C100 Fellows has been a driving force in the Canadian tech landscape since its inception in 2010, providing mentorship and meaningful connections to over 300 founders. We are so proud to announce the 2023 Fellows cohort!
This year’s cohort comprises 22 notable early-stage companies across deep tech, SaaS, healthcare tech, ed-tech, marketplace, energy, ag-tech, and wellness sectors. These founders, who were selected from a pool of hundreds of nominees, have the potential to shape the future of the entire Canadian tech ecosystem.
“By curating an exceptional network of top-tier global investors and experienced leaders and operators from the world’s top technology companies, our goal is to make it an advantage for the world’s most ambitious founders to build their businesses in Canada. The 2023 Fellows embody diversity, innovation, and ambition, and with the fellowship as their launchpad, we believe each of these founders can be industry leaders in their respective markets.”
— Ray Newal CEO of C100
In the constantly shifting landscape of technological innovation, Canada is emerging as a thriving ground for ambitious founders building generational and globally impactful companies, and C100’s Fellowship experience continues to evolve to ensure a competitive edge for these founders building in Canada.
In the constantly shifting landscape of technological innovation, Canada is emerging as a thriving ground for ambitious founders building generational and globally impactful companies, and C100’s Fellowship experience continues to evolve to ensure a competitive edge for these founders building in Canada.
A&K Robotics is an autonomous micro mobility company. They believe that the movement of people, services and experiences will be revolutionized to create a more accessible and sustainable world for everyone.
DINR is creating the most trusted platform for culinary and hospitality experiences, events and reservations. As a concierge in your pocket, DINR works exclusively with best-in-category hospitality partners, and also unlocks same-day reservations at Michelin and similar calibre restaurants for its high value guests.
Flint is on a mission to help American Healthcare by solving their biggest problem: not enough nurses. Through software, Flint is able to reduce the complexity of licensing and immigration to allow hospitals to easily hire international nurses from around the world.
FutureFit AI’s North Star is unlocking the world’s pathways between talent and opportunity. Using AI, they aim to empower talent with a GPS to navigate their careers, help employers unlock untapped talent pools, and enable governments to help talent access the right opportunities faster.
Gotcare is a healthtech company on a mission to transform what types of health services can be provided in the home setting. With Canada’s largest network of community care workers, Gotcare is able to deliver care to homes that were traditionally unreachable – including service to over 100 remote communities across the country.
Halp is a digital admissions coach that helps international students through the study abroad journey. Their vision is to become the infrastructure, bank, and teacher for global learners.
To transform AML from the inefficient and ineffective box ticking exercise it is today, and its reputation as a constantly growing cost centre, to a new paradigm that is wildly efficient, effective, predictive, invisible and almost costless–so financial services providers (fintechs, payments, crypto and banks) can focus on growth while also putting human traffickers and others who would use our financials systems to harm humanity, out of business.
Moment Energy is a BC cleantech startup creating clean, affordable, and reliable battery energy storage systems (BESS) by repurposing retired electric vehicle batteries. Its Flora BESS help utilities, microgrids and commercial customers improve grid reliability and replace fossil fuel consumption with renewable energy. Its Flora BESS provides flexibility and efficiency to fuel their customer’s success, whether it’s optimizing energy costs, powering EV charging stations, or integrating renewable sources.
A leading Artificial Intelligence and Data analytics company dedicated to empowering businesses with AI-powered products and cutting-edge technology solutions.
Founded in 2019 by privacy and machine learning experts from the University of Toronto, Private AI’s mission is to create a privacy layer for software and enhance compliance with current regulations such as the GDPR. Identifying, reducing and removing privacy risks using AI, Private AI allows companies to unlock the value of the data they collect – whether it’s structured or unstructured data. Private AI is backed by M12, Microsoft’s venture fund, and BDC, and has been named as one of the 2023 World Economic Forum’s Technology Pioneers, CIX Top 20, Regtech100, and more.
Rebelstork has unique access to the largest supply of surplus and liquidated baby gear in North America. They are creating a B2B platform that makes it seamless for suppliers and buyers to acquire vetted premium baby gear at the best values. As a BCorp, they have changed the entire baby gear industry and are on track to becoming the biggest liquidator in the space.
Shakudo’s vision is to create an all-encompassing data platform that brings companies of all technical levels into the era of data and AI. They strive to seamlessly integrate best-of-breed open-source and commercial tools, enabling businesses to harness the full potential of data without worrying about operational overhead or costs. Their goal is to become the go-to solution for data infrastructure, constantly evolving to adopt the latest advancements in data engineering, data science, and AI. By doing so, they aim to empower companies to focus on innovation and growth, regardless of their technical expertise, and truly embrace the power of data-driven decision making.
Stan is the easiestway to make money online by selling courses, memberships, and meetings all on one platform. They are championing a movement: one where anyone, anywhere can make money working for themselves while pursuing their passion.
Vivid Machines empowers fruit producers through visibility and understanding of every plant.
The cohort convenes in San Francisco in September to participate in 48Hrs, an immersive experience designed to instil Silicon Valley’s entrepreneurial spirit and mindset, inspiring the Fellows to envision and pursue bold, transformative objectives for their ventures.
Throughout the remainder of the year-long experience, Fellows engage in a unique combination of mentorship and collaborative events, equipping them with the tools, insights, and guidance necessary to navigate the challenges of scaling their ventures and impacting the Canadian tech ecosystem.
We look forward to witnessing how these trailblazers will transform their respective industries and contribute to the growth of the Canadian tech ecosystem!
August 15, 2023, San Francisco, CA – C100, Canada’s foremost non-profit organization dedicated to cultivating globally exceptional resources for the nation’s most promising technology companies, is thrilled to unveil the 2023 cohort of its Fellowship program. The 2023 Fellows comprise 22 notable early-stage companies selected from hundreds of nominees. This promising group echoes the ambitions of former Fellows, whose companies—like Ada, Wealthsimple, Applyboard, Jane Software, and Sonder—have collectively raised well over $2.4B in capital and employ more than 12,000 people globally.
Fifty percent of companies are female-founded, and the cohort includes a diverse and talented collection of visionary entrepreneurs across deep tech, SaaS, healthcare tech, and ed-tech sectors who have the potential to shape the future of the Canadian technology ecosystem.
The C100 Fellowship experience has been a driving force in the Canadian tech landscape since its inception in 2010, providing support and mentorship to over 300 founders. In the constantly shifting landscape of technological innovation, Canada, with its political and economic stability, open immigration policies, domestic and foreign investment capital, and leadership on AI, is emerging as a thriving ground for ambitious founders building innovative technology companies. C100’s Fellowship experience continues to evolve to capitalize on the expanding global and market potential of companies building in Canada.
