I have finally made it home after a two-week road trip touring Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver.
This week’s episode was actually recorded live at Web Summit Vancouver with InBC Investment Corp. CEO Jill Earthy, and we talk a bit up front about the value of the tech conference for the BC tech ecosystem, as well as what the province can do to keep momentum going as it plays host to tech from around the world for at least another two years.
“ That’s what we wanna change, right? For future companies, more Canadian investors on the cap table so that we can see those benefits come back through investment, through mentorship.”
But Earthy is the CEO of a recently spun-up provincial Crown investment corporation with $500 million in capital to deploy and a focus on early-stage direct and indirect investments.
If you have been reading BetaKit lately, you know that the state of Canadian venture is not exactly healthy, with more money going into fewer deals, poor returns, a strinking early-stage pipeline, and a continued reliance on foreign investment. The numbers are so… not healthy that BDC Capital said it was a collective “wake-up call” for more and better domestic investment.
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Earthy is the perfect person to talk to about this subject, not only from her perspective running InBC, but also as a former leader at organizations like FrontFundr and Female Funders. She understands the grassroots of Canadian capital investments.
On this episode, we talk about that recent wake-up call, BC’s growing tech ecosystem, the role of Crown corporation capital providers, and Earthy’s own fundraising plans for a forthcoming InBC re-up (including potentially adding private capital).
So, how can Canadian venture get healthier?
Let’s dig in.
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The BetaKit Podcast is edited by Darian MacDonald. Feature image courtesy Web Summit via Flickr.