The Canadian tech evolution: what Ive witnessed as a founder

The tech industry in Canada has undergone radical changes in the last decade. As a founder of a seven-year-old startup, Ive been witness to the evolution of the landscape from a primordial soup of funding, leadership and opportunity to a thriving ecosystem making a major impact on the global stage.

With an improved funding environment, a tipping point in cloud technology adoption, and a rich pool of talent to choose from, our tech scene is growing at an unprecedented rate. Canadian companies are quickly gaining a reputation around the world, and startups grown at home now have access to many of the same resources as their Silicon Valley peers.

FUNDING LANDSCAPE

I had the unfortunate timing of starting a new business in 2007. If I had any idea of what the fundraising climate was going to be like in those early days, Im not sure if I would have embarked on the journey. But as they say, ignorance is bliss.

In the winter of 2008, the tech industry was hit hard in the economic meltdown. Many in the industry referred to that period of time as a nuclear winter for funding. It was a tough time for startups around the world trying to gain traction.

Renowned angel investor Ron Conway famously sent bleak instruction to the CEOs of his portfolio companies detailing how to survive the downturn, and leading Silicon Valley-based VC firm Sequoia Capital held an emergency meeting to deliver similar advice to its startups.

We took much of this advice and battened our hatches. We managed to make it through that period with a few battle scars, but overall stronger because we had to learn to do a lot with very little.

The recovery from the crash was not the only hurdle to overcome. Canada had a regulatory environment, namely Section 116 of our tax code, that made it cost-prohibitive for international venture capital firms to invest in Canadian companies. Even if investors had funds to give, we werent getting access because of these restrictions. However, this all changed in 2009, when Section 116 was removed in a bid to get Canadian companies the resources they need to stay competitive in global markets.

Since then, U.S. venture capitalists have already invested over $700 million in over 30 technology companies associated with the C100, a non-profit that connects Canadian entrepreneurs with Silicon Valley. At Clio, weve seen the impact of both the improved tax code and the thriving technology environment first-hand: over the last three years weve raised over $27-million, with Bessemer Venture Partners, a $1.6-billion Silicon Valley fund thats taken more than 100 companies to IPO, leading our latest round.

TIPPING POINT OF CLOUD ADOPTION

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The Canadian tech evolution: what Ive witnessed as a founder