“By curating an exceptional network of top-tier global investors and experienced leaders and operators from the world’s top technology companies, our goal is to make it an advantage for the world’s most ambitious founders to build their businesses in Canada,” says Ray Newal, CEO of C100. “The 2023 Fellows embody diversity, innovation, and ambition, and with the fellowship as their launchpad, we believe each of these founders can be industry leaders in their respective markets.”
The cohort convenes in San Francisco in September to participate in 48Hrs, an immersive experience designed to instill Silicon Valley’s entrepreneurial spirit and mindset, inspiring the Fellows to envision and pursue bold, transformative objectives for their ventures.
“Our Fellows experience equips founders with the skills and wisdom to steer their companies towards industry-leading horizons,” says Afraj Gill, C100’s Entrepreneur in Residence. “We believe the unparalleled access to resources, mentorship, and networking opportunities will catalyze the growth and impact of their companies.”
Throughout the remainder of the year-long experience, Fellows engage in a unique combination of mentorship and collaborative events, equipping them with the tools, insights, and guidance necessary to navigate the challenges of scaling their ventures and impacting the Canadian tech ecosystem.
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About C100:
C100 is an unparalleled global network of exceptional technology leaders and investors. We aim to magnify the potential of Canada’s flourishing startup ecosystems by strategically linking our most promising tech companies with the world’s top human and capital resources, expanding the value and impact they create, and transforming potential into global success. Established in 2009, C100 is a non-profit association with a mission to showcase exceptional leadership, harness extraordinary global talent, and fuel the pursuit of daring entrepreneurial ambitions in Canada. To learn more, visit C100.org.
Tech veterans join C100’s board to bolster support for ambitious Canadian founders and amplify global impact in the evolving tech landscape.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA — August 1, 2023 — C100, the Canadian non-profit committed to empowering the most daring tech founders building in Canada to realize their groundbreaking visions, proudly announces two strategic board appointments. By enlisting visionary tech veterans Mike Wessinger and Lara Cumberland, C100 fortifies its unrivalled global network of exceptional talent and unprecedented access, empowering Canada’s most daring founders to realize their ambitious visions.
Mike Wessinger was appointed as Co-Chair, effective July 1. Wessinger is co-founder, former CEO, and current executive chair of PointClickCare, one of Canada’s most successful private tech companies, and brings a wealth of experience and leadership. His expertise will be invaluable as C100 executes a renewed focus on empowering Canada’s boldest and most innovative tech founders by leveraging a global network of Canadian tech leaders.
“This is the first time in C100’s history that we’ve had a tech founder co-leading our board, and that’s an intentional shift,” says Ray Newal, C100 CEO. “Having an exceptional entrepreneur of Mike’s calibre as co-chair is essential in our quest to serve founders. Mike’s vast experience and knowledge from building a Canadian unicorn will be invaluable to achieving our goal of fueling the next generation of ambitious and daring Canadian tech leaders.”
Mike Wessinger has served on C100’s board of directors for the last year and joins co-chair Janet Bannister. “I truly believe we have all the ingredients to establish Canada as a tech powerhouse where we punch above our weight globally,” he says. “C100 can help spark the Canadian tech ecosystem and be an indispensable resource to founders and tech leaders.”
C100 also announced Lara Cumberland, COO at Pacaso, the leading technology-enabled real estate marketplace that helps people buy and co-own a luxury second home, has joined its board of directors. Cumberland has over 20 years of experience working at leading technology companies like Meta, PayPal, eBay, and IBM.
Working out of San Francisco, where Afraj Gill, C100’s Entrepreneur in Residence who plays a pivotal role as a dedicated full-time executive, is also based, Cumberland’s experience building, scaling and optimizing complex operations at some of the world’s leading tech companies will be instrumental for the founders that C100 is supporting.
“I am honoured to join the C100 board at such a crucial time,” said Cumberland. “My experience and Valley presence provide me with a unique perspective on how to support exceptional founders who are building in Canada. C100’s devotion to driving the building of global companies in Canada resonates with me, and I’m excited to play a small part in helping achieve that.”
In the constantly shifting landscape of technological innovation, Canada is emerging as a fertile ground for ambitious founders, and C100’s strategic initiatives are designed to ensure that Canada is a launchpad for the world’s most talented entrepreneurs. Wessinger and Cumberland’s guidance and expertise will assist in amplifying C100’s impact and fostering a more robust support system for the promising future of Canadian technology.
About C100
C100 nurtures an unparalleled global network of builders and operators, providing an unfair advantage for daring founders to build globally impactful companies in Canada. Established in 2009, C100 is a non-profit association with a mission to showcase exceptional leadership, harness extraordinary global talent, and fuel daring entrepreneurial ambitions in Canada. We believe in a Canada that provides our most daring and ambitious founders with an even starting line compared to other parts of the world.
Mike Wessinger knows how to build with ambition and daring in Canada. His vision and leadership established PointClickCare as the senior care industry’s first cloud-based health information system. Today, the platform is the most widely used system in the Long Term and Post Acute Care space. Relentless in his pursuit to disrupt the healthcare status quo, Mike’s forward-thinking vision drove the organization to level silos across the healthcare ecosystem, creating North America’s largest care collaboration network.
With a desire to impart his wisdom and experiences to Canada’s next generation of up-and-coming founders, Mike is excited to co-chair the C100 board of directors with Janet Bannister.
We spent some time with Mike discussing his commitment to supporting daring founders building in Canada.
How and why did you first become connected with C100?
I didn’t know what it was all about but one of the founding charter members said, “You have to join and come to [the C100] Summit.” So, I did and was blown away by the Summit event, the people I met and the over experience. I haven’t missed a Summit since!
What do you hope to accomplish during your time as C100’s co-chair? What would you like to see C100 accomplish during this time?
We have all the ingredients to establish Canada as a tech powerhouse where we punch above our weight globally. C100 can help connect the Canadian tech ecosystem and be an indispensable resource to founders and tech leaders.
You built PointClickCare Technologies, a tech unicorn and Canada’s largest private software company, within Canada. Why?
Simple. I love Canada. I chose to live in Canada. Dumb or stubborn, it never occurred to me to move somewhere outside Canada to build a juggernaut of a tech company. To be clear, there have been some challenges being one of the few tech companies to scale in Canada, but we were happy to help cut the path for future Canadian unicorns and rocket ships. On balance, I think the benefits of remaining in Canada outweigh the challenges, and it’s only getting better. The world needs more impactful tech companies with Canadian sensibilities.
Do you think the conditions exist in Canada for ambitious founders like you to build generational companies?
You bet. We have all the raw ingredients to build a world-leading tech ecosystem, but it won’t happen alone. I believe it all starts with helping hundreds of companies across the $100 million revenue threshold and dozens over the $1 billion mark to make it sustainable.
What do you think needs to happen in the Canadian tech ecosystem for companies being built here to punch above their weight on a global basis?
