An item from one of our fellow Canadian organizations in the Bay Area.
Wednesday 1.20.2020
WANT TO JOIN THE C100 FELLOWS CLASS? KNOW AN AMAZING FOUNDER WHO SHOULD BE NOMINATED?
We’re looking for 20 exceptional early-stage founders to make up our cohort at 48Hrs through our inaugural C100 Fellows mentorship program.
Members, Charter Members, 48Hrs Alumni and Partners are all eligible to nominate founders. Please reach out to any of these individuals for nomination requests and please don’t hesitate to contact our team for any questions.
Nominations will be open until 5pm PT on Friday, January 22nd. Founders will be notified once they are nominated and have until 5PM on Friday, February 5th to complete their applications. Click to learn more about the Fellows Program.
INITIATIVES FOR BLACK FOUNDERS
Black Canadians have some of the lowest participation rates in tech among all racial groups. Created by Phil G. Joseph and supported by Real Ventures, a proud C100 Corporate Partner, Rep Matters is an interview series that highlights Black entrepreneurs and investors in the Canadian tech ecosystem (including C100 Co-Chair Andre Charoo), with the goal of being a catalyst for increased Black participation and representation in this space.
We invite you to join them on their mission of building a more diverse and equitable tech ecosystem by following Rep Matters on Linkedin, Twitter, Instagram and/or Facebook. For any further information, email info@repmatters.tech
Attention Black Entrepreneurs! Applications are open for Ryerson DMZ’s Black Innovation Bootcamp, a free 6 week program designed to support very early-stage Black tech founders around the world. The goal? Help founders validate their business ideas and market opportunities, as well as build their first prototype and MVP.
Apply by January 28th for the chance to join this cohort. The DMZ is a proud C100 Corporate Partner.
WELCOMING OUR NEWEST CORPORATE PARTNERS
C100’s Corporate Partners are far-seeing organizations that support C100’s high-impact program for the advancement of the Canadian technology ecosystem, benefiting from participation and high-touch interactions with our multi-city Canadian tech community.
A very warm welcome to our newest Corporate Partners:
- Golden Ventures is a leading seed-stage venture capital fund, based in Toronto and investing across North America. Their portfolio includes Wattpad, Skip the Dishes, Top Hat and Ritual.
- Toronto Global is a not-for-profit investment attraction agency that supports the expansion of foreign-owned businesses in the Toronto Region, connecting investors with the right opportunities that will facilitate the successful growth of their business.
- Centech is a world-class business incubator, based in Montreal, dedicated to high-tech (deeptech) companies with high growth potential. Centech is a non-profit organization open to everyone and offers two support programs for startups: the Accelerator Program (12 weeks) and the Propulsion program (24 months).
CANADIAN TECH NEWS
- 🇨🇦 After serving 5 years in Ottawa, Mississauga MP Navdeep Bains has stepped down from his role as the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, also announcing that he will not be running in the next election.
- 🇨🇦 Justin Trudeau has announced changes to Canada’s Ministry; Marc Garneau becomes the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jim Carr joins the Ministry and will continue to serve as Special Representative for the Prairies, François-Philippe Champagne becomes the new Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry and Omar Alghabra becomes the new Minister of Transport.
- 🤝 Toronto-based Wattpad is set to be acquired by South Korea’s Naver for US$600-million. Congratulations to co-founder & CEO Allen Lau (C100 Charter Member), co-founder & CSO Ivan Yuen and the entire Wattpad team!
️ President Joe Biden is set to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline expansion on his first day in office, sparking reactions across the country from Alberta urging PM Justin Trudeau to try and salvage the $8-billion project to finding opportunities for Canadian clean tech to capitalize on Biden’s climate agenda.
- 🤝 Toronto-based Top Hat has closed its third acquisition within a year with its most recent purchase of Dallas-based Fountainhead Press. Early investor, Founder and General Partner Version One Ventures and Boris Wertz (C100 Charter Member) shared his thoughts on the consolidation play.
Edmonton-based Jobber, a software company that helps home-service firms manage their businesses with CEO Sam Pillar (C100 Member) at the helm, has raised US$60-million in its latest funding round led by Summit Partners with participation from existing investors, OMERS ventures and Version One Ventures. This is Edmonton’s largest ever technology growth-equity financing round.
Montreal-based Lightspeed POS Inc., which makes cloud software for retailers and restaurants to manage their cash registers and checkout systems, launched a new arm of its business to include suppliers. CEO Dax Dasilva (C100 Charter Member) shared his thoughts of how this expansion will help Lightspeed compete with Amazon.
- 🤝 Shopify has hired Cathy Polinsky, formerly the CTO of Stichfix, as the new VP of Engineering as it plans to double it’s engineering team in 2021.
- ⚡ Saint-Jérôme-based Lion Electric has entered an agreement with Amazon to provide 2,500 electric powered trucks to the company by 2030. While the company looks expand production, the question looms: will it be in Canada or abroad? While Lion Electric looks to capitalize on Biden’s plan to replace 500,000 school buses with zero-emissions carriers in the US, the Logic interviewed VP Patrick Gervais who highlighted their challenges to get support through Canada’s Strategic Innovation Fund.
- 🤝 Mithril Capital, cofounded by Peter Thiel and Ajay Royan (also Managing General Partner and C100 Charter Member), has announced that their portfolio company, NUVIA Inc., has agreed to be acquired by Qualcomm Inc. for approximately $1.4 billion before working capital and other adjustments.
Cleantech companies see big returns on the TSX. The Logic analyzed companies on the TSX over the course of 2020 and found that those listed in the cleantech, life-sciences and technology sectors gained, on average, 55.9% of their worth.
Cisco is offering $1 Million USD in prizing to 20 early-stage startups focused on social innovation. Applications are due January 29th.
HOW CAN YOU GET INVOLVED?
Consider deepening your engagement with C100 as a Member.
C100 Members are entrepreneurs, investors, and operators in the technology field, with a special focus on Canadians living abroad who wish to connect with one another and to give back to Canada’s ecosystem. They enjoy high-value, intimate virtual events, a Members-only C100 Slack space, and exclusive Member communications. All prospective Members must have their application sponsored by at least one active C100 Member.
C100’s mission is to support, inspire, and connect the most promising Canadian entrepreneurial leaders through mentorship, investment, partnership, & talent. Apply to join as a member today!
Thank You to Our Partners
Foundational Partners
Corporate Partners
Royal Canadian Legion, US Branch #25 