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The BetaKit Podcast Channel

The BetaKit Podcast Channel features weekly podcasts discussing both Canadian tech and innovation, as well as global tech from a Canadian perspective.
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Now displaying: Page 1
Mar 18, 2024

"One of the things that's funniest in tech is the complete and utter lack of self-awareness."

The BetaKit Podcast is off for March Break. If you're anything like us, right now you might need a welcome distraction from the joys of family. Enter comedian and podcaster Alexis Gay, who joins to share her transition from working in tech to creating content that perfectly articulates the absurdities of working in tech.

Sponsored by DiscoveryX Conference—Ontario’s premier innovation event, April 17 & 18. Also sponsored by the Master of Engineering Innovation and Entrepreneurship (MEIE) Program at Toronto Metropolitan University—learn how MEIE can help accelerate your career or bring your startup idea to life.

Original air date: October 21, 2022.

Mar 10, 2024

“The truth is we have a tremendous amount of comfort in the ambiguity of our vision.”

Float CEO and co-founder Rob Khazzam discusses the frustrations Canadian businesses face in managing and executing their finances, the harmful effects of stalled financial innovation, and his company’s atypical approach to product roadmapping.

Mar 1, 2024

"SR&ED's big. SR&ED matters. But it's also a value statement of where we as a country want to go."

CCI president Ben Bergen walks through the #CDNtech lobbyist group's proposed policy changes for the $4 billion Scientific Research and Experimental Development tax credit following Finance's recent consultation kick-off (two years after it was promised).

Feb 24, 2024

“There’s a big difference between wanting to be great and being great.”

After a 16-year run leading Ecobee, Stuart Lombard has stepped down as CEO and president of the smart thermostat maker. He joins the BetaKit Podcast to discuss lessons learned, building hardware in Canada, and "becoming the smart home company Nest should have been."

Sponsored by the Master of Engineering Innovation and Entrepreneurship (MEIE) Program at Toronto Metropolitan University—learn how MEIE can help accelerate your career or bring your startup idea to life.

Feb 16, 2024

"If we had a bank licence today, I'm confident in saying we'd have the highest savings rate in the country."

Koho CEO Daniel Eberhard joins to explain why the FinTech startup decided to pursue a banking licence, why it necessitates splitting the company in two, and the potential benefits for Canadians living in a culturally reinforced oligopoly.

Feb 11, 2024

“I’m just holding out hope for Nightshade (Taylor’s Version). Arm the Swifties, they’re our only hope.”

Rob and Douglas play an escalating game of identifying and arguing for the biggest tech news stories: new kit like the Apple Vision Pro, Arc browser, and Nightshade, new (potential) banks like Koho, and yes, Taylor Swift. By the end of this episode, you'll either be fearless or seeing red.

Sponsored by DiscoveryX Conference—Ontario’s premier innovation event, April 17 & 18. Also sponsored by the Master of Engineering Innovation and Entrepreneurship (MEIE) Program at Toronto Metropolitan University—learn how MEIE can help accelerate your career or bring your startup idea to life.

Feb 4, 2024

"To compete in any field of technology, and especially AI, you have to be global."

Like many Canadian tech companies, Untether AI started 2024 with a new CEO. Former Intel leader and Untether AI president Chris Walker explains why he came out of retirement for the role, and how he intends to capitalize on the company's "scaling moment."

Sponsored by DiscoveryX Conference, Ontario’s premier innovation event: April 18 & 18.

Recorded at CreatorClub, a one-stop hub for content creation empowering brands, agencies, and marketers to streamline their content creation process from start to finish.

Jan 28, 2024

“We kinda want to leave the internet.”

Inspired by Canadian science fiction author and journalist Cory Doctorow, the BetaKit Podcast articulates all the ways we find the internet getting worse.

Sponsored by the Master of Engineering Innovation and Entrepreneurship (MEIE) Program at Toronto Metropolitan University. Learn how MEIE can help accelerate your career or bring your startup idea to life.

