🏙️ Turning disaster into opportunity

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I’ve spent the past few days speaking with local entrepreneurs impacted by the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapse, and it really feels like the elephant in the room — except it’s the kind of elephant that has taken up a lot of space in recent discourse in the tech industry. Perhaps it’s the cherry on top of the past year of slowing deals and rising inflation, but what I found most striking was observing the polarity of responses that surfaced in these times of crisis.

On one end, you had a CEO cash out in stock and VC funds pull out all of their money as soon as there was an inkling of a collapse. On the other end, investors called for solidarity: to keep money in the accounts, and to trust in the process and regulation. Yet, at the end of the day, everyone got their money back.

One bank’s failure is another person’s opportunity, I guess: community will always find a way to step up to the plate in times of crisis. I’ve seen investors offer emergency financial support for their portfolio companies and scrolled through therapists advertising their services on LinkedIn in the middle of startups’ payroll uncertainty.

After writing up the article below, I became convinced that the SVB collapse was less of a far-away story south of the border, and more of a story that instead strikes at what everyone in our local innovation ecosystem complains about: the fact that we continue to lose talent, customers, and funding to the U.S. As one entrepreneur told me, SVB provided a “top-quality product” that no one else did. Could its failure finally be an opportunity for local leadership to shine?

I’m all ears: [email protected].

Now, onto your daily briefing.

Editor’s pick:

Vancouver tech responds to Silicon Valley Bank collapse

Hear from local startups impacted by the loss of the bank: “This is shining a light into one of many glaring holes in our venture innovation ecosystem here in Canada.” Start reading »

WomenInWeb3 Summit to elevate local talent, startups

With a keynote by international speaker Crypto Megan, the two-day event will share insights on the still emerging local and global blockchain economy. Start reading »

The Index: 12 creator economy leaders to know

Instagram to TikTok, Web2 to Web3: meet the local innovators at the helm of all that the Vancouver tech community has to offer for creators. Start reading »

🤝 Funding and deals:

• Tribe Property Technologies, a proptech company, announced a partnership with VendorPM, a vendor management and procurement software for the property industry. Read more »

🗣️ NEW: #vtjtalks: Entrepreneurial Parents: Scaling a Tech Business and Family Together

• Navigating the challenges of growing your business while raising a family? This month’s special guest speakers will share their experiences and insights on how to balance the demands of entrepreneurship with the joys and responsibilities of parenthood.

• Use member code gr0wnups to get 50% Super Early Bird tickets » 

🗞️ In other news:

• British Columbia is now considered an eligible jurisdiction under the proposed federal Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage Investment Tax Credit (CCUS ITC). Ministry of Energy, Mines, and Low Carbon Innovation »

• Brenda Bailey, minister of jobs, economic development, and innovation, is currently on a five-day trade mission to the U.S. BC Gov News »

• Clio, a SaaS provider for the legal industry, celebrates 15 years of operations. Newswire »

• D3 Security, a cybersecurity firm, is showcasing its “Smart SOAR” security solutions at the Gulf Information Security Expo and Conference (GISEC) in Dubai from March 14 to 16. Newswire »

💡 Ideas and insights:

• Kaylan Pepin, co-founder and CEO of Levr.ai, writes about what caused the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. Lending to startups was not the problem at Silicon Valley Bank »

• Tanis Jorge sat down with David Blumberg of Blumberg Capital, and Matt Burns, managing editor of Techcrunch, to discuss how to find a cofounder. YouTube »

• Pieter Dorsman, president and CEO of Redpeaks Management, writes about the “eternal tension between growth and risk,” as outlined by the demise of Silicon Valley Bank. The Edges of Growth » 

• Sim Desai, founder and CEO of Hiive, was quoted in a report on how financial institutions are bidding for startups linked to Silicon Valley Bank at a steep discount. BNN Bloomberg » 

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Until tomorrow!