🏙️ To plunge or not to plunge?

I actually kinda like the feeling of a cold plunge. Sure, the first seconds suck. But you get used to it. And the feeling of completing one is a nice physical- and mental-health double whammy. There’s actually been some Twitter chatter that the next VTJ Live event will be broadcast from a cold plunge tub, which would be… interesting.

Cold plunge or no cold plunge, you’re not going to want to miss this one. It’s your chance to hang with Sahil Bloom and Andrew Wilkinson | presented by Thinkific at the Vancouver Playhouse. You’re set for an in-depth conversation on strategies for scaling businesses, escaping from the daily grind, and leveraging frameworks to live a healthier, wealthier life — and tickets are on sale now.

Grab a ticket

Now onto today’s briefing. It’s 963 words: a four-minute read.

-James, @jimmermatthews

Keeping up with Clio

The legaltech unicorn, which announced its first practice-specific tool this week, is showing no signs of slowing down.

B.C. government invests $7.8 million in local life sciences

The funding will be deployed in a trio of projects across Metro Vancouver.

Playing to our strengths

My takeaways from our latest #vtjtalks event. Members-only content.

Step into an awards time machine

Look back at the previous winners of two of the local tech community's grandest accolades.

🤝 Funding and deals:

• VodaSafe won the $125,000 grand prize in TELUS’ #standwithowners initiative.

• UrbanLogiq is working with business districts in the City of Toronto and New York City.

• GameOn partnered with LaLiga, one of professional soccer’s grandest leagues.

• Digital creator kennysgifs linked up with Makeship to launch a plush toy.

🗞️ In other news:

• Trulioo released the findings of its September 2023 Global Know Your Business Survey.

• RainStick was featured in The Suburban’s breakdown of appliances for the modern home.

• Local founders Asha Wheeldon of KULA Foods and Jasmine Byrne of Big Mountain Foods were named 2023 VWS Pathfinder Top 10 Finalists.

• WeDoLaundry celebrated its fifth birthday with an expansion to Calgary.

• Moment Energy became the first and only company in North America to be certified by UL Solutions to UL 1974.

🏓 TechPong 2023 | Oct. 19

• Grab your paddles cause it's on like ping pong: Vancouver's ultimate party with a purpose is back and bigger than ever.

• Charitable Impact presents the highly anticipated return of TechPong, where Vancouver’s tech and business communities unite for an epic ping pong tournament in the name of raising funds for charity.

• The first 10 readers to register at this link will receive a free ticket

💡 Ideas and insights:

• Chris Neumann, general partner of Panache Ventures, writing on his personal blog: Things I Think I Think: Q3 2023

• Jack Newton, the CEO and founder of Clio, writing on his company’s blog: Introducing Clio for personal injury firms: a letter from Jack Newton

• Nina Bader — manager of B.C. ecosystems at Foresight — writing on Medium: How running transformed my world

• Shir Fomin, senior demand generation manager at Resolve, writing on Yield Exchange’s blog: Deposit insurance: a strong case for diversification

💼 Take your career to the next level

• There are hundreds of Vancouver tech businesses searching for talent, including Airble, New Ventures BC, BC Public Service, Lululemon, and Amazon.

• Check out who else is hiring on our Vancouver Tech Job Board »

• Growing your team? Post a job with us »

🙋 Join your online community

Did you know you can connect with your tech community using our dedicated VTJ Slack? We know not all of you can get to our events in person, so this is your chance to network and chat with your friendly neighbourhood tech professionals from the comfort of your home. Join your VTJ Community Slack now.

👋 Before you go…

If you’ve made it all the way to the end of this newsletter, you must be really into tech news. Us too! In fact, we love it so much that we’re growing the Tech Journal family. We’re launching a new publication, Canadian Tech Journal, which will uncover and amplify the most compelling tech stories and insights from across the country. Want to be the first to get in on the action? Join the waitlist to subscribe now.