Podcasts about georgian partners

Nick Schrock is Founder of Dagster Labs & Creator of Dagster - the open source orchestration platform for the development, production, and observation of data assets. Dagster Labs has raised just under $50M from investors including Sequoia, Index, and Georgian Partners. In this episode, we discuss how Dagster is bringing software engineering principles to the data space, what a great developer experience means for data engineers, how to think about launching the cloud version of your open source project & much more!

Building your tech stack as a startup can either help you soar to new highs, or become your biggest nightmare and slow you down. Our guest today is helping founders navigate that path, Taylor Lint is Co-Founder and CEO of Swantide, a platform that automates the configuration and management of your GTM tech stack.Before this week's episode, we welcome back John Ruffolo to chat about the news making headlines in the Canadian and global tech markets.About Taylor Lint:Taylor Lint is the Founder & CEO of Swantide. Prior, Taylor led engineering and product at Replica, an analytics company that spun out of Alphabet's Sidewalk Labs. Previously she led engineering for the launch of LinkedIn's Talent Insights product. Taylor studied Information Science and German at Cornell.In this episode we discuss:(0:00:26)  News Roundup with John Ruffolo talking about ClearCo, BMO x Georgian Partners, Quantum Computing, Sequoia's make good, IP Law, and Microsoft as king of M and A(0:20:10)  Taylor's journey into the tech world(0:21:58)  Lessons launching LinkedIn Talent(0:23:28)  What Taylor learned at Sidewalk Labs(0:26:32)  The process of spinning out Sidewalk Labs into a separate entity from Alphabet(0:27:39)  Why Taylor decided to tackle the GTM Tech stack problem(0:29:34)  Data you need to infor your GTM strategy(0:31:13)  When is the right time to invest in GTM(0:32:36)  Typical startup GTM strategies and mistakes(0:35:18)  Goal setting for GTM(0:36:06)  How Swantide makes the GTM better(0:39:23)  Eliminating isolated documents and data with Swantide(0:41:18)  Best practices to set up and maintain your CRM(0:44:30)  Advice for early-stage startups around data collection(0:46:25)  Other considerations around preparing to scale later(0:48:49)  How Swantide's $7M Seeed round came together with Menlo Ventures alongside Village Global, NEO, and a handful of strategic angelsFast Favorites:*

Timestamps: 2:01 - How consulting makes you a better entrepreneur 7:27 - Spending your sabbatical in Rheinfeld 31:18 - Staying healthy as a founder 42:18 - Complex and non-complex system 47:35 - Getting acquired by Zoom Info About Roy Raanani: Roy Raanani is the co-founder, former CEO and current president of Chorus.ai, a B2B SaaS platform that helps sales teams improve the quality of their conversations and sales processes by analyzing how top performers engage with customers in calls and video meetings. He holds a BA in Engineering Science from UoT and an MBA from Stanford, and previously worked for companies like Bain & Company and Innovation Endeavors. After quitting his consultancy job and spending a sabbatical in Rheinfeld thinking about business ideas, Roy developed an interest in undervalued data sets in business, specifically conversations – he wanted to use machine learning to discover what makes a conversation end badly and what makes it end well. He founded Chorus.ai in 2015 and has since grown it to millions in revenue and over 100 employees, and raised over $65M in capital from Emergence Capital, Redpoint and Georgian Partners. But the sailing wasn't always this smooth. Thinking back to when they were first building the product, Roy recounts an interesting cycle he observed: When you're building a product, the feedback you get from your first customers will be mostly negative, which decreases both your motivation and your customer's excitement level about the product. However, simultaneously to this, your product's quality level is slowly going up. At some point these first customers might lose their patience and stop using your product. But then you acquire new customers whose excitement level is just as high as your first customers' once was, and this time your product is starting off from a slightly better position. Rinse and repeat. Finally you reach a point when your new customer doesn't have a bad experience! And the only thing that kept you going through this entire process was the fact that, flaws and all, people were still using your product, so you must be answering a real need. In conclusion, so long as you don't run out of hope or cash, perseverance will get you to product-market fit. In Chorus.ai's case, it also got them to a tradesale. They were acquired by Zoom Info in 2021 for $575M and have since seen their yearly growth rate double from 100% to 200%. Memorable Quotes: "A lot of investors are too comfortable giving entrepreneurs advice having never been in their shoes." "We're always focused on older, experienced people, but I think it's just as important to get to know the amazing people that are maybe a couple years behind you." If you would like to listen to more conversations with expats living in Switzerland, check out our episode with Ross Mason. Don't forget to give us a follow on our Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Linkedin accounts, so you can always stay up to date with our latest initiatives. That way, there's no excuse for missing out on live shows, weekly give-aways or founders dinners!

With the recent market pullback, growth-stage startups have to figure out how to best navigate today’s markets. In this episode, we welcome Margaret Wu, Partner and Lead Investor at Georgian Partners, a Canadian fund that invests in high-growth tech companies. Recently they have focused on the growth of applied AI, investing in Vention, a digital manufacturing automation platform in its $95M Series-C round; and in a $150M Series-C round for global HR software platform Oyster.Georgian Partners also publishes The Georgian Impact Podcast, runs the collaborative pre-investment CoLab program, and has developed a robust R&D team that leverages AI-driven solutions for its founders. Margo and I discuss how software can be the lifeblood of a well-run organization; how Georgian is currently managing its existing portfolio investments, and the incredible platform Georgian has built to help companies use data to deliver insights to CEOs and startups. About Margo Wu:Margaret “Margo” Wu is a Lead Investor at Georgian and is involved in due diligence, deal selection, and board governance for startups exploiting Applied AI.Prior to Georgian, she was a Product Manager for mobile marketing at Amazon, co-founded a biotech company, and served as COO at OneSpout, a local e-commerce startup. Margaret began her career in technology consulting at Accenture and holds an MBA from Cornell University, as well as a BSc and BES from the University of Waterloo. A word from our sponsor:At Ripple, we manage all of our fund expenses and employee credit cards using Jeeves.The team at Jeeves helped get me and my team setup with physical and virtual credit cards in days. I was able to allow my teammates to expense items in multiple currencies allowing them to pay for anything, anywhere at any time. We weren’t asked for any personal guarantees or to pay any setup or monthly SaaS fees.Not only does Jeeves save us time, but they also give us up to 3% cash back on our purchases including expenses like Google, Facebook or AWS every month. The best part is Jeeves puts up the cash, and you settle up once every 30 days in any currency you want, unlike some other corporate card companies that make you pre-pay every month.Jeeves also recently launched its Jeeves Growth and Working Capital initiative for startups and fast-growing companies to enable more financial freedom for every entrepreneur. The best thing of all is that Jeeves is live in 24 countries including Canada, the US and many other countries around the world. Jeeves truly offers the best all-in-one expense management corporate card program for all startups especially the ones at Ripple and we at Tank Talks could not be more excited to officially partner with them.Listeners of Tank Talks can get set up with a demo of Jeeves today and take advantage of our Tank Talks special with a $700 sign-on bonus and skip the waitlist that already has thousands of companies by visiting tryjeeves.com/tanktalks to get setup today!In this episode we discuss:02:37 Margo’s background in technology and startups and her journey into investing04:20 How consulting helped Margo understand the building and scaling of companies06:05 Lessons learned from Product Management at Amazon10:25 Georgian’s investment thesis and mandate13:40 How Georgian found deals at the right valuations over the past year16:49 Thoughts on “Operating during a Downturn” and preparing for a crucible moment19:47 How Georgian is thinking about profitability and how realistic it is for founders to pursue23:01 Georgian’s acquisition strategy given the cheap opportunities in the public market25:04 Advice to founders looking for growth capital but are at risk of a flat/down round26:49 How Founders are responding to the current market conditions28:56 Does Georgian Partners time the markets?30:55 How Georgian manages follow-up investments in later-stage, pre-IPO firms32:00 How Georgian’s platform has tactically supported founders34:23 How the CoLab program works38:13 How the R&D Team can help portfolio and non-portfolio company founders Fast FavoritesPodcastAll-In PodcastBlog/NewletterWait but Why By Tim UrbanTech GadgetNintendo 64New TrendRemote Work/ WFHBookArt of the Start by Guy KawasakiLife LessonKnowing when to pivot and when to persevereFollow Matt Cohen and Tank Talks here!Podcast production support provided by Agentbee.Agency This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tanktalks.substack.com

