"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. Early Bird tickets end September 28th. Save $300!...
Sep 24, 2023•58 min
"Canada is at the forefront. Yes, mistakes are being made, but at least they're doing something. The US is doing nothing. And at the end of the day, these are American companies that are destroying the world." Post.News founder Noam Bardin shares what it's like trying to build a new social network "in public" in 2023 and why the Big Tech platforms only fear regulation before making a pitch to Canadians looking to return news to their social media. Sponsored by TechExit.io , taking place October ...
Sep 17, 2023•55 min
"The company was my identity. I had this huge void to fill and I didn't know what to do with it." Boast.ai and Traction co-founder Lloyed Lobo shares his personal struggles managing his self-described addictive personality after leaving the day-to-day business before digging into the keen insights contained within his new book "From Grassroots to Greatness - 13 Rules to Build Iconic Brands with Community Led Growth." Sponsored by TechExit.io , taking place October 25 in Toronto....
Sep 10, 2023•54 min
"There is especially in tech still a stigma around being a parent and being a contributing member of a company." Founders Erin Bury (Willful) and Marie Chevrier (Sampler) join to discuss the dumb restrictions on entrepreneurs trying to receive parental leave benefits, plus tips (and encouragement) for entrepreneurs preparing to ship a new bundle of joy. Sponsored by Zoholics Canada 2023, Zoho’s premier user conference. Use the code " BETAKIT25 " for a 25% discount!...
Sep 02, 2023•44 min
We know you love VCs on the BetaKit Podcast. So here's an all-VC episode of the BetaKit Podcast. Featuring: Chris Neumann (Panache Ventures), Matt Cohen (Ripple Ventures), John Ruffolo (Maverix Private Equity), Michelle Scarborough (Thrive Venture Fund), Satraj Bambra (Round13's Digital Asset Fund). Sponsored by Zoholics Canada 2023, Zoho’s premier user conference. Use the code " BETAKIT25 " for a 25% discount!
Aug 26, 2023•59 min
"One of the things that's funniest in tech is the complete and utter lack of self-awareness." Comedian and podcaster Alexis Gay joins to share her transition from working in tech to creating content that perfectly articulates the absurdities of working in tech. This episode originally aired on October 21, 2022.
Aug 19, 2023•45 min
“I sometimes feel like Canada needs to up [its] risk-taking ability.” "It's the latest shiny thing that a lot of people are running after." "Markets are now audiences. Your competitive moat is your community." Canadian tech luminaries brave tornados and beanbag chairs to discuss renewed due diligence, DEI, and AI's impact on investment theses in this compilation of interviews recorded live at Startupfest. Featuring: David Nault (Luge), Sue Umapathy (RBCx), Shambhavi Mishra (Antler), Brittany Cha...
Aug 12, 2023•1 hr 7 min
"I don't think our entrepreneurs are not risk takers; I just don't think our culture is set up to accept those risk takers." It's a Canadian tech summer vibe check as the gang answers submitted listener questions: on the low government trust battery in the wake of another cabinet shuffle, cleantech tax credit delays, and a Hypergrowth program designed to pick winners; whether or not Canada can handle 10,000 H-1B visa applicants given our national housing crisis; and yes, whether or not Canadian ...
Aug 06, 2023•56 min
"For a lot of Indigenous storytellers, there's a lot of interest in those [tech] platforms, because those entities haven't said no to our community for 50 years." Indigenous content creators are caught between a rock and a hard place with the Online Streaming Act and the Online News Act—it's sadly familiar territory. Award-winning Anishinaabe writer, broadcaster, and arts leader Jesse Wente joins to evaluate the options offered by Big Tech, traditional media, and the Canadian government before p...
Jul 28, 2023•1 hr 5 min
"The BetaKit Podcast is very much a pro-dog podcast." Dr. Theresa Johnson (Airbnb), Harper Reed (General Galactic Corporation), and Neha Khera (2048 Ventures) join for a wide-ranging conversation on shooting particles at satellites (for science!), founder-market fit, working for Barack Obama, when to quit, shutting down your company, angel and early-stage investing, and building jetpacks for dogs (for science!). Recorded in front of a live audience on the main stage of Startupfest 2023. Sponsore...
