An ex-Apple and Adobe exec bet on this B.C. business

Meet Roar, the OpenTable of personal services. Welcome to the Family Day Weekend Briefing.

Author

William Johnson
February 21, 2022

Good morning! We have a big week on our hands that’s all about money. Tomorrow, February 22, it’s B.C. Budget Day. Then on Wednesday, it’s budget debrief day, both figuratively and literally with the Council of Canadian Innovators. And then on Thursday, B.C. biotech giant AbCellera will release its earnings after the markets close. Our notepads, keyboards and calculators are ready. It’s go time. Okay, now let’s get into today’s newsletter. This week I’ve got 1,075 words for you, a 3 + 1/2-minute read. Enjoy!

Maya Adly wondered why there wasn’t an OpenTable equivalent for personal services like barbers or nail salons. So she built it.

Through her startup Roar, Adly is looking to change the game for online bookings and investments into female-founded companies. » Start reading.

The Index: 5 tech companies based in Strathcona

It’s not Mount Pleasant or Gastown, but there are some firms making themselves known in Strathcona. » Start reading.

'There was a problem I had that I couldn't find a product to solve.' — Kate Bouchard is filling a healthtech gap

Leaning on experiences from her own healthcare journey, Bouchard is building a smart pillbox through her startup, Loba. » Start reading.

Meet the Angels for Climate Solutions Startup Cohort’s top 10

These cleantech companies are advancing climate innovation in their quest for $100K. » Get the list.

👩🏽‍💻 Closing the gender gap: Hiring women in tech

Looking to remove gender biases in your tech hiring processes? Here’s where you can start. » Start reading.

🎧 #VTJLive with Jill Earthy, CEO of InBC Investment Corp., a $500M strategic investment fund

Listen to hear Jill discuss what kind of investments the fund will make, if it'll look at Web3 startups and how close it is to hiring a chief investment officer. » Listen now.

Acetech Member Highlight: Colligo

Colligo is a Vancouver-based provider of email management software, enabling organizations to be more compliant and enact better information governance. The company has undergone a cloud transformation over the last several years, accelerating its cloud growth to over 120% in the latest calendar year, as it helps organizations better control their information assets in a more remote/hybrid (or cloud-first modern work) environment. Colligo sells into Fortune 500 customers, globally.

🤝 Funding and deals

  • Vancouver’s Train Fitness secured pre-seed funding to transform workout tracking. The company announced a USD $540,000 fundraising round. » Get the full story.

  • Cleantech, Indigenous communities prioritized with $2 million in B.C. government funding. 14 companies received an investment from the BC Fast Pilot program. » Get the full story.

  • ElectraMeccanica, which produces a compact EV, is partnering with autonomous tech startup Faction Technology Inc. to pilot food deliveries and rides-on-demand. » electrek.

  • BuildDirect.com Technologies Inc. closed $3 million in debt financing. » Continue.

How to Lower Your SR&ED Audit Risk

There is a 25% risk that the CRA will choose to audit your SR&ED claim in any given year. An audit is time-consuming and can delay refunds for months.

Learn how to lower your audit risk by 50% here.

🗞️ In other news…

  • From our friends at Geekwire: Veteran video game developers, visual effects experts launch new Vancouver B.C. studio Blinkmoon

  • A Vancouver man made a kid-friendly version of Wordle. » CBC.

  • ABOzymes' blood group conversion technology was used for the ex vivo conversion of a full human lung from blood type A to blood type O, paving the way for universal donor organs. » STAT News.

  • Hive Blockchain Technologies, a crypto-mining firm, saw revenue spike 397% to $68 million in the quarter ended December 31, 2021. » Continue.

  • Vancouver-founded Alida, now headquartered in Toronto, introduced a four-day workweek for its nearly 500 employees. » CTV.

  • Sponsored: Uber Canada and Plug’N Drive team up to help drivers make the switch to EVs

  • Microsoft Corp., Plentyoffish Media Inc., Tipalti Inc. and Kaseya are among U.S. tech firms to recently secure downtown office space ranging from 10,000 square feet to 48,000 square feet. » Business in Vancouver.

  • Dapper Labs was featured in a RollingStone opinion piece that asks, “Is Blockchain the Future of Entertainment?”

  • 6 angel investors helping to accelerate Climate Solutions in Vancouver are spotlighted by Vancouver Economic Commission. » Continue.

  • Dapper Labs claims that minting nonfungible tokens (NFTs) on its Flow blockchain takes less energy than a Google Search or an Instagram post. » The Real Preneur.

  • Foresight announced the finalists for the 2022 BC Cleantech Awards. » Continue.

  • KPU will offer diplomas in 3D animation and 3D modelling, advanced VFX (virtual production) and advanced game development starting this May. » Richmond News.

  • The BC Trucking Association (BCTA) is seeking support from the Government of BC to legislate a zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) sales mandate for BC’s commercial road transportation sector. » Continue.

  • Spring announced the top 20 startups in the 2022 Health Impact Investor Challenge Cohort run in tandem with the TELUS Pollinator Fund for Good. » Continue.

  • Ionomr, which recently raised $15M, announced that it will hire up 51 people and build an R&D centre with a USD $2.7M investment in Rochester, New York » Continue.

  • Amazon Web Services (AWS) said it’s expanding its cloud infrastructure in Canada, with new AWS Local Zones—which improve connectivity—in Toronto and Vancouver. » IT World Canada.

💡 Ideas and insights

👋🏾 Before you go…

  1. Forward this newsletter to your colleagues, clients or anyone else you think would find it valuable.

  2. Follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.

  3. Send me story ideas and tips at [email protected]

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