Miguel Armaza is joined by Richard Sarkis, serial entrepreneur, Executive Chair, and Co-Founder of Reonomy, a commercial real estate data and analytics platform. Since inception in 2013, the company has raised over $130 million in equity from leading industry investors like Georgian Partners, Softbank, Citi Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures, Fintech Collective, and many more... Rich is also a proud graduate of our very own Wharton School In this episode, we discuss: - His journey as a repeat entrepreneur - Exciting stories and challenges of building Reonomy from the ground up - His views on company culture why it is extremely important - Transitioning from CEO to Executive Chairman and what this entails - State of the US commercial real estate market and the impact of COVID - Valuable founder advice and takeaways after almost two decades of entrepreneurship - And a whole lot more! Soundcloud: Spotify: Apple: Full interview --> Spotify | Soundcloud | Apple Richard Sarkis Richard Sarkis is Executive Chair and co-founder of Reonomy, a commercial real estate data and analytics platform. Since the company’s founding in 2013, Sarkis has been instrumental in raising $128 million in venture capital and led Reonomy through a successful web-platform launch in New York City, as well as the launch of a second nationwide platform in 2017. About Reonomy Reonomy leverages big data, partnerships and machine learning to connect the fragmented, disparate world of commercial real estate. By providing unparalleled access to property intelligence, Reonomy products empower individuals, teams, and companies to unlock insights and discover new opportunities.

Don’t let anyone tell you it’s too late to change your direction. Emily Walsh went from being a ballet dancer… to a lead investor at Georgian, a VC firm that has raised $1.2B across 4 funds and recently added another $850M in early 2020. Georgian focuses on investing in software and fin-tech. According to Emily, Georgian typically invests $20M - $40M at a time. Being a lead investor, Emily has to be right at the forefront of making the decisions of how to spend that money and who to give it to. If you’ve ever thought about attracting your first or next round of funding, then it’s vital to know how investors like Emily think. ...especially because Georgian are a minority investor. Minority investors don’t expect to change your company’s direction. They want to see that you already know where you are going. If they like the direction, they’ll strap $20M+ rocket-boosters (aka: investments) to the back of your SaaS engine to get you there quicker. But, how does a firm like Georgian qualify SaaS businesses and evaluate if they’re worth the investment? AI. Georgian has an internal model that allows them to input data about a business and validate if the investment will meet their return criteria. Clever, right? Let’s hear from Emily in the latest interview on the Escape Velocity podcast. Emily has a heart for growing SaaS businesses and in our chat, we talk about: - How Georgian grew from 17 to 60 people - What got Emily into investing - How dancing taught her discipline and focus - Why Georgian structures themselves like a software company - The 2 questions Emily will ask of any potential software investment - The future of Conversational AI in SaaS sales pipelines I love speaking with decision makers at VC firms about the SaaS industry. Investors get exclusive views of company roadmaps, timelines and P&L sheets. They see the behind-the-scenes that most companies prefer to keep secret… and although investors respect the business privacy of their portfolio clients, they still have the wisdom for picking market winners well in advance. I’m telling you… If you EVER want to attract some serious big-cash investors, you HAVE to think the way they think. And it’s priceless interviews like this one that will help you. Turn up the volume, and listen to the episode here. -- Dan Martell is a serial entrepreneur, an investor in 40+ startups like Intercom, Udemy, and Unbounce and the creator of SaaS Academy, helping over 500 B2B SaaS founders scale faster. He’s founded five SaaS companies and successfully exited three of them. If you want to scale faster without hitting the usual roadblocks, make sure to follow him on Youtube, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn & Twitter.

043 Michael Hyatt built and sold 2 very successful software companies. He is an investor on the hit podcast "The Pitch" and host of the new "Business Unplanned" podcast. He sits on the Board of Advisors of Georgian Partners, one of Canada’s leading venture capital firms. He is a recipient of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 Award and a finalist for Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award. https://www.SmartVenturePod.com IG/Twitter/FB @GraceGongGG LinkedIn:@GraceGong YouTube: https://bit.ly/gracegongyoutube Join the SVP fam with your host Grace Gong. In each episode, we are going to have conversations with some of the top investors, super star founders, as well as well known tech executives in the silicon valley. We will have a coffee chat with them to learn their ways of thinking and actionable tips on how to build or invest in a successful company.

042 Michael Hyatt built and sold 2 very successful software companies. He is an investor on the hit podcast "The Pitch" and host of the new "Business Unplanned" podcast. He sits on the Board of Advisors of Georgian Partners, one of Canada’s leading venture capital firms. He is a recipient of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 Award and a finalist for Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award. https://www.SmartVenturePod.com IG/Twitter/FB @GraceGongGG LinkedIn:@GraceGong YouTube: https://bit.ly/gracegongyoutube Join the SVP fam with your host Grace Gong. In each episode, we are going to have conversations with some of the top investors, super star founders, as well as well known tech executives in the silicon valley. We will have a coffee chat with them to learn their ways of thinking and actionable tips on how to build or invest in a successful company.