A critical milestone is getting one hundred Canadian companies to cross the $100 million revenue threshold and ten to twenty over the $1 billion revenue threshold. If we do that, we will create a self-sustaining environment where talent continues to recycle, capital recycles, and support systems develop. If we are successful, talent and capital worldwide will be attracted to Canada. Companies will have local systems and support structures to enable them to build world-class tech companies in Canada frictionlessly.
We believe in this, too, and we’re glad Mike is on board!
We are excited to announce that our 2023 Fellows experience – where 20 of Canada’s most promising early-stage startups gain access to leaders who are shaping the most important companies in the world – is open for nominations!
Through our Fellowship, these founders gain unparalleled access to the best Bay Area entrepreneurs, operators, and investors. The Fellowship’s flagship event, 48Hrs, features two days of intensive mentorship, high-calibre networking, and venture guidance in the Valley.
Our annual Fellowship empowers early-stage founders through mentorship and a strong community of like-minded entrepreneurs who share our belief in the power of innovation to create positive change.
This signature mentorship program was born over 12 years ago with “48Hours in the Valley” and was rebranded in 2021 to incorporate a full year of mentorship and networking.
“It is inspiring being surrounded by driven entrepreneurs that raised the bar for me. I appreciated how transparent people were when sharing their challenges and was able to leverage their learnings into smart decisions for my company. My C100 association has translated into a prestige that will be valuable during fundraising.” Félix Bélisle Dockrill, Axya ( Fellows 2022)
The alumni network encompasses exemplary Canadian companies like Ada, Borrowell, Bridgit, ApplyBoard, Sonder, Frank + Oak, FinanceIt, Float, Mejuri, Wealthsimple, and many more.
Hear from some of C100’S 2021 Fellows
For Fellows 2023, we are looking for 20 Canadian-led tech startups that are global in ambition, have proven traction and are investor-ready, between seed and Series A.
“It’s very important to share with peers those fundamental questions you can’t share with anyone else, big decisions you make about your own business, whether it’s about hiring, strategic planning for your raise, or whatever. There’s a level of openness in that circle and a level of professionalism and care for delivering value that is huge.” Sophie Perseval, Wondeur.ai (Fellows 2021)
Here are some frequently asked questions about the Fellows nomination and application process:
How can a founder be nominated to be a C100 Fellow?
Prospective founders must be nominated by an active C100 charter member, member, partner, or 48Hrs/Fellows alumnus in order to apply. Nominations open on March 27, 2023, and close on April 21, 2023. Nominators have unlimited submissions.
Nominated founders will receive an email notification that they have been nominated along with a unique application link. This link is connected to their account only and cannot be shared with others. Once they are nominated, founders have until April 28, 2023, to apply.
What kind of founder benefits the most from a C100 fellowship?
The ideal founder is Canadian or building a startup in Canada, is community-minded, and is building technology to make a significant impact in the world. They’re building the next Shopify, solving climate change, curing diabetes, or rebalancing financial access for the next 3 billion, and want to do it together with the C100 community.
We welcome founders with diverse perspectives, expertise, and experiences, spanning different industries, customers, and products, from a variety of ages, cultures, and genders.
What can Fellows expect from the experience?
Once the selection is complete, Fellows will have a chance to connect with their fellow founders virtually. Then in September, they will all attend 48Hrs, our two-day intensive networking and mentoring event in the Valley. After that, there will be further opportunities for mentoring and networking throughout the year.
“48Hrs was very exciting. The feeling of being part of a unique cohort of great entrepreneurs and being on panels with fellow colleagues in the same space as me, that’s a great way to introduce ourselves to the C100 community.” Louis Brun, Sollum Technologies (Fellows 2021)
What are the key dates?
March 20 – Nominations and Applications Open
April 6 – Fellows Virtual Information Session – register here
April 21 – Nominations Close
April 28 – Fellows Applications Close
June 20 – Fellows 2023 Announced
Sept 20 – 22 – 48Hrs event in the San Francisco Bay Area
October to April 2024 – Ongoing Fellows 2023 programming
For more information about the program and the nomination process, watch our Fellows 2023 Info Session. If you have any questions about this signature mentorship experience, please contact our team at connect@thec100.org.
Each year, C100 welcomes the founders of 20 of the most promising early-stage Canadian-led startups to its flagship mentorship program, C100 Fellows. This 8-month long program is dedicated to supporting these founders via curated mentorship, and peer-to-peer support. Fellows also receive a complimentary C100 Membership throughout the course of their program.
2022 was a record year for the Fellows program with over 450 applications from Canadian founders based all around the globe. The resulting cohort is a talented, visionary, and diverse group of Canadian founders. Represented across 9 cities, 60% of the cohort have one or more founders who identify as a visible minority, and 35% with at least 1 female founder, 5 of whom are CEO or President. Instrumental in shaping this year’s cohort is each individual who participated on the Fellows Selection Committee.
A heartfelt thank you to C100’s 2022 Fellows Selection Committee for your time and dedication to supporting Canadian entrepreneurs: Steven Abrams, Trevor Adey, Praveen Arichandran, Rikhil Bajaj, Andrew Batey, Steve Carlin, Cindy Chen, Shuo Chen, Carl Choi, Adrien Côté, Alexandra Cowie, Michael DiPaul, Tony Dong, Andrea Drager, Jonathan Ehrlich, Jon French, Andre Garber, Karim Gillani, Kate Grant, Megh Gupta, Tate Hackert, Morgan Hayduk, Jenny He, Chris Hobbs, Dylan Itzikowitz, Kimberly Kaplan, Mike Kirkup, Ian Klassen, Jamie Knowlton, Alexander Kolicich, Agnes Lan, James Langford, Edlynne Laryea, Jennifer Lee Koss, Dani Lipkin, Aidan Madigan-Curtis, Siavash Mahmoudian, Christiana Manzocco, Nadia Masri, Ron Matten, Joseph Mauceri, Lucas McCarthy, Anthony Mouchantaf, Hamzah Nassif, Marcus New, Michael Nicolls, Thomas Park, Parasvil Patel, Andre Peréy, Rahul Raj, Vivek Ramaswami, Aliya Ramji, Ryan Randall, Tim Regnier, Claudio Rojas, Jamie Rosenblatt, David Rozin, Shez Samji, Ben Sanders, Maximilian Schmeiser, Mike Schmidt, Joanna Lee Shevelenko, Benji Shomair, Emily Smiley, David Steckel, Jeffrey Truong, Marianne Wu, Shahram Yousefi, Lu Zhang, and Youssef Zohny.
“I’m thrilled by the talent and audacity of this year’s group of Fellows. The success of this program owes to the incredible personal contributions of the C100 community to support, inspire, and challenge the Fellows to broaden their horizons and reach new heights. I couldn’t be more grateful for all these efforts. It takes a village!”
— Adam Shevell Fellows Selection Committee Chair and Partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
Accord is the world’s first Customer Collaboration Platform. It helps Sales and Success leaders ensure the perfect sales and onboarding process. Close more deals faster, and activate every user. Last February, Accord launched with a $6M USD seed round from Stripe & Y Combinator.
