been one of Canada's largest tech centres for decades and has the highest concentration of tech talent in the country. It hasn't always been a smooth ride—the city was riding high on the telecom boom of the late 1990s and took a big hit when the glory days came to an end, but it evolved and rebuilt and now has an impressive collection of startups and young companies, led by Shopify—now valued at over $10 billion after its IPO in 2015. Ian Graham has been part of Ottawa's tech community for many years and has spent the last decade helping startups as the founder and president of TheCodeFactory, a hybrid coworking space and incubator—a pioneer in that space when it opened downtown nearly 10 years ago. TheCodeFactory is particularly experienced in working with startups looking to bootstrap their business and finance their operations through revenue. He talks about how the startup ecosystem has grown over the least 10 years and where he'd like to see it go from here. Press play to listen or subscribe with your favourite podcast app. Links: TheCodeFactory TheCodeFactory blog TheCodeFactory on Twitter TheCodeFactory on Facebook Ian Graham on LinkedIn The Origin and Evolution of New Businesses by Amar Bhidé

Vancouver is one of Canada's biggest tech hubs and Launch Academy has played a key role in the startup ecosystem over the last five years, providing incubation services and training to over 100 startups a year—and hosting events for the community at its 12,000 square-foot space in the Gastown area of the city. This week, we talk to general manager Hussein Hallak about the programs at Launch Academy and their big vision for Vancouver's startup community—already ranked #1 in the country by Startup Genome and ready to grow even further. Press play to listen or subscribe with your favourite podcast app. Links: Launch Academy Launch Academy on Twitter (@Launch_Academy) Launch Academy on Facebook (LaunchAcademyIgnited) Hussein Hallak Hussein Hallak on LinkedIn Hussein Hallak on Twitter (@HHUnleashed) Hussein Hallak on Facebook (HHUnleashed) Take a 3D Virtual Tour of Western Canada's Leading Tech Startup Hub VC & PE Canadian Market Overview // H1 2017 BDC Fiscal 2017 Annual Report Houston Technology & Innovation Task Force: Report [PDF] Innovation In Houston: A Study Of The Bayou City’s Startup Ecosystem [Google Drive]

Mike Colwell has been mentoring startup founders for over a decade in his role with Square One DSM in Des Moines, Iowa. He's also on the board of directors of two accelerators focused on sectors where the region is building on established strengths: one for startups in the insurance sector and the other focused on agritech. On this week's show, Mike talks about how the accelerators were created and structured, how they're funded, how they operate, lessons learned from an earlier unsuccessful incubator, and the growth of the Des Moines startup ecosystem. Press play to listen or subscribe with your favourite podcast app. Links: Greater Des Moines Partnership Square One DSM Global Insurance Accelerator Iowa AgriTech Accelerator Plains Angels Mike Colwell on LinkedIn Square One DSM on Twitter (@SquareOneDSM) Square One DSM on Facebook Square One DSM Startup Stories – Lil Sidekick PitchBook: VC investment in US agtech keeps growing [datagraphic] Ambience Data wins N100 2017

It's Canada's smallest province, but that hasn't stopped Prince Edward Island from launching several initiatives to support startups. One of the newest is Startup Zone, an incubator in downtown Charlottetown, which launched last year. It's already worked with over 30 startups and has started to see companies graduating and moving out and into larger spaces. Doug Keefe became the interim CEO of Startup Zone in April and on this week's show he talks about how Startup Zone started, building a startup community in Charlottetown, the challenge of finding tech talent, a new $4 million fund launching in the province, and some early success stories for the incubator. Press play to listen or subscribe with your favourite podcast app. Links: Startup Zone Startup Zone Pitch Competition Startup Zone on Twitter (@StartupZonePEI) Startup Zone on Facebook Doug Keefe on LinkedIn Doug Keefe on Twitter (@dougkeefe)

It wasn't that long ago that you couldn't run a hackathon in Saskatoon without raising eyebrows about what you were planning to hack into. Now a startup community is emerging in the city and the province has provided $250,000 to the first tech incubator in Saskatchewan—Co.Labs—which will officially launch in September. We talk to Jordan Dutchak, the executive director, who has spent more than two years helping to make Co.Labs a reality. He talks about how Co.Labs came about, how it's structured, what they've learned from other incubators in Canada, the ROI that government funders expect to see, and the operating model they're using: how startups are brought on board and the processes for remaining in—or being asked to leave—the incubator. Jordan also describes how—even after years of preparation—there were still a lot of surprises waiting once they brought the first startups on board for a beta run this summer. Press play to listen or subscribe with your favourite podcast app. Links: Co.Labs Co.Labs on Twitter (@colabsyxe) Co.Labs on Facebook Jordan Dutchak on LinkedIn Saskatchewan Launches Technology Incubator in Saskatoon Montreal AI firms hope last-minute gambit for federal cash pays off

