Globalive Capital’s Brice Scheschuk recently spoke at Highline Beta (where BetaKit shares an office) about owning your startup journey.
Brice is also the co-founder of MindFrame Connect, a non-profit focused on building entrepreneurial resilience. During the presentation, he posed the above question as a thought experiment.
Fully answering that great question is beyond the scope of this newsletter. I will deftly sidestep the role of media for a moment to note that founders are much more eager to talk about their success. In Canada at least, failure is a story they often don’t want to share.
Which makes Sampler founder Marie Chevrier Schwartz’s decision to share her story of failure stand out. On stage at SAAS NORTH, to a capacity crowd, no less.
You can read Alex Riehl’s excellent write-up of the conversation or listen to it in audio form. However, I want to highlight some things.
First is how “extremely nervous” Schwartz was during the proceeding, both understandable and underscoring how uncommon these conversations are in Canadian tech. Schwartz said one of her motivations for speaking publicly was to provide an example for others. If Canadian tech had more examples of those who survived failure, “perhaps we as a community of founders could rebound faster.”
Engaging with failure can be hard for founders whose businesses become their entire identity. Schwartz was known as ‘Marie from Sampler’ for a decade, and she noted losing that identity can be “really scary.” Holding on for too long might be worse.
Ex-Clearco CEO Michele Romanow told me once that building a business can be “like chewing glass,” and I wholeheartedly agree. But trying to chew with a smile on your face pretending everything is fine will kill you.
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, BetaKit took a lot of heat for reporting on company layoffs and shutdowns in a moment of great uncertainty and vulnerability. We did it anyway, because it was necessary and important. I’m not sure if dedicating the publication to stories of failure would have the effect Brice is after—again, resilience—but it’s an interesting thought experiment.
Schwartz’s story has a silver lining, too: now the CEO of TechTO, she’s making acquisitions designed to support founders through the “extreme sport of building technology companies.” You can find that story below.
Douglas Soltys
Editor-in-chief
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TOP STORIES OF THE WEEK
Why Sampler failed, according to its founder
Could this happen to my company?
That was surely one of the questions running through the minds of the assembled tech leaders and founders attending the tell-all fireside chat between Sampler founder and former CEO Marie Chevrier Schwartz and BetaKit editor-in-chief Douglas Soltys at SAAS NORTH 2024 on Nov. 13.
CIFAR leader expects CAISI to inform AI policy in Canada and abroad
Launched earlier this month by Canada’s Liberal government, CAISI has been tasked with studying some of the risks associated with “advanced or nefarious” AI systems and how to mitigate them, in collaboration with other countries around the world.
CIFAR executive director Elissa Strome believes it is critical that CAISI is led by the federal government given the collaboration required between jurisdictions. “We really do very much need leadership from within the government, and policy expertise and diplomatic expertise at that table as well,” she said.
Women VCs are now earning more at the highest levels (if they can reach them)
The compensation picture for women in VC may be reaching a tipping point in Canada—at least at the highest levels.
For the first time, women’s average salary in senior investment roles was higher than that of men, according to the 2024 Canadian Venture Compensation Report.
Though the findings provide a nugget of aspiration for women looking at VC leadership roles, data still indicates inadequate family leave policies and a drop-off of women in the highest ranks.
Alberta Innovates the second provincial innovation agency affected by cyberattack this year
Provincial Crown corporation Alberta Innovates experienced network issues following a cybersecurity incident that saw its network accessed by an unauthorized third party earlier this month. The provincial funding agency is now the second of its kind to be successfully breached this year.
An Invest Nova Scotia employee’s email was the subject of a phishing attack this past May, resulting in $573,000 being transferred to an imposter’s bank account in a breach that went undiscovered for two weeks.
It’s tech awards season in Alberta
Start Alberta spotlighted startup and venture capital leaders from across the province at the Start Alberta Tech Awards earlier this week. This year’s awards, held at Studio Bell in Calgary, celebrated leaders from firms including ZayZoon, Verano.AI, and Toast for standout deals and growth.
Meanwhile, Innovation Week YYC 2024 wrapped up with the annual Launch Party, where three of Calgary’s top 10 startups are recognized by alumni, the audience, and Alberta’s innovation minister. The Reporting Hub, Moovez, and ResVR each took home $3,000 for the Alex Raczenko Pitch Award, the Alumni’s Choice Award, and the People’s Choice Award, respectively.
DémultiplIA will connect AI startups with academic research (for a price)
DémultiplIA, a new government-funded program in Québec aims to help startups and small businesses integrate artificial intelligence into their operations. But unlike several of Québec’s other innovation-focused initiatives, this one comes with a price tag.
Applicants must be prepared to invest a minimum of $30,000 each year into these AI development projects, plus another $5,000 annually for an IVADO membership.
Additionally, five companies were chosen for the first edition of Québec Tech’s growth and scale-up initiative, Stage V, earlier this week. The service provides tailored support focused on boosting go-to-market efforts outside of Québec
BETAKIT’S WEEKLY ROUNDUP
VAN – FDA approves cancer-treating antibody developed by Zymeworks
CGY – Lightstrike raises $1.1M CAD pre-seed round
ON – Federal government renews Scale-Up Platform with $47.5M CAD
TOR – Noble secures $15M USD Series A round
TOR – TechTO acquires Peerscale
TOR – Intact Financial acquires home maintenance software Jiffy
OSH – NotaryPro partners with Staples Canada
OTT – More than $600,000 in prizes awarded at SAAS NORTH
MTL – BDC launches new community banking initiative
The BetaKit Podcast
The story of Sampler (live at SAAS NORTH 2024)
“In summary, Sampler lost product-market fit 10 years into running its business.”
Marie Chevrier Schwartz, founder and former CEO of Sampler, explains how her company lost product-market fit after a decade in business. Recorded live on the BetaKit Keynote Stage at SAAS NORTH 2024.
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Take The BetaKit Quiz for Nov. 22, 2024.
Feature image courtesy Lisa Partridge of Highline Beta.
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