Aviron is a game-led connected rowing machine that combines the increased confidence and resiliency benefits of gaming with low-impact high-intensity workouts that tap into users’ competitive side. In Feb 2022, Aviron announced it raised a $23.6M CAD Series A Led by Stripes, with follow-on by Global Founders Capital, Formic Ventures, Behind Genius Ventures, and 24-Hour Fitness Founder Mark Mastrov.
Axya partners with Canadian manufacturing businesses to optimize their outsourcing process for their needs in custom metal working parts. From potential supplier identification to quote management, Axya enables users to digitize their projects, manage requests for quotes and follow their projects pipelines.
Axya announced that it closed its second seed round of funding in February 2022, bringing the total amount invested in its platform to $5.4M.
Calico’s platform is everything eCommerce brands need before their products get on Shopify and Stripe. They are the product development OS that powers the $1.4 trillion eCommerce production market from concept to doorstep. This March, Calico announced that it raised $2.6M in seed funding led by Serena Ventures, Serena Williams’ tech investment firm, with participation from Maple VC, Hyphen Capital, Roach Capital and a number of angel investors.
Float is an all-in-one corporate card & spend management solution that helps Canadian businesses control their spending. This past November, Float announced its $30M Series A round, led by Tiger Global.
Forma.ai is the first and only incentive compensation platform that drives revenue growth. Our unique, data model-driven approach uses science to help enterprises design, execute, and optimize their sales compensation to produce unparalleled results. In March 2021, Forma.ai announced it closed a $10M Series A, led by Crosslink Capital and supported by Golden Ventures (C100 Partner), Panache Ventures, Uncork Capital, and Xfund.
Ledn provides financial products with a mission to help clients across the globe unlock the power of digital assets to build wealth for the long term. With registered clients from over 127 countries, Ledn offers savings, credit and trade products. This past December, Ledn announced that it raised $70M USD in Series B funding in an all-equity round led by 10T Holdings, with participation from Golden Tree Asset Management, Raptor Group, and FJ Labs.
Lydia AI is a health AI insurtech startup on a mission to insure the next billion people by making insurance personalized, easier to buy and more inclusive through the use of new source of data. This past October, Lydia AI announced the closing of its $10M USD Series A+, led by Information Venture Partners.
Manifest Climate is a climate-focused SaaS company powered by AI and climate expertise, empowering organizations to learn, govern, and disclose climate-related risks and opportunities. Manifest Climate track and benchmarks climate trends and build climate competence internally.
Manifest Climate recently announced $30M CAD in Series A funding, led by BDC Capital Women in Technology Venture Fund and Climate Innovation Capital, with participation from OMERS Ventures, Golden Ventures (C100 Partner), Garage Capital, Active Impact Investments, Klass Capital and Bryker Capital, and influential angel investors.
Penfield.AI is the first Human-Machine Intelligence platform in Cybersecurity. Penfield.AI models the skill sets of Analysts and their Processes in real-time, enabling real-time decisions to improve the speed and accuracy of Incident Resolution.
PurposeMed builds telemedicine companies that deliver complex care to underserved Canadians. Our first vertical, Freddie, provides HIV prevention online. Our second vertical is Frida, which provides mental healthcare online, starting with ADHD.
RockMass is an infrastructure and mining technology startup that enables engineers and geologists to improve the safety and efficiency of major projects through improved access to geological data. In December 2020, RockMass announced it raised$2.5M CAD in seed funding.
At ShopThing, we’re transforming the way people shop and sell through live video commerce. We’re bringing this $430 billion gig economy to North America with the help of top-tier retail brands and influencers. This March, ShopThing announced it closed a $10M USD Series A round led by Origin Ventures, with participation from Pritzker Group and Interplay.
Spare is an enterprise SaaS platform and a mobility operating system, and we are on a mission to empower everyone to unlock the potential of transportation. This past November, Spare announced that it raised a $18M Series A round, led by Inovia Capital with participation from Kensington Capital, Link VC, Ramen VC, Ridge Ventures, TransLink Capital and Japan Airlines (as JAL Innovation Fund) and Nicola
Wealth, among others.
Stadium Live Studios is building a metaverse where Gen Z’s fans can meet, create and play around sports & culture. Stadium Live is backed by USV, KB Partners, Golden Ventures, and the founders of NBA Top Shot, Club Penguin, and Drop.
Twentyeight Health is a mission-driven women’s health platform providing accessible reproductive and sexual health services to underserved communities through telemedicine & medication delivery and the first digital platform focused on Medicaid.
Venue makes large remote meetings more fun by offering an interactive live streaming platform. Companies like Shopify use Venue every day for Town Halls, Kickoffs, AMAs, and more. Venue.live most recently participated in Y Combinator’s Winter 2022 Demo Day.
Wrk is the world’s first delivery engine. Our platform enables organizations to create digital versions of their internal business processes through a library of pre-built robots called Wrk Actions that deliver their work, at scale, and on-demand.
The 2022 Fellows program officially kicks off at C100’s flagship event in the Bay Area, 48Hrs, taking place on May 11–12. This event is open to C100 Members, Charter Members, and Partners. Registration opens this Friday! To RSVP, please keep an eye out in your inbox or log into the C100 Member’s Wiki.
THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS WHO HELP MAKE THIS PROGRAM POSSIBLE
This program is generously made possible with the help of C100’s Foundational and Corporate Partners. Thank you for your dedication to the Canadian tech ecosystem and for supporting these rising founders.
FOUNDATIONAL PARTNERS
CORPORATE MEMBERS
Not a Member? Learn more about the membership and submit your application to join here!
Have questions about the Fellows program? Contact the C100 team at connect@thec100.org.
Who is a C100 Charter Member you ask? In short, they are some of the most exceptional senior leaders in tech who not only have demonstrated remarkable leadership and accomplishments in their respective fields but who also hail from the Great White North. That’s Canada if that wasn’t obvious.
Get to know the seven Charter Members who joined C100 in 2021 David Baga (CEO, Even), Jen Lee Koss (Founding Partner, Springbank Collective), Andrew Lindsay (SVP Corporate and Business Development, HubSpot), Jack Newton (Founder & CEO, Clio), Michele Romanow (Co-Founder & President, Clearco), Joanna Lee Shevelenko (General Partner, f7 Ventures), and Benji Shomair.
The piece of advice that drastically shifted your perspective: when I learned the idea of mission-driven businesses. You can have a business that is a net positive on society and that also is a great business.
David Baga joined Even as CEO in March 2021. Even is an “on-demand pay” startup that ‘evens’ out paychecks for workers to give them financial stability and flexibility. His career spans enterprise and consumer businesses at all stages, from ideation to billion-dollar run rates all the way through to IPO. Prior to joining Even, David was COO at Lightspeed Venture Partners, which he joined in 2019 as Chief Operating Officer. Before Lightspeed, David was Chief Business Officer at Lyft where he built the strategy and division responsible for winning enterprise customers, strategic partners, and city partnerships which grew to be over a quarter of the overall Lyft business. David was Chief Revenue Officer at RocketLawyer and spent seven years at Oracle where he built sales teams that delivered record-setting results.