No guest this week, so a roundup of recent news and updates from startup ecosystems. [1:50] It's deadline week for applications to Canada's Innovation Superclusters program. $950 million up for grabs. [2:50] The new Grand Innovations hub in Cambridge is coming along and looking at a January opening. [3:56] Volta Labs is tripling its space in downtown Halifax. [4:30] New research reports from the Impact Centre. The latest one looks at whether VC-backed Canadian startups have experienced marketing talent and how they compare to U.S. unicorns. [8:34] Funding for Edmonton organizations under the Alberta Entrepreneurship Incubator Program. [9:15] Why are we still using the Osterwalder-Pigneur business model canvas? It's not startup friendly and there are better alternatives [11:41] Provincial funding for Co.Labs incubator in Saskatoon. [12:51] A look at the Saskatchewan Commercial Innovation Incentive (SCII). [13:54] WHAT'S SO BAD ABOUT BEING ACQUIRED? Why do so many Canadian columnists treat a startup being acquired as some kind of act of national disloyalty? And why do we insist on saying our startups were “snatched up” or “gobbled up” when their acquisitions actually brought billions of dollars to the country and fuelled our entire funding ecosystem? [21:19] Results of a survey on accelerators in Canada released by Hockeystick at Startupfest. [24:23] It's Startup Muster time in Australia, a national startup survey conducted annually in their winter/our summer. Over 2,700 respondents last year! Links: Slate Office REIT Announces Significant Lease with Volta Labs at Maritime Centre in Halifax The CMO Search, Canada’s Patent Puzzle, Canadian Tech Tortoises (Impact Centre) New support for innovators and entrepreneurs (Alberta) Saskatchewan Launches Technology Incubator in Saskatoon How to foster Canadian startups to scale up instead of sell out 2017 Accelerator Survey Results (Hockeystick) 2015 Report on Early-Stage Support for Canadian Companies (NACO) Startup Muster

Edmonton's startup community has come a long way in just a few years, and Startup Edmonton recently celebrated its fifth anniversary as a startup hub in the city's downtown. We talk to CEO Tiffany Linke-Boyko about the evolution of Startup Edmonton, starting as a grassroots initiative with two founders in 2009, to its place today as a core piece of the city's economic development strategies. It was a big week for Edmonton, as the city—and the rest of Canada—cheered the creation of a new research centre from Google/Alphabet-owned artificial intelligence company DeepMind. The University of Alberta in Edmonton has been a world leader in artificial intelligence and, with the new office, it's hoped that more AI talent will come to Edmonton and stay there. Links: Startup Edmonton Startup Edmonton on Twitter (@StartupEdmonton) Tiffany Linke-Boyko on Twitter (@TiffanyKLB) Tiffany Linke-Boyko on LinkedIn DeepMind expands to Canada with new research office in Edmonton, Alberta Paula Simons: 'Global head-snap': Google's DeepMind sets up shop in Edmonton DeepMind Goes to Alberta For First International Lab Laura Kilcrease Leaves Austin to Head up the Alberta Innovates Corp.

Northumberland County—east of Toronto in Southern Ontario—isn't a place where you'd expect to find a $100,000 startup competition that attracts some of the top new tech companies in the province. It's a largely rural area with no university campus and its largest population centre has fewer than 20,000 residents. But the N100 competition is now in its fifth year and Northumberland is also introducing an angel coinvestment fund and the Town of Cobourg is converting one of its unused buildings into a new innovation centre, Venture 13. We talk to John Hayden of the Northumberland CFDC, who manages the N100 competition and other enterprise programs. Press play to listen or subscribe with your favourite podcast app. Links: Northumberland CFDC N100 N100 on Twitter (@N100startups) Northumberland CFDC on Twitter (@NrthmbrlndCFDC) "Big plans for Venture 13 in Cobourg" (Northumberland Today)

Arctic Business Incubator isn't an exaggeration—they're incubating new technology businesses at the Arctic Circle in Sweden, and have been for the last 12 years. It's affiliated with the Luleå University of Technology and runs accelerator and incubator programs in four locations, with startups covering a broad range of sectors from gaming to space to cleantech and many more. We talk to managing director Jens Lundström on this week's podcast. And I take a look at a new report out of British Columbia that that makes the case for why B.C. will be Canada's "global digital technology supercluster." There's no denying that Vancouver is a digital tech hotbed ... as is Toronto-Waterloo, Montreal, Ottawa (or is that Montreal-Ottawa?). How many digital tech superclusters should Canada have? Press play to listen or subscribe with your favourite podcast app. Links: Arctic Business Incubator Arctic Business Incubator on Twitter (@ArcticIncubator) Jens Lundström on Twitter (@jlundstrom) This is Kiruna: How to Move a City (YouTube) Report: British Columbia's Digital Technology Supercluster Why a Creative Destruction Lab Atlantic makes sense (Jesse Rodgers) Supporting Entrepreneurs, Building Momentum in Cape Breton Bayview Yards Announces Eight Founding Sponsors Contributing $1.3 Million Creating A Welcoming Space For Every Type Of Entrepreneur To Take Risks (about Startup Edmonton)

