Matt Switzer

Insightful breakdown from my great Partner Omri Amirav-Drory on the simple factors that really separate the top 1% of investors from the rest, and how more operators should become investors! https://lnkd.in/gEiZdT2h

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It was great to speak with the Logic earlier this week and share Tidal Venture Partners perspective on the subject of fund domiciling strategy.  It may sound like we’re in the weeds on this topic, but the question of where to domicile is a growing conversation and consideration for many Canadian fund managers with big long-term implications for our innovation economy.  The challenge of Canadian companies remaining Canadian owned will only become more acute if more Canadian funds start to domicile in other jurisdictions.

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Are you a B2B software startup founder at the very start? Then you have to meet this early-stage investor! This week's findfunding.vc spotlight is on Dominic Lau from Ripple Ventures. He: 🇨🇦 Is Vancouver and Toronto based 🎣 Loves to fish 🎶 Founded the RippleX Fellowship - a platform to help underrepresented founders access mentorship, intros, and the tools to get from idea to revenue to funding Amongst founders, Dominic and his team at Ripple Ventures, including Matt Cohen, are known for being hands-on partners who open valuable networks, navigate challenges together, and assist in closing crucial revenue and funding deals. Make sure to: ✉️ Pitch him at [email protected] 👀 Look into the RippleX Fellowship - they take 10 companies 2x a year through the Founder Fellowship program and also back companies through the Fellow Fund For more, check out our funder spotlight card below along with Ripple Ventures' profile on findfunding.vc (link in comments).

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Another great #investcanada2024 conference last week. Congrats Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (CVCA) again and fantastic collaboration with Réseau Capital for curating + delivering such an important ecosystem event that brings together the who’s who in Canadian investing. It’s an interesting macro environment for both founders and emerging VC funds in 2024. The bar for fundraising is higher and the process is more difficult, but it’s an amazing time to build and fund startups. Over the years I’ve been asked what’s made me a successful investor given the number of exits & investor returns delivered. Beyond it being a full-time obsession for decades, one needs to constantly find ways to evolve to founder needs and deliver differentiated value. Earning the right to back and support the best founders is what delivers outsized investor returns. This is easy to say for many investors, but often many fall flat on the everyday execution for different controllable reasons. Reputations are built & lost fast in a more challenging market. Highline Beta's pre-seed VC & venture studio model continues to not only innovate, but also win predominantly because our core investment value is to always “earn the right on the cap table” with the founders that we support. It’s a complete team effort and after 8 years of building out Highline Beta’s foundation let’s us now grow via new vertical venture studios + funds. 🚀

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As a founder, have you ever been curious about this whole angel investing thing? This week's findfunding.vc spotlight is on an investor who's an expert in it you simply have to know: Matt Wilson, MBA from Allied Venture Partners. He: 🇨🇦 Is Calgary based 😇 Manages one of Canada's largest angle investor syndicates (now at 1,800+ members!) 🏒 Worked as a professional ice hockey referee, which he says shares remarkable similarities with investing Amongst founders, Matt Wilson, is known for bringing empathy and perspective as a former founder himself. Aside from financial support, his goal is to be the 'right' investor - one that aligns with a founder's vision, shares his network, and provides strategic insights when asked. ✉️ Make sure to pitch him, invest, scout, advise and more at https://linktr.ee/alliedvc For more, check out our funder spotlight card below along with Allied Venture Partners' profile on findfunding.vc (link in comments).

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Check out this epic interview.

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Even in what I do, it can be hard not to over-focus on the short term, as I do battle with the latest groupthink or deliberate misinformation campaign. My conversation with Azeem really made me stop and think about the medium and long term trends again. The exponential nature of cost reductions and performance improvements in so many clean technologies is incredibly powerful. And yes, we know they are not truly exponential, but I dealt with that in my Superheroes piece - they might as well be. The exponential nature of technological change is not uncharted space. We have case studies from other industries, in particular from communications and computing, from which to learn. And learn we should. Azeem is a bit more optimistic about the speed with which the future will arrive; I am a bit more anchored in the sheer physicality and asset intensity of energy, transport and infrastructure. But we agree on a lot. When something good grows by 10-60% per year for many decades, the world is changed out of all recognition, and changed for the better. My only regret in this conversation is that we didn't explore what happens as exponential technologies increasingly support and reinforce each other. Maybe the topic of another episode! I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as we did! Please let us know.