What do you feel is the most important element for prospective candidates to evaluate when debating on joining a particular startup? How did you come to join Even, RocketLawyer, or Lyft?
We spend so many of our waking hours at work and sometimes that can come at the expense of other important elements of our lives, especially time with the people we deeply care about. Our time at work simply has to be worth it, and the definition of being ‘worth it’ is different for us all.
For me, it’s about impact. At Rocket Lawyer, our mission was to make legal services more affordable to all Americans, especially small businesses. At Lyft, our mission was to provide people with the world’s best transportation and improve their access to opportunities. At Even, our mission is to help 25 million people get out of the red by 2025. Each of these companies has a mission that is relatable to me. I could empathize with the people in which the mission was trying to serve, whether it was my parents being small business owners and feeling somewhat shut out of the legal system, or at Lyft where I was looking for alternative transportation and opportunities. I have been in the position of living check-to-check, wondering how I was going to fill the tank, get home, then get back to work each day.
We live in an abundant place and time in this world, and I can almost guarantee that there is an interesting company working on a problem you deeply care about and the time has never been better with remote work.
Even is the fourth organization that you have joined, entering at a C-Suite level position to a rising company. When you first join an organization, what are some of the most important first steps that you take for a seamless transition?
When you’re entering a company at any sort of senior level, it’s all about listening and learning. It’s important to create enough time and space to establish trust with people. I take a lot of time to try and understand the things that matter most. Only then do I reevaluate what needs to be added, edited, or removed. For example, if that is culture, there are elements that may be strong and have served the company really well for the phrase that they were at, but how do you add value to that culture moving forward? How do you preserve what is required and what made it special while adding in ingredients that ready the team for the next stage of the journey?
One of the characteristics of the best teams is how fast they go through learnings loops. In order to do that, you begin setting expectations for what you might be considering and what the timing might look like. By making changes that are symbolically large but in actuality are micro-adjustments, you are starting to prepping the team for a larger set of changes. These small signals are like mini down payments on future changes that you’re going to make and that eases the fear, uncertainty, and doubt that teams will naturally have when there is a new leader in the building.
Favourite Canadian destination or activity: Stoney Lake (where we have a cottage) & playing in a women’s hockey league
Canadian leadership in one word: Balanced
The piece of advice that drastically shifted your perspective:Be in it for the long game
Jennifer Lee Koss is an entrepreneur and investor, passionate about supporting, uplifting, and making a change in the lives of entrepreneurs and working families. A founding partner of Springbank Collective, an organization that invests in early-stage companies that are re-imagining work, building the care infrastructure, and creating solutions for working families — with a goal of a more inclusive future.
In 2012, Jen co-founded BRIKA, an innovative retail agency focused on creating innovative, curated retail experiences. Previous to BRIKA, she worked in the management consulting, investment banking and private equity. She serves as a board member of both public and private companies in North America and Europe, and in addition, is a Julliard-trained cellist, mother of 4 young children and a graduate of Harvard University, Oxford University, and Harvard Business School.
Springbank collective is focused on “early-stage investments that focus on the infrastructure that supports women and working families”. Can you share with us more about the origin story of Springbank Collective and how this particular vertical came to be the focus of Springbank’s investments?
I have known Courtney [Leimkuhler] since we were 18 years old and played together on the Harvard lacrosse team, and I’ve known Elana [Berkowitz] since our first day at HBS. In 2018, Courtney and I started talking about the fact that despite an increasing focus on gender lens investing and backing female founders, there seemed to be huge untapped white space when it came to investing in the needs of women and working families in the real economy. As she’s prone to do, Courtney of course did a giant strategy paper on the subject and found some compelling research suggesting there was literally trillions of dollars of opportunity being overlooked. We started calling it the infrastructure to close the gender gap. We realized that our infrastructure thesis was deeply rooted in viewing the gender gap not as a women’s issue per se, but as a systems problem that touched so many different areas from work, to care to home and beyond. Elana is the BEST systems thinker I know and so I reached out to her and found that she was also spending a lot of time thinking about how to use her experience in the policy and impact world to mobilize more innovation in the private sector that would benefit women.
We started testing our hypothesis and investing together in mid-2019. In May 2020 we launched an investor collective which has grown to about 100 operator / angels who invest with us via SPVs deal by deal. In total we’ve invested in 24 companies across the infrastructure themes of care, career and consumer.
We are also passionate about the ecosystem building work we are doing around gender parity — which includes, for example, building and maintaining the first and only founder network for nearly 200 young companies building solutions in the category of family technology or FamTech.
What advice do you have for founders (especially women) who are both building great companies while raising a family?
Involve your kids in the madness. I think being really open with your kids about what you are doing is the best way for them to understand the reasons for why you do what you do!
Andrew Lindsay
SVP, Corporate and Business Development at HubSpot San Francisco Bay Area LinkedIn
Originally from: Toronto, ON
Favourite Canadian destination or activity: There’s nothing more exciting than a sporting event that unites the country like the Olympics or the Raptors in the playoffs. I went to Vancouver for the 2010 Olympics when Canada was facing the US in the hockey final and it was an incredible moment of national pride. Similarly, I returned to Toronto when the Raptors were facing the Warriors in the NBA finals in 2019 and it was a week to remember!
Canadian leadership in one word: Conscientious
The piece of advice that drastically shifted your perspective: “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” It resonates as both a call for urgency and as an admonishment against dwelling on regrets.
Andrew Lindsay serves as HubSpot’s SVP of Corporate and Business Development and is responsible for the company’s acquisitions, investments, and strategic partnerships. He leads HubSpot Ventures, the company’s venture capital organization. Prior to joining HubSpot, Andrew was the VP of Corporate Development at Jawbone. He was previously a consultant with McKinsey & Company and an investment banker with Merrill Lynch.
Andrew is based in San Francisco, CA, chairs the city’s TechSF workforce investment group, and is a Board Member of Asana. He is the Founding Chair of the Center for Digital Business at Howard University. He graduated from Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School with a JD and an MBA and completed an undergraduate BS degree at Howard University.
Last year, you launched the $100M HubSpot Venture CRM Platform Fund, an extension of the HubSpot Ventures Fund launched in 2018. Can you share with us more about this fund and how it came to be?
It was immediately clear to me when I joined HubSpot in 2018 that venture investing is a natural extension of our mission of helping millions of businesses grow better. Helping scaling companies grow is at the very core of everything we do at HubSpot, starting with our CRM Platform. We launched the first venture fund in 2018 to do equity investments across all stages in customer-focused B2B startups that share this commitment and participate in our ecosystem. That fund was a major success and we doubled-down last year by launching this second fund to increase our size and pace of investments. We invested in sixteen exceptional companies last year that range from seed to pre-IPO and I’m immensely proud of the impact they and all the companies in our portfolio are having on our shared customers’ success.