Recorded at CreatorClub, a one-stop hub for content creation empowering brands, agencies, and marketers to streamline their content creation process from start to finish.

Jan 20, 2024

“How often are they going to increase prices before Canadians say ‘that’s enough?’”

Did Rogers (now #1 in consumer complaints) finally cross a line with a price increase so shortly after its merger with Shaw? Will Canadians (and our elected representatives) finally be riled into action? MobileSyrup telecom reporter Nida Zafar joins to discuss. Don’t hold your breath.

Recorded at CreatorClub.

Jan 13, 2024

"We are so back."

BetaKit reporter Josh Scott joins to play the most dangerous game: trying to beat his boss in identifying the biggest tech questions that will define 2024. With no answers given, no tech question is off the table.

Sponsored by the Master of Engineering Innovation and Entrepreneurship (MEIE) Program at Toronto Metropolitan University. Learn how MEIE can help accelerate your career or bring your startup idea to life.

Recorded at CreatorClub.

 

Jan 6, 2024

“So many Canadian organizations today are sending their dollars, their economic capital, to AWS, to Azure, to Google. There really is no Canadian response to this today.”

Tenstorrent senior director of business development Eric Duffy explains why the company’s leadership pedigree and open standard tech have attracted interest from Korean auto manufacturers and consumer electronic companies alike, before discussing the opportunities and gaps before Canadian hardware companies competing with Apple, NVIDIA, and Intel. Recorded live at ALL IN 2023 in Montréal.

Sponsored by Float: Finance on auto-pilot. Originally aired October 22, 2023.

Dec 29, 2023

"We have industrialized grift in a way that is kind of unprecedented in human history."

Canadian YouTuber Dan Olson (Folding Ideas) explains his battle against internet grifts, how his career changed after a viral video on NFTs, and why the metaverse was destined to be a dead mall.

Sponsored by Goodlawyer. Originally aired May 5, 2023.

Dec 23, 2023

“I had to remind myself that SVB happened this year. Because it seems like it happened a bazillion years ago.”

Rob and Douglas close out 2023 in style with a look back at all the major events in a crazy year before making 2024 tech predictions.

Sponsored by Float, Finance on auto-pilot.

Dec 17, 2023

“The government doesn't have a great way of being able to kind of parse through and say, ‘this is bad and this is good.’ And, this is, I think, a key part of the problem.”

TMU senior research associate Stein Monteiro and former NACO CEO Yuri Navarro join to discuss the successes and failures of the Start-up Visa program in relation to its predecessor, and how improving the program might be difficult without the right data.

Sponsored by Float, Finance on auto-pilot.

Dec 10, 2023

“When I heard the news, I was stunned … Absolutely, it is going to be happening in Canada.”

CMD Capital’s Matt Roberts joins for an emergency podcast on the sudden demise of OpenView Venture Partners, what caused it, and the likelihood that Canadian tech will see similar zombie funds north of the border.

Sponsored by Float, Finance on auto-pilot.

Dec 3, 2023

"Verticalized AI applications right now are available, right now accelerating industry after industry."

Canadian tech luminaries close the year discussing AI disruption, the state of SaaS, and what marketing should be saved for the DMs in this compilation of interviews recorded live at SAAS NORTH.

Featuring Reid Robinson (Zapier), Joella Almeida (MedEssist), Solon Angel (Fresh Founders), Sarah Stockdale (Growclass), Danielle Gifford (Movement51), Patrick White (L-SPARK).

Sponsored by Float (Finance on auto-pilot) and Ada (a full customer service team, powered by AI).

Nov 26, 2023

"If you're pension-backed you gotta deliver returns, buddy."

OMERS Ventures senior managing partner Michael Yang recounts a turbulent year for the pension-backed VC firm, and what the future holds for "OV 3.0".

Sponsored by Cisco Secure Firewall and Ada: a full customer service team, powered by AI.

Nov 18, 2023

"Capital efficiency is actually really sexy."

