Welcome to BetaKit’s startup stories of the week! Here, you will find the week’s most important news, features, and editorials published on BetaKit. If you prefer this update hit your inbox every week, make sure to subscribe to the BetaKit Newsletter using the form at the bottom of this page.
Top Stories of the Week
Shopify appoints former UberEATS exec Ian Black as Director of Retail(BETAKIT)
Black will be leading the business and go-to-market strategy for Shopify Retail in Toronto.
Impact Centre’s 2019 Narwhal List shows Canadian tech struggling to produce unicorns(BETAKIT)
Canada hasn’t produced a new unicorn since 2015. We should have between two and five new billion dollar companies each year.
University of Waterloo’s Velocity taps AngelList to launch new startup fund(BETAKIT)
Velocity is targeting $1.2-1.8 million for the fund, with the intention of doubling the cheque size for VFF winners from $25,000 to $50,000.
Shopify’s largest app developer raises $22 million to build the middleware for all e-commerce(BETAKIT)
Winnipeg’s Bold Commerce just might be Canada’s next e-commerce tech darling.
OMERS Ventures opens Silicon Valley office, adds Michael Yang as Managing Partner(BETAKIT)
A longtime VC with stints at Comcast Ventures and Atlas Ventures, Yang’s investment portfolio features exits to SiriusXM, Jawbone, and Summit Partners. Yang is also a former Yahoo! exec.
Startup Milestones
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WhereiPark acquires GarageHop to expand digital parking service across North America (Read here)
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Montreal’s Vention closes $17 million Series A, adds AI to custom manufacturing platform (Read here)
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LeverageIT acquires WordPress development agency illuminea to tap Israeli market (Read here)
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WorkJam acquires secure chat platform Peerio (Read here)
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Fibrocor partners with Galapagos NV to commercialize new fibrosis drugs (Read here)
Must Reads
Canadian VC activity is down, but corporate investors are stepping up. Is that a good thing?(BETAKIT)
A new PwC MoneyTree report on Canadian investment shows that in Q3 2018, corporate participation made up 39 percent of all Canadian deals.
Ask an Investor: How can I create optionality after I get an acquisition offer?(BETAKIT)
No matter what stage your business is in, optionality is something you can be proactively driving towards before an acquisition comes your way.
Why Canadian developers are pissed at Facebook (CanCon ep. 138)
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