Now that Volta has found a temporary headquarters, there are two more important questions to be resolved for the Atlantic Canadian startup community in the second half of 2015.
First, there will likely be an announcement on a university program for international technology sales as proposed by East Valley Ventures chairman Gerry Pond. And second, the Nova Scotia government still has to release its request for proposals for a new venture capital fund based in the province.
Volta, the startup house in central Halifax, announced this week it is moving to a temporary location in 20,000 square feet of space on the sixth and seventh floors of the Maritime Centre, the tower at Barrington Street and Spring Garden Road. The move will double the incubator’s floor space and allow for an increase in the number of tenants in the facility. The next shoe to drop may be an announcement on an Atlantic Canadian university to offer a program in international technology sales.
“I have received three proposals to date and expect two more soon,” said Pond in an email. “One is a degree program.”
On Monday, it will be six months since the East Valley Ventures chairman offered $500,000 to any institution that launches an international tech sales program. Pond believes the main thing holding back growth-stage companies in the region is the limited ability of companies to sell technology around the globe. He hopes the new academic program — not just a course or two — will fix that.
This matters, because there are probably 80 Atlantic Canadian startups with more than $100,000 in revenue and high sales growth. Not all will find investment capital to finance their growth, so they need higher revenues. The Pond institution would certainly help train them (and the coming waves of intermediate startups) to sell in foreign markets.
Meanwhile, the Nova Scotia government was expected to release an RFP for venture funds in February, but it was delayed when with the economic development restructuring that created the Department of Business. The request, expected to solicit interest from investment funds in and outside the region, still has not been released.
People in the startup community say the government wants a fund with international reach, based in Halifax, to finance companies and attract co-investors. That’s the popular conception, but nothing will be known for sure until the RFP is released. The request may also clarify whether the existence of the new fund will change the role of the provincial innovation agency Innovacorp, which now invests in seed-stage startups.
The combination of the Volta and Pond announcements could have a great impact on the startup community. So far, Atlantic Canada has had success on developing an ecosystem that produces new companies. More than half the startups in the region are under four years old. What’s needed now is a system of supports that will help growing startups develop into bona fide companies.
Volta has said that by doubling its capacity, it will be able to accommodate companies in the early and later stages of development. And the Pond sales institute will help growing companies in the essential task of selling their products around the world.