The BetaKit Podcast Channel
Episodes
After Ecobee, Stuart Lombard has no regrets
24 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
"There's a big difference between wanting to be great and being great." After a 16-year run leading Ecobee, Stuart Lombard has stepped down as CEO and...
Koho's CEO on going from challenger bank to actual bank
16 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
"If we had a bank licence today, I'm confident in saying we'd have the highest savings rate in the country." Koho CEO Daniel Eberhard joins to explain...
Taylor Swift and the Apple Vision Pro are the biggest tech stories of the year (so far)
11 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
"I'm just holding out hope for Nightshade (Taylor's Version). Arm the Swifties, they're our only hope." Rob and Douglas play an escalating game of ide...
Untether AI's new CEO is here for global scale
04 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
"To compete in any field of technology, and especially AI, you have to be global." Like many Canadian tech companies, Untether AI started 2024 with a ...
The war against tech enshittification
28 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
"We kinda want to leave the internet." Inspired by Canadian science fiction author and journalist Cory Doctorow, the BetaKit Podcast articulates all t...
Maybe the Rogers-Shaw merger won't lower prices after all
20 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
"How often are they going to increase prices before Canadians say 'that's enough?'" Did Rogers (now #1 in consumer complaints) finally cross a line wi...
The biggest tech questions of 2024
13 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
"We are so back." BetaKit reporter Josh Scott joins to play the most dangerous game: trying to beat his boss in identifying the biggest tech questions...
Inside Canada's entrant in the global AI hardware battle
06 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
"So many Canadian organizations today are sending their dollars, their economic capital, to AWS, to Azure, to Google. There really is no Canadian resp...
The Canadian YouTuber who killed NFTs
29 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"We have industrialized grift in a way that is kind of unprecedented in human history." Canadian YouTuber Dan Olson (Folding Ideas) explains his battl...
2023 tech year in review
23 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"I had to remind myself that SVB happened this year. Because it seems like it happened a bazillion years ago." Rob and Douglas close out 2023 in style...
Why is the Start-up Visa program struggling?
17 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"The government doesn't have a great way of being able to kind of parse through and say, 'this is bad and this is good.' And, this is, I think, a key ...
What happened to OpenView and will Canada see zombie funds?
10 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"When I heard the news, I was stunned … Absolutely, it is going to be happening in Canada." CMD Capital's Matt Roberts joins for an emergency podcas...
#CDNtech talks AI disruption and the state of SaaS
03 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"Verticalized AI applications right now are available, right now accelerating industry after industry." Canadian tech luminaries close the year discus...
The future of OMERS Ventures with Michael Yang
26 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"If you're pension-backed you gotta deliver returns, buddy." OMERS Ventures senior managing partner Michael Yang recounts a turbulent year for the pen...
Why are there 100,000 fewer Canadian entrepreneurs? (LIVE at SAAS NORTH)
18 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"Capital efficiency is actually really sexy." Satish Kanwar (Good Future) and Katy Yam (Real Ventures) join for a special episode recorded live on the...
Buffer's Chief Product Officer on how it connects a fractured internet
12 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"We all have to thank Elon Musk for all that amazing innovation and disruption that's happening. Many changes that he has brought to X are now driving...
Open banking is dead, Techno-Optimists want a war
05 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"What happens when the technologists decide what they do is more important than the government and they don't want to play by those rules? Rob and Dou...
Wealthsimple's Hanna Zaidi on the "lack of political will" harming FinTech innovation
29 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"When you're a FinTech you're a second-class citizen when it comes to accessing infrastructure, and so you're spending a lot of time trying to innovat...
Why Korean car makers want Tenstorrent's AI hardware
22 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"So many Canadian organizations today are sending their dollars, their economic capital, to AWS, to Azure, to Google. There really is no Canadian resp...
Exploring the forgotten history of Canadian venture capital
15 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"So there are good things about the state of the market today compared to where we were in the 2000s. There are things that are not as good, and then ...