Satish Kanwar (Good Future) and Katy Yam (Real Ventures) join for a special episode recorded live on the BetaKit Keynote Stage at SAAS NORTH, discussing the different paths available for Canadian entrepreneurs, and why 100,000 fewer are choosing to walk them compared to 20 years ago.

Sponsored by Sponsored by Float (Finance on auto-pilot) and Cisco Secure Firewall.

Nov 12, 2023

"We all have to thank Elon Musk for all that amazing innovation and disruption that's happening. Many changes that he has brought to X are now driving that interesting innovation."

Buffer Chief Product Officer Maria Thomas discusses how social media has changed over the company's 13-year history and how the company is building a headless ecommerce equivalent for posting 'content' on a fractured internet.

Sponsored by Float (Finance on auto-pilot) and SAAS NORTH (use the code 'betakit25' to get your tickets).

Nov 5, 2023

"What happens when the technologists decide what they do is more important than the government and they don't want to play by those rules?

Rob and Douglas hold a post-mortem on the fever dream that was financial innovation and competition in Canada before discussing what Minister Freeland's recent announcements signal about the government's intentions. Your interlocutors then unpack Marc Andreessen's Techno-Optimist Manifesto, its approach and intentions, and how it stands in direct contrast with US President Biden's recent AI executive order.

Sponsored by Float (Finance on auto-pilot) and SAAS NORTH (use the code 'betakit25' to get your tickets).

Oct 29, 2023

“When you’re a FinTech you’re a second-class citizen when it comes to accessing infrastructure, and so you’re spending a lot of time trying to innovate on table stakes, which takes away from the actual innovation that you want to offer.”

Wealthsimple VP and chief compliance officer Hanna Zaidi joins for a wide-ranging conversation on what's impeding financial services modernization, and what Canadians are missing because of it.

Sponsored by Float (Finance on auto-pilot) and SAAS NORTH (use the code 'betakit25' to get your tickets).

Oct 22, 2023

“So many Canadian organizations today are sending their dollars, their economic capital, to AWS, to Azure, to Google. There really is no Canadian response to this today."

Tenstorrent senior director of business development Eric Duffy explains why the company’s leadership pedigree and open standard tech have attracted interest from Korean auto manufacturers and consumer electronic companies alike, before discussing the opportunities and gaps before Canadian hardware companies competing with Apple, NVIDIA, and Intel. Recorded live at ALL IN 2023 in Montréal.

Sponsored by Float (Finance on auto-pilot) and SAAS NORTH (use the code 'betakit25' to get your tickets).

Oct 15, 2023

"So there are good things about the state of the market today compared to where we were in the 2000s. There are things that are not as good, and then you have fundamental issues that occurred in the aftermath of the dotcom era that never got solved."

Investor and Canadian tech archeologist Matt Roberts (CMD Capital) discusses his journey to investigate the last 20-plus years of venture capital in Canada, what he learned, and which parts of our past continue to rhyme.

Sponsored by Dynabook—make smart business moves with Dynabook Tecra A40 & A50 laptops—and Cisco Secure Firewall.

Oct 7, 2023
"I profoundly believe that open source is the way forward for AI so that we avoid this monopoly of power."
 
Hugging Face Climate Lead + AI Researcher Dr. Sasha Luccioni discusses the need to make AI "less bad for the planet," how tracking carbon impacts and sharing data can help, and how the company she works for is trying to be the GitHub for AI. Recorded live at ALL IN 2023 in Montréal.
 
Sponsored by Big Data & AI Toronto and Cisco Secure Firewall.
Sep 30, 2023
"We don’t need more referees in Canada. We need more builders. Let other countries regulate while we take the more courageous path."
 
A COVID isolation emergency podcast, Rob and Douglas catch up on the latest tech news, which—surprise!—is AI-focused. Featuring: hot takes on the latest AI lawsuits, new uses to help combat climate change and the just-announced Voluntary Code of Conduct for generative AI (the one that Shopify's CEO said he would not support). We also gripe about the price of the new iPhones.
 
Sponsored by Big Data and AI Toronto, Oct 18 & 19. Get your tickets today!
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