Jul 22, 2023•1 hr 6 min
"The crux of the Girlboss movement's problem is that it wants women to behave more like men and the answer is for men to behave more like women at scale." Elizabeth Holmes is now in jail, her imprisonment signalling a clear end to the Girlboss Era. Chelsea Fagan (The Financial Diet) joins to discuss what killed the Girlboss, the cynicism and superficiality behind the term, and the need for better public archetypes of entrepreneurship for women—and especially men. Sponsored by Palette Skills ....
Jul 15, 2023•39 min
"People in Canada are at their wits' end about areas of our economy having a lack of competition and how it impacts their pocketbook." The Competition Bureau is the last line of defence for enforcing competition law in Canada. But our system is designed so that the line keeps moving. Commissioner of Competition Matthew Boswell joins to discuss the tools and powers that would help his Bureau prevent Canada's economy from becoming an endless series of three companies in a trench coat. Sponsored by...
Jul 07, 2023•56 min
"Something else that's unique about the Calgary ecosystem...we're hungry. We're really, really hungry." James Lochrie (Thin Air Labs) and Brett Colvin (Goodlawyer) join for an Alberta tech vibe check, discussing the recent election, big Q1 2023 funding news, and the value of community building. Sponsored by Palette Skills. Apply now for a transformative 6-week tech sales training program.
Jul 03, 2023•1 hr 10 min
"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 , your one-stop-shop for all your ...
Jun 22, 2023•1 hr 2 min
"They're trying to invent the next product category—that's what they want to do. They want to have some sort of hardware to push into the future. They just haven't convinced me that this really is the future yet." Apple just announced the most impressive—and expensive—AR/VR/MR device ever made. But who is the device for and how will they use it? MobileSyrup editor-in-chief Patrick O'Rourke joins to answer these questions fresh off of strapping Apple's spacial computer to his face. Sponsored by G...
Jun 17, 2023•54 min
Is Collision staying in Toronto (and for how much)? Is Collision coming to Vancouver? Why are Canada's governments paying foreign companies to compete against local events? Are we a branch plant innovation ecosystem? Do we secretly believe we can't do it ourselves? Did Collision ban journalists at The Logic from attending? Is BetaKit filled with 'scumbag journalists?' People across Canada are asking questions about Collision. The answers say a lot about Canadian tech. Sponsored by Goodlawyer , y...
Jun 09, 2023•57 min
"We are in a time of the worst health care crisis we've seen in Canada. It is really close to a collapse of the system across the country." Brett Belchetz (Maple) and Alexandra Greenhill (Careteam Technologies) join to diagnose the failings of Canada's health care system before offering a prescription. How can innovators help? Can a balance be struck between public and private care? The doctors will see you now. Sponsored by Goodlawyer , your one-stop shop for all your corporate, commercial, and...
Jun 02, 2023•1 hr 4 min
“That is a deeply unhealthy way to live and to work and it’s ultimately not a successful way to sustain a publication.” CANADALAND news editor Jonathan Goldsbie joins to discuss the rampant demise of digital media publications launched in the 2000s and how they compare to the slow death of traditional media. Advice for aspiring young journalists comes mixed with an investigation of the ideal media business model in 2023. Sponsored by Goodlawyer , your one-stop shop for all your corporate, commer...
May 27, 2023•59 min
"This announcement communicated two things: this thing we're getting rid of isn't primary to our mission—it's a side quest, we don't actually care about this; and we have a cultural problem at our company with who we've hired and what they're focused on." Madeline Stone, retail and e-commerce writer for Business Insider, joins to discuss the future of Shopify's "main quest" after cutting staff and selling off its logistics division. Co-hosts Rob & Doug then take over to discuss whether or no...