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The Access Group has acquired Paytronix, a leading customer engagement platform for convenience stores and restaurants. The deal, announced on Nov. 1, 2024, aims to expand Paytronix’s platform offerings and accelerate its growth. The acquisition will also double The Access Group’s North American team and integrate its business management solutions, such as CRM, inventory, and accounting, with Paytronix’s loyalty programs, mobile apps, and online ordering tools. Paytronix will retain its name and continue serving major brands like Panera Bread and QuickChek Corporation. Both companies expect the partnership to enhance their value and growth in the U.S. market. Read More: https://lnkd.in/ezdJwzYm C-Store Dive Jessica Loder Branded Hospitality Ventures Hospitality Hangout Podcast #Hospitality #Growth #Technology #Innovation Andy Crofts Jo Fontaine John Coldicutt James Swaine Rachael Moss Charles Gray Dan Murphy Chris Lanno Matt d'Arbeloff Stefan Kochi

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Come join the Future of Frontier Technologies AI & blockchain event panel in Santa Monica! ✨ We are hosting an event on Friday, May 3rd during @Farcaster's FarCon weekend. Which will bring many blockchain experts & builders to LA! Emerging LA is collaborating with Lightspeed's Faction VC as a co-host, with Partner Timothy K. moderating a panel. The panel will discuss the questions that you are probably wondering about these technologies: • How can AI and blockchain work together? • How will these frontier technologies impact industries today? • What are the real-world use cases that these technologies solve? • What are the current dynamics between innovation and regulation? ​One on hand, AI offers the promise of abundance, democratizing content creation but will open the door to (deep)fakes and mistrust. On the other hand, ​Blockchain offers digital scarcity, authentication, and trust in a world inundated with digital replicas. --- The audience will be filled with founders, technical builders, investors, and industry executives in sectors that are most relevant to these trends: Gaming, media, content, finance, social. The early bird ticket sold out quickly last week and the general admission tickets expire on Wednesday, so don't miss out and grab yours soon! Partners for this event include Sunset Ventures and AI LA as well as others in town: • LA schools & clubs: Wharton Club of Southern California, Wharton Digital Assets Club, Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard Blockchain , and Blockchain at USC • CPG startups & Brands: Studio TBD, doorsa, Red Bull --- PROMO CODE DISCOUNTS! If you are a student or alum from Penn/Wharton, Harvard, USC, reach out and ask for code!! 😉 See you on Friday! (Link to event in comments) #ai #blockchain #farcon #web3 #LA

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✨ Breaking: Pender Ventures' Technology Inflection Fund II LP Announces New Fund.- Pender Ventures' Technology Inflection Fund II LP Pender Ventures focuses on Canadian B2B and health tech startups poised for scale-up, with over $100 million in available funds. https://lnkd.in/eJSYQQ4d Please share to let other #Founders know For the ❤️ of Startups #Fusion42 #Startups#Venturecapital

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These firms are ready to write checks, with new funds recently closed. 🔴 San Francisco based Infinity Ventures raised its second $184M fund to support founders building across B2B fintech and commerce enablement. 🔴 Vancouver based Top Down Ventures closed its first $25M Founders Fund to back early-stage SaaS companies within the Managed Service Provider (MSP) sector. 🔴 Mumbai based Avaana Capital launched its $135M Avaana Climate and Sustainability Fund to invest in early-stage companies using technology for climate adaptation and mitigation. 🔴 Paris based 360 Capital closed its first €30M fund to focus on early stage startups that are active in digital transition in Italy. 🔴 San Francisco based General Catalyst raised $8B for its Fund XII to back AI, Defense & Intelligence, Climate & Energy, Industrials, Healthcare and Fintech startups. 🔴 Atlanta based Socium Ventures raised its second $300M fund to focus on enterprise and vertical software, advanced computer tools, public sector software, healthcare, fintech, B2B marketplaces and sustainability startups. 🔴 Menlo Park based HRZ Han River launched its $100M fund to focus on the AI and consumer sectors within the Korea Graph.

