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9K followers
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Craig Leonard reposted thisCraig Leonard reposted this🚀 Portfolio News: Brickeye Raises $10M Series B Huge congratulations to the Brickeye team on closing a $10M Series B to scale their construction risk mitigation platform across North America and internationally. Brickeye is tackling one of the world’s largest and least digitized industries with a simple but powerful idea: prevent damage before it happens. A few incredible highlights: 🏗️ Deployed on 3,000+ projects across 20+ countries 📈 150% YoY revenue growth 🏆 Named to Deloitte’s 2025 Technology Fast 50 💧 Prevented real-world losses, including stopping 1,650 gallons of flood water on a live high-rise project 📉 Helping customers reduce insurance deductibles and buy-downs by up to 50% What makes Brickeye special is that they do not just monitor risk. Their platform takes action: shutting off water, flagging issues in real time, and creating auditable data that insurers actually care about. Congratulations to GreenSky Ventures, Brightspark Ventures, Export Development Canada | Exportation et développement Canada , Beauchamp Construction Co., Inc., and the broader syndicate for coming together to back Brickeye and its next phase of growth. We’re proud to be alongside such a strong group of partners. Massive credit to Tim Angus, Hamid Alemohammad, PhD, PEng, Richard Liang and the entire Brickeye team for building a category-defining company in construction risk and insurance-tech. Proud to be on this journey with you. 👏 #PortfolioNews #ConstructionTech #InsurTech #IoT #RiskManagement #PropTech #B2B #CanadianTech #ScaleUp #GraphiteVentures
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Craig Leonard posted thisThis week I had the chance to video interview a few of our seasoned founders — with $1B+ in exits between them. One observation stood out: in an ever-accelerating tech world, the common thread wasn’t strategic or technical brilliance. It was human depth. Leadership maturity, ego discipline, team alignment, and personal growth ran through every story. Looking forward to sharing more from their journeys.
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Craig Leonard reposted thisCraig Leonard reposted thisKaster Technologies just raised $1.6M in pre-seed funding led by Graphite Ventures, with participation from Hidden Layers Capital and Louis-Martin Rousseau! 🚀 We originally planned to raise a smaller round. Then partnerships with major pharma companies started accelerating, with results coming back at 3x what we'd projected, and I realized we had the opportunity to build even better foundations for growth. Since deploying almost a year ago, our platform has identified 20%+ capacity improvement opportunities on our design partner's bottleneck lines and has guided their scheduling decisions to capture them. This proves what we've believed all along: production intelligence - surfacing constraint coherence across all production stages to understand and optimize how medication gets made on a large scale - plays a critical role in getting drugs to patients who need them efficiently. That's why we built a pharma-specific system that surfaces these constraints, gives teams the visibility to maximize their existing resources, and ensures every decision stays compliant while unlocking capacity and efficiency. Looking into the future, this funding will help us get our product to a point where it can handle 95%-100% of commercial drug production coherence problems. These include drug shortage navigation and back order prioritization, constraint surfacing, decision traceability, and instant adaptation to regulatory changes - catching critical production decision errors before they become problems, and optimizing the entire drug manufacturing chain without adding new infrastructure. And together with our newest commercial partner, OPTEL Group - a global leader in supply chain traceability and conformity - we’ll be able to bring our solution to a worldwide market faster. Thank you to Craig Leonard and the Graphite team, Therence Bois at Hidden Layers, and Louis-Martin for backing us early. To my team - Catherine, Younes, Vincent, Marc, and our new arrivals, Francois Menard and María - for keeping everything moving forward and believing in what we are building. To our early clients who trusted an unknown startup in one of the most regulated industries. 2026 is going to be our biggest year yet. Let’s go! Read more about the raise in the links below 👇 -- Centech Mtl CDL-Montreal Anne Robinson BIOQuebec Alexandre Préfontaine Propolys - Polytechnique Montréal Polytechnique Montréal Caroline Chevrier, EMBA
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Craig Leonard reposted thisCraig Leonard reposted thisWe’re entering a big year at StackAdapt and looking to add around 500 people to help us execute on our vision (watch our Innovation Forum on Youtube to learn more). If you want to build next-generation marketing products, solve hard problems, and grow with a global team, take a look at our Careers page or reach out! Ps. was surprised when my DMs were flooded with photos of StackAdapt during New Year's Eve in Times Square. Nice surprise from the team!
