🏙️ BC's top 10 startups
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🏙️ BC's top 10 startups
Plus, holy crap, it's September already. This is your Weekly Briefing.
Happy Labour Day from the Tech Journal team. Before we get into things, have a peek at these events from September’s jam-packed social calendar:
September 5 (tomorrow): Virtual Office Hours with Later CTO Ian MacKinnon
September 12: Tech Founders-Only Social
September 13: #vtjtalks: Scaling to 7, 8, 9 figures and beyond: Lessons from local founders (50% off for members)
September 21: Vancouver Tech Journal Live with Jason Fried at Vogue Theatre (20% off for members)
By the way, if someone else sent you this, you can subscribe right here, right now. If you’re already subscribed, consider becoming a member for only $8.25 a month (and you can ask your boss to expense it.)
Now onto today’s briefing. It’s 1,102 words: a four-minute read.
-William, @notionport
New Ventures BC 2023: Meet the top 10
Here’s a line on why each one is a favourite to win.
VANTEC is modernizing investing in Vancouver
The longtime organization has two new leaders, who have a plan for boosting angel investing in seed and pre-seed companies.
Stylish shoe brand Casca Footwear acquired by Unity Brands
The six-year-old company had previously raised nearly $5 million in venture funding.
Longreads for the long weekend
We trust that you have some R&R planned this weekend. So, add an extra R — reading — and enjoy these longreads over your long weekend.
Watchlist: 8 companies of scale to watch grow
From SaaS to science and coding to call centres, these companies are poised to continue along solid growth trajectories. Read last week’s members-only exclusive.
Helping innovators and changemakers tell their stories
Switchboard Public Relations – an Earnscliffe Strategies company works with some of the most progressive and innovative teams in the tech sector.
Tech leaders know their products and services are brilliant, but sometimes need help explaining why they matter and how they will create positive change. Switchboard communicates game-changing ideas to target audiences in a way that’s accessible and exciting.
Is your team on a mission to disrupt the status quo? See how the country’s top tech PR firm can help you.
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🤝 Funding and deals
Tribe Property Technologies has grown its presence in the Greater Toronto Area with the acquisition of Meritus Group Management.
Richmond's Lucid Vision Labs received funding through Pacific Economic Development Canada’s Business Scale-up and Productivity program to help scale up the manufacturing of its high-performing cameras.
For all the local funding news, become a Vancouver Tech Journal member »
SR&ED is complicated. Getting a tax credit for it shouldn’t be.
Increase your SR&ED returns, not your workload. Partner with Boast to get larger claims with minimal effort and access your refund early to fund your product development faster. Claim our September special offer on our website.
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🗞️ In other news
Vancouver’s Sanctuary AI humanoid robot, called Phoenix, was featured in the BBC in an article titled “How long until a robot is doing your chores?”
Withe, which helps companies rapidly hire employees, shared eight talent acquisition strategies to help you hire top talent.
Clio is the first legal management practice software to be recognized by all 50 state bar associations across the United States.
Dyne, an AI platform for restaurant marketing, is making an impact across Canadian cities by joining hands with local food banks to combat food insecurity.
💼 Take your career to the next level
There are hundreds of Vancouver tech businesses searching for talent, including Montra, BC Public Service, LexSelect, The Coaches Site, ari, Resuseables.com, Taking Root, and SunTracker.
Check out who else is hiring on our Vancouver Tech Job Board »
Growing your team? Post a job with us »
💡 Ideas and insights
Alastair Nimmons, managing director at Easly, joined Gerry Fung from Northbridge Capital to discuss the early-stage funding landscape, how startups can leverage SR&ED and what options for early-stage funding are available beyond traditional venture capital deals.
Doug Lui, a venture partner with Vine Ventures Corp., spoke to Fast Company about what factors to consider when choosing between startup incubators and accelerators.
Darian Kovacs, founding partner of Jelly Marketing, shared insights on LinkedIn on a peculiar time in social media
Dr. Joy Johnson, president and vice-chancellor of SFU, reflected on being a woman in leadership
Agritech Today, Building for Tomorrow
Agritech firms throughout the Metro Vancouver region are working to build a more resilient and secure global food system.
Read Invest Vancouver’s research for an overview of the sector and recommendations for capitalizing on this opportunity for our region to be at the forefront of important export-oriented and resiliency-focused innovation.
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🙋 Join your online community
Did you know you can connect with your tech community using our dedicated VTJ Slack? We know not all of you can get to our events in person, so this is your chance to network and chat with your friendly neighbourhood tech professionals from the comfort of your home. Join your VTJ Community Slack now.
👋 Before you go…
If you’ve made it all the way to the end of this newsletter, you must be really into tech news. Us too! In fact, we love it so much that we’re growing the Tech Journal family. We’re launching a new publication, Canadian Tech Journal, which will uncover and amplify the most compelling tech stories and insights from across the country. Want to be the first to get in on the action? Join the waitlist to subscribe now.