Last year, you were appointed to the Board of Directors at Asana. What advice do you have for those who are considering joining a BoD, especially for the first time?
Joining a public company Board is a major commitment and anyone considering it should do deep diligence first. First, ensure that the company shares your view of the future and your values. You’ll inevitably disagree on some issues with the executive team and with other directors — robust and respectful debate is essential — but you’ll be most effective if you’re all excited about a shared vision for the business and the culture being developed. Second, consider what value you would bring to the Board. Will you bring a new expertise or perspective that’s otherwise absent? Third, have clarity about what you will gain from joining.
Joining the Board of a public company is a major investment of energy and time and comes with potential liability, so you should make sure you’re comfortable with the benefits in return. It can be immensely rewarding.
The piece of advice that drastically shifted your perspective: Steven Blank’s “Four Steps to the Epiphany” and the concept of shifting from a product development perspective to a customer development perspective was truly transformational for me in the early days of Clio.
As the CEO and Co-founder of Clio and a pioneer in cloud-based legal technology, Jack Newton has spearheaded efforts to educate the legal community on the security, ethics, privacy considerations, and benefits of running a law firm from the cloud. Under his leadership, Clio is bettering the lives and businesses of lawyers while making legal services more accessible and equitable for all through cloud-based and client-centered technology. Jack is also the author of The Client-Centered Law Firm, a #1 bestseller that’s helping law firms thrive in today’s experience-driven era.
Jack is also the host of Daily Matters, a podcast dedicated to hearing from legal professionals, industry leaders, and subject matter experts about the future of law. In Daily Matters, he explores where the legal industry is headed, how legal practice is changing, and what legal professionals can do to position themselves for success.
When you become one of Canada’s tech darlings (following Clio’s $1B valuation last April), what do you turn your focus to next? How does the game change for you as a Founder & CEO?
I have always had my sights set on building a 100 year, enduring company in Clio. The recognition of being one of Canada’s leading tech companies is a rewarding and humbling acknowledgements of progress we’re making on that path, but we have such a long way to go. One of the most energizing things for me is that my job is changing and evolving every day, so even though I’ve been running Clio for 13 years, I feel like I’ve got a constantly evolving set of challenges and opportunities ahead of me.
Love that your bio says Juggling four startups: Clio, Ian, Patrick and Isla. It’s a safe guess to say that you are a family man — how do you balance personal/family life with a rapidly growing company with big ambitions?
I had my first child, Ian, the same year I founded Clio, so raising kids has felt like an inextricable part of my journey of growing Clio. I had a lot of hesitation around having kids at the same time as embarking on the very risky venture of launching a startup, and thought the energy required by both would be all-consuming, and therefore incompatible. However, my amazing wife, Tonia, asked a question that helped settle the matter, which was “if not now, when?” So we went ahead and had Ian, and not long after Patrick and then Isla, and I’ve always found that I get so much energy and renewal from them. I wouldn’t do it any other way.
Michele Romanow
Co-Founder & President, Clearco Toronto, ON LinkedIn | Twitter
Originally from: Calgary, A.B.
Favourite Canadian activity: skiing in Whistler
Canadian leadership in one word: underestimated
The piece of advice that drastically shifted your perspective: You’re the only one who can find your superpower combination of what you’re good at, what the world needs, and what people will pay for. And finding your superpower allows you to find great opportunities where you’ll thrive.
Tech titan Michele Romanow is an engineer and a serial entrepreneur who started five companies before her 33rd birthday. A “Dragon” on CBC’s hit show Dragons’ Den, Michele is the co-founder of Clearco, which gave entrepreneurs more than $100M in funding this year.
She previously co-founded SnapSaves, which was acquired by Groupon. Michele was also the co-Founder of Buytopia.ca, which acquired ten competitors including Shop.ca and WagJag. She’s ranked in WXN’s “100 Most Powerful in Canada” and is the only Canadian on Forbes’ “Millennial on a Mission” list. Michele is a prolific angel investor and the winner of Angel Investor of the Year award. Michele is a director for Vail Resorts, Freshii, League of Innovators, Queen’s Business School and Shad Valley.
2021 was quite the year for the Clearco team, from being the first Canadian deal from Softbank’s Vision Fund to a rebrand that was a testament to the widening product offering beyond capital. With this type of traction, what are you most looking forward to in 2022?
We’re excited to meet more founders as we continue to expand across Europe and expand our reach internationally.
You have been quite vocal about encouraging entrepreneurs to just go for it — there is never the right time to start a business. That said, what do you feel is one of the biggest hurdles as to why people don’t start that business and what can they do to overcome that?
We all have a fear of failure that holds us back. But the quicker you start, the quicker you fail and that’s where your biggest learnings come from. We have to stop thinking failure and success are polar opposites. I have yet to meet an entrepreneur who has not failed. Failure is a by-product of success.
Joanna Lee Shevelenko
General Partner, f7 Ventures San FRANCISCO BAy Area, CA LinkedIn
Originally from: Mississauga, ON
Favourite Canadian activity: I went dogsledding last time I was home which was pretty fun! Although I have to say that favourite is really going home to my family.
Canadian leadership in one word: Honour
The piece of advice that drastically shifted your perspective: spend time on strengths (for yourself and bringing it out in others).
Joanna Lee Shevelenko is currently Founder and General Partner at f7 Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on driving outsized returns by investing in underrepresented founders.
Joanna has over 15 years of experience in the technology sector. She is an experienced Silicon Valley COO (Atrium Legal Technology Services and Premise Data) and one of the first 100 employees at Facebook. There, she built multiple teams from the ground up including user insights, site integrity and content moderation. She also started the Facebook India office and worked on the company’s first e-commerce efforts, growth strategies, and partnerships. After her time at Facebook, she became the Chief Operating Officer of Premise Data (Series C) and later of Atrium (Series B). Joanna also serves on the Board of Directors for MPharma, a health tech company based in Ghana focused on improving access to medicine.
The seven women management team at F7 has collectively grown revenue from $0 to $15B+ throughout their careers; how did this dream team come together to form F7 Ventures?
The 7 of us have had long operating careers and met when we worked together at Facebook. Each of us have either been in investing roles or had started angel investing on our own when it was clear that a) there weren’t many women on the funding side, and b) there were many lessons in our operating careers that could and should be shared with the next generation of builders. We decided that we could accelerate our impact by coming together and combining our skillset to form f7.
You have extensive experience in building teams from the ground up. What should be kept top of mind for leaders when building out a team that is often overlooked?
The thing I always keep top of mind is to be endlessly curious. There isn’t a perspective that should be overlooked or dismissed.” If you are curious enough about why someone might have that perspective you either learn something new or you better understand someone on your team. New ideas, better communication, and better products are built out of curiosity.