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Craig Leonard reposted thisCraig Leonard reposted thisOur portfolio company Ontopical has been acquired by KKR’s portfolio company, SOVRA 🎉 Huge congratulations to Derrick Koenig and Clayton Feick, who built a groundbreaking AI platform that empowers businesses to spot and act on government project opportunities in over 10K municipalities in North America before they become public, reshaping how companies compete in the public sector. "For us at Graphite Ventures, this milestone is extra special. It was only two years ago that we entered the Alberta market, and today we’re celebrating our very first Alberta exit!" - Omi Velasco Also, SOVRA will launch an AI Center of Excellence right in City of Calgary! This is a great win for our ecosystem! Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gh9_sfrM A big thank you as well to our fellow co-investors and board members.SOVRA Sharpens Focus on GovTech Sector with Series of Strategic UpdatesSOVRA Sharpens Focus on GovTech Sector with Series of Strategic Updates
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Craig Leonard reposted thisOntopical has been acquired by KKR’s portfolio company, SOVRA 🎉 Huge congratulations to Derrick Koenig and Clayton Feick, who built a groundbreaking AI platform that empowers businesses to spot and act on government project opportunities in over 10K municipalities in North America before they become public, reshaping how companies compete in the public sector. For us at Graphite Ventures, this milestone is extra special. It was only two years ago that we entered the Alberta market, and today we’re celebrating our very first Alberta exit! Also, SOVRA will launch an AI Center of Excellence right here in Calgary! c.c. Craig Leonard, Kevin Madill, Aaron Bast, Lance Laking, Marley Cooper, Steve Currie, Mohamed Elabshihy, Shelley Tang, CPA, Jordan Nyinabangi, Mackenzie Puklicz, Jude Sacramenthas, Rebecca Brunke, Alberta Enterprise Corporation (AEC), Michael Grantmyre A big thank you as well to our fellow co-investors and board members, Arden, Nicholas, David, for your partnership and contributions along the way. #yyctech #AlbertaTech #CanadianTech #StartupExit #PublicSectorInnovationCraig Leonard reposted thisOntopical has been acquired! Exciting news! 🎉 I'm thrilled to announce that Ontopical has been acquired by SOVRA, North America's leading public procurement platform, backed by KKR - and together we're launching an AI Center of Excellence! We are bringing SOVRA's comprehensive procurement platform of over 7,000 government buying agencies and 1M+ suppliers, together with Ontopical's pre-RFP intelligence, unique data and our proprietary AI, "Oliver”. This powerful combination will help government bidders to prepare and compete more strategically, while giving government agencies stronger competition, more efficient procurement and better results. I'm incredibly thrilled to share that I'll be stepping into a new role as President, SOVRA Supplier. This new position emphasizes the growing strategic importance of supplier success within our unified platform vision. Our goal is to embed smarter discovery, prediction, and automation directly into the user experience for all suppliers, across our brands such as Bidnet Direct by SOVRA in the US - and Merx by SOVRA in Canada. A big thank you to Ontopical’s founder Derrick Koenig for his vision and trust, who will be taking the role of VP Product, SOVRA Supplier. Thank you to the entire team at Ontopical for your endless grit, innovative drive - and desire to help our customers win. There is more work to be done in this next chapter! On that note, if you’d like to join the mission - we are hiring in marketing, sales and for the AI Center of Excellence in Calgary and across North America. Also, special thanks to our major investors; Rhino Ventures, Graphite Ventures & Accelerate Fund for your conviction and support. Finally, thank you to our top notch advisors at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, KPMG and Rachel Skelton for your rigour on the transaction - along with the entire deal team at KKR, and our new colleagues at SOVRA! Learn more about how we're reshaping public procurement: www.sovra.com #PublicProcurement #AI #Innovation #GovernmentContracts #SOVRA #Ontopical https://lnkd.in/gvURMgeSSOVRA Sharpens Focus on GovTech Sector with Series of Strategic UpdatesSOVRA Sharpens Focus on GovTech Sector with Series of Strategic Updates
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Craig Leonard reposted thisCraig Leonard reposted thisExciting times at WaitWell. We are hiring three key roles: 1️⃣ Software Sales Executive 2️⃣ Healthcare Growth Marketing Manager 3️⃣ Government & Higher Education Growth Marketing Manager These are all very dynamic, exciting positions that will be pivotal in propelling growth in 2025-2026. Please share with your network for reach. I'm more than happy to chat with anyone who wants to learn more. https://lnkd.in/g8fqCvVX