Today on the program, I have a conversation with serial tech entrepreneur and investor Michael Hyatt. He's the co-founder of Bluecat Networks, a b2b tech company Michael started with his brother Richard Hyatt back in 2001. Sixteen years later, Bluecat was acquired for a reported 400 million dollars. Michael is now a prominent angel investor funding the next generation of great entrepreneurs, a guest panellist on Gimlet's The Pitch, a member of the CEO Board of Advisors at Georgian Partners, one of Canada's leading venture capital firms, in addition to his philanthropic efforts, as the chair of the Hyatt Family Foundation. I sat down with Michael to discuss all things Bluecat, his journey as a serial entrepreneur and the future of entrepreneurship and startups in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. This conversation was recorded on August 6th, 2020, thanks for listening!

Working from home isn't new, but today an unprecedented number of people are “telecommuting” for the first time – whether they want to or not. Our guest on this special edition of the Georgian Impact Podcast is Ben Wilde, our VP of Business Development & Marketing. Ben manages a team in Toronto from his home office in New Zealand. He's been leading from afar for years, and shares his tips and insights with all those adapting to new ways of working during the global pandemic and beyond. You'll hear about: How work may change forever A.C. (After Coronavirus) Informal management of remote teams when you can't pop by their desks Etiquette for video meetings and time-shifted communication Creating boundaries and structure when working from home Building trust through casual conversations and social bonding Being conscious about your approach to remote work Who is Ben Wilde? Ben Wilde is Vice President Business Development & Marketing at Georgian Partners and a member of the Georgian Impact team. He provides input to overall strategy including product management and product marketing. Ben has more than 20  years of experience in the software industry, and has held senior product management and strategy roles at IBM, Informix, and a range of early and growth-stage startups. Ben holds a BTech (Hons) in product development from Massey University, New Zealand.

This episode of the Make the Future podcast on equity, diversity and inclusion features: Dr. Jacques Beauvais, host of the Make the Future podcast, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Ottawa, uOttawa alumnus, Master’s ʾ87 and Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Physics ʾ85 Thusha Agampodi, co-host, Engineering Manager at Magnet Forensics Dr. Parinaz Sobhani, Director of Machine Learning at Georgian Partners, uOttawa alumna, Ph.D. in Computer Science, machine learning and natural language processing, ʾ2017 Julia Elvidge, Board Member of CYBERNETIQ, Advisor for Invest Ottawa, Activator for SheEO, Former President of Chipworks

This episode of the Make the Future podcast on equity, diversity and inclusion features: Dr. Jacques Beauvais, host of the Make the Future podcast, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Ottawa, uOttawa alumnus, Master’s ʾ87 and Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Physics ʾ85 Thusha Agampodi, co-host, Engineering Manager at Magnet Forensics Dr. Parinaz Sobhani, Director of Machine Learning at Georgian Partners, uOttawa alumna, Ph.D. in Computer Science, machine learning and natural language processing ʾ2017 Julia Elvidge, Board Member of CYBERNETIQ, Advisor for Invest Ottawa, Activator for SheEO, Former President of Chipworks 

www.vchunting.com/vanessa-dimauro - Field notes on the interview!

Machine learning isn't just for the Googles and Facebooks of the world. But how can startups (or even, growth equity investment firms

In this week's episode we cover all the latest tech news including: -Top Hat’s $55mm Series D round was co-led by Georgian Partners and Inovia Capital -Benchschi’s $22mm Series B round led by F-Prime Capital -Ambyint’s $15mm Series B round led by Cottonwood Venture Partners -Upland Software’s $67.7mm acquisition of mobile app personalization and analytics solution provider, Localytics -Spotify’s acquisition of sports and entertainment media company, The Ringer, for undisclosed financial terms We hope you enjoy the show and please subscribe for future updates!

Today, we welcome Derek Wang, founder and CEO of Stratifyd, to the Charlotte Angel Connection. Derek was raised in Beijing and moved to the United States to obtain his Ph.D. from UNC Charlotte.  While attending UNC he spent time on the West coast working with Microsoft Research and PARC.  Derek became a Professor at UNC Charlotte and realized AI was being controlled by large companies.  He wanted to deliver the same benefits the large companies were exploring to companies of all sizes. Stratifyd is a startup headquartered in Charlotte, NC. The company has been designed to equip business leaders worldwide with deep intellectual business insights in minutes instead of months. Since its founding, Stratifyd has evolved into an Augmented Intelligence platform that leverages machine learning technology with human intellect to empower businesses to make data-driven decisions.  The platform is built on their patented algorithms that leverage Machine Learning (ML) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) for any businesses. I had the benefit of doing an interview with Derek at Packard Place in February 2019 and it was my first time meeting him. Very quickly I became a fan of Derek’s and saw the charisma and passion he puts into Stratifyd. In this podcast, the goal was to let our audience hear from themselves the type of leader Derek is.  We talk about the business but also the world surrounding the business with topics like have Georgian Partners as an investor (listen to my podcast from last year with Tyson Baber from Georgian Partners where among other things we talk about their investment in Stratifyd and Derek here), when and how did Derek know it was time to raise money, and what’s the impact machine learning is going to have on the future of our kids. He speaks about why he did a startup in Charlotte and his experience during the early days of the company.  We dive into how he processed the first ‘no’ in the fundraising process (super cool to listen to this part). Derek discusses what it takes for leaders to inspire.  The importance of being frank and honest and ability to attract talent.  He explains what Statifyd needs to improve upon in the next decade, the limits of machine learning and benefits, and the biggest hurdle of AI. At the end of the podcast we speak about Stratifyd’s milestones for 2020.  It’s a great podcast and insight into a company that is clearly driving Charlotte into the new decade.  Enjoy this edition of the Charlotte Angel Connection.   William Bissett is the owner of and an Investment Advisor Representative of Portus Wealth Advisors, a Registered Investment Adviser. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Opinions expressed on this program do not necessarily reflect those of Portus Wealth Advisors. The topics discussed and opinions given are not intended to address the specific needs of any listener.  Portus Wealth Advisors does not offer legal or tax advice, listeners are encouraged to discuss their financial needs with the appropriate professional regarding your individual circumstance.  Investments described herein may be speculative and may involve a substantial risk of loss. Interests may be offered only to persons who qualify as accredited investors under applicable state and federal regulation or an eligible employee of the management company. There generally is no public market for the Interests. Prospective investors should particularly note that many factors affect performance, including changes in market conditions and interest rates, and other economic, political or financial developments. Past performance is not, and should not be construed as, indicative of future results.

Join the community experts at The Community Roundtable as they chat about online community management best practices with a wide range of global community professionals. Topics include increasing online audience engagement, finding and leveraging executive stakeholders, defining and calculating online community ROI and more. Find more episodes. Episode #63 features Vanessa DiMauro, Vice President at Georgian […] The post Podcast – Vanessa DiMauro, Georgian Partners appeared first on The Community Roundtable.

