Volume 02 | March 2023

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Do you have important company updates that you would like to share with the Lazaridis Institute community? Submit your updates to our bi-monthly newsletter here!

In February, Cohort 8 travelled to Palo Alto for our Product Retreat, where we enjoyed two days of speaker sessions, interactive workshops, networking events and that relentless California sunshine! We're happy to report the event was a great success.

It was the first time our 10 Cohort 8 companies met in-person, so it was fun to see them spend time together and learn more about each other's companies. They also had the opportunity to meet many of our San Francisco Bay Area-based mentors and speakers.

The workshop featured an impressive set of world-class speakers who talked about product, scale, and funding-related topics. We would like to thank our speakers, including:

• Shomit Ghose - entrepreneur with experience in software start-ups, as a venture capitalist / board member, and as an operating executive
• Lance Walter - former CMO, Neo4J
• Sachin Rekhi - Built Sales Navigator at LinkedIn, Founder and CEO Notejoy
• Ann Crady Weiss - CEO, Hatch which she scaled to $100m+ revenue in 5 years; VC at True Ventures
• Yokum Taku - corporate and securities partner at Wilson Sonsini and a co-leader of the firm's emerging companies practice
• Dave Weiss - COO, co-founder and president at Hatch,
• Thomas Nielsen - former Chief Digital Officer, Tesco, Deutsche Bank
• James Walker - Entrepreneur, Investor, and Advisor
• Chris Yeh -  co-author, along with Reid Hoffman, of Blitzscaling
• Nathan Trueblood - served in executive roles at EMC, Yahoo, Western Digital, and Box.com.

Thank you to the Lazaridis mentors who joined us at this event!

• Lise Edwards;
• Tobin Edwards;
• Marie Goodell;
• Emily Mikailli;
• Dennis Rohm; and
• Eli Schwartz.

We would also like to extend a special note of gratitude to Adam Shevell and Wilson Sonsini for hosting us at their beautiful office and to our Silicon Valley associates for attending our networking night at Terun. It is such an honour to have so many friends of the program all across North America.

The Lazaridis Institute and the Women Entrepreneurship Centre are excited to host a FREE Live Viewing Party of StrikeUP 2023, Canada’s largest digital conference for women entrepreneurs. On March 2, 2023, join us in-person as we convene together with our local community to network and watch this live event!

The theme of StrikeUP 2023 is ‘Growing Forward’ - supporting women entrepreneurs through critical milestones in their entrepreneurial journey. Featured speakers include: Michele Romanow, Co-founder and CEO of Clearco; Bobbie Racette, Founder and CEO of Virtual Gurus; Patrice Mousseau, Founder and CEO of Satya Organic Skin Care; Catherine Choi, Founder of SoYoung Inc; and Amber Mac, President of Amber Mac Media Inc.

All attendees will have access to the digital networking platform PLUS the StrikeUP program for one full year.

Register for our Live Viewing Party today at strikeup.ca. Limited space available. For more information, please reach out to [email protected]. 

Appinio is providing current Cohort 8 companies and all ScaleUp alumni a special discount for their easy-to-use, professional grade market research product. Get your first survey free and 50% off of your next five surveys. No commitment required.

Access thousands of opinions from your specific target groups worldwide in minutes. Anyone can use Appinio’s global market research platform to validate ideas and optimize decisions in real-time with high-quality consumer results. Appinio is the world’s fastest solution for professional-grade market research and delivers instant feedback from more than 90 markets in just minutes.

Many ScaleUp alumni have already tested and adopted Appinio's market research solution.

Call Appinio at 628-226-4034, send an email to [email protected] or click here for more information about the special offer. They’ll help you get everything set up to start your first survey.

Want to learn from ScaleUp world-class speakers but aren't in our current cohort? We got you. Check out our blog where we share some of their best tips and insights.

Our newest blogs include:

1. 5 story starters you should be telling your audience
2. 8 Traps to Avoid as you Build Out your Product Strategy
3. Key learnings from the All-Cohort Event

Read our blogs here.

We love capturing our amazing ScaleUp companies on camera. We wanted to show-off our newest promo video, "Why ScaleUp?" Check out the video below to learn more about the Lazaridis ScaleUp program which is designed to help Canada's highest potential companies scale and become global leaders. Feel free to share!

VanHack’s Two-Day Women in Tech Virtual Hiring Event is back by popular demand on March 7-8.

If you’re looking to close the gender gap in your teams, this is the perfect opportunity to connect with 100+ pre-vetted women in tech with 4+ years of experience in Javascript (ReactJS, Angular, NodeJS, VueJS, JS+), Java, Mobile (iOS and Android) or Python.

What to expect:

• Skill-Focused Speed Interview Sessions;
• Meet 10+ Candidates in <90 minutes;
• Pitch Your Company to Active Candidates.

Register for the event here.

Laurier and the International Women's Forum are hosting their sixth annual International Women's Day event. This year's theme is Planetary Health: Women Leading Sustainable Solutions. The Luncheon and panel discussion will feature a diverse panel of women who will share their experience as scientists, community organizers, educators, and activists leading sustainable initiatives, strategies and research.

Learn more and buy tickets for this event here.

​Join Platform Calgary at Lunch Without Lunch every Wednesday to hear about the players, events, and news that are making the Alberta innovation ecosystem thrive. This weekly meeting is a regular check on the pulse of the community. It's open to people of any age, wage, or stage of company.

VueReal Inc Announces the Appointment of Veteran and Tech CEO Tim Baxter as Chair of its Board of Directors

Dr. Reza Chaji, CEO of VueReal, said, "We're excited to announce that Tim Baxter has joined VueReal as both a board member and Chairman of the Board of Directors. Tim brings a wealth of knowledge and experience, through his tenure as CEO of Samsung North America and Senior Executive at Sony and AT&T, in scaling businesses for growth in the electronics world." Read more here.

Government of Canada invests $16.5 million to create jobs, public infrastructure and economic growth in Eastern Ontario

The Government of Canada recently announced funding of more than $16.5 million towards the growth of Eastern Ontario’s economy, with support for three manufacturers and 27 tourism and community projects. These projects will help local businesses to scale up, create and rejuvenate community spaces, and enhance tourism attractions to welcome more visitors, create over 150 jobs, and build stronger, more vibrant communities. Read more here.

PurposeMed has received funding of $3.5M from Prairies Economic Development Canada (aka PrairiesCan)

The Government of Canada is investing in these businesses to further strengthen the Alberta economy, bring Canadian-made innovation to global markets, and create high-quality jobs Canadian workers can depend on. Read more here.

BLG

BLG is Canada's Law Firm

BLG provides high-value advice and advocacy to address our clients’ business challenges and problems. We go beyond legal to anticipate, consult and advise in a rapidly changing digital world.

Learn more.

Wilson Sonsini

For more than six decades, Wilson Sonsini has represented the technology pioneers associated with virtually every milestone innovation.

Today, the firm is synonymous with ushering promising, innovative companies through their business life cycle.

Learn more.

Thank you for your time! We'd love to connect further. Follow us on social and check out our blog here!