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Craig Leonard reposted thisCraig Leonard reposted thisMid May, we hosted our Annual General Meeting — and it was incredible to see the room filled with the people who make Graphite Ventures what it is. From founders and portfolio companies, to LPs, co-investors, and ecosystem partners — thank you for showing up and continuing to build alongside us. 💬🤝 AGMs are more than just fund updates. They’re a chance to pause, reflect, and reconnect. To celebrate wins, learn from the hard stuff, and refocus on the road ahead. We were especially proud to have one of our portfolio companies, ENVGO, share a live demo of their platform — a great example of the kind of founders we back: bold, resilient, and building for the future. ⚡ To our community: thanks for the trust, the ideas, and the partnership. We’re energized for what’s ahead. Shout out to TR1 Media for the amazing highlight video! #GraphiteVentures #AGM2025 #EarlyStageVC #Startups #EcosystemBuilders #FoundersFirst #LPs #VentureCapital
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Craig Leonard reposted thisCraig Leonard reposted thisWe’re hiring the first person on our People & Culture team at FirstPrinciples. As our team continues to grow, this is a unique opportunity to build the People & Talent function from the ground up, help shape our culture, and be a part of our ambitious mission to build an AI Physicist.
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Craig Leonard liked thisCraig Leonard liked thisWhat an interesting conversation with Jason Gordon about McLaren Racing’s remarkable F1 turnaround. Thanks Deloitte for bringing your alumni together! P.S. As you can see, Mehul Sudra, LL.B., CIM® has found the secret to eternal youth, yet he is not willing to share the insights 😃
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Craig Leonard liked thisCraig Leonard liked thisAnother StackAdapt's Conversion event was closed out with an insane lineup of artists: Kimberly Perry, Gary Levox, Mark McGrath, and Ying Yang Twins
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Craig Leonard liked thisCraig Leonard liked thisWe're thrilled to welcome Blaine Fitzgerald as StackAdapt's new Chief Financial Officer. Blaine brings decades of experience scaling high-growth technology companies, most recently as CFO at Kinaxis and Vice President of Finance at Shopify. As we enter our next chapter, Blaine's leadership will be instrumental in building the financial foundation to support our continued growth and innovation. Welcome to the team, Blaine! #StackAdapt #CFO #AdTech Nasdaq
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Craig Leonard liked thisCraig Leonard liked thisThere's a moment that happens in service that no technology can manufacture. It's the student who finally gets her financial aid sorted out after weeks of stress. The senior who renews his license without losing a whole day. The patient who leaves a clinic appointment feeling genuinely heard. These moments are small in the grand scheme of things, but they are the moments that matter most. I've been thinking about this a lot lately, in the context of a very public lesson Starbucks just taught the business world. For years, Starbucks quietly reduced the number of baristas in its stores. The logic made sense on a spreadsheet: high tech equipment, smarter automation, lower labour costs. Earlier this year, CEO Brian Niccol admitted it had backfired. Customers felt it. Sales fell. The company reversed course by hiring back baristas. They brought back handwritten names on cups (and ceramic mugs too!), and made a very public recommitment to what they call the "third place": the feeling of being welcomed somewhere between home and work. But here's what I find most worth noting: Starbucks didn't abandon technology. They reframed it. Their AI now helps baristas recall drink recipes and sequence orders more intelligently. This helps with managing the chaos of serving in-store, drive-thru, mobile and delivery customers all at once. Technology absorbing the operational noise — so the person behind the counter can be present for the person in front of them. There are two versions of AI in service. One replaces the human moment. The other protects it. I work in this space every day, and I see the same pattern play out across government offices, university service centres, and healthcare clinics. Service staff who genuinely want to help people but get burnt out because they are buried under the