May 20, 2023•58 min
"I don't necessarily know if the government understands what an innovation strategy is." Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI) president Ben Bergen joins to answer listener-submitted questions about: the Canada Innovation Corporation, open banking, SR&ED reform, and why the feds are so behind on so many innovation files. Warning: listening to this podcast could be hazardous to your health while playing any "innovation policy" drinking games. Sponsored by Goodlawyer , your one-stop shop for al...
May 12, 2023•1 hr
"We have industrialized grift in a way that is kind of unprecedented in human history." Canadian YouTuber Dan Olson (Folding Ideas) explains his battle against internet grifts, how his career changed after a viral video on NFTs, why Bill C-11 is a "legislative mess" and the future is a dead mall. Sponsored by Goodlawyer .
May 05, 2023•1 hr 1 min
"Once Apple showed up, BlackBerry had to do everything right and get on it on the double. And they did everything wrong." "And for whatever reason we thought, oh, there's something to this story that feels funny to us." Losing the Signal co-author Sean Silcoff and BlackBerry producer and co-writer Matthew Miller join to discuss Canada's former tech darling ahead of the forthcoming major motion picture release. Sponsored by Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP. Read the Deal Points Report: Venture Ca...
Apr 28, 2023•1 hr 19 min
"The goal here is not that Canada is the largest market for AI in the world—it's never going to be that. But if we make it the most willing to try new solutions, or to work with startups, that's where we might have an opportunity." Clément Bourgogne, Chief Operating Officer at Scale AI, joins to discuss Canada's limitations and opportunities when it comes to AI, and why his organization is more focused on supply chains than generative AI. Sponsored by Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP. Read the D...
Apr 22, 2023•1 hr 2 min
"So this is the big pitch, right? There are all of these problems in the transport system; we are going to invent these new technologies that will solve it." Flavio Volpe (Project Arrow, APMA) and Paris Marx (Road to Nowhere) join for a conversation on electric vehicles (EVs) and what the future of transportation in Canada might look like. Sponsored by Osler, Hoskin and Harcourt LLP. Read the Deal Points Report: Venture Capital Financings ....
Apr 14, 2023•58 min
"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. Read the Deal Points Report: Venture Capital Financings .
Apr 08, 2023•56 min
"The [Canadian] venture ecosystem is never going to get to the right level of maturity if they constantly rely upon the taxpayer to provide them with the capital." Maverix Private Equity founder and Managing Partner John Ruffolo joins to answer listener questions on the fall of SVB, its impact on the Canadian venture debt market, regulatory capture by new federal bills, and how many VCCIs are too many. Sponsored by Osler, Hoskin and Harcourt LLP. Read the Deal Points Report: Venture Capital Fina...
Mar 31, 2023•1 hr 6 min
"We're seeing way more women found new technology companies in the market than we did five years ago. By a magnitude—like three times. It's substantial." Michelle Scarborough, Managing Partner of Thrive Venture Fund, explains the origins of BDC's $500 million commitment to women-led startups and funds, and the progress she's seen since 2017.
Mar 25, 2023•54 min
"We are in the midst of a new technological payola." Our Lady Peace's Raine Maida and Senator Colin Deacon join for a frank discussion about Big Tech's leverage over Canadian content as Parliament looks to pass new regulations in Bill C-11 and Bill C-18.
Mar 17, 2023•1 hr 7 min
"Let's be blunt about it: we as a country are extremely good at invention ... we're horrible at innovation." Dan Breznitz, co-director of the Innovation Policy Lab at the University of Toronto, walks through the reasons for Canada's failure on innovation, the origins of the CIC, and who he thinks should be its first CEO.
Mar 10, 2023•57 min
"There is a special place in hell for investors who intentionally screw over their founders with no empathy for the journey or the challenges that they are going through." Panache Ventures partner Chris Neumann joins to answer listener questions about his blog writing, the state of Canadian accelerators, and what VCs are talking about. Sponsored by Invest Ottawa .
Mar 03, 2023•58 min