Hugging Face's Sasha Luccioni on the ethical and environmental impacts of AI
07 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"I profoundly believe that open source is the way forward for AI so that we avoid this monopoly of power." Hugging Face Climate Lead + AI Researche...
AI regulation is coming but Tobi Lütke is not "EFRAID"
30 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"We don't need more referees in Canada. We need more builders. Let other countries regulate while we take the more courageous path." A COVID isolat...
As the world goes passwordless, does 1Password go B2B?
24 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"Everybody's trying to run their own business. Apple's trying to sell you devices. Google's trying to sell you ads. Our job is only to make you more s...
Can Waze's former CEO build a social network from scratch?
17 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"Canada is at the forefront. Yes, mistakes are being made, but at least they're doing something. The US is doing nothing. And at the end of the day, t...
How "pirate" entrepreneur Lloyed Lobo kicked his self-destructive habits
10 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"The company was my identity. I had this huge void to fill and I didn't know what to do with it." Boast.ai and Traction co-founder Lloyed Lobo shar...
Parental leave requirements for Canadian entrepreneurs make no sense
02 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"There is especially in tech still a stigma around being a parent and being a contributing member of a company." Founders Erin Bury (Willful) and Mari...
VC extravaganza: fundraising, "shitty" behaviour, mannequin startups & more
26 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We know you love VCs on the BetaKit Podcast. So here's an all-VC episode of the BetaKit Podcast. Featuring: Chris Neumann (Panache Ventures), Matt Coh...
Alexis Gay is the funniest person in tech
19 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"One of the things that's funniest in tech is the complete and utter lack of self-awareness." Comedian and podcaster Alexis Gay joins to share her tra...
#CDNtech talks VC risk, due diligence, and the AI hype cycle
12 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"I sometimes feel like Canada needs to up [its] risk-taking ability." "It's the latest shiny thing that a lot of people are running after." "Markets a...
Do Canadian entrepreneurs take risks? (AMA episode)
06 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"I don't think our entrepreneurs are not risk takers; I just don't think our culture is set up to accept those risk takers." It's a Canadian tech summ...
Jesse Wente wants Canada to "tax the hell" out of Big Tech, but he's open to cutting deals
28 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"For a lot of Indigenous storytellers, there's a lot of interest in those [tech] platforms, because those entities haven't said no to our community fo...
LIVE from Startupfest!
22 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"The BetaKit Podcast is very much a pro-dog podcast." Dr. Theresa Johnson (Airbnb), Harper Reed (General Galactic Corporation), and Neha Khera (2048 V...
The death of the Girlboss with Chelsea Fagan (The Financial Diet)
15 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"The crux of the Girlboss movement's problem is that it wants women to behave more like men and the answer is for men to behave more like women at sca...
Canada's Commissioner of Competition needs more than a badge and a gun
07 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"People in Canada are at their wits' end about areas of our economy having a lack of competition and how it impacts their pocketbook." The Competition...
Alberta tech is hungry
03 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"Something else that's unique about the Calgary ecosystem...we're hungry. We're really, really hungry." James Lochrie (Thin Air Labs) and Brett Colvin...
Paddy Cosgrave is not forcing you to come to Collision
22 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"Unfortunately, there's a long history over the last decade that I tend to lean into controversies around any event that we're holding anywhere in the...
Apple's Vision Pro won't make the metaverse happen
17 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"They're trying to invent the next product category—that's what they want to do. They want to have some sort of hardware to push into the future...
The Collision conversation is a microcosm for Canadian tech
09 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Is Collision staying in Toronto (and for how much)? Is Collision coming to Vancouver? Why are Canada's governments paying foreign companies to compete...
Canada is in a health care crisis. What's the prescription?
02 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"We are in a time of the worst health care crisis we've seen in Canada. It is really close to a collapse of the system across the country." Brett ...
A wake for BuzzFeed, Gawker, Vice with CANADALAND's Jonathan Goldsbie
27 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"That is a deeply unhealthy way to live and to work and it's ultimately not a successful way to sustain a publication." CANADALAND news editor Jonatha...
