In a recent op/ed, Pender Ventures managing partner Maria Pacella asks, “What happens when the industry with the greatest potential for innovation doesn’t reflect the world it’s innovating for?” Welcome to the Vancouver Tech Journal’s Sunday Briefing, the city’s most comprehensive digest of local tech stories, issues and insights. This week, explore the edtech platform that raised $3M ; the construction startup that bagged $33M; the medical tech firm that closed $115M in new financing , and; a new national tech talent accelerator with backing from Microsoft and Canada’s Digital Technology Supercluster .
“[Venture capital investing] sounds romantic and aspirational, and sometimes it is – that is, until we admit that the best ideas frequently do not get a shot because of a person’s gender. How and why is this the case? It’s simple. When you look at the data on who makes the majority of startup funding decisions, the picture isn’t pretty – but it’s pretty clear,” writes Maria Pacella, managing partner, Pender Ventures in The Globe & Mail
“By partnering with industry players like Microsoft we better understand the challenges they face in identifying skilled talent as we continue to drive technology adoption across our economy. Through this project we continue to support scaling digital companies and saving and creating jobs for all Canadians,” said Sue Paish, CEO of Canada’s Digital Technology Supercluster, in a statement .
GameStop The101 / Annika Lewis GameStop 101: r/wallstreetbets goes mainstream
Medium / Ayelen Osorio Class Warfare: Reddit, GameStop & Hedge Funds
Complications News 1130 / Jenny Pang Closure of Red Academy last March resulted in thousands in unpaid salaries, missing tuition, international students with invalid visas, and teachers owed thousands of dollars
Business in Vancouver / Tyler Orton Border restrictions during the pandemic have complicated the global aspirations for West Coast extended reality (XR) firms like Immersive Tech, which plans to sell VR containers for around US$250,000 each
Money / Bulletin Kardium raises US$115M in new financing, led by Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC and T. Rowe Price
Business in Vancouver / Tyler Orton Construction startup Nexii raised $33m and added Uber chairman and Apple Inc. director Ronald Sugar to its board of directors
/ Bulletin EdTech startup Wize raises US$3 million to be used to accelerate the company's expansion across Canada and into the U.S.
Techcouver / Robert Lewis JIBE, an e-commerce agency for brands like 7mesh, Arc’teryx, Sugoi and Organika has landed a significant investment from Los-Angeles-based OvareGroup
Good Vibes Daily Hive / Kenneth Chan Lyft and Uber mark one-year anniversary of launch in Metro Vancouver
VentureBeat / Jeff Grub Electronic Arts announced the launch of Full Circle, a new development studio, its third in Vancouver
BetaKit / Kevin Sandhu 11 Canadian tech companies to watch in 2021, including Vancouver’s Craver Solutions, Ollie Order, and Elastic Garage
Cantech Letter / Nick Waddell Stephen Takacsy, fund manager and president and CEO of Lester Asset Management, says Telus is “one of the best managed companies in Canada, we believe, and you can see the value creation over a long period of time”
Techcouver / Rob Lewis Bench, Damon, Olive, Routific, and Spocket are five Vancouver startups that got their start at Techstars
Georgia Straight / Steve Newton The B.C. Alliance for Arts and Culture is presenting six free sessions with digital experts on topics like SEO, social media, video and audio production, and setting up a website
Ideas and opinions Vancouver Sun / Wendy Hurlburt, Greg D’Avignon From groundbreaking cancer care to COVID, treatments and technologies being advanced by B.C. researchers, academic partners, entrepreneurs is staggering
Fast Company / Greg Smith The CEO of Thinkific on how he learned to love critical feedback at work—and you can too
LinkedIn / Shafin Tejani How "Second-Order Thinking" Can Supercharge Your Career In 2021
Personal Brand Brief / Joel Hansen A framework for how to build credibility when you’re not a CEO
Techcouver / Matt Carlson Local Colliers real estate executive shares tips and best practices from remote work champions
Fast Company / Paul Rubenstein The chief people officer of Visier says the new top challenge for HR teams is to get comfortable with being uncomfortable
Netcoins / Jack Choros Bitcoin Mania 2017 vs Bitcoin Mania 2020/2021: What’s the Difference?