operational weight of answering the same questions on repeat ("What do I need to bring?" "How much longer is the wait?"), manually juggling bookings, managing visible lineups while trying to serve whoever's at the desk, recovering from no-shows that throw off the whole afternoon. That's not service work. That's administration. And when people spend their day doing it, the human moments get squeezed out. The organizations I see thriving aren't the ones asking "how do we automate our staff away?" They're asking a more interesting question: what are we asking our people to do that a system could handle, so they can focus on the work only humans can do? At the end of the day, any task that AI can do is not a task that your customers will remember you for. This is foundational to what WaitWell and our Waillo AI service layer sets out to do: remove the middle work that slows down service and burns out service staff. At WaitWell, we know that technology works best in service when it handles the operational complexity around the human moment . Not when it tries to replace the moment itself.
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Craig Leonard liked thisUnfortunately Paul Godman on my team is retiring so now I’m seeking a new awesome person to join AEC!Craig Leonard liked thisAEC is seeking a Vice President Investments We invest in venture capital (VC) funds that finance technology companies in Alberta and beyond. Reporting to the CEO, the Vice President Investment (VPI) position is responsible for leading and managing investment activities of the corporation together with the Senior Investment Team. The ideal candidate will have a master’s degree or professional designation in a related field, complemented by a minimum of 10-15 years directly related experience. Demonstrated experience in the origination, evaluation, execution and portfolio management of private equity and/or venture capital fund investments as well as co-investments or direct investments is a requirement. The position requires excellent communication and analytical skills, an ability to think strategically and to work in a collaborative environment managing a team. This is a full-time position based in Edmonton or Calgary, Alberta. Applicants that meet the criteria are welcome to apply. Applications will be accepted until May 22, 2026. Only those selected for an interview will be contacted. Please submit your cover letter and resume to careers(at)alberta-enterprise.ca or apply online on our website 👇 https://lnkd.in/gn6NM5pW
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Craig Leonard liked thisCraig Leonard liked thisAEC is seeking a Vice President Investments We invest in venture capital (VC) funds that finance technology companies in Alberta and beyond. Reporting to the CEO, the Vice President Investment (VPI) position is responsible for leading and managing investment activities of the corporation together with the Senior Investment Team. The ideal candidate will have a master’s degree or professional designation in a related field, complemented by a minimum of 10-15 years directly related experience. Demonstrated experience in the origination, evaluation, execution and portfolio management of private equity and/or venture capital fund investments as well as co-investments or direct investments is a requirement. The position requires excellent communication and analytical skills, an ability to think strategically and to work in a collaborative environment managing a team. This is a full-time position based in Edmonton or Calgary, Alberta. Applicants that meet the criteria are welcome to apply. Applications will be accepted until May 22, 2026. Only those selected for an interview will be contacted. Please submit your cover letter and resume to careers(at)alberta-enterprise.ca or apply online on our website 👇 https://lnkd.in/gn6NM5pW
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Craig Leonard liked thisCraig Leonard liked thisDay 3, and the momentum at Think 2026 shows no signs of slowing down. The last couple of days have been packed, but the conversations and the company have made it all worthwhile. From the energy at IBM Canada Night to the Build Partner Meet and Greet, followed by the visit to the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab, it’s been a masterclass in where the industry is headed. We’re all focused on the same goal: moving past the "experimental" phase of AI to build autonomous, agentic systems that solve enterprise-scale problems. Specially great catching up with Rob Thomas, Grant Millar, Joe Ashton, Raj Datta, Nick Rogers The adrenaline is high, and the potential for Agentic AI in HR transformation is something I could talk about for hours but for now, it's time to head back to the floor! If you’re still around this afternoon and want to continue the discussion, let’s grab a coffee. #Think2026
