“We are just scratching the surface.”
Dani Lipkin, Director of Global Business Development at TMX Group, joins to explain why the first half of 2021 is already the best year ever for Canadian tech companies on the TSX, and why it took so long.
"Are you looking for a reprieve from the summer heat or do you want a hot pod summer?"
Co-hosts Douglas Soltys and Rob Kenedi are joined by producer Kattie Laur to answer listener questions about whether the election killed open banking, why TekSavvy's pissed and the CRTC doesn't seem to care, and when it's time to start ignoring Shopify announcements.
“Nothing weird, just bugs.”
HOPE Pet Food co-founder, Kasey Dunn, joins to explain the impact pet diets can have on factory farming and climate change. The solution? Bugs!
"Canada is three telecom companies in a trenchcoat.”
Public Policy expert Vass Bednar joins to discuss the US approach to regulating Big Tech, Canada's 'good enough' competition policy, and why we're so culturally comfortable with oligopolies. Free Matthew Boswell!
Produced with support from TWG.
"There's no bigger board meeting than you staring in the face of death in the hospital. Death has all the leverage."
Boast.AI co-founder and president Lloyed Lobo speaks candidly on what he's learned about the true cost of entrepreneurship after a near-death experience with COVID-19.
Produced with support from TWG.
"I know how to take down the different systems that support a nation-state and make it look like it's somebody else's business."
CybernetIQ founder and CEO Joe Cummins discusses the rise of cyberattacks against critical infrastructure, why that's the case, and Canada's level of preparedness to fend off attacks (spoiler: it's not good).
Sponsored by The Diabetes App. Produced with support from TWG.
"I also love shipping product. These guys probably want to kill me most days."
Our Lady Peace frontman and S!NG chief product officer Raine Maida talks NFTs, IP protection, and the future of music creation and ownership. Oh, and why Beeple didn't do the new music video.
Sponsored by The Diabetes App. Produced with support from TWG.
"Thirty percent of input costs, every year, are chemical. In no other industry in the world should you have something representing 30 percent of your costs operate at something like an 80-90 percent inefficiency. It's mind-blowing."
Precision.ai CEO Dan McCann joins to explain how his AgTech company is really a Cleantech company, and why well-intentioned federal regulations are preventing farmers from saving tons on herbicide use.
Produced with support from TWG.
"Can we expect that Canadian tech will start paying talent what they're worth?"
Co-hosts Douglas Soltys and Rob Kenedi are joined by producer Kattie Laur to answer listener questions about US companies nabbing Canadian talent; under-the-radar unicorns, what's happening in cleantech and healthtech; and employee mental health.
"This is not just at a federal or provincial level, it's also municipal. The City of Vancouver, in my nine years, hasn't done anything in the tech space."
Launch Ventures CEO Ray Walia and VRARA Vancouver President Dan Burgar join to discuss Vancouver tech: with excitement, optimism, and perhaps a sense of foreboding.
"It's hearing those stories of small business owners literally losing everything overnight... that prompted me to look at ways of leveraging technology to solve this problem for them."
Heirlume co-founder and CEO Julie MacDonell explains the Byzantine process of trademark registration, the potential risks for startups, and the importance of building diverse companies.
"There's an administrative burden to being a public company that I think most private companies don't necessarily appreciate."
Will Shaw, partner and leader of the Toronto Emerging Technology practice group at Fasken, explains the process of going public for Canadian tech companies.
"I am shocked at how fast it's happening... If you're not in early, you're not in."
Matt Golden (Golden Ventures) and Paul Parisi (SVB) join to unpack a bonkers Q1 2021, and what rising numbers across the board might mean for Canadian tech.
"We've seen a lot of restaurants developing virtual brands."
Deliverect's Jerome Laredo and Noah Hayesv explain how restaurants have become digital brands due to the pandemic, and why your favourite restaurant might not even be a restaurant.
"Innovation and biotechnology was the star of the day."
Anne Woods (SVB) and Andrew Casey (BIOTECanada) join to discuss one of Canada's hottest sectors, and the impact of recent biotech commitments in the federal budget.
"We have a solution and they're not paying attention to this. You have zero acknowledgement from this government. Zero."
BookJane CEO and founder Curtis Khan explains why Ontario's vaccine rollout has been so bad, while expressing frustrations over the lack of support from the Ford government.
“Maybe it’s not quite good enough to just be a collision space. Maybe we have to add a new capability to the arsenal.”
Matthew Lombardi, new Managing Director of the new OneEleven, joins to discuss the tech hub’s new focus on talent upskilling, and what it means to run a “collision space” in the midst of Canada’s third wave.
"We want to make a 10-year vision into a two-and-a-half-year vision with money."
Flinks founder and president Frédérick Lavoie joins to explain how his growing Montréal-based startup can become a North American FinTech leader with better tech and the right culture.
Produced with support from TWG.
"I will eat my shirt if they don't."
In celebration (?) of one year of Black Swan, co-hosts Douglas Soltys and Rob Kenedi are joined by producer Kattie Laur to answer listener questions and reflect on what's been learned from a COVID-focused podcast.
Sponsored by Cisco Designed. Produced with support from TWG.
"Our expectations as consumers have fundamentally shifted. There's a new gold standard in town."
Retail Prophet Reilly Stephens joins to discuss how COVID has shifted retail strategy, which brands are succeeding, and how one app might be the frontline in the looming war between Shopify and Amazon.
Sponsored by Cisco Designed. Produced with support from TWG.
"Thank god we make a tool that helps me sleep."
InteraXon founder Ariel Garten joins to share insights gained from reading people's (anonymized) brainwaves during a pandemic.
"There's this risk of being consumed by the journey of entrepreneurship to exclusion of everything else."
Entrepreneur mental wellness expert, Michael A. Freeman, M.D., joins to discuss how entrepreneurship amplifies certain mental traits (for good and bad), and steps founders can take to promote positive mental health during trying times.
Produced with support from TWG.
“If there’s ever been a 12-month period where the connection between online behaviour, online disinformation, and real-world harm, this is it.”
BuzzFeed Media Editor Craig Silverman joins to discuss the losing battle against social media misinformation (and disinformation), and how that's impacting the global fight against COVID-19.
Produced with support from TWG.
"Is class warfare good for startups?"
Following a... busy week in the markets, Black Swan producer Kattie Laur joins to ensure listener questions about stonks, Robinhood, FinTech, the future of Twitch, and Canada's shameful internet accessibility issues get answered.
Produced with support from TWG.