The Hard Part with Evan McCann

Jung Lee is the Head of Corporate Innovation Studio at Pioneer Square Labs. Jung's career has taken her across: Launching digital and mobile payments at Visa Launching Alexa Canada at Amazon Head of Partner Strategic Initiatives at AWSGlobal Head of Partnerships & Strategy at Wing. Wing is an Alphabet company focused on autonomous drone delivery We discussed Navigating the move from Canada to the US Lessons from Amazon and Alphabet - structure and innovation Launching new technologies in existing companies Business Development - keys to success AI in corporates - understanding and application. Working with corporates as a startup. Framework for idea validation. Finding the right corporate partners as a venture studio. Chapters 00:00 Navigating the Move: From Canada to the US 02:28 The Canadian Mindset: Risk-Taking and Exploration 04:49 Lessons from Amazon: Structure and Innovation 10:07 Launching New Technologies: The Wing Experience 14:15 Business Development: Keys to Success 19:15 Joining Pioneer Square Labs: A New Chapter 24:03 AI in Corporates: Understanding and Application 28:29 Models of Engagement: Working with Corporates 32:59 Framework for Idea Validation: A Unique Approach 36:31 Finding the Right Corporate Partners 40:55 Challenges in Venture Studios: What Goes Wrong? Keywords Canada, US, startups, business development, Amazon, AI, venture studios, corporate partnerships, innovation, entrepreneurship

Vincent Xue is the Co-Founder of Ivey Venture Capital Club and has done internships at Headline, Contrary, Global Founders Capital, Front Row Ventures, Portage and Julian Capital. Takeaways Why the early interest in VC compared to other classmates. How he landed his initial internships at top funds and tactics he used. His thoughts on networking and being scrappy. Creating the Ivy Venture Capital Club and making VC more accessible on campus. The importance of developing a personal brand through writing. He views venture as a young person's game, leveraging energy and enthusiasm. Building genuine relationships. Learning venture hands-on is critical fo success. Building community. The concept of "Talent Vortexes" Chapters 00:00 The Spark of Interest in Venture Capital 03:11 Navigating Early Career Opportunities 08:55 Building a Venture Capital Community 14:40 The Path to Venture Capital 20:45 Understanding the People Aspect of Venture 26:15 The Art of Writing in Venture 32:24 Curating Talent Vortexes 35:33 Personal Growth and Reflection Keywords venture capital, internships, networking, writing, talent, community, education, startups, personal development, early career

Christal Wang is the Co-Founder and CEO of Shimmer. Shimmer ADHD Coaching is the #1 coaching service for adults with ADHD, made for and by people with ADHD. You meet with an expert ADHD coach each week to set goals, learn skills, upgrade your routines, and stay accountable to real, sustainable change. Takeaways Chris's consulting background and foundational skills. Shimmer originated from her MBA and MPH at Berkeley and her dropping out! Going through YC. Pivoting in YC and learnings. Her ADHD diagnosis led to a new focus for Shimmer. The focus on ADHD coaching. Coaching complements medication, addressing skills and goals. Vetting coaches and the expanding market. Regulatory hurdles and navigating that. Building in SF. How she found her co-founder and built that relationship. Chapters 00:00 The Genesis of Shimmer 03:39 Navigating Pivots and Challenges 06:51 Understanding ADHD and Its Impact 09:24 The Coaching Landscape for ADHD 13:04 Vetting Coaches: Ensuring Quality 16:46 Sales Strategies and Market Dynamics 19:32 The Future of ADHD Coaching 21:40 Market Size and Neurodiversity 23:05 Measuring Success at Shimmer 24:20 Team Composition and Culture Building 25:33 Navigating Partnerships and Sales Channels 26:40 Regulatory Landscape for Coaching 28:31 Fundraising Insights and Strategies 31:05 Building a Network in the US 33:32 Co-Founder Dynamics and Relationships 36:01 Personal Growth and Learning 38:46 Coping with Challenges and Hard Times Keywords Shimmer, ADHD, coaching, mental health, entrepreneurship, pivots, fundraising, neurodiversity, consulting, healthcare

Lindy Drope, a Founding GTM team member at Lindy, shares her journey from Canada to San Francisco, including her experience navigating the O-1 visa process. She discusses the evolution of go-to-market strategies, emphasizing the shift from traditional methods to leveraging platforms like TikTok and Twitter. Lindy highlights how AI agents can dramatically enhance productivity and scalability for professionals. Her insights on balancing creativity with data-driven decisions offer a fresh perspective on modern tech challenges.

