Someone reminded me this week that work (and life) is about the journey, not the destination. But when you’re on that journey, it can sometimes be hard to pause, look at how high you’ve climbed, and take a moment to appreciate the view. I finally did that this week.
Building Vancouver Tech Journal has always been about you — our community — and from halfway up our metaphorical mountain, I wanted to share some stats about how far we’ve come together.
- More than 22,000 Vancouver tech and business professionals subscribe to Vancouver Tech Journal. That’s a pretty big community you’re part of!
- Nearly 300 of you are members. It’s an honour to be in your inboxes every day, and make sure you don’t miss a headline in the Vancouver ecosystem. (If you’re not a member already, I’d recommend checking out the other awesome perks you get too!)
- You’ve joined us for the more than 100 events we’ve run. (I tried to add up how many of our community has attended, but my calculator app genuinely wouldn’t let me input enough values.)
- You’ve read the hundreds of job listings we’ve run on our job board, to help find the best fit for your future.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you for being part of Vancouver Tech Journal’s journey so far. Our goal from the start has been to bring local professionals together and provide you with the most complete coverage of what’s happening in our rocketing ecosystem. It’s a privilege to grow alongside you. And remember: if you want to reach out, my inbox is always open at [email protected].
Alright, enough mushy stuff from me. Let’s go onto today’s briefing! It’s 1,030 words: a three-minute read.
-Kate, @KateWilsonSays
P.S. If someone else sent you this, you can subscribe right here, right now. If you’re already subscribed, consider becoming a member:
Fintech company Levr.ai raises $1M pre-seed
Investors include B.C.-based firms Weave, Red Thread, AC100, and Mavan Capital. Start reading »
Federal and provincial governments invest $7.5 million in B.C. cleantech
The funding supports the launch of Foresight Canada’s BC Net Zero Innovation Network to scale natural resources tech. Start reading »
Hiive wants to bring transparency to the private equity secondary market
The bootstrapped company hopes to register its trading platform in Canada soon. Start reading »
The largest Vancouver UX-focused awards you haven’t heard of
We sat down with committee member Terence Sawtell to get the backstory on the local organization celebrating the local UX community. Start reading »
Hot or Not for 2023? Investing predictions from an angel investor
Maninder Dhaliwal, managing partner at the Startup Studio Accelerator and Venture Fund, shares her bets on which industries will be scooping up cash this year. Start reading »
An oversubscribed round for Vancouver venture capital
Read our top member briefing from last week. Get started »
Find, keep, and grow the right people
Hiring, training, and retaining great talent can be hard, but it doesn’t have to be. When people become a pain point, Reimagine Work offers flexible retainer support providing the experience of a team of senior people and operations (HR) pros without the senior-level salary.
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🤝 Funding and deals
Absolute Software, a provider of self-healing, intelligent security solutions, announced new commercial agreements with Aranda Software and IMTLazarus to provide Absolute’s technology as a service. Learn more »
Modern Meat, a portfolio company of Modern Plant-Based Foods, has received a government grant for research and development costs towards it's new Vegan Seafood project. Learn more »
The TELUS Pollinator Fund for Good invested in local healthtech company GotCare. Continue »
CycurID Technologies, a Vancouver-based digital identity management and cybersecurity firm, announced its partnership with Blockchain Intelligence Group. Learn more »
BuildDirect, a building material retailer, signed a USD $350,000 contract with a North American real estate investment company. Learn More »
For all the week’s Vancouver funding news, including Airswift, Fintel, TGS, Datable, and more, become a Vancouver Tech Journal member »
🍻 TUESDAY: Founder and Scaleup Drinks With Fort Capital’s Cameron Burke | February 7
- Join our friends at The Home Key to get insights about accelerating growth and scaling companies from concept to exit.
- This month's fireside keynote is with Cameron Burke, a partner focused on technology at Fort Capital, and one of Western Canada's most experienced operator-turned-advisors.
- Use code vtjnetwork for 30% off your ticket
🗞️ In other news
Sentire and OneCup AI have been selected by SVG Ventures-Thrive, a global food and agriculture venture firm based in Silicon Valley, for its second Canada Accelerator Cohort. Thrive »
Clio announced the company’s international expansion to Australia. Learn more »
Damus, a decentralized social networking Web3 app to rival Twitter, was recently launched by Vancouver-based engineer William Casarin. Techcrunch »
For all local news and our daily coverage, become a Vancouver Tech Journal member »
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💡 Ideas and insights
George Kondopulos and Marc Low of KPMG Vancouver used Vancouver Tech Journal’s research and summarized a panel with a handful of top tech entrepreneurs in Canada: Talking with unicorns
Vincent Clerc, vice president of engineering at Terramera, muses on the ethics of conversational AI. LinkedIn »
Elliot Chan, digital marketing manager at Produce8, writing on his organization’s blog: Understanding the leading and lagging indicators of employee burnout
Angela Tran, general partner at Version One Ventures, writes about why and what she’s investing in amidst the economic headwinds: Why now? Getting to the core of any investment
David Katz, founder of Plastic Bank, shares how his company solves plastic pollution by enabling plastic as currency. Watch on YouTube »
👋 Before you go…
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