Business in Vancouver / Christine Duhaime A local financial crime expert argues that the dangers of disinformation are increasingly dire for democracy
Techcouver / Matt Crowell The CEO of GetInTheLoop says 2020 has cleared the way for a new norm that elevates both the need and the function of innovation within organizations, leading to increased development and expansion of divisions dedicated to digital transformation, innovation, and new product incubation
Of Note Real Estate Wealth / Neil Sharma Robust tech industry buoys Vancouver’s office sector
BCBusiness / Nick Rockel After a strong finish to 2020, what's in store for B.C.’s M&A market—and what were 2020’s top 10 local deals
CTV News Vancouver / Ross McLaughlin, Espe Currie ApplyDigital, an agency that works with brands like Arc’teryx, Electronic Arts and Disney, is helping small businesses and restaurants like Kirin with their digital transformation
Esports Insider / H. B. Durn “We can build communities without always having to have a physical location,” says Spiro Khouri, CEO of TGS Esports Inc., which manages the Gaming Stadium esports stadium in Richmond
News 1130 / David Zura Meet Steven Van Vooght, synthetic crowd engineer, the man who creates the 'fake crowd' sounds at Rogers Arena hockey games
Global News / Claire Fenton TransLink has awarded a $16 million contract to Nova Bus to bring 15 more battery-electric buses to Vancouver by 2022, with the funding coming from the Federal Gas Tax Fund, in which the Canadian government gives funds to municipalities to support local infrastructure projects
Numbers BCBusiness / Nathan Caddell 56 companies have been funded through equity-funding platform Frontfundr
BBTV, a media tech company, reported that annual views on its platform grew by 50 billion to 473 billion in 2020
31% of hiring decision-makers in Vancouver expect their company to increase hiring in the year ahead, double the amount from this time last year (16%), according to a survey by The Harris Poll, commissioned by Vancouver’s Express Employment Professionals
Product CTV News Vancouver / Nafeesa Karim Vancouver company develops touchless technology that takes the 'ick factor' out of elevator buttons
BCBusiness / Nathan Caddell Vancouver-based Addy Technology Corp. aims to bring real estate investment to the masses, making it possible to get in on residential properties for as little as $1
People Proactive Investors / Uttara Choudhury Loop Insights taps industry veteran Tamer Shafik as new chief technology officer as it eyes rapid global scale
Canadian Underwriter APOLLO, a Vancouver insurtech platform, tapped Bryan Kinney to be its vice president of product
Immersive Tech hired Steven Dooner to lead UNCONTAINED, its location-based entertainment franchise
Hunter Technology, which developed a smart platform for the energy industry, appointed Alex Medana as CEO
Growth Techcouver Cela, Eyexpo, Virtro Technology, and weshowup are among Vancouver startups selected for the Washington Technology Industry Association’s Canadian XR Startup Market Accelerator program that helps prepare Canadian virtual reality, augmented reality and voice-related startups for expansion into the U.S. market
Business in Vancouver / Hayley Woodin For clean tech companies in Canada, “There’s just an enormous amount of capital,” says Jonathan Rhone, chairman of the BC Cleantech CEO Alliance and president and CEO of Axine Water Technologies
If you just can’t get enough… Vancouver founded Alida, which developed a customer experience and insights platform, won a 2020 APPEALIE Overall SaaS Award, for demonstrating excellence through innovation and dedication to constant improvement
LiteLink Signs LOI to Acquire Equity Stake in Canada's Premier Cryptocurrency Exchange, CatalX
Vancouver Tech Start-Up, Vegano, is Disrupting the Meal-Kit Delivery Services Market
The Scotiabank Women Initiative in collaboration with Forum for Women Entrepreneurs launches third installment of The Go-To podcast series
DoorDash To Provide Over $1 Million In COVID-19 Relief Grants To Help Canadian Restaurants
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