Today's episode of Between 2 Term Sheets brings us a conversation between host Owen Matthews and Margaret Wu, Vice President at Georgian Partners, a growth equity firm based in Toronto. Georgian Partners invests exclusively in B2B SaaS companies across Canada and the US, making initial investments of 20 - 40 million dollars in companies that have reached at least six million in annual recurring revenue. 

We live in a world that's increasingly fueled by data and analytics. But for companies to unlock the value all of that information represents, and improve business processes, they need some very specialized help. In this episode, Jon Prial talks to Georgian Partners' own Chief Analytics Officer Chris Matys about data scientists. Find out what they do, where you can find them, and what it takes to build a successful data science team. You'll hear about: Why companies are building their own data science teams (1:56) -What data scientists actually do (3:18) The four skill sets necessary for data science (4:07) Why it's important to start your data science team with a product manager (5:08) How to approach data to glean insights (6:46) How data science needs change as companies scale (9:15) Why companies struggle to find data scientists and build data science teams (11:10) How to find and vet data scientists (13:10) When it does and doesn't make sense to outsource data science (16:01) What factors determine whether data science teams succeed or fail (22:07)

Montréal isn't just a beautiful city, it's also a hotbed of activity for deep learning. Fueled by ambitious entrepreneurs and some ground-breaking research coming out of the University of Montréal, the city is at the forefront of machine learning, deep learning, and artificial intelligence. In this episode, Jon Prial is joined by Georgian Partners' Ben Wilde for a fascinating discussion with two machine learning practitioners: Nicolas Chapados, Chief Science Officer at Imagia, and Jean-François Gagné, Entrepreneur in Residence at Real Ventures. Learn from these experts about what it takes to successfully leverage this technology in your own business. You'll hear about: Why Montréal is one of the world's most dynamic cities for machine learning (0:50) The types and stage of companies that Real Ventures typically invests in (7:51) What it takes to incorporate machine learning into an early stage company (8:53) Data acquisition and the transferability of deep learning models to other domains (12:04) The University of Montréal's use of models for and research around image analysis (15:40) How the University's research is coming to market and the opportunities that creates (19:17) The availability of data and its implications and opportunities are for early-stage companies (22:10) How deep learning can facilitate smarter decision-making (24:57) What the open sourcing of Google's TensorFlow means for deep learning (27:40) Typical applications for Theano (29:45)

More than $4 billion in venture capital has flowed into digital healthcare companies over the past couple of years alone. It's an exciting and evolving sector and one that could see trillions of dollars shift hands over the next few decades. To learn more, Georgian Partners' Steve Leightell joins Jon Prial for a discussion with Jeff Margolis, the Chairman and CEO of Welltok, a company that helps population health managers guide and incentivize consumers to optimize their health. Adding further perspective to the discussion is Steve Kraus of Bessemer Venture Partners. Find out what's driving the digital healthcare boom and what it takes to make it in this highly competitive market. You'll hear about: Some of the reasons why Georgian Partners invested in Welltok (2:00) The market trends driving investment in digital healthcare (5:25) The technological trends driving investment in healthcare (7:15) How to drive innovation in healthcare (12:50) Measuring ROI in healthcare platforms (15:26) Companies leading the way in digital healthcare (17:00) The importance of getting ahead on technology (22:12) The rationale for Welltok's acquisition of Silverlink (24:14) Whether the digital healthcare bubble is about to burst (26:43) Leadership lessons from Jeff's experiences in digital IT (33:30) Welltok's collaboration with IBM Watson and Apple (36:06)

Everyone's talking about machine learning and how it can be applied to solving some of today's top business problems. CTOs know that it's becoming an imperative for building successful software products. But is it really the answer and, if so, how can companies overcome the many execution gaps that exist? In this first episode of a two-part series, Georgian Partners' Madalin Mihailescu talks with Jeremy Barnes, the Founder and CEO of Datacratic to get some unique perspectives about both the technological and business sides of machine learning. You'll hear about: Jeremy's definition of machine learning (5:42) The other areas of pattern recognition fall under machine learning (6:46) Why businesses should care about machine learning (9:17) How machine learning is evolving as a tool for solving business problems (12:45) Realistic applications for machine learning today versus expectations (13:39) The complexities of applying machine learning (16:27) The current state for ensuring model quality in production (19:16) Incorporating safeguards into systems (21:12)

In part 2 of our discussion on Machine Learning, Georgian Partners' Madalin Mihailescu continues his conversation with Jeremy Barnes, founder and CEO of Datacratic. In addition to learning about Datacratic and its machine learning database (MLDB) offering, you'll also find out about other tools and services CTOs need for training machine learning models, the latest trends shaping the machine learning field and much more. You'll hear about: Jeremy's company Datacratic and the tools it offers (0:49) Business design points to make machine learning more effective (3:03) How Datacratic built its machine learning data base (MLDB) system (3:39) Use cases for MLDB (4:53) The steps R&D need to take to productize machine learning (8:27) The tools and services for training machine learning models (10:37) Levels of lock-in for businesses using IBM Watson (16:35) Machine learning trends (19:27)

Ladies Learning Code (LLC) is a not-for-profit organization with the goal of teaching 200,000 Canadian women and youth to code by 2020. It's a fantastic organization that Georgian Partners is proud to support. In this episode, Steve Leightell speaks to two of LLC's founders, Melissa Sariffodeen and Laura Plant, to learn more about who the organization works with, what their goals and objectives are, and how they're making a difference in tens of thousands of lives each year. You'll learn about: • What LLC is and how it works (0:32) • The women in tech problem and what it means (1:47) • Some of the LLC's success stories (6:55) • How LLC exposes students to other tech companies (12:08) • Some of the challenges LLC has overcome over the past five years (13:02) • The LLC's main objectives (15:00) • The demographics of LLC's target audience (18:49) • How to get involved and offer your support to LLC (21:34)

In 2017, conversational experiences became a part of our vernacular. Google Home and Amazon Echo are just some of the tools that most of us have come to know and a growing number are using on a regular basis. So what does 2018 hold in store for the evolution of conversational AI, both for consumers and businesses alike? In this episode, Jon Prial talks with Jason Brenier, Georgian Partners' VP of Strategy. Find out where we got to in 2017 and where things are headed in the year to come. You'll hear about -- The evolution of more sophisticated conversational experiences -- How companies can take conversational transactions to the next level -- Advancements in language technology -- Managing conversations across multiple channels -- How to approach building a conversational solution

