Cheatsheet: Nine accelerator and incubator programs B.C. unicorns say supported their success

Find out which program AbCellera, Semios, and Thinkific have in common.

Launch Academy CEO Ray Walia speaking at the company’s former Gastown location.

Since December 2020, at least 13 B.C. companies have become unicorns –  businesses valued at least $1 billion – through private investment, acquisition, or initial public offering (IPO). There has been no shortage of reporting on these firms. However, no publication has shared internal information on these companies like the velocity of their revenue growth, hiring metrics, and use of non-dilutive funding sources – until now. This is part four of five in our Unicorn Files series.

As reported in our latest exclusive, “Five things you didn’t know about Vancouver’s tech unicorns,” B.C. unicorns credited at least six different accelerator and incubator programs with supporting their success.

According to executives at these firms, physical spaces and growth programs provided value to their businesses in a number of ways. The ability to engage with fellow entrepreneurs and mentors was cited as a key benefit of participating in a physical accelerator program. The opportunity to discuss shared issues with peers accelerated problem-solving. In addition, in cases where startups could leverage free office spaces (as was the situation with the now-closed BC Tech Hub), the savings were significant for an early-stage company. “Six months of free rent was such a game-changer for us,” explained Thinkific COO Miranda Lievers. Below, find the list of spaces, as well as the programs, that put future unicorns through their paces.