The BetaKit Podcast Channel

"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.

"We're seeing way more women found new technology companies in the market than we did five years ago. By a magnitude—like three times. It's substantial."   Michelle Scarborough, Managing Partner of Thrive Venture Fund, explains the origins of BDC's $500 million commitment to women-led startups and funds, and the progress she's seen since 2017.

"We are in the midst of a new technological payola." Our Lady Peace's Raine Maida and Senator Colin Deacon join for a frank discussion about Big Tech's leverage over Canadian content as Parliament looks to pass new regulations in Bill C-11 and Bill C-18.

"Let's be blunt about it: we as a country are extremely good at invention ... we're horrible at innovation." Dan Breznitz, co-director of the Innovation Policy Lab at the University of Toronto, walks through the reasons for Canada's failure on innovation, the origins of the CIC, and who he thinks should be its first CEO.

"There is a special place in hell for investors who intentionally screw over their founders with no empathy for the journey or the challenges that they are going through." Panache Ventures partner Chris Neumann joins to answer listener questions about his blog writing, the state of Canadian accelerators, and what VCs are talking about. Sponsored by Invest Ottawa.