Atlantic Canada needs more startups, more immigrants, greater links with hotspots like Toronto and Boston, and more capital from huge tech corporations, the panel at Entrevestor’s luncheon said Wednesday.
The panel of experts applauded the growth and collaboration in the current startup community. And they outlined how their organizations are going to help that growth to continue in the coming years.
“We need more startups,” said Jesse Rodgers, CEO of Volta Labs in Halifax. “It would be great to see dozens and dozens of new start-ups in Atlantic Canada instead of just a few here and there.”
Rodgers said that Volta is working to help launch more startups with its Volta Cohort funding program, and by expanding its facilities in downtown Halifax. Rodgers is also a key organizer of the Creative Destruction Lab-Atlantic, which he said will help improve the quality of companies in the region and improve links with mentors elsewhere in the country.
Innovacorp President and CEO Malcolm Fraser, who just took over his position last month, said his organization is focused on opening its Startup Yard at the COVE oceans technology park in Dartmouth and supporting new companies through a series of competitions. And Shaun MacDonald, Managing Partner of Toronto-based Extreme Venture Partners, said his fund is really interested in next generation mobile products – not “the app economy” so much as products featuring artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things. The fund has already invested in one regional company, Ubique Networks, which is based in Toronto and Sydney.
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The panel was held during Entrevestor and Charcoal Marketing’s “Atlantic Canada’s Startup Industry – By the Numbers” luncheon at the World Trade and Convention Centre. McInnes Cooper sponsored the event with the support of Big Data Congress 2017.
Julie Robinson, a partner at McInnes Cooper who specializes in startups, moderated the discussion that covered hot topics in the community.
Panelists kept coming back to such themes as acknowledging the infancy of the region’s startup community, and discussing methods for it to continue to grow and secure its position within the global economy.
Fraser emphasized that innovators, investors, and governments need to see that starting small business is the best way to enhance the region’s economy.
MacDonald added that Atlantic Canada could do a better job promoting the science and innovations that come from its universities.
“I’m really impressed by the collaboration I’m seeing,” said Robinson, one of several speakers who noted that the ecosystem builders have done a good job of working together to develop support systems.
MacDonald also made an impassioned plea for Atlantic Canada to work harder to bring in more immigrants, saying the current numbers were insufficient.
The panelists were optimistic about the new oceans supercluster, saying it would be the next big thing for the region. The supercluster has potential to help Atlantic Canada stay relevant in the global economy and help boost the Eastern provinces into new global markets, they said.
The panel followed Entrevestor’s presentation on data from the Atlantic Canadian startup industry with a special focus on our recent research in startup exits in the region.
Disclosure: McInnes Cooper and Innovacorp are clients of Entrevestor.