Supply chains are critically important to many businesses, and managing them effectively is often the key to competing in the global market place. That's because even small mistakes can translate into delays, missed opportunities and lost revenue. In this episode, Georgian Partners' Tyson Baber speaks with Gary Meyers, the CEO of FusionOps, a provider of supply chain analytics that helps companies save money, increase revenue, and improve customer service. Find out about changes in the supply chain management landscape, what you need to be thinking about to manage your supply chain as well as how to build a business that's steeped in analytics. You'll hear about: -How supply chain management is evolving and where the opportunities lie (1:26) -How to optimize your supply chain end to end (5:14) -Taking your supply chain beyond basic reporting and business intelligence (7:47) -How FusionOps helps its customers address their data and analytics challenges (9:56) -Overcoming common concerns about shifting supply chain information into the cloud (12:11) -What the IoT means for supply chain management (14:39) -The importance of context in managing your supply chain (17:12) -Gary's advice for other CEOs building enterprise SaaS companies (20:36)

When you think about the blockchain, you probably think about a public ledger that lets you move money securely from one place to another. But the reality is that it's about more than that. It's a way to safely share all kinds of information. In this episode, Georgian Partners' Ben Wilde talks with Alex Tapscott, the CEO and Founder of Northwest Passage Ventures, about the implications of the blockchain in financial services and beyond. You'll hear about: -The limitations of the traditional Internet for payments (2:41) -The underlying reasons why the promise of the Internet was unfulfilled (4:28) -Bitcoin and the peer-to-peer economy (7:13) -The broader applications of the blockchain (8:04) -Who's adopting the technology (10:44) -Misconceptions about the blockchain (14: 47) -The rise of private blockchains (17:45) -How banks are using the blockchain to trade with each other (21:24) -How NASDAQ is reinventing its business with the blockchain (24:13) -Opportunities for blockchain beyond financial services (26:16)

Every once in a while, a trend comes along that changes everything. That's certainly true in technology. Just look at cloud, mobile, and big data. In this episode, Jon Prial talks with Justin LaFayette, the co-founder of Georgian Partners, about four foundational trends that are poised to have a major impact on every software company: applied analytics, applied artificial intelligence, messaging for business and security first. You'll hear about: -What constitutes foundational tech trends that have the potential to reshape markets (1:53) -An overview of applied analytics (4:38) -The origins and value of applied analytics (5:59) -How to use data effectively and get applied analytics right (7:09) -Artificial intelligence (8:22) -Whether AI will ever reach the level of human intelligence (11:18) -The implications and opportunities of messaging for business (11:50) -Injecting your company's value into messaging streams (13:45) -Becoming more secure by putting security front and center (15:55) -Security as a differentiator (19:10)

Security first cuts across all areas of software companies, including development, technology, human resources, culture, marketing, hiring and the C-Suite. It's not about building a bigger security wall, but rather fundamentally changing the way your business operates. In this episode, Ben Wilde interviews Yevgeniy Vahlis, Georgian Partners' new Director Security First. Together they do a deep dive on this important topic and what it means for your software company. You'll hear about: -What security first means in the context of a software company (3:22) -Examples of how security first can change a software company (3:56) -Apple as an example of a company taking a strong position on security and privacy (6:02) -The role of cryptography in creating more secure software (7:12) -Practical examples of how security first makes it way into product discussions (10:36) -Whether or not collecting data and protecting people's privacy are mutually exclusive (12:02) -How CEOs should approach understanding security first and hiring the right people (14:02) -Attributes of qualified security first candidates (16:35) -The role of cryptography in creating more secure software (7:12) -Practical examples of how security first makes it way into product discussions (10:36) -Whether or not collecting data and protecting people's privacy are mutually exclusive (12:02) -How CEOs should approach understanding security first and hiring the right people (14:02) -Attributes of qualified security first candidates (16:35)

Conversational interfaces, chatbots and natural language processing are all integral parts of what we like to call messaging for business. In this episode, Ben Wilde interviews Georgian Partners' Jason Brenier, a new member of the firm's Impact Team with deep expertise in instant messaging and conversational agents. You'll hear about: -What's driving the adoption of conversational interfaces (1:12) -How natural language processing will advance conversational interfaces (3:30) -The techniques being applied in conversational interfaces (6:34) -The evolution of text interaction (7:23) -Automation's role in conversational interfaces (9:08) -Where companies are focusing their efforts on chatbots (10:28) -How sophisticated chatbots are (11:49) -What bot designers should be thinking about from a language perspective (13:18) -Bot design properties you need to keep in mind (14:34) -Key benefits of conversational interfaces (18:35) -Examples of business applications of the technology (19:22)

Artificial intelligence. Is there any term that's more used in tech these days or that has a wider range of meanings? Any one that conjures up more excitement, hyperbole and fear? In this episode Jon Prial talks with Adam Devine, the CMO of WorkFusion, one of Georgian Partners' newest portfolio companies, about a very practical application of the technology: Using AI to improve and even automate what have traditionally been human-driven processes in the workplace. You'll hear about robotic process automation, an emerging field that is bringing AI-powered software robots into the workplace to help make companies more efficient and effective.

Machine learning is being deployed everywhere, and it's fueling today's artificial intelligence revolution. In this episode, Jon Prial talks with Parinaz Sobhani, Georgian Partners' new Director of Machine Learning. A Ph.D. candidate in artificial intelligence at the University of Ottawa, Parinaz explains machine learning and highlights some of the latest thinking about where this exciting technology will be heading in the coming years.

Apple made headlines in 2016 when it started talking about differential privacy. But what exactly is it? And what opportunities can it create for your business to aggregate and share your customers' data to get better results without compromising their privacy? In this episode, Jon Prial talks with Yevgeniy Vahlis, Georgian Partners' Director of Security First, to get a primer on differential privacy and understand what it's all about.

In this episode, Jon Prial continues his conversation about differential privacy with Yevgeniy Vahlis, Georgian Partners' Director of Security First. Find out more about how differential privacy works as Yevgeniy explains it using simple, every day examples. He then goes on to describe why differential privacy isn't just for the likes of Google and Apple, but rather something that most companies should be taking a close look at.

Differential privacy is a technology that's quickly moving from academia into business. And it's not just the big companies that are using it. With the intersection of trust and AI a hot topic right now, differential privacy is well on its way to becoming an integral part of the conversation. In this episode, Jon Prial welcomes Chang Liu to the show. Chang is an Applied Research Scientist at Georgian Partners and an expert on differential privacy. In the episode, they talk about what differential privacy is, why it's important, and why every company needs to think about having it as part of its product and technical strategy. You'll hear about: - The limits of data anonymization - What differential privacy is and why it's so important - Ways to protect your data and be differentially private - What epsilon is and what its role is - Differential privacy's potential to solve the cold-start problem - Implications for trust To learn more about this episode, check out the show notes: http://bit.ly/2MTjjLR

On October 17th the Scale Tech Conference (www.scaletechconf.com) is happening in Toronto. Georgian Partners is co-hosting the event as part of our annual portfolio conference and Jon Prial, host of the Georgian Impact Podcast, sat down to chat with some of the speakers to hear a little more about them and what they'll be talking about at the event. In this episode we meet Chris Amen-Kroeger, the VP of Ads Engineering at Twitter. Over the last several years, Chris has led world class engineering teams that focus on advertiser value by building machine learning driven multiformat (Display, Video, Search) monetization platforms such as Pinterest and Yahoo. Prior to joining Twitter, Chris served as the Head of Ads Engineering at Pinterest where he focused on building Pinterest's Search, Display and Video advertising products. While at Pinterest, Chris successfully spearheaded an overhaul of the ad platform which enabled a much more personalized and relevant ad experience for Pinners. Before joining Pinterest, Chris led the Display and Video Ads Engineering teams at Yahoo, which build and run the Yahoo DSP (BrightRoll DSP+), Exchange (BRX) and Premium Ads platforms ($1.6B revenue in 2016). In late 2014, Yahoo acquired BrightRoll, the premiere programmatic video platform, for $640M where Chris led the technology teams (Product, Engineering and Operations).

