📈 From $500 to 60 employees and $10 million in annual revenue
📈 From $500 to 60 employees and $10 million in annual revenue
The story of Bruce Qi and Launchpad Technologies.
Good morning and Happy #May24. Let’s hope the weekend’s sun stays with us a bit longer because there is a lot happening over the next few days. Here’s a sample from our new events calendar:
Tomorrow, Tuesday, May 24: Vancouver Tech Morning Coffee
Thursday, May 26: #vtjtalks: Scaling From Idea to $1M -10M and Beyond in partnership with SEGEV LLP
Friday, May 27: Tech Industry Drinks | Compliments of CBRE
Now onto today’s briefing. It’s 907 words, a 3 + 1/2-minute read.
-William, @notionport
How Launchpad Technologies’ Bruce Qi bootstrapped $500 into $10 million
The startup has been profitable every year of its existence, without taking any outside investment. » Start reading.
‘We’re all adults.’ – How (and why) to get a job at Canalyst
CTO Chuck Clark talks about marrying technology and business ideas, and empowering employees to do their best work. » Start reading.
Vancouver-based Spare partners with ridesharing giant Lyft to deliver on-demand transit services
The partnership will enable transit agencies to scale fleet services up and down, depending on rider needs. » Get the full story.
Vancouver Film School launches $200,000 Indigenous Scholarship in Video Games fund
The four awards will cover tuition and provide ongoing mentorship to support Indigenous excellence. » Start reading.
Vancouver-based Network Media Group inks NFT partnership with Hockey Hall of Fame
The project aims to attract a global sporting and cultural fan base that’s inspired by the game of hockey, and its history, archive, and exhibits. » Get the full story.
A year after a $126M raise, Tasktop to be acquired by Texas firm
Vancouver-based Tasktop, a tech firm that helps companies determine the value of their software development and delivery efforts, has entered into an agreement to be acquired by Austin-based Planview, a portfolio and work management business. The deal is projected to close by mid-summer. » Start reading.
Partner message from TELUS
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🤝 Funding and deals
AgriFORCE Growing Systems completed its acquisition of food production and processing IP from Manna Nutritional Group. » Continue.
Format Factory, a studio that creates, collects and collates premium scripted intellectual properties, secured investment from First Fund. » Continue.
Mangrove Lithium closed a new investment round led by BMW i Ventures and Bill Gates’s Breakthrough Energy Ventures. » Continue.
Accounting tech firm Bench announced a partnership with Firstbase, an all-in-one ecosystem that allows anyone to incorporate a U.S. company and manage their entire business on a single platform. » Continue.
Tribe Property Technologies Inc. has agreed to acquire Southview Property Management Inc. in a $600,000 transaction. » Continue.
🗞️ In other news…
Three B.C. companies—RycycleSmart, Saltworks and Semios—were named Canada’s Sustainability Changemakers 2022 by the federal agency Sustainable Development Technology Canada. » Continue.
Stoko has helped running go high tech with its supportive apparel and tights. » Runner’s World.
Caroline von Hirschberg was appointed as Spring Activator’s first co-CEO by founder Keith Ippel. » Continue.
Dapper Labs won the 2022 Sports Business Award for Best in Sports Technology for popularizing non-fungible tokens through its landmark NBA Top Shot product release. » Sports Business Journal.
Former entrepreneurship@UBC managing director Kari LaMotte is now general manager at Envol Strategies. » Continue.
INETCO Systems Ltd. has added Francisco Maroto, head of blockchain and digital assets at BBVA, and former Netcoins president and current Madali Ventures CEO Mitchell Demeter to its advisory board. » Continue.
How Kobalt, a Vancouver-based cybersecurity company, broke into the U.S. market. » Globe and Mail.
The EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2022 Pacific finalists were released. » Continue.
Vancouver Running Co. is teaming up with digital studio OddFutur3 to launch Run As You Are NFTs. » Canadian Running.
Animal Logic is moving into 110,000 sf purpose-built studio and doubling its workforce by hiring 300 roles. » Cartoon Brew.
How Omnisearch Is Revolutionizing Online Education, A Founder’s Story with Marin Smiljanić. » Disrupt Magazine.
Dapper Labs was named number nine on the 2022 CNBC Disruptor 50 list. » CNBC.
GenXys recently was named the 2022 Best Overall Medical Data Solution Provider by MedTech Breakthrough Awards, which recognizes the top companies, people, platforms, and products in the health, fitness, and medical technology industries. » Continue.
💡 Ideas and insights
Chris Neumann, general partner at Panache, writing on his personal blog: The Genius of Creative Destruction Lab
Jay Giraud, founder of Damon Motorcycles, joined the Afternoon “T” podcast to discuss his mission to cause a paradigm shift for safer, smarter motorcycling. » Watch/listen.
Greg Smith, CEO of Thinkific, writing in Fast Company: 3 ‘creator’ soft skills that can get you hired
A new Building Skills for a Clean Economy report identifies opportunities and learnings to help workers with transferable skills in sectors at risk of disruption by the clean economy transition and technological transformation to become gainfully employed in the cleantech sector. » Continue.
An Update on Film in Vancouver from Geoff Teoli, acting Vancouver film commissioner. » Vancouver Economic Commission.
Dave Dinesen, CEO of CubicFarms, writing in Forbes: Local Food Hubs: The Next Revolution In Urban Planning
Sean Hinton, founder and CEO of SkyHive, commenting on startups can grow responsibly on the WEF blog: Ingrain sustainability into the company's core DNA