"It's just a series of faceplants, misfires, and nothingburgers." Jim Balsillie and Dan Breznitz give Canada a failing grade on innovation policy. So how does COVID-19 present new opportunities for Canadian companies? Audio used with permission from a recent panel conversation hosted by the Innovation Policy Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy (full remarks here). Moderated by BetaKit Associate Editor Meagan Simpson. Sponsored by the #CIBCInnovationEconomy podcast. Produced with support from TWG.

"They're not even saying, 'we're no longer shooting'. My customers are going out of business. They're asking for refunds." Set Scouter CEO and founder Alex Kolodkin shares how his company responded when one side of its two-sided marketplace disappeared overnight. Sponsored by the #CIBCInnovationEconomy podcast. Produced with support from TWG.

"We called it Canada's lost tech IPO boom." The Globe and Mail technology reporter Sean Silcoff wrote at the beginning of the year that "private is the new public." We invited him on the podcast to explain how 2020 turned into the year of the Canadian tech IPO. Sponsored by the #CIBCInnovationEconomy podcast. Produced with support from TWG.

"Startups have to move fast for survival, but larger corporations have to move fast for survival as well these days." Whitney Sales, sales mentor and GP at SaaS accelerator Acceleprise, joins to explain how the spring sales freeze thawed in late summer, and what startups can do now to get ready for the new year. Sponsored by Cisco Designed. Produced with support from TWG.

"We're very keen to create this global standard for FinTech companies." Lord Mayor of the City of London, William Russell, joins to discuss his recently completed trade mission to convince Canadian investors and startups that the UK is open for business. Black Swan evaluates the sales pitch. Sponsored by Cisco Designed. Produced with support from TWG.

"You're seeing folks from Brazil, India, China really consider Canada as an option." The US has suspended the H1B visa allowing high-skilled tech workers to enter the country. What does Canada have to lure foreign tech talent here? Billboards and the Global Skills Strategy. Benjamin Bergen, Executive Director, Council of Canadian Innovators, joins to explain. Sponsored by Cisco Designed. Produced with support from TWG.

"UP is back! Ish." Leaders from Symend, Vendasta, Bold Commerce, and 54e Dev Studios join in a discussion on hiring, onboarding, and scaling culture pre- and mid-pandemic. Recorded at UPish 2020. Sponsored by Cisco Designed. Produced with support from TWG.

"Did we vet these questions?" Black Swan producer Kattie Laur joins the gang to help answer some incredibly detailed listener questions about the recent Throne Speech, cleantech investing, and what Hootsuite doesn't understand about 2020. Sponsored by the A.I. Meets World podcast. Produced with support from TWG.

“Within the span of a week or two, it went from ‘I’m prepping for demo day’ to ‘holy shit, go raise whatever you can.'" Lilia founder and CEO Alyssa Atkins explains how her Y Combinator experience changed due to the pandemic, and provides advice for entrepreneurs now facing remote accelerators. Produced with support from TWG.

"If students don't go to university, we don't have a business." Mike Silagadze, co-founder and CEO of Canadian EdTech startup Top Hat, joins for a candid conversation on the state of post-secondary education in North America while explaining how his company went from massive fundraise to pandemic pivot in a few short months. Produced with support from TWG.