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
Canadian tech companies continue to hire despite downturn – here’s an (incomplete) list
Over 300 companies have now added their job listings, indicating a strong and continued desire to hire #CDNtech talent.
‘There’s a storm coming, but we’re on a good boat.’ Daniel Eberhard talks Koho’s readiness for an economic downturn
Canadian FinTech is in the tank, but this challenger bank thinks it can stay afloat with scale.
Flow Ventures partner Bryan Watson lands at Venbridge as SVP of business development
In his new role at Venbridge, Watson will help attract companies interested in obtaining alternative lending, including through grants, SaaS revenue financing, and digital media tax credit financing.
Bench taps current president and CFO, Jean-Phillipe Durrios, as new CEO
“When searching for a new CEO for Bench, the candidate that stood out was the one that was on our team already,” said Shawn Abbott, co-Founder at Inovia Capital, Bench board member, and chair of the search committee.
The many hurdles life sciences startups must overcome to commercialize
A lot of fantastic innovations find their origins in lab environments, but a working experiment doesn’t easily translate to a commercialized product. Speaking with BetaKit, Muggah shared some common hurdles that life sciences startups face as they move from functioning ideas to marketable products.
Latest Funding, Acquisitions, and Layoffs
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VAN – BarrelWise – $3.1M (read more)
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SSK – Vendasta lays off around 35 employees (read more)
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TOR – Relay Platform acquired by At-Bay (read more)
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TOR – VendorPM – $20M (read more)
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TOR – Myplanet – $14M (read more)
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TOR – Q4 Inc. lays off 48 employees (read more)
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TOR – Jombone – $3.3M (read more)
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TOR – Raven – $250K (read more)
HOW GROWTHX FOUND PRODUCT-MARKET FIT ACROSS CANADA’S ACCELERATORS
“Do you really want to get big fast? You take my money, I’m going to poke you in the eye every day going forward.”
GrowthX CEO and founding partner Andrew Goldner shares common misconceptions founders have of the VC business model and a bunch of go-to-market tips.
THE GLOBAL TALENT STREAM NEEDS STREAMLINING
“It’s not as broken as other things.”
VanHack CEO Ilya Brotzky joins to explain what’s causing the 4-6 month waiting period for Canadian tech companies using the Global Talent Stream, and shares a new petition to get the government to make necessary changes.
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