It's not the biggest country, but New Zealand has developed thriving startup ecosystems while facing heightened versions of many of the same challenges we see in Canada, including a small domestic market, and an underdeveloped venture capital sector. Creative HQ in Wellington is one of the leading lights of the New Zealand startup ecosystem, and we talk to CEO Stefan Korn about what's working well and what gaps still need to be addressed. I take a look at two different reports on venture capital activity in Canada over the first quarter of 2017. You'd hardly know that they're even talking about the same period: one says it was a great three months, the other says the year got off to a slow start. And I have an update on the NACO report on angel investing in Canada that we discussed in episode 6. Press play to listen or subscribe with your favourite podcast app. Links: Creative HQ Creative HQ on Twitter (@CreativeHQ) Lightning Lab Lightning Lab on Twitter (@LightningLab) New Zealand Startup Ecosystem Map (Mum's Garage) VC & PE Canadian Market Overview // Q1 2017 (CVCA) 2017 Canada PE & VC Breakdown: Part I (PitchBook) "Sowerby on Aust innovation policy" (formerly: "Sowerby unloads: Gov’t is hopeless")

For over four years, Mike Kirkup was the director of Velocity—the startup incubator at the University of Waterloo. It's been a huge addition to the Waterloo startup community since opening in 2008. He stepped down just over a year ago to become CTO at Encircle—a Velocity graduate—and on this week's show looks back at lessons learned from Velocity's growth (and how a huge space for Velocity Garage quickly became too small). I also take a quick look at some new data on Canada's venture capital industry from a BDC report released last week, and catch up on the Canadian government's Innovation Superclusters Initiative (ISI) after attending a information session. Only five superclusters are going to be selected and the front runners seem pretty clear. Is there even any point for anyone else to apply? Press play to listen or subscribe with your favourite podcast app. Links: Velocity Velocity on Twitter (@UWVelocity) Mike Kirkup on Twitter (@mikekirkup) Encircle Velocity Fund Finals (Livestream archive) Innovation Superclusters Initiative (ISI): Frequently asked questions Canada’s Venture Capital Landscape (BDC) VC & PE Canadian Market Overview 2016 (CVCA)

The Canadian federal government has released a discussion paper asking for feedback on parts of its in-development Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative, we take a look at what's in the paper and also discuss a new academic paper from Stanford that claims that all U.S. unicorns are overvalued. And we talk to Yuri Navarro, the CEO of the National Angel Capital Organization. They've just released their seventh annual report on angel investing activity in Canada, based on a survey of angel groups across the country. The report shows angels are doing more and bigger deals -- often follow-on rounds and in syndication with other angel groups and other investors. We talk about the role of angel investors in startup ecosystems. Press play to listen or subscribe with your favourite podcast app. Links: 2016 Report on Angel Investing Activity in Canada [PDF] National Angel Capital Organization NACO on Twitter (@AngelCapCanada) Yuri Navarro on Twitter (@YURI_NAV) NACO Common Docs 2015 Report on Early-Stage Support for Canadian Companies [PDF] Designing the Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative Government of Canada holds consultations on venture capital policy Squaring Venture Capital Valuations with Reality

On this week’s podcast: The Canadian government has come out with some of the details of its $950 million Innovation Superclusters program. Five superclusters are going to be selected and provided with well over $100 million apiece in federal funding, and startups are required to be included. We look at some of the details of the program that are particularly relevant to startup ecosystems. We then talk to Steve Bailey of the Lazaridis Institute at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo. They've just started a search for a second cohort for their annual scale-up program—a six-month program to help grow Canadian companies that includes a week of making connections in Silicon Valley. We also talk about the startup data platform that the Lazaridis Institute has developed with Hockeystick that recently received $2.5 million in federal funding. Press play to listen or subscribe with your favourite podcast app. Links: Lazaridis Scale-Up Program Lazaridis Institute - Research Lazaridis Institute on Twitter (@LazaridisInst) "Government of Canada launches historic job-creating superclusters initiative" Innovation Superclusters Initiative Innovation superclusters initiative (ISI): Program guide

