The BetaKit Podcast Channel

"We are in a time of the worst health care crisis we've seen in Canada. It is really close to a collapse of the system across the country." Brett Belchetz (Maple) and Alexandra Greenhill (Careteam Technologies) join to diagnose the failings of Canada's health care system before offering a prescription. How can innovators help? Can a balance be struck between public and private care? The doctors will see you now. Sponsored by Goodlawyer, your one-stop shop for all your corporate, commercial, and IP legal needs.

“That is a deeply unhealthy way to live and to work and it’s ultimately not a successful way to sustain a publication.” CANADALAND news editor Jonathan Goldsbie joins to discuss the rampant demise of digital media publications launched in the 2000s and how they compare to the slow death of traditional media. Advice for aspiring young journalists comes mixed with an investigation of the ideal media business model in 2023. Sponsored by Goodlawyer, your one-stop shop for all your corporate, commercial, and IP legal needs.  

"This announcement communicated two things: this thing we're getting rid of isn't primary to our mission—it's a side quest, we don't actually care about this; and we have a cultural problem at our company with who we've hired and what they're focused on." Madeline Stone, retail and e-commerce writer for Business Insider, joins to discuss the future of Shopify's "main quest" after cutting staff and selling off its logistics division. Co-hosts Rob & Doug then take over to discuss whether or not Shopify is the victim of Canada's tall poppy syndrome. Sponsored by Goodlawyer, your one-stop shop for all your corporate, commercial, and IP legal needs. 

"I don't necessarily know if the government understands what an innovation strategy is." Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI) president Ben Bergen joins to answer listener-submitted questions about: the Canada Innovation Corporation, open banking, SR&ED reform, and why the feds are so behind on so many innovation files. Warning: listening to this podcast could be hazardous to your health while playing any "innovation policy" drinking games. Sponsored by Goodlawyer, your one-stop shop for all your corporate, commercial, and IP legal needs.

"We have industrialized grift in a way that is kind of unprecedented in human history."   Canadian YouTuber Dan Olson (Folding Ideas) explains his battle against internet grifts, how his career changed after a viral video on NFTs, why Bill C-11 is a "legislative mess" and the future is a dead mall.   Sponsored by Goodlawyer.

"Once Apple showed up, BlackBerry had to do everything right and get on it on the double. And they did everything wrong." "And for whatever reason we thought, oh, there's something to this story that feels funny to us." Losing the Signal co-author Sean Silcoff and BlackBerry producer and co-writer Matthew Miller join to discuss Canada's former tech darling ahead of the forthcoming major motion picture release. Sponsored by Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP. Read the Deal Points Report: Venture Capital Financings.

"The goal here is not that Canada is the largest market for AI in the world—it's never going to be that. But if we make it the most willing to try new solutions, or to work with startups, that's where we might have an opportunity." Clément Bourgogne, Chief Operating Officer at Scale AI, joins to discuss Canada's limitations and opportunities when it comes to AI, and why his organization is more focused on supply chains than generative AI. Sponsored by Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP. Read the Deal Points Report: Venture Capital Financings.

"So this is the big pitch, right? There are all of these problems in the transport system; we are going to invent these new technologies that will solve it." Flavio Volpe (Project Arrow, APMA) and Paris Marx (Road to Nowhere) join for a conversation on electric vehicles (EVs) and what the future of transportation in Canada might look like. Sponsored by Osler, Hoskin and Harcourt LLP. Read the Deal Points Report: Venture Capital Financings.

"Nobody is cheering you on for reaching the top of Everest if you don't make it back down to base camp." Matt Cohen, Managing Partner at Ripple Ventures and host of the Tank Talks podcast, joins to unpack the complicated spot Canadian startups find themselves in. Sponsored by Osler, Hoskin and Harcourt LLP. Read the Deal Points Report: Venture Capital Financings.

"The [Canadian] venture ecosystem is never going to get to the right level of maturity if they constantly rely upon the taxpayer to provide them with the capital." Maverix Private Equity founder and Managing Partner John Ruffolo joins to answer listener questions on the fall of SVB, its impact on the Canadian venture debt market, regulatory capture by new federal bills, and how many VCCIs are too many. Sponsored by Osler, Hoskin and Harcourt LLP. Read the Deal Points Report: Venture Capital Financings.