9 notes: How to engineer a $100M+ Vancouver exit
On podcasts.
At the recent BetaKit Townhall in Vancouver, Scott Langille, founder of Atelier, nailed down what he believes is holding back Vancouver's tech ecosystem: a "disconnect between tech’s established players and the next generation," as reported by BetaKit's Madison McLauchlan.
- In other words, while Vancouver has a solid roster of seasoned, serial entrepreneurs, most new founders don’t get the chance to interact with them.
- And here’s the thing: this is one of the sneaky reasons people criticize tech events in Vancouver. It’s not that there aren’t enough events—it’s that everyone’s tired of seeing the same faces. (Hey, I’m half to blame for this, and I’m not afraid to own it.)
- All that said, opportunities to learn from Vancouver’s top entrepreneurs are rare. But just because you can’t always learn from them in person doesn’t mean you can’t access their insights through other channels or platforms.
- Where to start? Blogs, newsletters, and LinkedIn posts are treasure troves of knowledge. Two must-follows: Chris Neumann’s newsletter and Kaylee Lieffers’ LinkedIn posts. And then there’s my personal favourite: podcasts. Let me spotlight one in particular.
- Here’s a story in two sentences: In 2014, Ian MacKinnon (and his co-founders) turned a hackathon project into a tool for scheduling Instagram posts. Despite raising only a small seed round, they scaled the company to $40M ARR before selling it for over $100M.
- This story has been told before, but the latest iteration—on The Product Market Fit Show—is packed with lessons not just for founders, but for anyone who wants to support scaling startups. Hey, Diana!
- Bonus listening: If you’re diving into local talent, check out these Vancouver founders on Evan McCann’s The Hard Part: Yvette Wu from Yield Exchange, Pouria Assadipour from Beatdapp, and Steve Davis from Operto.
- Switching gears: Pamela Saunders, head of Microsoft Vancouver, recently shared a perspective that stuck with me. Reflecting on the city, post-Taylor Swift, she said: “In a way, the end of Taylor's tour marks the beginning of our 'era.' Think Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025, The JUNO Awards, TED Conferences, Web Summit, and our slow roll towards FIFA World Cup 2026™. Take the party that started with the Grey Cup Festival into this Swifty celebration and LFG.” Love this energy.
- And now, as is becoming tradition, ending with some numbers. In recent real estate transactions, Sanctuary AI has leased a 32,288 sf office amid a leadership shakeup and layoffs, Vancouver Film School scooped up another 47,500 sf, and Icon Creative Studio closed on 22,950 SF space. Do these (or other) moves signal anything big? Alain Rivere at CBRE has some thoughts.
P.S. Here are some places you can find me over the next few weeks...
- Nov 29: The First Annual Moustache Ball
- Dec 3: Startup TNT Investor Community Mixer (invite-only, ping me if you should be there)
- Dec 10: Media Happy Hour
- Dec 11: #VTJTalks: Scaling World-class Products & Teams
- Startup TNT Happy Hours on Thursdays