I think so. I’ve thought that the present problems are because VC funds are too big and their time lines are to short.
In Business Week, the Kauffman Foundation’s Carl Schramm and Harold Bradley start what I hope will be a discussion that ignores the ‘invest in me moaning of me-too start up’ entrepreneurs and looks at the structural issues that the industry has to worry about to renew and provide real returns to their investors.
I have many VC friends in the Boston Area.
But since most deals I see are sub 4 Million they don’t even bother looking at some of the amazing opportunities in Canada. This BNN Clip with Stephen Hurwitz, over at Choate, Hall and Stewart, explains one of the biggest reasons why US VC have issues with Canada.
Verdict: a waste of time.
You do not need to try it and you do not need to feel left out if you do not have an account. And if anyone approaches you to start a business around it laugh at them. What is sad is just how long its been since Google launched something useful for me to use, I love a lot of their services, this one is in the needs work category. That said – Google Voice and Gizmo – awesome match.
If you have $25 – I’d try ScanR that is available on the iPhone, Blackberry & Android and has truly improved my life, other than the price I can’t recommend it enough.
So, in between classes today, I got some good news and oddly I heard it first through David Crow.
The Canadian Innovation Exchange has announced their 20 presenting companies at this years show, and my dad’s start up, GaN Systems, was selected to present. Some of Canada’s best VC were on the selection committee and my old boss Terry (Matthews) will be presenting at CIX. Its happening on December 2, in Toronto – and I think I’ll try and attend, even with the MBA on the go.
GaN Systems is doing some very exciting things in the clean tech area and I’ve been lucky to be at a stage in my life (experience, some maturity) where I can work with my dad as an adviser to his company. Well done to the GaN Team and all the others who will be presenting.
Sorry that I haven’t updated since I arrived at Ivey. As I type this I’m literally in the middle of a 24 hour Accounting Case at School, so really busy.
But procrastination is sometimes allowed so in my breaks I’ve been reading Jim Bagnalls excellent series on the demise of Nortel. Its been in the National Post this week and I assume the Ottawa Citizen as well.
Have you ever thought that you’ll blog about X-event that’s coming up, and when X-event comes and goes, you just never do… and then it eats away at you in the back of your head. Its this little evil devilish thing so that when you think about doing another post on your blog it pops up, its become this little nagging thing in your blogging life…
Well I have two of those little things. One post was supposed to be about me leaving Wesley Clover and another that I promised about Why I chose Ivey for my MBA. Both are in unfinished drafts…. so I at least started them.
But this is my mea culpa, I might never finish and post those or I might… but in the mean time I’ll probably post about other stuff and the internet gods can’t make me feel guilty about it.
