Bootup Labs Blog

We just wrapped an invite only VC Forum event (Danny talked about it a month ago). I ended up Twittering a few comments during the day.

I think the general consensus from both pitching companies and attending funding sources (a mix of mainly VCs, banks, and some government options like the NRC) was that it was a good event. We’re continuing to show that interesting things are happening here in VC, and there are lots of good potential early stage or Series A companies making things happen.

As always, I would love more transparency, but some of that will only happen over time. I think it was rough on pitching companies that they didn’t know much about who they were pitching to, but this is something you have to get used to. Be ready with your story, believe in it, and be willing to say you don’t know, or it’s something you haven’t encountered yet. One thread that was common was companies stating clearly either how much they were looking for today, or outright saying they *weren’t* looking for funding until some time in the future. Definitely appreciated, and a good way to set the stage for keeping in touch with potential investors.

Thanks to Blakes for hosting the event at their firm, and to Gordon Smythe from Propel and other participants for pulling this together.

Lastly, aside from pitch events, it sounds like lots of companies are interested in weekly working lunches, such as the one that Igor from Handi Mobility suggested for tomorrow. Interested in weekly meetups with your startup peers? Leave a comment and we’ll see about setting this up on a regular basis.

P.S. Yes, Launch Party 4 last night was excellent. This is a super busy week (check out the vidfest buzz on Twitter!) so we’ll be doing wrap up posts as time permits. It’s almost time to ready up for both DemoCamp and Founders & Funders… 

Gordon Smythe of Propel Partners is working with VC Forum to bring a bunch of VCs to Vancouver to see what all the hype is about.  Bootup Labs will be Sponsoring the upcoming VC Road Trip. David Thomas, of Rocket Builders and the Canadian Financing Forum, and I have been asked to help find the top 6-10 startups in Vancouver to present to about 16 VCs representing up to 14 firms. It’s a VC only event, so there will be no press or spys from your competition allowed in. Most of them are from the Valley. If you’re fundable, or soon will be, please let me know. danny [at] bootuplabs.com

(note to self: definition of “fundable” needs it’s own post on this blog)

If you’re starting a consumer internet company, casual game, or consumer mobile app and are at the seed stage, there’s really only ONE source of funding for us in Vancouver: Angels. That’s why Bob’s Angel Forum is so well attended and very much appreciated by us in the tech community. If you’re a founder or funder, you should make sure to drop by next week

Rick Segal is a partner in the team at JLA Ventures, a Canadian VC firm with offices in Toronto and Montreal. He’s doing a VC Roundtable to give entrepreneurs across the country a chance to meet with him. Rick does a lot of “no harm, no foul” meetings that are much less like traditional “pitch” meetings, and in general has been doing a great job in supporting the growth of Canadian entrepreneurship.

As part of the VC Roundtable, Rick will be visiting Vancouver (signup) and Victoria (signup) (both in one day, Rick? Come on, stay a little longer….) on April 21st. What is this VC Roundtable all about?

Something’s missing in Canada’s tech community - the chance to informally interact with VCs, learn about what it is exactly that they do and how the funding process works.

The VC Roundtable series aims to fill this gap, by hosting small (free!) get togethers across Canada’s major cities where Rick Segal, JLA Ventures Partner and VC blogger (http://ricksegal.typepad.com) will walk through what getting involved with VCs is all about.

There is a bit of a longer write up on what this is and isn’t on each of the signup pages — see the Vancouver one for an example.

Rick, we can give you space at Bootup Labs if you need it in Vancouver. If you’re a startup in one of those areas, or one of the many other locations across the country that Rick is visiting, I encourage you to sign up and sit down with Rick.