Benji Shomair
Vice President, Commerce Business and Go-To-Market, Facebook San FRANCISCO BAY Area, CA LinkedIn
Originally from: Toronto, ON
Favourite Canadian destination or activity: canoe trips in Algonquin Park
Canadian leadership in one word: Inclusive
The piece of advice that drastically shifted your perspective: “Your life will be defined no only by the opportunities you pursue but also by the opportunities you turn down to prioritize what really matters to you”
Benji Shomair leads the Go-To-Market teams for Commerce across Meta, including Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram. Previously, he scaled the advertising business, leading teams globally across business operations, global partnerships, product monetization and marketing. Formerly a Principal at Bain & Company, serving clients in Technology, Media and Telecom (TMT), Consumer/Retail and Private Equity
A lot of changes have happened over 11 years at Meta, especially with new products being rolled out into the market. Are there 1–2 highlights that serve as a standout memory during your tenure at the technology giant?
I’ve had the opportunity to help build 3 businesses at Meta/Facebook — first the Ads business, then the Messaging business and currently the Commerce business. As someone who loves building, my highlights have been scaling organizations that didn’t exist before and creating new products — that proved to be valuable to people and businesses. Helping manage the transition to mobile ads as Facebook’s user base shifted from desktop to mobile and initiating the Facebook Marketing Partner/Ads API programs were both early experiences I had that taught for me how much fun it is to build things (especially at a global scale).
What “Canadian qualities” do you feel have benefited you throughout your career?
I’ve spent more than half my career in the US in global roles and in most places, people will assume I’m American. Of course, I am actually a foreigner. I’ve found the ability to be both “North American” and “International” at the same time and bridge between these two worldviews to be a powerful and unique perspective. It helps me lead in a more inclusive way, consider options that other might not and build for more global audiences. It also helps that everyone likes Canadians.
Interviews & article by Lauren Howe, Marketing & Communications manager at C100. Please direct any questions to lhowe@thec100.org.
A force in her own right, this is a particularly special announcement for the C100 Community as Bannister becomes the first C100 Co-Chair to be based in Canada (Toronto) and, for that matter, the first anywhere outside of the Bay Area. Bannister will take the reins fromCo-Chair Shari Hatch Jones and will co-lead the C100 Board of Directors alongside Co-Chair Andre Charoo. Previously, Janet served as a beloved C100Board Member, Charter Member and is recognized as an outspoken champion and advocate in the Canadian tech ecosystem.
“Janet is a titan in the Canadian technology community. She is adored by our Members, and has been a long-time supporter of C100. She is the perfect person to lead our Board, alongside Andre Charoo, in partnership with me and our team to carry the C100 through its next phase of impact.” — Laura Buhler, CEO of C100
Currently, Janet is the Managing Director of Real Ventures, which she joined in2014, where she became the first woman to lead one of Canada’s largest and most active early-stage venture funds. Janet’s career has many highlights, including founding and launching Kijiji.ca and growing it to become one of Canada’s most visited websites. She has held roles at eBay in Silicon Valley, Procter &Gamble, and McKinsey & Co. At Real Ventures, in addition to leading theFirm, she works actively with over a dozen companies, helping the founders to accelerate growth and create meaningful impact.
While we could have an article solely dedicated to Janet’s accomplishments and her impact on the Canadian tech ecosystem, it’s best to hear it directly from her! So, to mark the announcement of Janet’s new post, we sat down with her to learn more about her career and vision for C100.
VISION FOR C100’S FUTURE
How did you first become connected to C100 and what “clicked” for you to get involved on a deeper level?
I heard about C100 shortly after joining Real Ventures in 2014. Having lived in Silicon Valley and being familiar with that environment and the community there as well as understanding the Canadian tech community, I immediately understood why the mission and vision and C100 was so powerful and how it could help accelerate growth of great Canadian companies.
In addition, I have travelled and worked around the world and have consistently found that when I meet other Canadians, there is an instant bond and connection. I think this is driven by our shared Canadian values and love for Canada. C100 is founded on this bond and Canadians’ desire to support one another.
What do you hope to accomplish during your time as C100’s co-chair?
My vision is to shift C100 from an organization that is focused on “bringing the best of Silicon Valley to Canada” to being the preeminent global network of Canadians in tech. This means building the C100membership globally and developing the platform to enable Canadians around the world to connect to one another at scale.
What does it mean to you being C100’s first Co-Chair in Canada / based outside of Silicon Valley?
I think this represents a shift in the organization, away from “bringing the best of Silicon Valley to Canadian tech companies” to laying the foundation for a global tech community. And I think that shift is a direct result of the maturation of the Canadian tech ecosystem.
ON RETURNING HOME TO CANADA AFTER YEARS LIVING ABROAD
“As a proud Canadian, I am incredibly excited about what the next ten years will look like for the Canadian tech sector.” — Janet Bannister
Having had quite the global career, why did you return back home to Canada? What were you most looking forward to with you’re repatriation?
Yes, my husband (who is also Canadian) and I were living in Silicon Valley. We were loving our exciting careers, the easy access to incredible nature, and our great new friends. But I am a Canadian at heart and I wanted to return to Canada to have our family in Canada and to build our lives here. I am incredibly grateful for the years I spent living and working in Silicon Valley; it was a wonderful experience, I learnt a ton, and I still keep in touch with many of my eBay colleagues. But Canada is a unique country and Canadians are special people; this is where I wanted to build my career and family for the long term.
Some say Canadian tech is having a moment (but we like to say having a movement). Where do you see the future of Canadian tech going at this moment?
The Canadian tech ecosystem is just getting started.
This year is likely to be a record year for Canadian VC funding; already, three of the top five venture capital financings have happened in the first six months of 2021.
This Canadian growth is partially driven by a global boom in venture capital, which is propelled by significant amount of capital available for funding, a recognition that tech companies will transform every industry and therefore the potential exit valuations of the highest potential tech companies is incredibly high, and an ability to do investments faster as investors have become comfortable investing based on zoom calls.
In addition, beyond these global trends, Canada is benefiting from three Canadian-specific forces: i) deep pool of tech and entrepreneurial talent, thanks to world-class universities and an immigrant-friendly country; ii) easy access to global markets, enablingCanadian companies to sell globally from day one; and iii) flywheel of Canadian success in which the network effects of a successful start-up ecosystem have taken hold and are accelerating.
As a proud Canadian, I am incredibly excited about what the next ten years will look like for the Canadian tech sector.
ON LEADERSHIP LESSONS LEARNED
At eBay, you witnessed quite the meteoric rise of the company, growing from 2,500 people to 25,000 during your time there. Playing akey role in the organization during this time, what were some key lessons learned on managing periods of rapid growth.
