The Conversation (0)
2015 was a strong year for Canadian tech, with Slack achieving unicorn status, Shopify’s (NYSE:SHOP) IPO and several significant exists. Therefore, the question on everyones lips is: will 2016 live up to last year’s hype?
2015 was a strong year for Canadian tech, with Slack achieving unicorn status, Shopify’s (NYSE:SHOP) IPO and several significant exists. Therefore, the question on everyones lips is: will 2016 live up to last year’s hype?
According to an article on Profit Guide:
But despite this great lead-in, 2016 has been marked with skepticism across Canada and throughout innovation hotbeds like Silicon Valley. Can Canada’s tech industry live up to the sky-high expectations created by last year’s big wins? And where are the opportunities most ripe for further disruption?
The signs suggest we’re well positioned for continued success. We’ve witnessed a palpable shift in popular thinking about the startup ecosystem since Canada’s last tech boom. Champions of domestic innovation are challenging the perception that an American buyout is the mark of success, and questioning the advisability of trying to create a Silicon Valley “North” instead of focusing on our strengths to build something unique on Canadian soil. Serial entrepreneurs like Katherine Hague and Tony Lacavera have taken matters into their own hands by starting funds with audacious goals, Hague to create more female angels, and Lacavera to help entrepreneurs facing the temptation of foreign investment.
Forward-thinking policymakers are starting to embrace the new era of innovation; witness new Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s remarks in Davos and John Tory’s observations about the startup community at TechTO. We’re also seeing interaction between industry leaders and policymakers become more frequent as Jim Basillie, John Ruffolo and others advocate on behalf of the Council of Canadian Innovators, and awareness of the critical importance of more tax credits and grants for SMEs is on the rise.