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Craig Leonard liked thisCraig Leonard liked thisWe’ve been working on something new at StackAdapt 👀 As more people use tools like ChatGPT to figure out what to buy, where to go, and what to do next, we’re exploring what it looks like for advertisers to show up in those moments in a way that feels both non-intrusive and relevant. We’re now offering early access to ads in ChatGPT. It's been incredible being among the first in the industry to explore what this space can become. To learn more, check out the full announcement here: https://lnkd.in/eCET5DiS
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Graphite Ventures
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Snita Balsara, PMP, MBA
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“Working with interesting people on interesting things” is the theme of my career and being part of Canada’s innovation ecosystem is the perfect place to make that happen!<br><br>I am a Principal with BDC's Sustainability Venture Fund. It’s amazing to work with passionate entrepreneurs, alongside investors and an ecosystem focused on scaling Canadian Start-Ups.<br><br>My career started in system development and implementation, followed by leading a team at IBM in sales operations. While completing my MBA at Schulich School of Business, I did an exchange semester at ESADE. Returning from Spain, I joined the Herjavec Group with a focus on contract management, corporate development and acquisitions, and had the opportunity to manage Robert Herjavec’s Shark Tank Portfolio. This last experience opened the door to venture capital for me and I joined the MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund in 2016. Our team then spun out of MaRS and launched Graphite Ventures in 2021. I joined BDC's Sustainability Venture Fund in 2022, and was drawn by the fund's thesis to focus on early stage companies whose mission is to solve the world's most pressing sustainability challenges that will bring meaningful change and help to build more resilient economies.<br><br>As an Investor, my day involves all aspects of venture investing, from deal sourcing, due diligence, round syndication, and supporting companies to scale as an observer on the Board of Directors. I love to learn, collaborate, teach and drive results. <br><br>With the philosophy of rising tides lifts all ships, I’m an active member of Canada’s Innovation Ecosystem. As a founding member of the Canadian Women in VC Community, we’ve built a network of women investors in our ecosystem to share best practices, connect and support career development. Also as a founding member of the Diversity and Inclusion Small Council, we’ve built a platform to help under-represented tech founders gain exposure to top VC funds in Canada.
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🧬 Big news in Canadian healthtech! Edmonton-based NiaHealth has raised $5.75M in seed funding to scale its Longevity-as-a-Service platform—bringing its total funding to $8.25M. The round was led by Golden Ventures with backing from notable names including Kyle Braatz, Arati Sharma, Satish Kanwar, Jason Smith, and The51. 💸🇨🇦 Since emerging from stealth, NiaHealth has: 🔬 Conducted over 100,000 biomarker tests 📈 Grown users 30% month-over-month 📋 Built a 12,000+ person waitlist 🤝 Formed partnerships with University of Alberta and Ada What makes NiaHealth different? It combines clinical-grade testing, wearable integrations, and licensed clinicians to shift Canada from reactive check-ups to proactive, personalized care. With over 90% of users uncovering unknown health risks, the startup is making a real impact. Co-founder & CEO Sameer Dhar says it best: “People plan their careers and finances, but when it comes to long-term health, we’re flying blind. We want to change that.” 🚀 Read how NiaHealth is leading the healthspan revolution in Canada. #HealthTech #Longevity #CanadianStartups #DigitalHealth #PrecisionMedicine #EdmontonTech #NiaHealth #ProactiveCare #VentureCapital #StartupFunding Matt Golden https://lnkd.in/gbhqC_q2
