Canadian startup news of the week (9/5/22)

Welcome to BetaKit’s startup stories of the week! Here, you will find the week’s most important news, features, and editorials published on BetaKit. If you prefer this update hit your inbox every week, make sure to subscribe to the BetaKit Newsletter using the form at the bottom of this page.

Top Stories of the Week

Five months in, details on Canada’s new Innovation and Investment Agency remain sparse

Since the budget announcement, the federal government has little to offer about what the agency will look like, its role, how it will work and, most importantly, whether it will work at all.

Only one individual seems to be empowered to address the future of the agency, and that’s a government outsider currently on contract with the federal government: Dan Breznitz.

Clearco hands overseas business to Outfund to focus on North American market

Clearco has confirmed to BetaKit that it is handing off its business in its overseas markets to United Kingdom (UK)-based revenue-financing firm Outfund in what Clearco described as a “strategic partnership.”

1Password shuffles C-suite, with CPO replaced and CMO to depart

Having joined 1Password in May 2021 after advising the board the year prior, Sarkar is set to depart the company in mid-September. The decision shortly follows the replacement of Akshay Bhargava as chief product officer (CPO).

Ripple Ventures promotes Dominic Lau to partner as it preps for next fund

Ripple has now finished investing out of Fund II, and is working towards raising its next fund. Cohen noted that Ripple is already deploying new capital and has been “actively engaging” existing and new investors, but did not disclose further details.

How startups can avoid the “Frankenstein data stack” trap

In the quest for speed, many startup founders cobble together multiple low-quality data sources, hoping it offers practical insight.

Canadian tech companies continue to hire despite downturn – here’s an (incomplete) list

350 companies have now added their job listings, indicating a strong and continued desire to hire #CDNtech talent.

Latest Funding, Acquisitions, and Layoffs

• VAN – WonderFi to acquire Blockchain Foundry (read more)

• VAN – Plurilock acquires CloudCodes (read more)

• TOR – LifeWorks acquired by Telus (read more)

• TOR – Essential Accessibility merges with Level Access (read more)

• TOR – TriplePlay acquired by Roblox (read more)

• TOR – LumiQ – $5M (read more)

• TOR – SureBright – $3.2M (read more)

• TOR – Thoughtwire and Finaeo make stuff (read more)

• OTT – Lytica – $13M (read more)

• OTT – Shopify reportedly lays off another 70 employees (read more)

• NYC – FX HedgePool secures support from Information VP, National Bank (read more)

• SF – Power – $7M (read more)

LEARNING FROM EMBEDDED FINTECH LEADERS AT TRACTION

“Shopify Pay still uses Stripe and they have some crazy scale.”

Immad Akhund (CEO, Mercury) and Jon Fry (CEO, Lendflow) join BetaKit to discuss how startups can embed FinTech into their products, increase revenue, and avoid the hidden icebergs.

HOW GROWTHX FOUND PRODUCT-MARKET FIT ACROSS CANADA’S ACCELERATORS

“Do you really want to get big fast? You take my money, I’m going to poke you in the eye every day going forward.”

GrowthX CEO and founding partner Andrew Goldner shares common misconceptions founders have of the VC business model and a bunch of go-to-market tips.

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