Avoid these common entrepreneurial pitfalls

Plus, have you considered nominating yourself for a Foresight Cleantech Award?

Emily Edwards
February 05, 2025

👋 Welcome back to VTJ’s Midweek Memo: the Vancouver tech events and opportunities newsletter you can’t miss.

This week, hear firsthand from experienced and successful entrepreneurs on how to navigate business in these turbulent times, nominate a company (or yourself!) for a cleantech award, or apply to work as a product manager at Unbounce.

VTJ EVENTS

#VTJTalks: The Global Risk Playbook: Insights for Tech Founders

🗓️ Wednesday, February 26 | 🎟️ Register

For Vancouver entrepreneurs and leaders, this event is your guide to navigating the challenges of 2025.
With Canadian political shifts, a brash new U.S. government under Donald Trump, and global uncertainty fueled by AI disruptions, inflation, and evolving supply chains, the stakes have never been higher for tech leaders.
Hear from experts in global affairs, venture investing, and startup growth — including experienced founders and advisors. They’ll share strategies to manage risk, seize opportunities, and build resilient businesses in turbulent times.
Get your early-bird tickets before they sell out.

🚨 Not yet a member? 🚨

🚨 Remember: VTJ members get early access and 50% off all our events. Don’t miss out — become a member now.

Big deals. Big names. Big opportunities.

On February 25, Geordie Rose, Jack Newton, Greg Malpass, and other top tech entrepreneurs will share the insider playbook on navigating acquisitions, structuring deals, and negotiating like a pro. Connect with Canada’s top founders and investors — because when opportunity knocks, you want to be ready.

OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS

All-Data Any-AI Integration: Innovations with FME and Google

🗓️ Wednesday, February 12 | 🎟️ Register

Come and see firsthand how Google combines its expertise in managing spatial data with the integration power of FME.
Join this webinar featuring special guest speakers Josh Venman from Google and Oliver Morris from Tensing as it explores:
- Google’s spatial data innovations
- Gemini AI agent in action
- Real-world results with FME
- The future of data pipelines

Trailblazers' Tales: Lessons from Seasoned Entrepreneurs

🗓️ Thursday, February 13 | 🎟️ Register

Are you an entrepreneur looking to learn from the best? Or someone dreaming of starting your own business? This is the event you’ve been waiting for.
Get ready to hear firsthand stories from successful entrepreneurs about their highs, lows, and everything in between. This event is designed to help you learn from their experiences, gain actionable insights, and avoid common pitfalls on your entrepreneurial journey.

Reverse Pitch — Meet Your Next Investor

🗓️ Tuesday, February 18 | 🎟️ Register

This isn’t your average pitch session. In this dynamic, interactive event, the spotlight is on investors — who will speak to you.
Are you gearing up to raise your first, second, or even third round of investment capital? Struggling to navigate the ever-changing venture capital vs angel vs grant landscape? Wondering what it takes to stand out and secure that all-important "yes" from investors? And why you keep hearing about shred (SR&ED)?
Your investors aren’t just funders — they’re strategic partners who will help guide your journey to growth and scale. In today’s volatile market, where investor terms often set the tone, building these critical relationships has never been more important.

Turn Anonymous Website Visitors Into Customers With Our AI BDR

Stop letting anonymous site traffic slip away. Our AI BDR Ava identifies individuals on your website without them providing any contact information and autonomously enrolls them into multi-channel sequences.

She operates within the Artisan platform, which consolidates every tool you need for outbound:

300M+ High-Quality B2B Prospects, including E-Commerce and Local Business Leads
Automated Lead Enrichment With 10+ Data Sources
Full Email Deliverability Management
Multi-Channel Outreach Across Email & LinkedIn
Human-Level Personalization
Convert warm leads into your next customers.

Hire Ava to slash costs & boost productivity.

🤝 NEW OPPORTUNITIES

Vancouver Takeover at SXSW

🗓️ Ongoing | Apply

Join Frontier Collective at SXSW conference 2025 and take your startup to the global stage. With $600M+ in deals and investment from their previous year’s Takeover, Frontier Collective is bringing startups, VIPs, networkers, and investor connections to SXSW from March 7 to 15.
Find out more about what the organization is looking for in an application.

Canadian Cleantech Awards

🗓️ February 20 | Apply

Nominate a company (or yourself!) for a Canadian Cleantech Award, a celebration of the outstanding contributions of individuals, companies, and organizations driving innovation, sustainability, and economic growth in Canada’s cleantech sector.

CICE February 2025 Call for Innovation

🗓️ Ongoing | Apply

Apply for investment that can help scale and commercialize your B.C. innovation. Non-dilutive funding will be awarded to projects in low carbon bio- and synthetic-fuels, battery and energy storage, low carbon hydrogen, and carbon management.

SPONSORED BY THE HIGH TECHNOLOGY FACILITIES GROUP

Are your office needs changing? Connect with The High Technology Facilities Group at CBRE – the Vancouver team representing BC’s startup and unicorn companies, to find workspaces that drive productivity, attract talent and create culture.

🤝 VANCOUVER TECH JOBS

Whether you're looking for a dream role or a dream employee, Vancouver Tech Jobs has you covered, with open jobs including:

Safe Software is hiring an account manager II
Capilano University is hiring a manager, student and academic solutions
Motorola is hiring a product manager
Lululemon is hiring an operations specialist, Ecommerce
Unbounce is hiring a product manager, builder

Growing your team? Post a job with us »

👋 YOUR COMMUNITY

🗣 VTJ Community Slack | Can’t make it to any in-person events? Network and chat with your friendly neighbourhood tech professionals using our dedicated Slack.

🤝 Vancouver Tech Jobs board | Looking for work? Looking for your next hire?

🗓️ Vancouver Tech Events Calendar | All local events in one place.

💪 Become a VTJ Corporate Member | Get your brand in front of thousands of tech professionals, investors, decision makers, and leaders. Get in touch today.

📱 Stay connected with VTJ | Twitter and LinkedIn.

Avoid these common entrepreneurial pitfalls

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