"'I think General Assembly needs to get into e-commerce and food tech.' And that was the moment that changed everything."

General Assembly Pizza CEO and founder Ali Khan Lalani joins to describe his company's remarkable journey from pizza to Pizza-as-a-Service across North America.

Produced with support from TWG.

Black Swan Podcast

From pivot to IPO with Canada's pizza king | Black Swan #46

Live for SAAS NORTH, Alexandra Sukin of Bessemer Venture Partners talks about strategies for SaaS companies and how founders can make an impact in their initial outreach to investors.

Alexandra Sukin of Bessemer Venture Partners talks strategies for Best-in-Class SMB SaaS Companies

"Nobody is cheering you on for reaching the top of Everest if you don't make it back down to base camp."

Matt Cohen, Managing Partner at Ripple Ventures and host of the Tank Talks podcast, joins to unpack the complicated spot Canadian startups find themselves in.

Sponsored by Osler, Hoskin and Harcourt LLP.

Was RenoRun abandoned by investors or just another mannequin startup?

"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.

Paddy Cosgrave is not forcing you to come to Collision

"Everybody's trying to run their own business. Apple's trying to sell you devices. Google's trying to sell you ads. Our job is only to make you more secure."

Passkeys are here, and along with them renewed interest in the future of passwords from Apple and Google. 1Password CEO Jeff Shiner joins to discuss how passkeys will change the internet, and what they change (and don't change) about his company's business.

Sponsored by TechExit.io.

As the world goes passwordless, does 1Password go B2B?

“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 and SAAS NORTH.

Why Korean car makers want Tenstorrent’s AI hardware

“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 and SAAS NORTH.

Wealthsimple's Hanna Zaidi on the "lack of political will" harming FinTech innovation

"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 and SAAS NORTH

Buffer's Chief Product Officer on how it supports a fractured internet

"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 Float and Cisco.

Why are there 100,000 fewer Canadian entrepreneurs? (LIVE at SAAS NORTH)

"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.

The future of OMERS Ventures with Michael Yang

“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.

What happened to OpenView and will Canada see zombie funds?

“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.

Why is the Start-up Visa program struggling?

Live from SAAS NORTH, MedEssist CEO Joella Almeida explains why her company's approach to AI is “really slow, very methodical, very dedicated.”

MedEssist’s Joella Almeida on going slow with AI in healthtech

Early-stage investing comes with high risks and uncertain returns, but Danielle Gifford, former executive director of Movement51, believes this shouldn't deter new investors. Recorded live from SAAS NORTH 2023.

Danielle Gifford on expanding Canada’s investor funnel

"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.

Recorded at CreatorClub.

The biggest tech questions of 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.

Maybe the Rogers-Shaw merger won’t lower prices after all

“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.

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.

The war against tech enshittification

"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.

Untether AI’s new CEO is here for global scale

“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.

Taylor Swift and the Apple Vision Pro are the biggest tech stories of the year (so far)

"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.

Koho's CEO on going from challenger bank to actual bank

“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 consumer 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.

After Ecobee, Stuart Lombard has no regrets

"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).

How to fix SR&ED with CCI's Ben Bergen

“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.

Float’s CEO on bridging the spending and software divide

“The thing that makes noir fiction noir is the detective is presented as an unlicensed cop who goes to the places the cops can’t go and asks the questions the cops can’t ask to solve the crimes the cops can’t solve. But by the end, he is reminded very forcefully that these were in fact places the cops didn’t want to go.”

Canadian journalist and author Cory Doctorow joins to discuss his new tech crime thriller The Bezzle, and how understanding the early Web 2.0 era can show us both where we are and where we’re going.

Sponsored by Mastercard Canada.

Cory Doctorow’s new tech crime thriller takes us back to the days of Yahoo!

“I deeply want to solve the challenges in education. I think what we have is a current educational system is really not working.”

Mobius Math Club co-founder Steven Woods (ex-Eloqua, Oracle, and Benevity) explains how video games are actually a great educational tool, and why taking venture capital won’t help him scale.

Presented by Mastercard Canada.

Can video games teach kids math?

“The quantum computer itself, the one that we would classify as sexy … has such a huge disruptive potential that we cannot really comprehend how much of an effect it's going to have.”

Fresh off a $20 million fund close, Quantacet managing partner Martin Laforest joins to discuss quantum tech’s “degrees of sexiness,” its path to commercialization, Québec’s commitment to quantum innovation, and why it’s centred in the city of Sherbrooke.

Is Québec Canada’s quantum province?

“I think what we're trying to do here is maybe celebrate and acknowledge all pathways into tech. Whatever sparked the inspiration.”

Co-hosts Rob and Douglas peel back the curtain to reveal the gadgets, media, and moments that inspired their love of tech. Come, witness the retelling of their Immaculate Tech Conceptions while reliving your own on this full-blown nostalgia pod!

What made you first love tech?

“The reality is this government cannot execute.”

Sound the alarm! Matt Roberts (CMD Capital) and Ben Bergen (CCI) join for an emergency #Budget2024 podcast to discuss the capital gains tax increase, Minister Freeland’s Friday meeting with tech leaders, and the level to which politics are intersecting with innovation policy.

#Budget2024 emergency pod

“I think it would be a mistake if we make Canada even less competitive at such an incredibly important moment in time for us to embrace competition and productivity.”

Michael Katchen (Wealthsimple) and Daniel Eberhard (Koho) join BetaKit editor-in-chief Douglas Soltys for a wide-ranging conversation on Canada’s productivity, entrepreneurship, and competition crises. Financial innovation, open banking, Real-Time Rail, and capital gains taxes might also come up. Recorded live at INNOVATEwest.

Wealthsimple and Koho CEOs talk productivity, entrepreneurship, and building

“When you think about that shark American ethos, playing to win … but then also having the Canadian kindness, I think that’s where Canada and Canadians have a really big opportunity.”

Simple Ventures CEO joins to discuss the motivations behind the launch of the venture studio, the power of geographical arbitrage, and the structural, cultural, and economic impediments to Canadian entrepreneurship.

How Simple Ventures plans to fill a Canadian entrepreneurship gap

Ansik founders Yashin Shah and Shiva Bhardwaj don't care if the company doesn't win pitch competitions if it keeps winning customers.

Ansik ShockLock Interview

Covering Canadian startups and tech innovation since 2012.

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