Alex Manea joined our team as Chief Security and Privacy Officer last year to lead our trust thesis and its adoption. In this episode, Jon Prial and Alex have a wide-ranging chat covering risk, privacy, different types of security attacks and how to protect your business. They also discuss how a business should be preparing for a new world at the intersection of fairness, value and trust.   You'll hear about: How everything flows down from leadership's philosophy on security and privacy Why perceptions of privacy, security, fairness and transparency are changing The value exchange we make with brands for our data Who is Alex Manea? Alex Manea is our Chief Security and Privacy Officer and a member of the Georgian Impact Team. Alex uses his detailed knowledge of security and privacy concepts to help portfolio companies identify opportunities to build and monetize technologies that protect assets and build trust. Alex is also responsible for Georgian's internal policies and infrastructure. Prior to joining Georgian Partners, Alex spent 12 years working at BlackBerry, most recently as Chief Security Officer. As a founding member of BlackBerry Security, he has worked to protect mobile, desktop and IoT devices, networks and infrastructure for over a decade, helping to transform BlackBerry from a mobile hardware vendor to the world's leading provider of enterprise software and security solutions. Alex regularly writes on security and has been published in dozens of international publications in multiple languages.

In previous episodes of the Georgian Impact podcast, we've learned about the need to get ahead of the impact quantum computers can have on breaking encryption with Mike Brown of ISARA in episode 97. We also got a great overview of different quantum technologies from Vlad Gheorghiu in episode 104.  In this, our third podcast on Quantum Computing, Jon Prial welcomes Christian Weedbrook, CEO and founder of Xanadu. Xanadu is a photonic quantum computing company and a recent addition to the Georgian Partners portfolio. They discuss how quantum will improve financial analysis, help to make more efficient batteries, and optimize traffic congestion...and why the time for adoption is now. You'll hear about:  The advantages of photonic quantum computing over other approaches Use cases for quantum  Why Xanadu is building an open-source machine learning library to help the community adopt quantum What you should be doing now  

On October 17th the Scale Tech Conference (www.scaletechconf.com) is happening in Toronto. Georgian Partners is co-hosting the event as part of our annual portfolio conference and Jon Prial, host of the Georgian Impact Podcast, sat down to chat with some of the speakers to hear a little more about them and what they'll be talking about at the event. In this episode we meet Susan Etlinger, an Industry Analyst at Altimeter Group. She is a globally recognized expert in digital strategy and has authored a series of reports and frameworks on topics including artificial intelligence, big data, analytics and digital ethics. Susan was named one of the “Must Know” Top Writers in Technology by LinkedIn in 2016. Her TED talk, “What Do We Do With All This Big Data?" has been translated into 25 languages and has been viewed more than 1 million times. Susan's research is used in university curricula around the world. She is a frequent keynote speaker, and has been quoted in numerous media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, The New York Times and the BBC. Susan works with global clients to evaluate emerging technologies and incorporate them into organizational culture and practice. She also works with technology vendors to refine product roadmaps and strategies based on her independent research. Susan is a published translator and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Rhetoric from the University of California at Berkeley. Find her on Twitter at @setlinger.

AI in financial services is a growing trend. With AI, FinServ companies are increasingly able to ingest and analyze data from a variety of channels in a timely and accurate manner - dramatically impacting on customer experience, acquisition, and retention. North Carolina-based Stratifyd is a technology company providing an end-to-end AI-powered customer analytics platform to companies worldwide. The platform utilizes unsupervised machine learning, natural language understanding, topic modelling, predictive intelligence, sentiment analysis, and more to help solve the unique problems enterprises face. Stratifyd is already deployed by blue-chip companies in sectors spanning CPG, automotive, pharma, insurance, and Fortune 500 financial services companies. The Stratifyd’s platform enables companies to efficiently tailor marketing efforts, increase customer retention, improve products and services, and boost revenue based on the timely and accurate analysis of unstructured data. The platform’s sophisticated AI-powered engine is also able to ingest complex data feeds and rapidly deliver real value in the form of actionable insights – all delivered via an easy to use interface which requires no prior knowledge of natural language processing or analytics by the end-user. The Firm also recently closed a $25 million Series B investment led by Georgian Partners who are investors in growth-stage SaaS-based business software companies that harness applied artificial intelligence, conversational AI, and trust – along with participation from previous investors. Derek Wang, Co-founder and CEO, Stratifyd, joins me on my daily tech podcast to share the human story behind the tech company. He grew up in Beijing and received a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Shortly after, he – along with the company’s two other co-founders – began conducting government-funded research on the ways AI could be used to ingest, analyze, and visualize unstructured data. During this period, Derek found strong use cases while working with Bank of America, Microsoft, and Motorola Solutions. This post-doctorate work was the foundation on which Stratifyd was built. Under Derek’s leadership, Stratifyd is recognized as an innovator and global force in the customer analytics industry. As the company continues to grow, Derek is looking towards the future. I learn how he is currently focusing on Stratifyd’s vision to take data and AI democratization to the next level.

An often forgotten about topic garnered high praise at TWIMLcon this month: operationalizing responsible and ethical AI. This important topic was combined with an impressive panel of speakers, including: Rachel Thomas, Director, Center for Applied Data Ethics at the USF Data Institute, Guillaume Saint-Jacques, Head of Computational Science at LinkedIn, and Parinaz Sobahni, Director of Machine Learning at Georgian Partners, moderated by Khari Johnson, Senior AI Staff Writer at VentureBeat. This episode covers: The basics of operationalizing AI ethics in a range of orgs and insight into an array of tools, approaches, and methods that have been found useful for teams to use The biggest concerns, like focusing more on harm as opposed to algorithmic bias and encouraging specific responsibility for systems Educating the general public on the realities and misconceptions of probabilistic methods and putting into place preventative guardrails has become imperative for any operation The long-term benefits of ethical decision-making and the challenges of established versus startup companies Questions from the TWIMLcon audience, some common examples of power dynamics in AI ethics, and what we as a community can be doing to push the needle in the very powerful world of responsible AI The complete show notes can be found at twimlai.com/talk/310

Today we are talking to Mads, the CTO at Georgian Partners. And we discuss ways to build trust with your customers and partners, what it means to focus on high leverage activities, and two key ways to supercharge the productivity of your team. All of this, right here, right now, on the Modern CTO Podcast!