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AssistIQ just raised $11.5M in Series A — here's why this Montreal-based healthcare AI startup should be on your radar. Founded by serial entrepreneur Lisa Israelovitch, AssistIQ is transforming hospital supply chain management through computer vision and AI. Their platform automates supply tracking, reduces waste, and improves billing accuracy for healthcare systems — integrating directly with major EHR platforms like Epic and GE. But rapid growth brings complex marketing challenges that present significant opportunities for the right agency partner: **Market Education Challenge:** - Conservative healthcare stakeholders need convincing to abandon manual processes for AI-driven workflows - Decision-makers require extensive education on ROI and implementation benefits - Long sales cycles demand sophisticated nurturing strategies **Scale & Integration Complexity:** - Expanding deployment across hospital systems requires targeted messaging for different stakeholder groups - Technical integration stories need translation into business value propositions - Multiple buyer personas from IT directors to supply chain managers to C-suite executives **Competitive Differentiation:** - Growing healthcare AI supply chain space demands clear positioning - Need to articulate unique value against emerging competitors - Partnership acquisition strategies for accelerated market penetration **Services They Need:** > B2B healthcare marketing expertise with proven hospital system experience > Account-based marketing for complex enterprise sales cycles > Content strategy for technical product education and trust-building > Partnership marketing to accelerate growth through strategic alliances With fresh funding and proven traction in a massive market, AssistIQ represents the kind of high-growth healthcare tech client that can drive substantial long-term value for agencies with the right expertise in B2B enterprise marketing. An agency like Red House B2B Marketing would probably be a good fit to help - They have deep expertise in healthcare marketing, specializing in B2B technologies and understanding the nuanced challenges of marketing to hospital decision-makers, which aligns perfectly with AssistIQ's need to scale and educate conservative healthcare stakeholders.
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Market Bridge Life Sciences
223 followers
Many Canadian digital health founders we talk to believe they have a go-to-market problem. They don't. They have a sequence problem. There are four commercial foundations every healthcare B2B company needs to build before their sales motion will hold: ➡️ 1. Regulatory classification. In Canada, this comes first. Health Canada's classification of your software determines your market access pathway. Class I through IV is not just a regulatory category. It's a commercial positioning decision. ➡️ 2. Payer identification. Before you build a sales process, you need to know who actually writes the cheque. In Canadian healthcare, that question is harder than it sounds. Fourteen jurisdictions. Provincial procurement rules that differ by territory. Hospital buying groups with multi-year contract cycles. ➡️ 3. Evidence calibration. Provincial payers, health authorities, and self-insured employers have different evidence thresholds. Your clinical validation strategy should be built to clear the specific bar of your first institutional buyer, not a generic clinical standard. ➡️ 4. Compliance-forward positioning. In a regulated market, your compliance framework is not a legal footnote. It's a trust signal. Procurement committees evaluate risk before they evaluate features. Here's the part most frameworks miss: these four aren't separate options to choose between. They're a sequence. And the sequence is also a framework. Companies that skip step one and start at step two build their commercial strategy on an unresolved regulatory question. Companies that skip step two and go straight to step three are calibrating their evidence to the wrong buyer. Companies that skip straight to step four are polishing the surface while the foundation is still wet. Think of it like building a structure. You don't install the windows before the walls are up. The order isn't a preference. It's load-bearing. According to OpenView's 2024 SaaS Benchmarks, 68% of B2B start-ups hit a growth ceiling after initial founder-led traction, with growth becoming increasingly dependent on the founder's personal relationships rather than documented, repeatable processes. [1] In healthcare B2B, where procurement cycles run 12 to 24 months and buying committees span clinical, operational, and financial stakeholders, that ceiling arrives faster and is harder to break through. The founders who stall at early sales, not for lack of product quality but because each new deal requires the founder in every room, are almost always missing at least one stage in this sequence. Revenue proves the product works. Repeatable revenue requires the architecture to be complete. What stage in the sequence is your company working on right now? Reference: [1] OpenView Partners. (2024). "SaaS Benchmarks Report." Cited in RCKT. (January 2026). "How to Transition from Founder-Led Growth." https://lnkd.in/gZMfHC-G *Additional references in comments.