On this week’s podcast: For the last five years, Startup Genome has been assessing and ranking startup ecosystems around the world for its Global Startup Ecosystem reports. They recently published their third report, and this week we talk to their CEO, JF Gauthier, about the factors they assess and the metrics they use in determining the rankings. JF also talks about the startup ecosystem lifecycle model Startup Genome has developed to determine where a region is in its development and what it needs to do next to continue to grow. And we discuss the role of government in growing ecosystems and why JF thinks they need to show a greater sense of urgency to participate in what he calls the "global startup revolution." To start the show, I discuss how a ranking like Startup Genome's is a challenging undertaking by looking at just two of the many factors they consider in their assessment. Links: Startup Genome Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2017 Startup Genome on Twitter (@startupgenome) Canada’s Best Tech Hubs To Live and Work In 2016 Scoring Canadian Tech Talent  

On this week's podcast: Can the expertise and lessons learned in one startup ecosystem be used to benefit ecosystems in different cities and countries? That's what Tim Ellis has spent much of the last few years doing. Tim is the former CEO of the Accelerator Centre in Waterloo and a long-time member of the Waterloo startup community. He has been taking expertise developed in Waterloo and sharing it with startup ecosystems internationally—including in Australia, where the University of Wollongong was so grateful for his help that they awarded him an Honorary Doctor of Science degree. He's now also bringing that same expertise to Cambridge, Ontario, heading up the creation of Grand Innovations, a new innovation centre with partners that include the City of Cambridge and Conestoga College. Grand Innovations is scheduled to open a 50,000 square-foot facility in the Galt area in the next year. In the update: A look at the fate of Startup Calgary, the new Ontario Scale-Up Vouchers program, and Michael Litt's column in the Globe and Mail on Vidyard's efforts to resist gentrification in downtown Kitchener. Links: Grand Innovations The Gaslight District Tim Ellis on Twitter (@tellis) "Startup Calgary finds new home under Calgary Economic Development" (Metro) Ontario Scale-Up Vouchers Program "Can tech uplift a community without gentrifying it?" (Globe and Mail)

Do Canadian startups replace founder CEOs too quickly? Are startups still focusing significant resources on product development with minimal market feedback? Do Canadian businesses really underinvest in R&D? What do Canadian startups need to do to improve their chances of scaling to prominent size? These are some of the topics related to Canadian startups that Charles Plant has covered in research reports over the last 14 months. Charles is senior fellow at the Impact Centre at the University of Toronto and he talks about some of the key implications for startups that have emerged from his research. To start the show, I take a first look at startup ecosystem metrics, focusing on metrics for assessing individual startups. It's long been a criticism of startup ecosystem organizations that they haven't done a good job of collecting data needed to show that their programs are having an impact. Some of the criticism is deserved, but it's not as simple as it may sound. Links: Impact Centre Impact Centre on Twitter (@ImpactUofT) Charles Plant's Material Minds Links to all research reports from the Impact Centre The Narwhal List Performance measurement framework for business accelerators and incubators News release: "Hockeystick and the Lazaridis Institute Launch a National Scale-Up Data Platform to Help Canadian Companies Grow"

Will Halifax become Canada's next great startup centre? Jesse Rodgers says it has all the right ingredients and a lot of momentum. Jesse is the CEO of Volta Labs in Halifax—"Halifax's tech superhub." Jesse was a long-time member and builder of the Waterloo startup community and the former director of the Creative Destruction Lab in Toronto and Velocity in Waterloo. He talks here about what he has seen in Halifax that makes him excited about the city's startup ecosystem and the role Volta will play. Before we talk to Jesse, I take a look at the 2017 Canadian federal budget from a startup community perspective, with a particular focus on the government's venture capital and supercluster initiatives and how those funds will have an impact on Canadian startups and startup ecosystems. Links: Volta Labs Volta Labs on Twitter (@voltaeffect) Jesse Rodgers's blog Jesse Rodgers on Twitter (@jrodgers) Budget 2017 Advisory Council on Economic Growth, "Unlocking Innovation to Drive Scale and Growth" [PDF]

In this introductory episode of Cultivating Startups, it's just me, Gary Will, talking about what the podcast is about and what I hope you'll get from it, and then finishing off with a bit of background on me. Short version is that, while there are plenty of sites and podcasts (and books and YouTube channels, and so on) about startups themselves, there's much less on startup ecosystems and startup communities ... even though regions around the world are now devoting significant resources in an attempt to build them. As these initiatives grow in number, more and more people are working within startup ecosystems—and there's a whole world of expertise, perspectives and experiences to connect to. That's what I hope to do with the podcast. And the goal is to go beyond nuts-and-bolts "checklist" issues and look at startup ecosystems in a deeper context, including such issues as why we're doing this, who should be doing it, and how do we assess whether it's been successful.