*Article originally published in May 2016 edition of Private Capital Magazine By Whitney Rockley Co-founder and Managing Partner, McRock Capital Disrupt or Be Disrupted. In the ever-accelerating world of technological advancement, this statement is not just a clever tweet, it’s a sober competitive reality. We live in a world where every company, industry, city and
Article originally published in May 2016 edition of Private Capital Magazine By Kirk Simpson Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Wave Reflecting back on the early days of Wave in 2010, I’m amazed at how much has changed in the tech landscape — all within a short six years. Firstly, while raising capital is never easy,
Article originally published in May 2016 edition of Private Capital Magazine By Senia Rapisarda Principal, HarbourVest When I first arrived in Canada six years ago, the term venture capital was almost inevitably met with both a mix of scorn and sympathy. I was often presented with horror stories about the dismal returns for institutional investors (resulting
There’s no doubt that PE and VC firms are well aware of the various risk factors that come to light when making an investment in a company. Company founders and owners are constantly on the lookout for ways they can limit their risk in an investment while ensuring they receive proper growth capital needed to
Article Originally Published in May 2016 edition of Private Capital Magazine By Peter Misek Partner, BDC Capital IT Venture Fund Canada’s financial institutions have enjoyed an enviable track record, especially when you consider their record in the financial crisis of 2008. Even way back in 2002, we led the world in electronic banking, payments and
Article originally published in May 2016 edition of Private Capital Magazine By Ben Gibbons Partner, Corporate Finance, Collins Barrow Toronto LLP While private equity and venture capital firms are always focused on identifying ways to de-risk their investment in a company, alternative financing structures can help a company minimize dilution and still ensure they receive
Article originally published in May 2016 edition of Private Capital Magazine By Boris Wertz Founding Partner, Version One Ventures With Q1 2016 data reflecting Canadian VC investments at an all-time high, what better time to reflect on the state of the Canadian VC landscape? In a nutshell: We’re building a healthy ecosystem, but also facing cyclical market
Article originally published in May 2016 edition of Private Capital Magazine By Adam Spence Co-founder, MaRS Centre for Impact Investing The Lucky Iron Fish is a simple idea that’s life-changing. A palm-sized piece of reusable natural iron, it can be placed in cooking pots as a low-cost way to fight anemia, a health problem impacting
Understanding why the expectations of so many deals are not realized By Jerry Tarasofsky, CEO and Founder of CSI Diagnostics, CVCA Guest Author Due diligence is essential in any investment/acquisition/merger deal undertaking with the clear objective of minimizing any risk of failure before the closing. The processes are well known and quite sophisticated covering market
Fred Pidsadny Founder & President, FOCUS Management Tracking Success: part 5 of the ‘Execution Excellence’ series FOCUS Management has produced a five part series on tackling the many challenges corporations face associated with strategic execution – the number one issue facing CEOs according to a recent study by the Harvard Business Review. In Part 1, you were
