Transforming Alberta's Economy: Issue 06
Tyler Chisholm
Endlessly Curious CEO | Marketing Leader | Podcast Host 🎙️ | Philanthropist | Top 40 Under 40
Welcome to Issue 06 of Transforming Alberta’s Economy.
This month I wanted to highlight some of the most valuable insights I have learned through my conversations with investors, venture capitalists, and those who have raised funds at their organizations.
As we head into the holiday season, many investors will take time off. You’ll be more prepared to hit the ground running in 2023 by improving your understanding of the landscape now!
What you’ll find inside:
1️⃣ Alberta News & Insights
2️⃣ Collisions YYC: October Episodes
3️⃣ Top 3 Lessons Learned From Investors
Alberta News & Insights
UCalgary named a top 5 research university for the first time
University of Calgary is the youngest university to be named in RE$EARCH Infosource Inc. ’s latest Top 50 Research Universities list. Dr. Ed McCauley, president, and vice-chancellor said, “Research dollars create opportunities: jobs and training, experiential learning, access to cutting-edge facilities, and an expanded innovation ecosystem.”
Staying competitive in higher education will pay dividends to the innovative companies building what’s next in Alberta.
$2.14M investment announced to support energy transition collaboration between UCalgary ecosystem and energy industry
Earlier this year, the University of Calgary announced its new Energy Transition Centre in collaboration with Avatar Innovations , Innovate Calgary , and the energy industry to support the emerging technologies crucial for our energy transition.
Last week they had the Centre’s official launch, bringing in more opportunities for Albertans to engage highly qualified personnel in academia and industry.
2023 Economic outlook: Calgary forecasted to avoid recession
#ICYMI, the 2023 Economic Outlook happened on October 19th. This annual event helps the business community identify exciting opportunities and where to be cautious. Despite calls of a global recession, the attendees were optimistic about Calgary’s ability to weather the downturn.
A cooler housing market, ongoing scarcity of valuable resources, and high job growth are just a few of the reasons why 2023 shouldn’t be as scary as predicted.
Startup TNT: Summit VI Finale
Tomorrow - November 17th - Startup TNT is hosting its Summit VI Finale! They’re raising over $1M for startups across the Prairies, and you can watch investors make their decisions live. You can get free tickets to the in-person events in Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, and Regina.
If you prefer to enjoy a watch party at home or the office, you can also get a free ticket to stream the event from anywhere.
Alberta’s tech winter arrived late but in earnest in Q3 2022
With massive lay-offs this year at Twitter , Meta , Tesla , Coinbase , Netflix , and many other giants, the tech industry is experiencing a cooling-off period. This tempering is affecting deal flow everywhere - including in Alberta.
Our province saw a modest Q3 in 2022, $31.7M was raised - the lowest funding quarter for Alberta since Q2 2021 where only $16.2M was raised.
James Lochrie , former Collisions YYC guest and managing partner of Thin Air Labs , believes the decline in venture funding is in line with the general slowdown in global venture deals and that valuations in the province have generally reset to pre-pandemic levels, a trend he considers to be healthy.
Ten startups to be showcased at Edmonton Startup Week launch party
Last month Edmonton enjoyed a dazzling display of entrepreneurial grit and innovation at Edmonton Startup Week by Edmonton Unlimited . Ten early-stage startups were showcased and pitched to the tech ecosystem to gain valuable exposure and funding for their big ideas.
Find out more about the ten companies and keep your eyes out for upcoming episodes with Evan Wain , Founder of Ordr .
Innovation Week YYC: Shining a spotlight on tech and innovation in Calgary
From robots, drones, and augmented reality to advances in agriculture, energy, and health and wellness, there are companies in Calgary that are building cool things with technology.
Innovation Week showcases the diversity and depth of what’s happening in innovation and technology in Calgary and celebrates the people and the ideas that are having an impact.
Collisions YYC: October Episodes
Connor O'Shea ’Shea - Co-Founder & CEO of Westgen Technologies
A changing landscape can provide opportunities or pitfalls. This episode will show how Connor and his co-founders took advantage of changing regulations in Alberta to the energy industry to successfully launch their big idea and unique journey to funding.
Heiko Peters - Co-Founder, COO & CTO of ALTHEA MEDICAL LTD
Recommended by LinkedIn
As healthcare in Canada continues to experience strain and pressure from multiple angles, Heiko and the team at Althea Medical are working to ensure equitable healthcare for all. Discover how they leveraged technology to help physicians provide faster and better healthcare.
Dennis Kambeitz - Founder & CEO of EZ-Robot
Dennis will help you understand that many approaches to raising funds for your business exist. EZ-Robot has successfully crowdfunded throughout its early stages, which will help better attract angel and VC investors. You’ll also learn how Dennis short-circuited his sales cycles by fostering key partnerships to provide guidance and growth opportunities.
Alice G S Chandrasekaran and Jennifer Aplin - Co-Founders of Digital Magenta Inc.
