Guy Kawasaki on innovating ‘the next big thing’

👋 Good morning, and welcome to (or welcome back to) VTJ’s Sunday Briefing: your weekly digest of the city’s innovation news, deals, insights, and more.

This coming week, you can find myself and the rest of the VTJ team — Alissa and Toki — at INNOVATEwest. Having missed out on last week’s coffee meetup, we’re excited to re-connect with as many of you as possible to chat all things innovation, along with potential ideas and opportunities for stories and collaborations.

Now onto today’s briefing. It’s 987 words: a four-min. read.

-Lisa

🗞️ FROM VTJ

See more stories at VanTechJournal.com 

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🤝 FUNDING & DEALS

• LOI Venture placed a $100K follow-up investment in Reusables, the Vancouver-based platform for food operators to reduce packaging costs and achieve sustainability goals.

• Weave VC is leading a seed round of funding in RetreatsandVenues, the North Vancouver-based and world’s largest platform for booking venues for corporate retreats and off-sites.

• COAST and Spring is reminding early-stage blue economy startups that the deadline to apply to their pitch competition for a chance to win $10K in cash is April 15.

• Hootsuite acquired analytics firm, Talkwalkers, the AI-powered social analytics platform, for an undisclosed amount to to expand its social media monitoring and analytics tools.

• Ecoation Innovative Solutions, which designs and develops agricultural tech, was awarded $380K as the grand prize winner of the Deep Space Food Challenge.

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Check out how The HTFG can help, or reach out to Alain, Blair, Kevin or Andre from The HTFG.

The Tech Industry Social hosted by The HTFG & VTJ is coming up on Thursday, April 25, at FUNK Coffee Bar. Please stop by and enjoy a drink, courtesy of The HTFG. Register here.

🗞️ IN OTHER NEWS

• Wayve, the UK-based AV startup backed by Microsoft and Virgin, is opening a new office in Vancouver to expand its research and development operations.

• Cognito, the BC-based integrated care team offering specialized programs for anxiety, depression, insomnia, and ADHD, officially launched its services in Ontario.

• Spring launched its ‘Intro to VC Fund’ investing program to help investors prepare to become a limited partner in a VC fund and make fund investing more accessible.

• Kenneth Ip, Vancouver director of FoundersBoost, the accelerator program for pre-seed stage startups, announced the six startups that will join its seventh cohort.

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💡 IDEAS & INSIGHTS

• Leon Ng, founder of Proxima HQ, the Vancouver-based all-in-one real estate marketing platform, shared highlights from the Yi-Ping Collective Trailblazer Series’ entrepreneurs panel featuring the founders behind Pixieset, Vessi Footwear, and Rove Concepts.

• Hamed Arbabi, co-founder of VoPay, the Vancouver-based payment processor, opened up about his journey in bootstrapping the company and insights and advice for entrepreneurs looking to raise capital.

• Shelly Bardai, director at RBCx, attended our ‘Adopting AI in Business’ event in partnership with Fasken and shared takeaways on how to leverage generative AI to scale, develop better products, and create efficiency.

• Sam Naylor, chief of staff at Deloitte and venture partner at Chasing Rainbows, was interviewed on a podcast about unlocking VC and investment into Canada's LGBTQ+ community.

• Hiring women does more than tick a diversity checkbox. Diverse technical teams build more inclusive products, achieve greater business results and establish stronger relationships. Book a partnership call to learn more about hiring Toast-worthy talent.*

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👀 CAN’T MISS

April 16 | Vancouver Tech Morning Coffee (back to WeWork on Main): ​Ease into the week with new connections and fresh ideas and inspiration by meeting with the VTJ team and community through our weekly meetup series.
➡️ Register

April 17 | Secret Patio Tech Party: ​Join some of Vancouver’s and a few global notable founders, VCs and other investors, and techies for a rare gathering on a stunning patio in the heart of Vancouver. Expect to enjoy a relaxing evening while making new connections.
➡️ Register

April 24 | #VTJTalks: Succeeding in Cybersecurity: Navigating the Modern AI Era: ​In an era of rapid digital evolution, safeguarding your business is essential. Learn invaluable insights and must-know strategies to elevate your cybersecurity approach from leading experts at Edge Telecom, Telarus, Dialpad, and Ntirety.
➡️ Register

April 25 | Tech Industry Social by VTJ x CBRE's HTFG (venue changed to Bentall Centre – FUNK Coffee Bar): Join the VTJ team and partner CBRE as ​we bring together a collection of Vancouver’s tech founders and leaders for networking, deal-making, and just plain old catching up.
➡️ Register

May 8 | TechExit.io: Learn the ins and outs of how your tech company can prepare to be ‘M&A ready’ through connecting with seasoned experts and hearing the biggest acquisition success stories. Register by the early bird deadline, April 11, and you can use our 25% discount code: VTJ25.
➡️ Register

VTJ Members get early access and discounts to all our events. Don’t miss out.

👋 YOUR COMMUNITY

🗣 Online

Join 1,000+ people in our VTJ Slack and connect with others in the community. Reply back if you need an invite!

🤝 At the office

Job hunting? See 50+ roles open right now on VancouverTechJobs.com 

Hiring? Post your job today.

🗓️ In real life

See our local community calendar at VancouverTechEvents.com.

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