Mission accomplished: Startup Visa Canada is here
Two years ago, Danny Robinson, Maura Rodgers and myself started to lobby for a Startup Visa Canada that would make it easier for foreign (tech) entrepreneurs to start their company in Canada. The initiative was inspired by the immigration struggles of the talented Summify team. In 2010, Cristian and Mircea arrived in Vancouver from Romania to start a […]
How much capital should you raise?
One of the biggest questions facing any entrepreneur is how much capital to raise for their startup. It’s a delicate question…one that can have a significant impact on the fate of any startup. Raise too much and you’re diluting your ownership; raise too little and your company will have trouble gaining traction or making it […]
5 traits of the most successful entrepreneurs
Over the course of my career, I have met, worked with, and/or invested in hundreds of entrepreneurs. During this time, I’ve seen some rise to the top, while others never quite made it past the starting line. While there may not be a sure-fire recipe to guarantee success as an entrepreneur, a clear profile of […]
Focus your board meetings on the future, not the past
What do your board meetings look like? Do investors focus on their BlackBerries and iPhones while the CEO plods through every slide in the deck? I’ve sat through (and run) more board meetings than I can remember. And the truth is, most board meetings aren’t as effective as they should be. When it comes to […]
Lean financing
I recently gave a talk on lean financing and thought I would share the presentation here on the blog as well. Lean financing is a powerful way to limit dilution for founders but one has to be careful to not miss out on growth opportunities. Sometimes founders are too focused on keeping a big piece of […]