Crowdfunding in Canada
Pebble’s Eric Migicovsky jump-started his company by selling 85,000 pre-sold watches and generating $10 million in advance revenue through Kickstarter. Unfortunately, Kickstarter isn’t readily accessible to Canadian companies. Migicovsky’s initial company was based in Waterloo (part of University of Waterloo’s Velocity incubator), and was bootstrapped by SR&ED tax credits. The opportunity to obtain financing was so […]
Private Equity Firm Focuses on Management Buyouts
With the manufacturing economy still recovering from the last recession, corporate financing is difficult to come by. Many owners of small- to medium-sized manufacturers are looking for exit strategies, and may be hard-pressed to find one, because few financing options exist. NorthSpring Capital Partners is a private equity firm that provides an option for owners of SME manufacturing […]
Why Venture Capital is so Important
Greg Smith, president of Canada’s Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA), described the current landscape of Canadian entrepreneurship: “Canada has an historic opportunity to become an innovation leader by making major investments that enable our best technology businesses to realize optimal growth and compete on a global stage,” he said in a statement. “However, […]
Is Entrepreneurship Waning in Canada?
The Globe and Mail recently addressed the fact that in recent years, the relative impact of self-employment across Canada has been waning. Self-employment has always been an important feature of the Canadian economy; the OECD lists Canada as one of the highest concentrations of entrepreneurs within a working population. However in recent years, the ratio of […]
Options for Early Stage Technology Companies to Finance Growth
The dilutive nature of early stage equity financing (i.e., giving up ownership) makes it the most expensive way to finance growth. When a start-up does not have enough cash in the bank or cash flow to support their growth (hire more employees, fund working capital, etc.), the company is faced with a significant funding barrier […]
FedDev leads $20M funding round for 8 Toronto startups
The Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev) put up $4.85 million into young startups, in order to leverage an additional $15.2 million from venture capital and angel investment groups. The companies to receive funding are as follows: Trillium Therapeutics Inc. Total funding: $2.97-million Sources: $965,000 from FedDev and $2-million from Covington Capital, GrowthWorks, […]
North Innovation Fund launched to support Canada’s Knowledge-Based Industries
Waterloo and Toronto, February 15, 2012 – North Innovation Fund (NIF), a privately-held alternative financing firm providing ongoing SR&ED accrual loans to early stage Canadian companies in a variety of technology-based sectors, today announced the launch of its first Fund. The Fund was created to identify high growth and innovative companies that are in need […]
Venture Capital Fundraising Concerns in Canada
According to 2011 year-end figures from the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association, a four-year high of $1.5 billion from VC was disbursed to Canadian startups last year. Although this was the highest level since 2008, this was far short of the $2.1 billion invested in 2007. New funds for VC hit $1 billion […]
Entrepreneurial Financing in Atlantic Canada Expanding Rapidly
According to the Globe and Mail, Atlantic Canada has immense entrepreneurial opportunities and has shown recent growth in entrepreneurial financing. Halifax alone has more than 1,200 financial services firms with 14,000 employees. Atlantic Canada has a huge advantage in shipments to Europe because of its year-round deep-water ports that are closer to Europe than any other […]
The Small Project Accelerated Review Process
The Industrial Research Assistance Program that the National Research Council of Canada has (NRC-IRAP) has long been of assistance to companies in Canada who need funding for research purposes. About a month ago, NRC-IRAP announced a new review process: the Small Project Accelerated Review Process. This process was designed to help grow the business of […]