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The state of venture capital is wild right now. We are witnessing a surge of innovation across the spectrum: - Funds merging - VC doing PE - PE doing VC - Secondary funds - Buyout funds - Spin-out funds - Debt funds - Continuation funds - Infrastructure funds - GP turnover - Hard Tech surging - Family Office uptick

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I had a great conversation with Evan M. about my career and entrepreneurial journey, including getting into the venture capital industry and why I founded Staircase Ventures with a unique philosophy and approach. Some quotes: "We benefit in Canada from terrific technical talent. In addition, we are seeing more repeat entrepreneurs and more experienced start-up leaders than we did 5 to 10 years ago... The other thing is that US investors want to invest in Canada. Ten years ago, US investors were reluctant to invest in Canadian companies and if they did, it would be on the condition that they move to the Valley. That is no longer the case." "I started my own fund not for the sake of starting my own fund, but because I wanted to devote my time to working with entrepreneurs and to serving them, helping them to build impactful companies. I had some ideas about how venture could be done differently and I wanted to put those ideas into action. That is what led me to start Staircase Ventures... There's three unique aspects of Staircase Ventures. The first is our founder development platform which is designed to help accelerate founders' development and help them perform their best every day." "Life is long and how you treat people and how you perform really, really matters in the long run. Life is not a short-term game; it is what you do and how you show up, day-after-day, over a period of many years that will determine your future." Listen here: https://lnkd.in/gpHprCt8

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What do you do when a radical new technology puts your main product right in the crosshairs of disruption? Listen to David Okuniev — co-founder of Typeform | Ask awesomely — discuss the challenges of innovation within existing structures. David shared a game-changing insight: Radical innovation is really, really difficult to do inside your own product. He emphasized the need to break free from the constraints of familiarity and embrace change from outside the box. Henrik Werdelin and I have both seen our fair share of this in our respective careers. What struck us most was how David leveraged structure to overcome the innovator’s dilemma. By creating a culture of experimentation and providing space for bold ideas, he propelled Typeform beyond incremental improvements. What other hacks have you seen or employed to help your organization overcome the innovator’s dilemma? Share your stories below! 👇 And if you want to dive deeper into our conversation, click the link in the comments to catch the full podcast episode!

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Some more thoughts on why we think SecondShop.com is one of the more ambitious investments we've made.

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In addition to building our own VC practice at AAF Management Ltd., we’ve invested in 37 VCs since 2017. Here is what, I believe, it takes to build a multi-vintage, early-stage, venture franchise: 𝟭- 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀: hyper-focused GPs build longevity and consistency in their businesses. If you pitch LPs saying you will invest in early stage consumer but end up doing late stage consumer that’s a massive red flag. Stay germane to your mandate and strategy. 𝟮- 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: the market is crowded with venture firms, articulate your differentiated value proposition to LPs and founders. Don’t try to be everything to everyone. Focus on 1-2 value propositions to your stakeholders and execute them with excellence and defensibility. 𝟯- 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆-𝗧𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴: we tell stories everyday. Raising capital for a fund and building your venture firm requires that same story-telling skillset. Tell consistent narratives to the market to help build your own brand as well as your firm’s brand. 𝟰- 𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁-𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗲: if you possess subject-matter expertise in a certain vertical, domain or industry, you already own a defensible moat. Accentuate that to your advantage when building your firm, raising capital from LPs and winning deals from founders. 𝟱- 𝗠𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: early stage venture is a highly collaborate asset class. Keep your ego at the door, you will never be able to do everything it takes to build a firm alone. Leverage LPs, partners and founders for deal flow sourcing, diligence and overall industry best practices. 𝟲- 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁-𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁-𝗙𝗶𝘁: in quintessential startup vernacular, ideally find your product-market-fit by the time you launch your second fund. You need product-market-fit before you scale your AUM, grow your team and carry more fiduciary responsibility. 𝟳- 𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲: early stage VC investing is a marathon. Patience will reward you personally, professionally and financially. Build mental, physical and psychological stamina to endure the inherent ebbs and flows of your entrepreneurial journey. 𝟴- 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴-𝗧𝗲𝗿𝗺: early stage VC investing is the archetypal long-term financial asset. Think in 10 year increments for your firm’s grand vision, think in 4 years for a given fund’s investment period and think in quarters when reporting material updates on your portfolio to your LPs. 𝟵- 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗙𝘂𝗻: if instant gratification, short feedback loops and a constant need for reaffirmation is what you are looking for in a career then early stage VC investing will not fulfill you. Have fun building, and as Naval Ravikant once said: "𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙣 𝙤𝙥𝙩𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙣." Finally, and most importantly, be authentic and true to yourself. #firmbuilding #entrepreneurs #VC