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AI Tech Supports
9K followers
Qualitate is stepping into the spotlight with a $7M Seed round to transform how primary research is conducted, led by IA Ventures and Crew Capital, with backing from angel investors including Tony Berkman, Travis May, Matt Levin, alongside advisors Alex Zukin and Brian Lichtenberger. Led by founder and CEO Sagar Kadakia, Qualitate is building an #AI-native intelligence platform designed to streamline and enhance primary research workflows for investment and strategy teams. At the core of its offering is an AI moderator that manages the full research lifecycle—from study design and expert sourcing to live interview moderation and automated insight generation—delivering real-time, high-quality intelligence. With fresh capital, Qualitate plans to expand operations and accelerate product development, positioning itself to redefine how organizations gather and act on expert insights in an increasingly data-driven world. Jeff Capobianco CTO & Head of Applied AI Sam Parl VP, Engineering Erroll Davis VP, Product Rahul Loney Director, Applied AI & Data Engineering Tyler Fein Director, Research & TMT Intelligence Natalie Lamorena Director, Data & Information Strategy Michael Ganian, CFA Director, Fintech Intelligence @Mark Langan Director, GTM Engineering & Enablement @Luis Frey Director, Enterprise Sales Jocelyn Buckley Lead, Product Designer Isabelle Lowe Director, Insights #AI #MarketResearch #PrimaryResearch #GenerativeAI #StartupFunding #SeedFunding #VentureCapital #Innovation
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Ambassaitir Software and Platform
941 followers
From Toronto to Tech Disruption Kendell Victor Johnson, co‑founder of Subskryb, hails from Toronto and entered Canada’s startup scene with a disruptive idea. Subskryb—launched alongside partners including Giovanni Smith and Preston Martelly—is a subscription-based “car‑as‑a‑service” platform, enabling flexible car-sharing memberships and seamless access to vehicles through digital access models. Kendell has quickly built one of the most stellar reputations in all of software across Canada, recognized not only for his entrepreneurial drive but also for his ethical leadership and deep commitment to using technology for good. Beyond Mobility: Tech for Impact Under Kendell’s leadership, Subskryb’s technology was also instrumental in the recovery of stolen assets, showcasing the platform's potential for real-world, high-stakes applications far beyond vehicle access. This incident highlighted Kendell's vision for building secure, accountable tech platforms—tools that not only serve consumers but actively enhance safety and transparency. Subskryb Rebrands to Ambassaitir AI In 2025, following a successful buyout by Kendell Victor Johnson, Subskryb Corporation entered a bold new chapter through a comprehensive rebranding initiative. The company was relaunched as Ambassaitir AI, signaling a broader focus beyond mobility—into the rapidly expanding world of artificial intelligence infrastructure and brokering. Scaling Into AI Hardware & Strategy Today, Ambassaitir AI is positioning itself as a key broker and strategic partner for some of the top AI firms globally. The company specializes in: Brokerage of advanced AI hardware components Facilitating enterprise‑level collaborations on frontier AI projects Building bridges between Canadian R&D and international innovation hubs Ambassaitir AI now plays a critical role in helping AI ventures acquire, deploy, and scale the tools and talent needed to lead the next wave of intelligent systems. On Track Toward Canada’s Tech Elite With solid early traction, a remarkable pivot into AI, and a reputation for delivering high‑impact results, Kendell Victor Johnson is widely regarded as a next‑generation founder in Canada’s tech ecosystem. From his roots in Toronto’s mobility sector to becoming a trusted force in AI strategy, his career is a model of resilience, innovation, and leadership. Why this journey matters Kendell’s story is emblematic of entrepreneurial resilience: during one of the most disruptive crises in recent history, he and his team leaned into agility, ethical tech, and mission-driven pivots—and came out ahead. By focusing on digital trust, mobility, and now AI infrastructure, Kendell Victor Johnson is forging a path that places him firmly among Canada’s most promising tech leaders.