Nathan Nasseri is the Founder and CEO of ResVR. ResVR helps production home builders sell more upgrades with their industry-leading visualization platform. Takeaways Nathan's family background in home building inspired the creation of ResVR. The technology for home customization has existed for decades but is underutilized. Upgrades in home building can yield high margins for builders. Streamlining choices for buyers can reduce decision fatigue. Selling technology to builders can be challenging due to their risk aversion. High-quality visuals are crucial for user engagement in home buying. Pricing models should focus on providing value to builders. Raising money. Building a team. Chapters 00:00 The Genesis of ResVR: A Family Legacy 02:08 Innovating Home Buying: The Vision Behind ResVR 05:13 The Importance of Upgrades in Home Building 08:59 Streamlining Choices: Reducing Overwhelm for Buyers 11:07 Overcoming Hurdles: Selling to Builders 13:25 Ensuring High-Quality Visuals in Technology 15:13 User Experience: Balancing Complexity and Simplicity 19:02 Scaling and Onboarding: Building for Growth 21:24 Pricing Models: Finding the Right Fit 24:19 Navigating the Fundraising Landscape 27:51 Solo Foundership: Challenges and Insights 31:09 Expansion Plans: Looking Beyond Home Builders 33:50 Building a Team: Lessons in Leadership 36:56 Quickfire Round: Personal Insights and Reflections Keywords ResVR, home building, technology, upgrades, user experience, fundraising, solo founder, expansion, team building

Charlie Feng is the Co-Founder of Agora. Agora is the home of onchain governance. Deploy Agora today to run your protocol and community. Agora recently announced their $5M Seed funding from Haun Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, Balaji Srinivasan, Packy McCormick, Dan Romero and others. Takeaways Launching an AI chatbot startup in 2013 Learnings from scaling Clearbanc/Clearco. The "Clearco Mafia" that is developing. Learnings from hyperscaling with capital and headcount. Why web3 is a great space to be building in right now. Governance in web3. Why co-founder conflict is the biggest reason startups die and how to mitigate that. Charlie's thoughts on raising (Clearco raised ~$860M). Why Charlie is building in SF and why there are so many Canadians there. Chapters 00:00 Navigating the Early Days of AI Chatbots and Fintech 04:48 Lessons from Rapid Growth and Scaling 09:24 The Potential of Web3 and Open-Source Governance 15:55 The Importance of Trust and Transparency in Web3 23:10 The Rise of Canadian Tech Founders 25:28 Principles for Building a Successful Company 33:01 Running a Dedicated Fundraising Process 38:23 Building in San Francisco: Benefits and Challenges 41:39 The Power of a Support Network 44:38 Dealing with Hard Times: Exercise, Hobbies, and Founder Support Keywords AI chatbots, fintech, rapid growth, market navigation, culture, governance, Web3, trust, transparency, volatility, gambling, web3, building a company, team, de-risking, fundraising, San Francisco, support network, personal growth, professional growth

Liran Belenzon is the Co-Founder and CEO of BenchSci. BenchSci's mission is to exponentially increase the speed and quality of life-saving R&D to improve patients' health. They do this by applying cutting-edge AI to understand how disease biology works at scale throughout the drug discovery pipeline to solve the number one reason why drug discovery projects fail — getting the biology wrong. ASCEND, their disease biology GenAI platform, understands the entire history of biomedical experiments to create a scalable AI assistant for preclinical organizations. Takeaways The genesis story of BenchSci. Thoughts on commercialization and how to do it well. How Liran has scaled with the company as a leader and founder. Step changes in headcount. How BenchSci navigates in-person, remote and hybrid work. Liran's contrarian thoughts on raising money and how he has raised $200M+. Why you should only do investor updates for investors and not potential investors. How AI has changed over the last 8+ years of BenchSci's journey. Building a network as an immigrant founder. Scaling product offerings. Working and selling into big pharma and research teams. Hiring for BenchSci's unique intersection of AI and bio. Chapters 00:00 The Genesis of BenchSci 03:12 Navigating the Drug Discovery Landscape 05:47 Commercialization Challenges and Strategies 08:59 Scaling as a Founder 11:59 Remote Work Dynamics 14:51 Mastering the Fundraising Process 19:52 The Evolution of AI in Drug Discovery 23:12 Understanding the Drug Discovery Process 25:54 Building Trust with Researchers 28:50 Overcoming Networking Challenges 32:14 Scaling Product Offerings 35:01 Hiring for a Unique Intersection 36:57 Personal Reflections and Future Outlook Keywords BenchSci, drug discovery, AI, commercialization, startup, scaling, fundraising, remote work, biology, technology

