The discussion dives into the drastic shift in developer hiring, highlighting a post-pandemic buyer's market. It examines the impact of automation on job roles and the notable decline in junior positions. The conversation also touches on funding challenges faced by clean tech initiatives, particularly with changes to the Alberta investor tax credit. Insights are shared on strategic investments in evolving economic landscapes, as well as the competitive pressures from U.S. funding that affect Canadian startups.

“I deeply want to solve the challenges in education. I think what we have is a current educational system is really not working.” Mobius Math Club co-founder Steven Woods (ex-Eloqua, Oracle, and Benevity) explains how video games are actually a great educational tool, and why taking venture capital won’t help him scale. Original air date: March 31, 2024. Presented by Mantle: next-level equity management, powered by AI. Visit withmantle.com/betakit to get started with your first 12 months free.

“To be competitive with American startups—or Israeli startups, or European startups—we need that push. That push … comes with a bureaucratic cost, because the government wants to know what's happening with their money.”  MAIN Executive Director Louis-Felix Binette joins live from Startupfest in Montréal to discuss the state of tech entrepreneurship in the city and province, including Québec Tech’s new name and mission. Presented by Mantle: next-level equity management, powered by AI. Visit withmantle.com/betakit to get started with your first 12 months free.

"When we unveiled the company and the product to the world, the hope was 'people are going to be excited.' Or maybe we're completely wrong." Can a ragtag team of ex-BlackBerry employees and fanboys bring mobile keyboards back with Clicks? Clicks' Kevin Michaluk (CrackBerry) and Jeff Gadway (BlackBerry) join to explain what prompted them to build an iPhone keyboard in 2024. The answer may surprise you as much as the gadget's target customer. Presented by Float, co-hosts of In the Black: Building Enduring Businesses. Learn what’s top of mind for Canada’s fastest-growing companies, including Xanadu, Wealthsimple, and Float.

Jolt Capital's Jean Schmitt discusses why Canada's tech scene attracted their deep tech PE firm, emphasizing the vast opportunities for investment in the country. The podcast explores the data-driven decision to establish their North American HQ in Montreal, the trend of Canadian pension funds investing in local deep tech firms, and the role of deep tech investments in post-COVID economies. Schmitt highlights the importance of strategic investments, collaborations with local investors, and retaining Canadian talent for global scaling.

“Is this Collision, is this RISE, is this Web Summit? I’m very confused.” Web Summit co-host Casey Lau joins the podcast from the show floor of the last Collision to evaluate its impact, what Web Summit Vancouver will do for the city, and what the reimagined tech conference might look like when it arrives next year. Presented by Mantle: next-level equity management, powered by AI. Visit withmantle.com/betakit to get started with your first 12 months free.

"OpenAI has nothing to lose and Apple had to move. They are the last player in this space, they had to do something." The gang reviews the latest announcements from Apple’s WWDC event, including a major partnership with OpenAI, before handing out grades for Big Tech’s AI progress. Also evaluated: whether or not Apple killed any tech companies this week, 1Password included. Presented by Mantle: next-level equity management, powered by AI. Visit withmantle.com/betakit to get started with your first 12 months free.

CEO of Lightspeed, Dax Dasilva, discusses the company's journey to $1 billion in revenue, succession planning, growth challenges, financial services for SaaS companies, evolving CEO roles, communication strategies, and sustainability initiatives.

“We’re not in the business of selling food, we’re in the business of behaviour change.” New School Foods founder Chris Bryson joins to discuss his plans to commercialize a pet R&D project into a Canadian plant-based meat competitor. Can he do the impossible better than... Impossible? The BetaKit Podcast is presented by Innovate BC: a Crown Agency of the Province of British Columbia. Visit innovatebc.ca to learn more about Innovate BC’s programs, initiatives and ongoing work across British Columbia’s innovation ecosystem.

“We’ve been offered or at least suggested, ‘Why don’t you move your headquarters to the US?’ The only way we’ll move our headquarters outside of Toronto or Canada is if I get fired.” Christian Weedbrook, CEO and founder of Xanadu, joins to discuss his optimism in building a quantum unicorn in Canada, his hope of raising an all-Canadian round, and how it will help him get one step closer to a quantum data centre. Presented by the Master of Business Administration in Technology Leadership (Tech MBA) at Schulich School of Business. Gain a Competitive Edge. Design the future with Schulich’s Tech MBA.