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I’m thrilled to be announcing that Notion Capital is leading the $15m Series A investment in Cogna today. In the industry, we like to think that software has been eating the world. But when you look at the data a better description would be more of a nibble. Depending on what source you look at the software industry represents between 5-8% of global GDP. Contrast that with the services industry that represents between 60-70% of GDP and worth around $25 trillion on a global basis. Most services have been out of reach for the software industry. They have either been too complex or too specialized for off the shelf software to access in any economically viable way. But that’s beginnning to change with GenAI leading to the emergence of ‘service as a software.’ Cogna is at the forefront of this opportunity - building precision software at scale and delivering huge productivity gains for traditional industries. We know Ben Peters & Lars Mennen well having backed their previous company Five AI that was acquired by Bosch in 2022. And we’re very excited to be backing them again together with Hoxton Ventures & Chalfen Ventures Read my full blog post on why we invested here. Radu Bozga Ben Peters Lars Mennen Bryan G. Mike Chalfen Hussein Kanji Kirsten Connell https://lnkd.in/eh8mhcJb

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If you're a Canadian entrepreneur, investor, or founder then this past week has made it painfully clear that when it comes to innovation and economic recovery the calvary won't be coming and is in fact running in the opposite direction. The federal government and associated regional innovation support agencies (ie Invest Ottawa) are failing to look at solutions aimed at effectively addressing an overall decrease in entrepreneurship and economic activity across the nation and it is now on us, as resilient Canadian entrepreneurs, to empower those who can bring the most value to the table if we are to strive for the quickest path forward towards economic recovery and helping the average Canadian family better their quality of life. I am proud to announce that RHA Ventures Inc. has answered that call 👏 In the face of rising costs for domestic businesses in Canada and competition from abroad, RHA Ventures, an Ontario-based venture capital firm specializing in cutting-edge technologies, announced today its investment in Real Life Robotics, a Waterloo-based company designing real robots for real businesses. This investment marks a significant milestone in the development of Real Life Robotics and underscores RHA Ventures' commitment to supporting true, tried, and tested founders and Ontario’s growing startup ecosystem despite an overall decrease in entrepreneurship across the rest of Canada. “Real robots, real people, and real-world challenges are what differentiate RLR as a technology company. We could not be more thrilled to have RHA Ventures, a group of experienced founders and problem solvers, on board as strategic advisors and investors as we help elevate Ontario globally as a home for first-in-class robotics and automation technology - empowering businesses with transformative robotics solutions that unlock new levels of efficiency, reliability, and scalability,” - Cameron Waite, CEO of Real Life Robotics. The numbers clearly show that the cost of getting involved in a business or launching a new product is too high for the average inexperienced Canadian and our economy has slowed in growth accordingly. On a macro level, we are placing too high an importance on new founders in a down market when we should be rewarding and doubling down on our true, tried and tested investors, founders and legacy businesses who have shown they are willing to take the risk. Thank you, Brian Foster and the rest of the team at RHA Ventures Inc. for taking this first step of the journey with us 🙏 https://lnkd.in/gSr5TP48

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