The BetaKit Podcast Channel

"Teachers across the board are anxious." Peekapak co-founder and CEO, Ami Shah, joins to explain how startups are supporting back to school this fall. Produced with support from TWG.

"There's this asterisk attached to everybody's answers right now, because they reserve the right to revise them all in a week." Raw Signal Group returns to discuss the evolving problems tech companies face as March's urgency became timeless uncertainty. Produced with support from TWG.

"Not only was there no time to prepare, we don't even know what are the consequences now of not being compliant." Luke Vigeant (Inkblot Therapy) and Brett Belchetz (Maple) join to share how their telehealth startups have changed before and after COVID-19. Produced with support from TWG. This episode originally aired May 2nd, 2020.

“I think the onus is on event organizers to figure out how to make themselves relevant to the community. For every event company, there is going to be an element of reinvention.” Rebecca Croll, Director of Content for Startupfest, joins to discuss cancelling the festival before quickly refactoring as a ‘hybrid’ event. We also asked her how an event known for its local character captures that magic in a new digital world. Produced with support from TWG.

"We want to be bold, we want to think big, but we want to be flexible and nimble as well." BetaKit speaks with Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, about the federal government's COVID-19 response plan for Canadian tech: what worked, what didn't, and what comes next. Produced with support from TWG.

"I get here at seven, I leave here at 11 or midnight. I've been doing that for the last 40 days and I wouldn't rather be doing anything else." Jeremy Hedges, President of InkSmith and CEO of The Canadian Shield, joins to discuss pivoting one business to produce PPE, and launching another to deliver 10 million units to the federal government. Produced with support from TWG. This episode originally aired May 6, 2020.

"We're not a business that a lot of Canadian VCs found sexy." Willful CEO Erin Bury, who longtime listeners might remember as a regular guest on BetaKit’s CanCon podcast, joins to explain what COVID-19 has made easier, and more difficult, for a business built to grapple with death. Produced with support from TWG.

"Wubba lubba dub dub!" To ease you into the holiday break, Black Swan producer Kattie Laur joins to help answer listener-submitted questions. Put your feet up, grab a cold beverage, and enjoy. Produced with support from TWG.

"We were witnessing the rapid decline of job opportunities available in the country, and also watching companies start to lay off employees en masse." Marianne Bulger, founder and CEO of Prospect, joins to discuss how The Help List went from a community-driven Google Sheet to a realtime database tracking COVID-19's impact on Canadian tech talent. Produced with support from TWG.

"Canadian investors don't back Black women-led startups. Let's talk about that." Amoye Henry (Pitch Better) and Danielle Graham (Sandpiper Ventures) join to discuss the underlying social problems that prompted Amoye's BetaKit op-ed "The horrifying truth about being a Black woman founder in Canada" and potential solutions. Produced with support from TWG.