Inara Lalani is the Co-Founder and CEO of FemTherapeutics. FemTherapeutics is a medical device company developing “Invisalign for Gynaecology”. Leveraging artificial intelligence and 3D Printing, their gynecology platform offers patient-specific intra-vaginal devices for common pelvic health conditions. FemTherapeutics is building the infrastructure to allow expansion into other pelvic health categories including menstruation and sexual wellness, labour and delivery, oncology, and more. Takeaways Spinning out from the McGill Surgical Innovation Program. The patent process for medtech companies. The gender gap in medical innovation. Regulatory hurdles for medical devices. Fundraising in the medtech space, particularly in Canada. How they are utilizing the "Invisalign model" for medical devices. Manufacturing medtech products and adhering to quality standards like ISO 13485. Importance of mentors and advisors. Commercialization strategies and GTM. Feedback loops in product development. Leveraging grants and NDF. Raising for femtech ventures in a male-dominated venture industry. Chapters 00:00 The Genesis of FemTherapeutics 02:27 Navigating the Patent Process 05:09 Addressing the Gender Gap in Medical Innovation 07:01 The Challenges of Hardware Development 10:00 Fundraising in MedTech 12:04 Invisalign Inspiration: Customization in Medical Devices 14:21 Early Adoption Strategies for Medical Devices 15:48 Manufacturing Considerations for Medical Devices 16:46 The Importance of Advisors and Mentors 18:06 Commercialization Strategies for Medical Devices 20:26 Understanding Reimbursement Processes 21:55 Team Composition for Success 23:33 Feedback Loops in Product Development 25:37 Leveraging Government Support and Grants 27:32 Navigating Investor Conversations 29:32 Personal and Professional Excitements 30:37 Coping with Challenges as a Founder Keywords FemTherapeutics, medical innovation, gender gap, patent process, fundraising, medical devices, commercialization, reimbursement, team composition, feedback loops

Marc-André Forget is the Founder and CEO of dcbel. dcbel develops technology and designs products that put people at the center of the modern energy ecosystem. dcbel Home Energy Station perfects the art and science of smart home energy, allowing people to take ownership of their energy supply with one small device. Homeowners can supply their homes and EVs with solar power, use vehicle-to-home charging to make power outages a thing of the past, and reduce energy costs with artificial intelligence. Takeaways Raising from Volvo, Coatue and Real Ventures. Starting dcbel over 10 years ago and how this technology wave was not obvious then. Nuances and challenges to building hardware in Canada. How a home energy station will be a future staple in all homes. A shift towards renewable energy and grid overloads has added more complexity to energy management in the home. The shift and change that will happen with utlities. Navigating regulatory hurdles and changes Manufacturing onshore versus offshore. Distribution channels for dcbel. Best geographies for dcbel. Chapters 00:00 The Genesis of dcbel 08:30 The Inevitable Shift Towards Renewable Energy 14:58 The Future of Energy Management 27:16 The Global Impact of dcbel 36:56 Navigating the Challenges of Being a Founder Keywords Decibel, energy management, home energy station, renewable energy, complexity, accessibility

Jonathan Wolkin, Managing Director of Deloitte Ventures, dives into the dynamic world of corporate venture capital. He discusses the growth of important verticals like fintech and worktech in Canada. Wolkin highlights why corporate venture capital is less mature in Canada than in the U.S. and shares insights on building successful relationships within Deloitte. He also reveals strategies for being an effective board member and emphasizes the significance of technology in enhancing healthcare.