Lots of ideas for startup ecosystem builders to discuss, debate, adapt and adopt in the 2018 Startup Genome report. It's one of the few examinations of what world-class ecosystems look like and how to get there—and something that every ecosystem organization should read and consider. Some of the topics discussed on this episode: Local Connectedness: New in this year's … [Read more...]
Ep 21: The Montreal Startup Ecosystem with Isaac Souweine of Real Ventures
Montreal is home to one of Canada's largest and most dynamic startup ecosystems, and in just a few years, Isaac Souweine has gone from being a newcomer to the city (and to Canada) to being at the centre of the startup community as EIR with Real Ventures. We talk to Isaac about how he came to Montreal, how he initially got plugged into the ecosystem, working in Montreal … [Read more...]
Ep 19: Surveying Australia’s Startup Ecosystem with Monica Wulff of Startup Muster
Since 2014, Australia has received a detailed, annual profile of its startup ecosystem thanks to Startup Muster. And the startup community has been eager to participate, with thousands of responses last year from founders, potential founders and startup supporters. This week, Startup Muster cofounder and CEO Monica Wulff talks about what motivated her to create the survey, … [Read more...]
Ep 18: The Challenge of Startup Ecosystem Metrics with Jesse Rodgers of Volta Labs
One of the challenges facing startup support organizations of all kinds is how do we know that we're doing a good job? Which programs are most effective? Which initiatives are worth continuing and which need to be changed or dropped? Even if we feel confident in our own activities, how would we convince someone else (including funders)? Jesse Rodgers, CEO of Volta Labs in … [Read more...]
Ep 17: The Evolution of Ottawa’s Startup Community with Ian Graham of TheCodeFactory
Ottawa has been one of Canada's largest tech centres for decades and has the highest concentration of tech talent in the country. It hasn't always been a smooth ride—the city was riding high on the telecom boom of the late 1990s and took a big hit when the glory days came to an end, but it evolved and rebuilt and now has an impressive collection of startups and young companies, … [Read more...]
Ep 16: Launch Academy and the Vancouver Startup Ecosystem with Hussein Hallak
Vancouver is one of Canada's biggest tech hubs and Launch Academy has played a key role in the startup ecosystem over the last five years, providing incubation services and training to over 100 startups a year—and hosting events for the community at its 12,000 square-foot space in the Gastown area of the city. This week, we talk to general manager Hussein Hallak about the … [Read more...]
Ep 15: Accelerating Insurance and Agritech in Des Moines with Mike Colwell of Square One DSM
Mike Colwell has been mentoring startup founders for over a decade in his role with Square One DSM in Des Moines, Iowa. He's also on the board of directors of two accelerators focused on sectors where the region is building on established strengths: one for startups in the insurance sector and the other focused on agritech. On this week's show, Mike talks about how the … [Read more...]
Ep 11: Building the Edmonton Startup Community with Tiffany Linke-Boyko of Startup Edmonton
Edmonton's startup community has come a long way in just a few years, and Startup Edmonton recently celebrated its fifth anniversary as a startup hub in the city's downtown. We talk to CEO Tiffany Linke-Boyko about the evolution of Startup Edmonton, starting as a grassroots initiative with two founders in 2009, to its place today as a core piece of the city's economic … [Read more...]
Ep 08: Wellington, New Zealand Startup Ecosystem with Stefan Korn of Creative HQ
It's not the biggest country, but New Zealand has developed thriving startup ecosystems while facing heightened versions of many of the same challenges we see in Canada, including a small domestic market, and an underdeveloped venture capital sector. Creative HQ in Wellington is one of the leading lights of the New Zealand startup ecosystem, and we talk to CEO Stefan Korn about … [Read more...]
Ep 04: Assessing the World’s Top Startup Ecosystems with JF Gauthier of Startup Genome
On this week’s podcast: For the last five years, Startup Genome has been assessing and ranking startup ecosystems around the world for its Global Startup Ecosystem reports. They recently published their third report, and this week we talk to their CEO, JF Gauthier, about the factors they assess and the metrics they use in determining the rankings. JF also talks about the … [Read more...]
Ep 01: Halifax Startup Ecosystem with Jesse Rodgers of Volta Labs
Will Halifax become Canada's next great startup centre? Jesse Rodgers says it has all the right ingredients and a lot of momentum. Jesse is the CEO of Volta Labs in Halifax—"Halifax's tech superhub." Jesse was a long-time member and builder of the Waterloo startup community and the former director of the Creative Destruction Lab in Toronto and Velocity in Waterloo. He talks … [Read more...]