Michael Hyatt is the co-founder of BlueCat Networks, which was sold to Madison Dearborn Partners, of Chicago, IL. He serves as a board member and director of BlueCat, and ranks as one of Canada’s top entrepreneurs.  Michael also sits on the Board of Advisors of Georgian Partners, one of Canada’s leading venture capital firms and was a recipient of the Top 40 Under 40 award. 

Tyson Baber went to college at the University of North Carolina.  Early in his career he worked for IBM as an M&A Business Development Executive.  In 2014, he relocated to Toronto and became a Partner at Georgian Partners. Georgian Partners is a growth-stage fund focused on companies who provide unique business value through machine learning and artificial intelligence applied to unique data. Tyson loves helping companies navigate through the growth stage and making them more valuable. In today’s podcast, we talk about GDPR and how it will be enforced in the US.  Tyson discusses the importance of building trust with his clients.  We also discuss how start-ups can best compete with the “giants” in AI. We discuss the “Uber effect”, and what drives business valuations in different parts of the US.  Georgian Partners looks for companies outside of the Tech Industries.  They look for the “Aces in the deck”, which they found here in Charlotte with Stratifyd and PrecisionLender. You won’t want to miss this podcast!   William Bissett is the owner of and an Investment Advisor Representative of Portus Wealth Advisors, a Registered Investment Adviser. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Opinions expressed on this program do not necessarily reflect those of Portus Wealth Advisors. The topics discussed and opinions given are not intended to address the specific needs of any listener.  Portus Wealth Advisors does not offer legal or tax advice, listeners are encouraged to discuss their financial needs with the appropriate professional regarding your individual circumstance.  Investments described herein may be speculative and may involve a substantial risk of loss. Interests may be offered only to persons who qualify as accredited investors under the Securities Act, and a Qualified Purchaser as defined in Section 2(a)(51)(A) under the Company Act or an eligible employee of the management company. There generally is no public market for the Interests. Prospective investors should particularly note that many factors affect performance, including changes in market conditions and interest rates, and other economic, political or financial developments. Past performance is not, and should not be construed as, indicative of future results.

John interviews Derek Wang, founder and CEO of Stratifyd, a machine learning and artificial intelligence startup that is achieving escape velocity just 4 years into its existence.  Derek discusses finalizing four rounds of funding (including a recent $30 million round led by Georgian Partners), being an immigrant founder, the history of ML/AI, the future of tech, China vs Europe vs the US, women in tech, and many other fascinating topics.  

Margaret (Margo) Wu is a Vice-President on the Georgian Partners investment team involved in deal sourcing, due diligence and supporting portfolio companies. Prior to joining Georgian Partners, Margaret was a Senior Product Manager at Amazon, where she developed mobile metrics and content strategies for marketers and site merchandisers across Europe.   Previous to this, she co-founded a biotech company called Uma Bioseed and served as the Chief Operating Officer at OneSpout.com, where she held a variety of responsibilities ranging from business development and product management to finance and accounting. While there, she helped the company grow to a peak of 350,000 users. Margaret began her career as a consultant in Accenture’s technology practice.     Episode Overview:   This episode is all about VC's (Venture Capital) but how to make a lasting impression and get that investment. This is relevant episode to everyone that wants to make an impression in their corporate world (with their bosses), networking .. wherever you are pitching something. In this episode, Margaret Wu and I talk about: How Georgian Partners differentiate from other & areas of focus How to get noticed by VCs - warm handshakes What to do and what NOT to do! Best practices based on the numerous mistakes that entrepreneurs make How Toronto job market is bigger than Silicon Valley and others - tonnes of opportunities Books, Books Books!!! I’m seriously thinking of starting a business book club     About Gregorian Partners:   Georgian Partners is a thesis-driven growth equity funds currently investing in 4 areas where we believe that first movers will outperform their market competitors: Applied AI, Conversational AI, Security First, and Trust.     Lessons Learned:   Fail fast - figure out which one works for you If you are meeting a VC, it is like going on a first date. You have to be bring a little bit of compassion, be an interesting person. You have to be able to articulate your vision in a very convincing way. Don't approach a VC if there are errors in your numbers     Book Recommended:   Art of the Start 2.0 by Guy Kawasaki Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson Founders at Work: Stories of Startups' Early Days by Jessica Livingston     Connect with Margaret:   Website: Georgian Partners LinkedIn: Margaret Wu and Georgian Partners Twitter: @GeorgianPrtnrs Facebook: Georgian Partners

Michael Hyatt is the co-founder of BlueCat, which was sold to Madison Dearborn Partners, of Chicago, IL. He serves as a director of BlueCat, ranks as one of Canada’s top entrepreneurs, and is a known as a technology visionary. Michael is also a weekly business commentator on CBC and was a celebrated “Dragon” on CBC’s online Dragons’ Den. He is an investor on the hit podcast “The Pitch” and a Founding Partner and Fellow at the Rotman School of Management’s prestigious Creative Destruction Lab. Michael sits on the CEO Board of Advisors of Georgian Partners, one of Canada’s leading venture capital firms and was recently named an Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) at Blakes, one of the most successful law firms in the country. Michael also co-founded Dyadem, a highly successful software company which was acquired by IHS (NYSE: IHS). He was a finalist for Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and was a recipient of the Top 40 Under 40 Award. Michael is an active investor and philanthropist who chairs the Hyatt Family Foundation. Michael works with speakers.ca (http://www.speakers.ca/speakers/micha...) and the NSB - National Speakers Bureau (http://nsb.com/speakers/michael-hyatt/) --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/georges-khalife/support

On this week’s show, we spoke with Alex Manea, Chief Security and Privacy Officer @ Georgian Partners. Alex uses his detailed knowledge of security and privacy concepts to help portfolio companies identify opportunities to build and monetize technologies that protect assets and build trust. Alex is also responsible for Georgian’s internal policies and infrastructure. Prior to joining Georgian Partners, Alex spent 12 years working at BlackBerry, most recently as Chief Security Officer. As a founding member of BlackBerry Security, he has worked to protect mobile, desktop and IoT devices, networks and infrastructure for over a decade, helping to transform BlackBerry from a mobile hardware vendor to the world's leading provider of enterprise software and security solutions. Alex regularly writes on security and has been published in dozens of international publications in multiple languages. Alex was recently named one of Canada’s smartest people by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. He has traveled to 22 countries and can speak or understand 7 different languages. He loves learning about cultures around the world, visiting local landmarks and trying new types of food.   On the show, we spoke about: How he got started in engineering The evolution of his role at Blackberry that led him to becoming Chief Security Officer How he became an investor at Georgian Partners His thoughts on security vs. privacy The new technologies he’s excited about notably blockchain and quantum computing The rise of IOT and the danger it poses   Alex is a world class expert in his field and I was thrilled to have him on the show. I hope that you enjoy the conversation!   Let us know what you think. What types of guests would like to see on the show? What topics interest you the most? Send me your thoughts at nectar@thepnr.com   Subscribe | iTunes | Google Play |Spotify | YouTube | Stitcher | Breaker