Alice and Jennifer can help your organization leverage its data into operational decisions designed to identify and stop leaky funnels. This episode will help you understand the importance of wise data and technology investments to increase revenue – especially in lengthy B2B sales cycles.
Steve Mesler, M.S.M., OLY - Olympian & CEO of Classroom Champions
From going full-throttle down the side of mountains to developing social and emotional intelligence in education, Steve brings plenty of energy and insights to the show. This former Olympian leveraged his resilience as an athlete into entrepreneurship, helping educators, principals, school boards, parents and kids with the social and emotional intelligence tools to solve complex problems and be better people. Learn how EQ beats IQ in the new world of work.
Patrick Doyle - CEO of SSRG
Whether you’re working on an exit strategy or trying to grow your business, Patrick will help you understand the value of developing key partnerships to grow. As CEO of SSRG, Patrick has utilized mergers and acquisitions with regional partners to grow the business. Find out how Indigenous communities and their approach led to mutually beneficial success for all.
Jennie Gilbert - Facilitator at Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT)
If you’re curious about quiet quitting – and what that really means – look no further than this insightful episode with Jennie. She helps break down what quiet quitting is all about from a leadership and employee perspective. Discover how workplace culture is your number one defence against employee burnout and how even leaders can pull back in the workplace.
Ghada Nafie, PhD, PEng, PMP - Co-Founder & President of Litus Inc.
Nanotechnology isn’t simply science fiction anymore - it’s long been a science fact. But who is using it and what for? Ghada explains how nanotechnology is the cornerstone of her company, Litus, which seeks to improve lithium extraction with tiny nanotechnology. Not only will this improve the social and environmental impacts of mining this precious resource, but how her innovation keeps Alberta competitive in the energy sector.
Top 3 Lessons Learned From Investors
1️⃣ Your partners need to be strategic.
Getting wooed by securing a pitch with a prominent venture capital firm is easy. But their strategic fit within your organization is more important than their total available capital. In fact, the best VC firms in Alberta are also focused on strategic deal flow.
“I am more so on the gathering side, not the hunting. Just being super strategic about connecting with really good investors. That's where I'm mostly trying to focus on getting deal flow from - people that I really trust. They are also participating in deals, and have a ton of skin in the game.”
- Mark Mitchell.
Brahm Klar , General Partner of Round13 Capital , also believes that strategic fit is a key ingredient to a successful VC ecosystem. Rather than win clients by promising the moon, they focus on being a strategic partner that can truly help scale and build a business.
“We don't make big, bold claims that we're going to change your business or introduce some phenomenal technology or something like that. We try and do it by being a hard-working, earnest partner that can try and help you recruit, help you scale, and help you think through things and try to do most of the little things right.”
- Brahm Klar
2️⃣ There are many ways to invest (and be invested in).
Multi-million dollar mega deals don’t come around often, but there are plenty of ways to invest in startups or receive funding for your own company. Mark Mitchell talks extensively about early-stage investment and syndicate investing in his episode of Collisions YYC.
Bryan Slauko, CFA Slauko shared some interesting statistics during his guest appearance on Collisions YYC:
“In Alberta, there are roughly 2,300 technology companies. About 1,200 of those companies are at the pre-seed stage. So, they've got 1 to 10 employees and raised less than a million dollars to date. That's more than half of the companies in our technology ecosystem.”
- Bryan Slauko
This gap in early funding is something that Bryan hopes to address through his VC firm, Metiquity Ventures . He also demonstrates that huge funds have shifted capital and created this early-stage gap for several reasons, including anxiety around investing in a pre-revenue company or a lack of understanding of investing in earlier-stage companies.
3️⃣ “No” isn’t a dead end.
Two Collisions YYC guests immediately come to mind when I think about doors slamming in a founder’s face - Koleya Karringten and Ted Fleming. Both have created incredibly valuable products and had difficulty raising capital in the early stages.
Koleya Karringten co-founded Absolute Combustion International Inc. , a patented high-performance combustion burner that burns cleaner, safer and more efficiently.
“I'm still hopeful even though I've been through pretty bad lows. Everything I've learned is failing forward. Take what you've learnt, make it better, keep it going, because you just never know when that next big break is going to happen.”
- Koleya Karringten
Ted Fleming founded Partake Brewing , a non-alcoholic beverage company. Initially, he had investors laugh and tell him no. To date, Partake has raised more than $20M and is one of the most successful businesses in the vertical.
“When I was originally going out to consumer shows and talking to people about what I was doing, I got comments like, ‘Don't quit your day job,’ and, ‘Dumbest idea I've ever heard.’”
- Ted Fleming
If you’re curious about more investment insights or listening to the guests mentioned above, explore all of the Follow the Money episodes right here.
Thanks for reading this issue of Transforming Alberta’s Economy. Please enjoy this fun venture capital comic as a reward!