What's next for Shopify?
20 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"This announcement communicated two things: this thing we're getting rid of isn't primary to our mission—it's a side quest, we don't actually care a...
Do the feds have an innovation strategy? (AMA episode)
12 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"I don't necessarily know if the government understands what an innovation strategy is." Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI) president Ben Bergen joi...
YouTuber Dan Olson (Folding Ideas) on internet grifts and how he hunts them
05 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"We have industrialized grift in a way that is kind of unprecedented in human history." Canadian YouTuber Dan Olson (Folding Ideas) explains his ba...
Revisiting BlackBerry's extraordinary rise and spectacular fall
28 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"Once Apple showed up, BlackBerry had to do everything right and get on it on the double. And they did everything wrong." "And for whatever reason we ...
Scale AI's COO explains how Canada can build an AI-powered economy
22 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"The goal here is not that Canada is the largest market for AI in the world—it's never going to be that. But if we make it the most willing to try n...
Is Canada ready for an EV future?
14 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"So this is the big pitch, right? There are all of these problems in the transport system; we are going to invent these new technologies that will sol...
Was RenoRun abandoned by investors or just another mannequin startup?
08 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"Nobody is cheering you on for reaching the top of Everest if you don't make it back down to base camp." Matt Cohen, Managing Partner at Ripple Ventur...
Ask John Ruffolo Anything: SVB fallout, VC groupthink, government dependence & more
31 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"The [Canadian] venture ecosystem is never going to get to the right level of maturity if they constantly rely upon the taxpayer to provide them with ...
Michelle Scarborough explains why BDC is thinking bigger with Thrive Platform
25 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"We're seeing way more women found new technology companies in the market than we did five years ago. By a magnitude—like three times. It's substant...
Raine Maida and Senator Colin Deacon discuss Big Tech's control over digital creators (and the news)
17 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"We are in the midst of a new technological payola." Our Lady Peace's Raine Maida and Senator Colin Deacon join for a frank discussion about Big Tech'...
Dan Breznitz unmuzzled: Canada Innovation Corporation architect explains how we got here
10 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"Let's be blunt about it: we as a country are extremely good at invention ... we're horrible at innovation." Dan Breznitz, co-director of the Innovati...
Panache's Chris Neumann on FounderFuel's return and "shitty" VC behaviour (AMA episode)
03 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"There is a special place in hell for investors who intentionally screw over their founders with no empathy for the journey or the challenges that the...
Generative AI will test what's worse: biased data or user bad faith
24 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"This whole thing with ChatGPT is just history replaying itself. We need to stop viewing tech and innovation as a veritable silver bullet for all ...
The Indigo hack is bad. Will AI make cyber threats worse?
18 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"The deepfake technology that is part of this new rise of generative AI tools I think will have a very deleterious effect on the current state of cybe...
What comes after the attention economy?
10 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"We all want AI to do our jobs for us—the boring parts. What we're doing here is making computers more human-like, and sadly, they're getting all th...
Why I killed my startup
03 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"It's not like a light comes down from heaven and says 'now you shall stop your company.' But, man, was it very difficult emotionally." Entrepreneur a...
Can Amber Mac explain WTF is happening in tech right now?
27 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"I honestly feel as though 2023 is going to be one of those years in Canadian tech where companies are going to have to be accountable." Award-win...
Stephen Marche on how generative AI will transform academia (and everything else)
20 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"What we're dealing with here is something so profound that the changes it's going to bring are not the kind of thing that the government can alter." ...
A Web3 vibe check with Round13's Satraj Bambra
14 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"When you have a washout like we just had, you're really left with core fundamental value, and that's what people are building now." Satraj Bambra, Pa...
AI regulation is coming. What's Canada's approach?
07 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"The very heart of the bill, and the heart of the law, you wouldn't know what exactly it's applying to." Data governance and AI risk management expert...
ChatGPT disruption and self-certified investor pilots (AMA episode)
30 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"We're at a different place technologically than we were a week ago. Digesting that and figuring out the ramifications I think is a tall order." R...