I loved my time at eBay and am very grateful to have spent those years in Silicon Valley as a senior member of the company as it was more than doubling in revenues every year. One of the things I learnt was the importance of keeping your values and mission consistent while continually iterating on your strategy and operating plan. eBay grew very quickly because the company kept true to its core values and its mission of being an independent marketplace and creating economic democracy while simultaneously and continually testing, iterating, and expanding the core offering by launching new categories, adding new ways to buy and sell, and entering new markets.
I also learnt about the critical importance of having the right people on the team who can thrive in a rapidly changing business environment. This requires people who care deeply about the company’s mission and who can grow their own skills as quickly as the company is scaling. In those early years at eBay, the company was rapidly expanding in every dimension and as a result, the organizational structure frequently changed as the needs of the business changed and new business opportunities emerged. In an environment like that, success is largely dependent upon people willing to go outside their comfort zone and move into different roles with new responsibilities.
You managed to not only launch and build the wildly successful Kijiji business in Canada, but also to launch it in the United States, Belgium, Switzerland, and Austria. What is your number one piece of advice for tech leaders looking to break into new markets?
The key is to understand what elements of your proven playbook can you reapply in new markets, and what needs to change because of the unique nature of each market. This requires a deep understanding of the local customers, competitors, and market dynamics. For instance, with Kijiji, the buy & sell category was very similar across countries but the dynamics and practices of renting apartments changed significantly by country, so we needed to change the way the real estate category worked in each country. Canadians are particularly good at recognizing and appreciating the unique characteristics of a culture and this gives them an advantage when launching businesses in new countries.
What are you most proud of as a venture capitalist?
It is incredibly rewarding to work with ambitious, mission-driven founders and be part of their journey as they evolve from founders to leaders and as their companies grow from local start-ups to international, industry-defining companies. Their determination and personal growth inspires me every day.
In terms of Real Ventures, the success I am most proud of is the tremendous impact that Real has had on the growth of Canada’s tech sector. We are firm believers in “a rising tide lifts all boats” and our commitment to growing the Canadian tech ecosystem has been a core value since the Firm was founded. Real has invested in 250+ Canadian-based companies and 750+ Canadian founders over the past 14 years. We launched – and continue to run – FounderFuel, Canada’s longest running accelerator, that has launched many of Canada’s most promising tech companies including Sonder, Mejuri, BenchSci, Unsplash, Paper, and others. We also helped to bring TechStars to Canada, in both Toronto and Montreal. In 2017, we launched Front Row Ventures, a university-based venture fund run by 50+ students across 20+ campuses in Ontario and Quebec. This fund has invested in 25+ student-led companies, many of which have gone on to raise significant follow-on rounds from top tier investors. And more recently, Real supported the launch of Rep Matters, an initiative to raise the profile of Canadian Black entrepreneurs and investors.
Chris Albinson, C100’s Co-Founder, will take the reins as CEO at Waterloo-based Communitech starting May 17th. We are thrilled to see the leadership that Chris will bring to Communitech and how he will continue to help Canada “Own the Podium” in the world’s innovation economy. Congratulations Chris!
“There is no question. Communitech and the Waterloo Region are the cornerstone of the Canadian innovation community and the perfect place to create a new Own The Podium plan — one tailored to support Canada in becoming the dominant player in global innovation”, shared Albinson in his latest post discussing the announcement.
Albinson sat down with the C100 to discuss what this opportunity means to him.
What does repatriating back to Canada mean to you?
It’s been something I’m thinking about for a long time. During the pandemic, I returned home to Ontario. Being back home for as long as we were sheltering in place during the pandemic, proved to be a reminder of all the things we loved about Canada. I thought long and hard about what I wanted to do, where I wanted to be.
Two years ago, I wrote about Canada having an opportunity to be a global hub for innovation. Silicon Valley isn’t a “fixed” thing. We saw a mass exodus of the tech center move from Boston to Silicon Valley in the early 1990s and now, it’s moving again. The question is, where is it moving to? I believe Canada is set up to be the next global tech hub.
This pandemic proved that barriers we used to think about are not as big as we thought they were, especially in terms of geographic location and building companies from the Yukon, to Saskatoon to St. John’s. I think Canadians want to build companies not only that can be globally successful but also are tech for good.
It was exciting for me to mentor Harley [Finkelstein] and Tobi [Lütke] (President, and CEO of Shopify, respectively) in the early days. Being a champion and supporter of founders is very exciting to me and success would be about finding ways to build the next 15 Shopifys in Canada.
What are you most looking forward to in this new chapter as CEO at Communitech?
Iain Klugman built an amazing organization and the foundation of the house is incredibly strong; the culture, mission, ethos, and passion for helping Canadian founders. I was asked recently, ‘what are you going to come in and shake up?’, but the answer is: nothing. It’s a great organization in a great place (Waterloo being, in my opinion, the fountainhead of innovation for Canada) and I’m looking to accelerate what they’ve built.
Role of global Canadians in Canada’s innovation economy?
When Own the Podium was put together for Canada to win more gold medals than any other country, half the hockey players happened to have been working in the United States and it wasn’t a problem for any of us. Half of the other athletes competing in other events were amateur athletes at Universities and Colleges around the world, but they came together to prove that Canada belongs at the top of the podium.
That is what it will take for our collective success as a country. Bringing together the best of the best, no matter where they are, and we will all be better for that. Let’s find the Luc Levesques, and pull them out of Facebook to come to Shopify [story reference]. Does it matter where they are living? No. Does it matter that Andrew MacDonald (SVP, Mobility and Business Operations at Uber) and Nilam Ganenthiran (President at Instacart) run global businesses from Toronto? No. It matters that there is a strong team and culture behind a company. What matters is that global leaders are working together to make success happen.
Stay up to date on the latest from Chris and Communitech by following them on Twitter @chrisalbinson and @Communitech.
Article written by Lauren Howe, C100. Please provide any feedback to lhowe@thec100.org.
Toronto-born Atlee Clark is the Director of Operations for Shop, Shopify’s shopping assistant app and newest product, which connects the world’s shoppers and merchants. She has spent the last seven years at Shopify, building and scaling partnerships and products for the developer ecosystem. Prior to Shopify, Atlee served as the founding Executive Director of the C100.
About Backbone Angels
Backbone Angels is a collective of active angel investors focussed on accelerating diverse, ambitious, product and customer-centric founders. These investors have come together to invest in women and non-binary founders with a focus on investments in Black, Indigenous, and Women of Colour-led companies.
While the fund is founded in Canada, its ambitions are global.
Can you share with us more about the collective’s origin story?
We found each other at work. Over the last 6 years, we have all worked alongside each other building and scaling Shopify with a common mission to support more entrepreneurs. Our mission is to back diverse, ambitious, product and customer-centric founders and to see more women, specifically women of colour, on cap tables.
What types of founders and investments will Backbone Angels be targeting?
We invest in women and non-binary founders and prioritize investments in Black, Indigenous, and Women of Colour-led companies to support them in building the companies and economic prosperity of the future.
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