Disconnected government policy-making is problematic. Outside of the impressive moves by the government of Quebec, there have been no signals from governments (provincial or federal) that they understand the changes taking place in the landscape or that they intend to proactively support them. So what are we supposed to do?
Early stage opportunities are here, and we need to develop a virtuous cycle of angels, superseed funds, and follow-on capability that is able to benefit from the aggregate of activity taking place in cities across the country. We do not have a single place to look for opportunities, but a set of active mini-hubs that each need attention.
We need to start small and encourage the development of superseed funds that are able to source deals within their specific geographies and spheres of influence. Fundamentally, we have to believe this is all worth doing and that Canada is capable of developing a scalable and high-return environment for venture investment. Until we stop imitating the outside world, however, we will never figure out just what it takes to make things work right here at home.
Then, when we have something unique, we can tell the story of our successes as they happen. It is time to put our pride on the line and measure ourselves against the best in the world.
If it’s a choice between go big or go home, I know which I want to do. We need to take advantage of growth-stage opportunities as they come out of our unique network of cities and seed funds in order to develop the mega-exits we all see in our future. This will require coordination and focus from government, LPs, and a new breed of venture investors who are willing to connect more closely with the entrepreneurs who are creating the financing opportunities they need.
There are a lot of returns to be earned here and those who roll up their sleeves and get a little messy will be the ones to profit.
Read Jevron more at his blog HERE
2 comments:
Ford starts at the right point by respecting tax dollars. Nothing makes me more frustrated and wanting to pack it all in when you see idiots getting tax payer money and business owners do not.
Ford would be a good guy for business owners. He gets that we have to drive to work through the traffic and construction and pay wages before we pay ourselves. When I see what a ticket collector on the subway gets paid I want to slit my wrists.
After I pay my staff, I often get nothing and go into debt. Try that stress.
Better to be a garbage collector.
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