Year in review: biggest tech stories of 2022, 2023 predictions
23 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"FTX and its collapse is just the icing on the shitty cake that has been crypto this year." BetaKit's Meagan Simpson and Josh Scott join to unpack the...
Year in review: Kim Furlong talks VCCI and what comes next for Canadian venture
16 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"There was kind of an 'aha' moment last May. And it triggered a conversation that I believe was really frank on both sides." CVCA CEO Kim Furlong join...
Bessemer, Georgian, OMERS VCs discuss the state of the market
09 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"If this is the environment we're in today, what should we do?" Aleeza Hashmi (Bessemer), Michelle Yu (Georgian), and Laura Lenz (OMERS) join BetaKit ...
Dissecting the anatomy of a #CDNtech seed round
02 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"If we take a look at some of the salaries we were seeing, it was probably four engineers and our entire round was gone." Eva Lau (Two Small Fish), Sh...
#CDNtech talks down rounds, disasters, and "recipes for failure"
25 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"There was a bit of ego raising." "I think it has been a disaster." "I read BetaKit for the truth." Canadian tech luminaries try to make sense of a cr...
Will some Canadian tech companies die during the downturn? (LIVE at SAAS NORTH)
18 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"Are we willing to let companies die in Canadian tech?" "Yes." VC Matt Roberts joins for a special episode of the BetaKit Podcast recorded live at SAA...
Waverly and the broken internet
10 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"If any AI startup comes to you and says, 'we found how to evaluate truth,' you should hold a reasonable doubt. I don't think we're close to this." Ex...
Making future bets on Shopify, Wealthsimple & the metaverse (AMA episode)
29 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"If Canadian VCs weren't allowed to talk to journalists anonymously, they would never say anything." The BetaKit Podcast's monthly AMA episode answers...
Watching Alexis Gay is the most fun you can have while quiet quitting your tech job
21 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"One of the things that's funniest in tech is the complete and utter lack of self-awareness." Comedian and podcaster Alexis Gay joins to share her tra...
Boom to bust cycles & why there's no Canadian techlash
14 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"I think it's hard to beat the optimist out of a VC." The Globe and Mail's Sean Silcoff joins to discuss whether or not the Canadian tech boom is fizz...
How has the tech downturn affected founder mental health?
07 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"There's a direct relationship between the mental health of the entrepreneur and the performance of the company." Econa founder Dr. Michael Freeman re...
Twitch is dying and Devin Nash knows why
30 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"Essentially, Amazon has failed to make this company profitable. It doesn't make money." Streamer, YouTuber, and Novo CEO Devin Nash joins to explain ...
Is Real Ventures done? Is BDC just getting started? (AMA episode)
23 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"Half a billion dollars for women in Canadian tech. Pretty cool!" The BetaKit Podcast's monthly AMA episode answers listeners' (tough!) questions abou...
Exploring the city Google couldn't buy
16 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"This is the rise and fall of a company that had hundreds of millions of dollars to play with and nothing left to say about it." Globe and Mail report...
Canadian tech is (still!) hiring
09 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"I'm just concerned about finding tech talent." Nora Jenkins Townson (Bright + Early) and Meagan Simpson (BetaKit) join to explain why over 350 compan...
Learning from embedded FinTech leaders at Traction
02 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"Shopify Pay still uses Stripe and they have some crazy scale." Immad Akhund (CEO, Mercury) and Jon Fry (CEO, Lendflow) join BetaKit's Douglas Soltys ...
How GrowthX found product-market fit across Canada's accelerators
28 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"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 An...
The Global Talent Stream needs streamlining
21 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"It's not as broken as other things." VanHack CEO Ilya Brotzky joins to explain what's causing the 4-6 month waiting period for Canadian tech companie...
Can FinTech help Canadian Muslims with financial access?
14 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"I represent a different community that has different needs." Manzil CEO Mohamad Sawwaf explains the cultural, regulatory, and compliance roadblocks t...