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Boast
12K followers
💡 Harley Finkelstein's recent article on SR&ED reform raises critical questions about making Canada's R&D support more accessible. We're genuinely excited about this conversation; any time successful #entrepreneurs push for better #innovation policy, that's a win for the entire ecosystem. We absolutely agree that SR&ED should be improved and made more accessible, but with guardrails that empower legitimate innovators. Read our take on why effective reform needs the right balance of accessibility and quality standards: https://lnkd.in/ercRH6fS #CanadianInnovation #SRED #RnD #Innovation #Shopify
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Opsify Technology
15 followers
Seeing major players like Suzuki invest in automation startups like Linkwiz is a powerful signal: the future of efficient scaling is intelligent automation. For Canadian startups and SMEs, this isn't just global news—it's a local imperative. At Opsify, we're dedicated to bringing that same transformative power to operations right here. We help Canadian businesses put their key workflows on autopilot by integrating AI with the tools they already use. Why get bogged down in repetitive tasks when you can automate data extraction, streamline workflows, and unlock actionable insights? We bridge the gap between complex processes and effortless automation, empowering teams to focus on strategic growth. The automation revolution is here. Is your operation ready to scale with it? Explore how Opsify can transform your workflows: https://opsifyai.ca #AI #Automation #CanadianTech #Startups #SME #Operations #Productivity #Opsify #Innovation #BusinessGrowth
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Venture Capital Journal
10K followers
🌱 Emerging managers are facing a tougher fundraising environment as mega-funds continue to dominate venture capital. In Canada, Inovia Capital and Northleaf Capital Partners are launching a new platform designed to help pre-seed and seed-focused managers sharpen institutional fundraising, portfolio construction and LP engagement. The initiative reflects a broader shift in venture: emerging GPs increasingly need more than performance to stand out with institutional LPs. 🔗 Read the full story: https://okt.to/4OVm90 #VentureCapital #EmergingManagers
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Datapile.co | Page For Founders
2K followers
Maple Bridge Ventures, an Ottawa VC firm founded by ex-EDC manager Eric Agyemang, has raised over $10 million for its inaugural fund, aimed at supporting early-stage tech startups led by Canadian immigrants. The company, more than halfway to its $20-million goal, plans to back ventures in agriculture, food, health, and enterprise tech, with first investments ranging from $250,000 to $1 million and a 40% reserve for follow-on support. https://lnkd.in/g_TCdBAn #MapleBridgeVentures #immigrantentrepreneurs #fundraising #funding #fundraise
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AIXF.ai
174 followers
Fourteen of Canada’s Top Startups Named as 2026 CIX Startup Award Winners: Powered by Elevate, CIX Startup Awards is the Largest National Showcase of Canada’s Most Innovative Emerging, Early, and Growth-Stage Startups TORONTO, ON / ACCESS Newswire / February 10, 2026 / Elevate has announced the 2026 CIX Startup Awards winners: fourteen exceptional Canadian startups from across the country making an impact in health, climate, defence, fintech […] http://dlvr.it/TR4mNN #Startups #Innovation #CIXStartupAwards #Canada
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BetaKit
38K followers
Canada's startup ecosystem lost $66 billion in value over a 5-year period. Our startups aren't getting as much early-stage seed funding as their counterparts in similar US cities. That cascades through later stages, leading to slower growth, fewer exits, and billions in lost value. The National Angel Capital Organization (NACO) and Startup Genome lay it all out in a new report that analyzed roughly 65,000 exits. We've got the breakdown at BetaKit: #CDNTech
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ZPONZ
117 followers
THE EXPERT EDGE BY ZPONZ: Expert in Venture Capital Teri Kirk is Founder and CEO of The Funding Portal Inc. (Fundingportal) where she has overseen the growth of North America's leading platform for companies seeking improved access to funding, including government incentives, capital and financing markets. #ZPONZ #GetPaidForExpertise #MonetizeYourSkills #VentureCapital
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