Today we continue our exploration of Trust in AI with this interview with Richard Zemel, Professor in the department of Computer Science at the University of Toronto and Research Director at Vector Institute. In our conversation, Rich describes some of his work on fairness in machine learning algorithms, including how he defines both group and individual fairness and his group’s recent NeurIPS poster, “Predict Responsibly: Improving Fairness and Accuracy by Learning to Defer.” This week’s series is sponsored by our friends at Georgian Partners. Georgian recently published Building Conversational AI Teams, a comprehensive guide to lead you through sourcing, acquiring and nurturing a successful conversational AI team. Download at: https://gptrs.vc/convoai.  For this episode's complete show notes, visit twimlai.com/talk/209.

In today’s episode we’re joined by Parinaz Sobhani, Director of Machine Learning at Georgian Partners. In our conversation, Parinaz and I discuss some of the main issues falling under the “trust” umbrella, such as transparency, fairness and accountability. We also explore some of the trust-related projects she and her team at Georgian are working on, as well as some of the interesting trust and privacy papers coming out of the NeurIPS conference. This week’s series is sponsored by our friends at Georgian Partners. Georgian recently published Building Conversational AI Teams, a comprehensive guide to lead you through sourcing, acquiring and nurturing a successful conversational AI team. Download at: https://gptrs.vc/convoai.  For this episode's complete show notes, visit twimlai.com/talk/208.

In this episode of the Data Show, I spoke with Chang Liu, applied research scientist at Georgian Partners. In a previous post, I highlighted early tools for privacy-preserving analytics, both for improving decision-making (business intelligence and analytics) and for enabling automation (machine learning). One of the tools I mentioned is an open source project for […]

Michael Hyatt is the co-founder of BlueCat Networks, which was sold to Madison Dearborn Partners, of Chicago, IL.   He serves as a board member and director of BlueCat, and ranks as one of Canada’s top entrepreneurs.  Michael also sits on the Board of Advisors of Georgian Partners, one of Canada’s leading venture capital firms and was a recipient of the Top 40 Under 40 award.   In this episode, Michael and I discuss various experiences at Bluecat,  the birth and sale cycle of companies and capital, entrepreneurship with a sibling, Michael's perspective on money, finding one's purpose, and more.  Enjoy! 

In this episode, our final episode in the Differential Privacy series, I speak with Chang Liu, applied research scientist at Georgian Partners, a venture capital firm that invests in growth stage business software companies in the US and Canada. Chang joined me to discuss Georgian’s new offering, Epsilon, a software product that embodies the research, development and lessons learned helps in helping their portfolio companies deliver differentially private machine learning solutions to their customers. In our conversation, Chang discusses some of the projects that led to the creation of Epsilon, including differentially private machine learning projects at BlueCore, Work Fusion and Integrate.ai. We explore some of the unique challenges of productizing differentially private ML, including business, people and technology issues. Finally, Chang provides some great pointers for those who’d like to further explore this field. The notes for this show can be found at twimlai.com/talk/135

In this episode of our Differential Privacy series, I'm joined by Zahi Karam, Director of Data Science at Bluecore, whose retail marketing platform specializes in personalized email marketing. I sat down with Zahi at the Georgian Partners portfolio conference last year, where he gave me my initial exposure to the field of differential privacy, ultimately leading to this series. Zahi shared his insights into how differential privacy can be deployed in the real world and some of the technical and cultural challenges to doing so. We discuss the Bluecore use case in depth, including why and for whom they build differentially private machine learning models. The notes for this show can be found at twimlai.com/talk/133

Mike McDerment is co-founder and CEO of FreshBooks, the #1 cloud-based accounting software designed exclusively for service-based small business owners. Starting from his parent’s basement, Mike has grown Freshbooks to more than 10m users worldwide and raising over $75m in VC funding from the likes of Accomplice and Georgian Partners. Mike is also the co-author of Breaking the Time Barrier, downloaded more than 250,000 downloads since its release. In Today’s Episode You Will Learn: How Mike came to enter the world of SaaS with the founding of Freshbooks from his parent’s basement? Why does Mike disagree with the common notion of the “pivot”? How does Mike balance between realism when something is not working and vision? From Mike’s conversation with USV’s Fred Wilson, what does he believe are the 3 most important roles of the CEO? Why is the No 1 rule in SaaS, you do not replatform your software? What are the inherent dangers? How does it affect your ability to drive revenue? Where do most SaaS startups make big mistakes when replatforming? Where are the inflection points in SaaS team scaling? What is the biggest challenge at 20 people? How does collaboration change when your team hits 40 people? How can one maintain seamless communication when one hits 80 people? 60 Second SaaStr Why is Mike so bullish on SaaS outside of Silicon Valley? How does being outside the Valley affect his ability to hire? What does Mike know now that he wishes he had known at the beginning? If you would like to find out more about the show and the guests presented, you can follow us on Twitter here: Jason Lemkin Harry Stebbings SaaStr Mike McDerment

According to St. Meyer & Hubbard, 57% of the loans that go to committee get rejected. How will machine learning shape the way banks do commercial lending in the future?  In this episode, you'll hear from the CEO of PrecisionLender, Carl Ryden and managing partner at Georgian Partners, Justin Lafayette about ways that banks can use artificial intelligence to cut costs, save time and improve efficiency. 

Rob Kenedi chats with Jane Podbelskaya, senior associate at Georgian Partners. Jane describes Georgian Partners' thesis-driven, unique hands-on approach to later stage startup investment in such notable companies as Shopify, Freshbooks, Top Hat and Vision Critical. Jane details how Georgian does its due diligence on startups they invest in, patterns she's seen once they get under the hood, and how the team thinks about new, hot spaces such as chat bots and conversational commerce. Disclosure: Freshbooks and Shopify are clients of TWG, where Rob serves as Entrepreneur in Residence.

Want to get some quick insights into how to build a data science team? Tap into the expertise of Chris Matys, the Chief Analytics Officer at Georgian Partners. He explains the four primary skill sets you need to look for in data scientists and how to create a data science team to help you meet your business needs.