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Sim City: What the new mayor means for Vancouver tech
Welcome to the Sunday Briefing.
Have you wondered where B.C.’s smartest investors think current venture capital trends are headed? Want to know who the most interesting and fastest-growing Vancouver companies are? We’ll be answering those kinds of questions over the coming weeks as part of our series of member-only exclusives. If you want to read these stories, you can trial our new membership program right now, completely free.
Start your 14-day free member trial
In case you missed it, last week we officially announced the VTJ Member club to enable readers connect more deeply to the people and stories that matter to them. As a member, you’ll get access to deep dives, startup watch-lists, 50 percent off tickets to select events, and our Morning Report: the only daily tech briefing in Vancouver.
Between today and October 28, you can sign up for a 14-day trial and gain full access to the member club and its benefits. Once you’re in, I’m confident you’ll want to stay.
Now onto today’s briefing. It’s 1,113 words, a 4-minute read.
-William, @notionport
Ken Sim is the city’s next mayor. Here’s what he promised Vancouver tech
Last week, we asked the mayoral frontrunners what their plans are for the local tech sector, if elected. Ken Sim is now the mayor-elect. Revisit what this means for the city’s innovators. Start reading »
Unilogik Systems welcomes staff to Granville Island
The IT solutions company has opened a new office at the neighbourhood’s entrance, thanks to growth during the pandemic. Start reading »
Vancouver passengers can get through airport security faster using YVR’s new app
Vancouver International Airport’s new digital service, YVR Express, helps travellers book an appointment to go through security. Start reading »
"You can grow your ideas here." — How (and why) to get a job at GeoComply
CEO, chairman, and co-founder Anna Sainsbury shares her company’s origin story, touts GeoComply’s new office space, and highlights the impact of her team’s work. Start reading »
🚨 4 days away: #vtjtalks: Burnaby Tech Is Booming | Oct 20
Join us this month to learn about the growing community of innovative and world-class companies building beyond Boundary Road — in Burnaby, B.C. Register to hear speakers from Clio ($100M+ annual revenue), Cymax Group Technologies, and Trendi.
Struggling to hire diverse, skilled women software engineers?
VanHack’s most popular tech hiring event of the year is happening on October 25 to 27, 2022. Join leading employers hiring hard-to-find female tech talent skilled in JavaScript, Mobile, Python, QA, Java, and data engineering.
- Three days of speed-interviews with over 130 female engineers
- All vetted candidates have at least four years of experience
- Free for employers to join
🤝 Funding and deals
Six summer seed rounds you overlooked. 10/14 Members-only Morning Report »
BCIT and Cisco Canada have partnered on the Industrial Network Cybersecurity (INC) Lab to address the global demand for cybersecurity talent. Continue »
Well Health, the healthtech consolidator firm, is acquiring three primary healthcare clinics in the Metro Vancouver region from CloudMD, as well as electronic medical records. The Deep Dive »
Quandri, a startup developing digital workers for insurance agencies, raised CAD $2 million from Aviso Ventures, Good News Ventures, and N49P Ventures. BetaKit »
Jasper Commerce, which provides product information management solutions, plans to acquire Cartika Internet Solutions: an IT infrastructure. Continue »
Celebrate autumn's arrival with these fall offers at Fairmont Empress
Discover autumn at Canada’s Castle on the Coast, the ideal starting point to explore British Columbia’s stunning natural beauty. BC residents save up to 15% with parking included.
🗞️ In other news
🎟️ Vancouver Entrepreneurs Forum and The Frontier Collective are hosting a panel and networking event — The Metaverse: What’s the Hype? — on Monday, moderated by Vancouver Tech Journal’s Kate Wilson. Save 25% with our exclusive discount code: VTJ1022 Register now »
Easly, a tax credit and grant financing platform, surpassed $100 million in capital deployed after just three years of operations in Canada. Out of Easly’s total money financed to date, 43 percent went to B.C. companies, which made B.C. the top-funded province ahead of Ontario. Continue »
These Vancouver entrepreneurs, including Moment Energy and ChopValue, are helping build a zero-waste economy. CBC »
Low Tide Properties plans a new Vancouver life sciences building, Lab 29, to be located near the new St. Paul’s Hospital campus. Renx.ca »
Indigenous scientist Dustin King’s new lab seeks natural carbon capture solutions. SFU »
Damon Motors, an EV motorbike company, said its order book has exceeded $90 million to date globally, with the potential of exceeding $250 million through international partnerships. Motorcycle.com »
💼 Take your career to the next level
There are hundreds of other Vancouver tech businesses searching for talent, including AbCellera, Tsunami Solutions, Seaspan ULC, LandSure, Inetco Systems, Tantalus Systems, Withe, and PayPal.
See who else is hiring on our Vancouver Tech Journal Job Board »
Growing your team? Post a job with us »
Calling all Canadian entrepreneurs!
Do you have what it takes to be named one of Canada’s Most Innovative Startups? If so, Boast invites you to apply for its pitch competition for a chance to win over $100,000 worth of prizes, and exposure to top investors and top-tier media from Boast AI, Boast Claims, Switchboard, and VanHack!
Who should apply?
- Founders working on innovative solutions that have received no more than $3M in equity funding (grants are fine)
- Have a strong team of at least 4 members, a working MVP and/or early traction
- Be a legally registered entity in Canada established no more than five years ago
The top five startups will be invited to attend a pitch clinic and will be pitching (virtually) live on November 23. The pitch application deadline is approaching fast, so hurry and get your application in. The deadline is Thursday, November 10 at 11:59 p.m. PT. For more pitch competition details and to apply: CLICK HERE
💡 Ideas and insights
A conversation with Canadian Web3 Council’s Morva Rohani in d3crypto: Advocating for safe, secure, and efficient Web3 access points
Chris Neumann, general partner at Panache Ventures, writing on his personal blog: How you can improve your chance of an introduction
Shafin Tejani, CEO of Victory Square Technologies, writing in Forbes: Looking to invest in the next big thing? Ask your kids for advice.
Karn Manhas, CEO of Terramera, writing in Entrepreneur: Storms and floods are on the rise. But there's a solution under our feet.
Dan Burgar and Kassandra Linklater, heads of Frontier Collective, writing in Daily Hive: Vancouver's elected officials need to help grow the tech industry
Colin Sharp, a copywriter at Invoke, writing in What Comes Next: Product validation: why you need to double-check your instinct
Michael Gilbert, CEO of Semios, writing in Newsweek: The missing ingredient in agtech: boots on the ground
👋🏾 Before you go…
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