Seven months after taking over C100, Michael Buhr has set some ambitious new goals for the organization: by 2030, he wants the not-for-profit member association to help 100 companies reach $100 million USD in revenue, and at least 10 of them crack the $1-billion mark.

C100 aims to help 100 Canadian tech startups reach $100 million in revenue, and 10 crack $1 billion by 2030.

In an exclusive interview with BetaKit, Buhr laid out his plans for C100 in more detail, which include expanding beyond just early-stage Canadian tech startups through new programs and events, a renewed focus on connecting those companies to Silicon Valley, and greater attention on core markets.

Since 2009, C100 has connected Canadian technology entrepreneurs with industry leaders in Silicon Valley and around the world. Buhr, a Silicon Valley veteran, became executive director of C100 earlier this year, replacing Ray Newal after only a year and a half as C100’s CEO.

Today, C100 unveiled the first participants in its new Growth Program for later-stage Canadian technology companies and the latest selections for its longstanding, slightly revamped Fellows Program for early-stage startups for 2024–2025.

The organization has chosen 12 companies for the first cohort of its newly launched Growth Program, including Arteria, e-Zinc, Humi, My01, Relay, and RetiSpec, among others. C100 has also selected 26 businesses for the next edition of its 15-year-old Fellows Program, making this cohort—which features startups like Blanka, CruxOCM, Cybrid, Friendlier, Kento Health, and Unified.to—its largest ever.

Buhr said he has been “pleasantly jazzed” by the quality of the companies that applied to C100’s latest Fellows Program and first Growth Program. He claimed that the revenue, talent, and overall strength of this year’s applicants were higher than usual. “I think that’s just a great sign for Canada overall on the tech side,” he added.

C100 aims to help Canadian tech entrepreneurs build and scale global businesses by connecting them with the expertise, networks, and resources of its Silicon Valley and worldwide membership through programming and events, including its annual Summit. 

In recent years, C100 has focused some of its efforts on opening new chapters globally. Under Buhr’s leadership, C100 has returned to connecting Canadians with Silicon Valley. 

RELATED: C100 launches new Growth Program to support later-stage companies

The non-profit association’s initial target was helping early-stage Canadian-led startups address early-stage startup issues. Since then, Buhr has noted that other organizations have emerged to fill this gap, and many C100 members have built large, successful Canadian tech companies and expressed interest in giving back.

C100 has also recently begun providing more support to later-stage businesses and connecting folks in its network who have been there before with the next generation of scaling startups. During Buhr’s tenure, the organization has expanded beyond its early-stage roots with the launch of its new Growth Program, which serves scaling firms with between $10 million and $50 million in annual revenue, and previously unannounced Leaders Circle.

C100 has brought over two experienced scaleup support leaders to head its Growth Program, Conor McCargar and Geoff Braum. McCargar and Braum previously helped deliver Kitchener-Waterloo’s Laziridis Scale-Up Program, which supported 726 Canadian tech leaders across more than 70 scaling businesses between 2016 and 2023.

Leaders Circle is a peer group of undisclosed Canadian tech CEOs leading companies with more than $100 million in revenue that C100 decided to launch at Summit following feedback. Buhr said C100 realized it could help entrepreneurs in this group by serving as a “forcing function” to bring them together three times per year and connect them with members who have been through the same challenges associated with running a company at this scale, which can include raising private equity, going public, and conducting secondary offerings.

C100 executive director Michael Buhr speaking at a C100’s Summit.

The latest edition of C100’s Fellows Program will have 1:1 mentoring and an additional 48 hours in Silicon Valley built-in, two programming tweaks that Buhr believes will increase its effectiveness. C100 usually chooses 20 companies for the initiative but landed on 26 this time around, which Buhr chalked up to the quality of the candidates.

With just over seven months at C100 now under his belt, Buhr said he has gained a better understanding of what was and was not working with C100 from its board and constituents and refined his vision for the organization’s future.

“We cannot do that alone,” he said regarding C100’s big new targets. To help the member association accomplish them, C100 plans to increase its engagement with other organizations across Canada and find more ways to collaborate.

As to what C100 plans to do on its own, Buhr noted that C100 currently offers three programs: Fellows, Growth, and Leaders Circle. “This year is about executing on these programs,” he said. Beginning next year, he noted that C100 plans to take a deeper look into where else it could expand with new offerings or go deeper through existing programs.

RELATED: C100 hires Michael Buhr as next leader with Ray Newal out as CEO

For instance, Buhr sees a gap in the organization’s existing programming for businesses generating between $50 million and $100 million in annual revenue, and wonders whether it might also make sense to launch a billion-dollar group. “We’re starting to think about that now,” he said.

Scaling its existing programs might also be a path that C100 pursues. Buhr highlighted that C100 selected 38 companies from the pool of hundreds that applied to its latest programs, indicating that the organization would love to find a way to cater to even more down the road. “We’d love to support twice as many, four times as many,” he added.

Going forward, C100 plans to base its in-person events and programming in a few key locations: the San Francisco Bay Area, Toronto, the Greater Toronto Area, and Kitchener-Waterloo, bringing in Canadian tech founders and businesses from elsewhere. 

Buhr said this is because these cities feature “the highest concentration” of C100 members, entrepreneurs, and companies. “We might do some events elsewhere in Canada, but it’s more cost-effective for us to be in one central place,” he added.

Feature image courtesy C100.

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