Tracking the tech downturn across Canada with data
07 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"This was the moment that you knew the hangover was about to kick in." Tech reporter Isabelle Kirkwood joins to walk us through an ecosystem-by-ecosys...
Shopify stumbling, Rogers resilient, recession fundraising (AMA episode)
29 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"That's the pull quote. 'Amber Mac: things are crumbling.'" Special guest Amber Mac joins to answer listener questions on the award-nominated BetaKit ...
Mark McQueen thinks it's a great time to have a chequebook
24 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"When we look at companies today, I'm reminded of what it was like - just how bleak it was - in that summer of 2000. You can play through that as an i...
Solving the lack of access to capital for Indigenous entrepreneurs
17 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"Trust, and Indigenous impact measurement, and the wellbeing of Indigenous families sit alongside risk and return. In fact, in our fund, sit significa...
Why Startupfest is a tech company now
10 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"Other conferences are phoning it in." Startupfest's Alistair Croll and Olivia Rossi join to explain how Canada's Original Startup Conference has chan...
Inside Anthony Lacavera's fight for Freedom Mobile
01 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"The worst outcome for Rogers is an actual real competitor, which is what we are. They know we're going to bring prices down and they don't want p...
Collision AMA: a tech downturn vibe check
24 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"So are you saying that Canadian tech is under-appreciated?" A special Collision edition of our monthly AMA episode, answering listener questions abou...
Collision's Paddy Cosgrave talks Shopify, tech downturns, and meaningful connections
16 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"Everybody I meet keeps asking me 'where's Shopify?'" Collision's Paddy Cosgrave discusses the conference's second first impression in Toronto, tech d...
What's behind the explosion in acquisition entrepreneurship?
12 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"It's like you're getting married and writing your prenup and your divorce agreement on the day you get married." Elizabeth MacRae (Village Wellth) ex...
Why Canadian tech founders need better mentors
31 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"We have really no programming to teach mentors, it's all tribal." Brice Scheschuk (Wind Mobile, Globalive) discusses the CDL session that gave him im...
VCCI don't lose that funding + tech's bubble is bursting (AMA episode)
24 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"I have to note the huge sigh that was just expressed through Tony's entire being." RBCx's Anthony Mouchantaf (AKA, Tony Dagger) returns as a special ...
Should politicians use Twitter + Ontario's election budget
19 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"The unforeseen consequences of this stuff has ripples throughout society that in the most generous interpretation we didn't see coming, but can no lo...
OMERS Ventures' Damien Steel wants you to stop reading tech headlines
09 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"That impact that's being felt in the public markets will start to trickle down to the earlier rounds." Damien Steel, managing partner and head of ven...
How do you measure culture in the remote & hybrid workplace?
03 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"We're very social creatures, so human-to-human connection is ultimately what we're craving even if we are working in a digital-by-design or remote-fi...
Can the feds build a talent strategy for digital nomads?
25 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"Potentially it does have the opportunity to create thousands of jobs here in Canada." CCI president Ben Bergen and VP Dana O'Born join to tackle the ...
Do Canadian FinTechs want bank kickbacks or competition?
18 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"That kind of gives me a brain boner. I get pretty excited." Changes to the Competition Act are coming. Can a "whole of government" approach break Can...
Quiet tech towns & Twitter's Elon Musk Problem (AMA episode)
14 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"I both love and hate this question." BetaKit Associate Editor Meagan Simpson joins for her second AMA episode to answer a complex bunch of listener q...
Can an app be medicine?
04 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"What's it like when an app doesn't just connect you to a doctor… it's the medicine?" A4i's Amos Adler and Dr. Sean Kidd join to discuss the differe...
How Canadian tech can help Ukrainians
28 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"There's such a heavy emotional toll of uncertainty and not knowing what's going to happen with your life." Ilya Brotsky (CEO of VanHack) and Daryna K...
What impact do provincial budgets have on Canadian tech?
20 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"Here's something that I didn't anticipate when we began doing these conversations across provinces: they don't talk to each other." CCI's Ben Bergen ...