The BetaKit Podcast Channel

“I sometimes feel like Canada needs to up [its] risk-taking ability.” "It's the latest shiny thing that a lot of people are running after." "Markets are now audiences. Your competitive moat is your community."   Canadian tech luminaries brave tornados and beanbag chairs to discuss renewed due diligence, DEI, and AI's impact on investment theses in this compilation of interviews recorded live at Startupfest.   Featuring: David Nault (Luge), Sue Umapathy (RBCx), Shambhavi Mishra (Antler), Brittany Charlton (Ohh Foods), Nicolas Du Parc (Fonds FTQ), and The Crolls (Startupfest).

"I don't think our entrepreneurs are not risk takers; I just don't think our culture is set up to accept those risk takers." It's a Canadian tech summer vibe check as the gang answers submitted listener questions: on the low government trust battery in the wake of another cabinet shuffle, cleantech tax credit delays, and a Hypergrowth program designed to pick winners; whether or not Canada can handle 10,000 H-1B visa applicants given our national housing crisis; and yes, whether or not Canadian entrepreneurs are taking risks and solving big problems. We also reveal our wardrobe and video game picks to ensure a Hot Tech Summer. Sponsored by Dynabook. Make smart business moves with Dynabook Tecra A40 & A50 laptops.

"For a lot of Indigenous storytellers, there's a lot of interest in those [tech] platforms, because those entities haven't said no to our community for 50 years." Indigenous content creators are caught between a rock and a hard place with the Online Streaming Act and the Online News Act—it's sadly familiar territory. Award-winning Anishinaabe writer, broadcaster, and arts leader Jesse Wente joins to evaluate the options offered by Big Tech, traditional media, and the Canadian government before providing strong prescriptions better suited to the situation. Sponsored by Dynabook. Make smart business moves with Dynabook Tecra A40 & A50 laptops.

"The BetaKit Podcast is very much a pro-dog podcast." Dr. Theresa Johnson (Airbnb), Harper Reed (General Galactic Corporation), and Neha Khera (2048 Ventures) join for a wide-ranging conversation on shooting particles at satellites (for science!), founder-market fit, working for Barack Obama, when to quit, shutting down your company, angel and early-stage investing, and building jetpacks for dogs (for science!). Recorded in front of a live audience on the main stage of Startupfest 2023. Sponsored by Palette Skills.

"The crux of the Girlboss movement's problem is that it wants women to behave more like men and the answer is for men to behave more like women at scale."   Elizabeth Holmes is now in jail, her imprisonment signalling a clear end to the Girlboss Era. Chelsea Fagan (The Financial Diet) joins to discuss what killed the Girlboss, the cynicism and superficiality behind the term, and the need for better public archetypes of entrepreneurship for women—and especially men.   Sponsored by Palette Skills.

"People in Canada are at their wits' end about areas of our economy having a lack of competition and how it impacts their pocketbook." The Competition Bureau is the last line of defence for enforcing competition law in Canada. But our system is designed so that the line keeps moving. Commissioner of Competition Matthew Boswell joins to discuss the tools and powers that would help his Bureau prevent Canada's economy from becoming an endless series of three companies in a trench coat. Sponsored by Palette Skills.

"Something else that's unique about the Calgary ecosystem...we're hungry. We're really, really hungry." James Lochrie (Thin Air Labs) and Brett Colvin (Goodlawyer) join for an Alberta tech vibe check, discussing the recent election, big Q1 2023 funding news, and the value of community building. Sponsored by Palette Skills. Apply now for a transformative 6-week tech sales training program.

"Unfortunately, there's a long history over the last decade that I tend to lean into controversies around any event that we're holding anywhere in the world, especially four weeks out, because the volume of tickets that are booked locally is highest in the final weeks." BetaKit's one-on-one interview with Web Summit CEO Paddy Cosgrave on the eve of Collison 2023 after the tech conference announced a (one-year) return to Toronto for 2024. Sponsored by Goodlawyer, your one-stop-shop for all your corporate, commercial, and IP legal needs.

"They're trying to invent the next product category—that's what they want to do. They want to have some sort of hardware to push into the future. They just haven't convinced me that this really is the future yet." Apple just announced the most impressive—and expensive—AR/VR/MR device ever made. But who is the device for and how will they use it? MobileSyrup editor-in-chief Patrick O'Rourke joins to answer these questions fresh off of strapping Apple's spacial computer to his face. Sponsored by Goodlawyer, your one-stop shop for all your corporate, commercial, and IP legal needs.

Is Collision staying in Toronto (and for how much)? Is Collision coming to Vancouver? Why are Canada's governments paying foreign companies to compete against local events? Are we a branch plant innovation ecosystem? Do we secretly believe we can't do it ourselves?   Did Collision ban journalists at The Logic from attending? Is BetaKit filled with 'scumbag journalists?'   People across Canada are asking questions about Collision. The answers say a lot about Canadian tech.   Sponsored by Goodlawyer, your one-stop shop for all your corporate, commercial, and IP legal needs.   Reference links:   Mayor Tory’s departure, competing bids, and financial pressure on province and feds place Collision’s future in Canada in doubt With Collision nearing a one-year Toronto extension, efforts are mounting for a West Coast alternative Good riddance, Collision tech conference and its $40-million ask. Canada can do better Letter from the editor: An update for readers on The Logic and Collision Paddy Cosgrave's invitation tweet