“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).
“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).
"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.
"Canada is at the forefront. Yes, mistakes are being made, but at least they're doing something. The US is doing nothing. And at the end of the day, these are American companies that are destroying the world."
Post.News founder Noam Bardin shares what it's like trying to build a new social network "in public" in 2023 and why the Big Tech platforms only fear regulation before making a pitch to Canadians looking to return news to their social media.
Sponsored by TechExit.io, taking place October 25 in Toronto.
"There is especially in tech still a stigma around being a parent and being a contributing member of a company."
Founders Erin Bury (Willful) and Marie Chevrier (Sampler) join to discuss the dumb restrictions on entrepreneurs trying to receive parental leave benefits, plus tips (and encouragement) for entrepreneurs preparing to ship a new bundle of joy.
Sponsored by Zoholics Canada 2023, Zoho’s premier user conference. Use the code "BETAKIT25" for a 25% discount!
We know you love VCs on the BetaKit Podcast. So here's an all-VC episode of the BetaKit Podcast.
Featuring: Chris Neumann (Panache Ventures), Matt Cohen (Ripple Ventures), John Ruffolo (Maverix Private Equity), Michelle Scarborough (Thrive Venture Fund), Satraj Bambra (Round13's Digital Asset Fund).
Sponsored by Zoholics Canada 2023, Zoho’s premier user conference. Use the code "BETAKIT25" for a 25% discount!
"One of the things that's funniest in tech is the complete and utter lack of self-awareness."
Comedian and podcaster Alexis Gay joins to share her transition from working in tech to creating content that perfectly articulates the absurdities of working in tech.
This episode originally aired on October 21, 2022.
"I don't think our entrepreneurs are not risk takers; I just don't think our culture is set up to accept those risk takers."
It's a Canadian tech summer vibe check as the gang answers submitted listener questions: on the low government trust battery in the wake of another cabinet shuffle, cleantech tax credit delays, and a Hypergrowth program designed to pick winners; whether or not Canada can handle 10,000 H-1B visa applicants given our national housing crisis; and yes, whether or not Canadian entrepreneurs are taking risks and solving big problems. We also reveal our wardrobe and video game picks to ensure a Hot Tech Summer.
Sponsored by Dynabook. Make smart business moves with Dynabook Tecra A40 & A50 laptops.
"For a lot of Indigenous storytellers, there's a lot of interest in those [tech] platforms, because those entities haven't said no to our community for 50 years."
Indigenous content creators are caught between a rock and a hard place with the Online Streaming Act and the Online News Act—it's sadly familiar territory.
Award-winning Anishinaabe writer, broadcaster, and arts leader Jesse Wente joins to evaluate the options offered by Big Tech, traditional media, and the Canadian government before providing strong prescriptions better suited to the situation.
Sponsored by Dynabook. Make smart business moves with Dynabook Tecra A40 & A50 laptops.
"The BetaKit Podcast is very much a pro-dog podcast."
Dr. Theresa Johnson (Airbnb), Harper Reed (General Galactic Corporation), and Neha Khera (2048 Ventures) join for a wide-ranging conversation on shooting particles at satellites (for science!), founder-market fit, working for Barack Obama, when to quit, shutting down your company, angel and early-stage investing, and building jetpacks for dogs (for science!). Recorded in front of a live audience on the main stage of Startupfest 2023.
Sponsored by Palette Skills.
"People in Canada are at their wits' end about areas of our economy having a lack of competition and how it impacts their pocketbook."
The Competition Bureau is the last line of defence for enforcing competition law in Canada. But our system is designed so that the line keeps moving. Commissioner of Competition Matthew Boswell joins to discuss the tools and powers that would help his Bureau prevent Canada's economy from becoming an endless series of three companies in a trench coat.
Sponsored by Palette Skills.
"Something else that's unique about the Calgary ecosystem...we're hungry. We're really, really hungry."
James Lochrie (Thin Air Labs) and Brett Colvin (Goodlawyer) join for an Alberta tech vibe check, discussing the recent election, big Q1 2023 funding news, and the value of community building.
Sponsored by Palette Skills. Apply now for a transformative 6-week tech sales training program.
"Unfortunately, there's a long history over the last decade that I tend to lean into controversies around any event that we're holding anywhere in the world, especially four weeks out, because the volume of tickets that are booked locally is highest in the final weeks."
BetaKit's one-on-one interview with Web Summit CEO Paddy Cosgrave on the eve of Collison 2023 after the tech conference announced a (one-year) return to Toronto for 2024.
Sponsored by Goodlawyer, your one-stop-shop for all your corporate, commercial, and IP legal needs.
"They're trying to invent the next product category—that's what they want to do. They want to have some sort of hardware to push into the future. They just haven't convinced me that this really is the future yet."
Apple just announced the most impressive—and expensive—AR/VR/MR device ever made. But who is the device for and how will they use it? MobileSyrup editor-in-chief Patrick O'Rourke joins to answer these questions fresh off of strapping Apple's spacial computer to his face.
Sponsored by Goodlawyer, your one-stop shop for all your corporate, commercial, and IP legal needs.
"We are in a time of the worst health care crisis we've seen in Canada. It is really close to a collapse of the system across the country."
Brett Belchetz (Maple) and Alexandra Greenhill (Careteam Technologies) join to diagnose the failings of Canada's health care system before offering a prescription. How can innovators help? Can a balance be struck between public and private care? The doctors will see you now.
Sponsored by Goodlawyer, your one-stop shop for all your corporate, commercial, and IP legal needs.
“That is a deeply unhealthy way to live and to work and it’s ultimately not a successful way to sustain a publication.”
CANADALAND news editor Jonathan Goldsbie joins to discuss the rampant demise of digital media publications launched in the 2000s and how they compare to the slow death of traditional media. Advice for aspiring young journalists comes mixed with an investigation of the ideal media business model in 2023.
Sponsored by Goodlawyer, your one-stop shop for all your corporate, commercial, and IP legal needs.
"This announcement communicated two things: this thing we're getting rid of isn't primary to our mission—it's a side quest, we don't actually care about this; and we have a cultural problem at our company with who we've hired and what they're focused on."
Madeline Stone, retail and e-commerce writer for Business Insider, joins to discuss the future of Shopify's "main quest" after cutting staff and selling off its logistics division. Co-hosts Rob & Doug then take over to discuss whether or not Shopify is the victim of Canada's tall poppy syndrome.
Sponsored by Goodlawyer, your one-stop shop for all your corporate, commercial, and IP legal needs.
"I don't necessarily know if the government understands what an innovation strategy is."
Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI) president Ben Bergen joins to answer listener-submitted questions about: the Canada Innovation Corporation, open banking, SR&ED reform, and why the feds are so behind on so many innovation files.
Warning: listening to this podcast could be hazardous to your health while playing any "innovation policy" drinking games.
Sponsored by Goodlawyer, your one-stop shop for all your corporate, commercial, and IP legal needs.