Q-News Mike's Commentary
March 2008Vulture Capital is a Misnomer
Posted in Mike's Commentary
During the past couple of weeks I had discussions with three different entrepreneurs who were reluctant to consider raising venture capital because close advisors had described those sources of capital as “Vulture Capitalists.”
Grassroots Initiatives in Local Tech Space
Posted in Mike's Commentary
While things are decidedly quiet on the VC front it’s great to see plenty of activity percolating up from the grassroots. There have been several highly successful events of late that have drawn participation and interest that bodes well for the continued development and growth of technology companies. This month I wanted to highlight a number of these events and applaud a few of the individuals who are leading the charge.
You Only Get One Chance to Make a First Impression
Posted in Mike's Commentary
I stood in for Mike earlier this week for the first round of judging in the TiEQuest 2008 Business Venture Competition. For those who haven’t heard, TiEQuest has attracted 200 submissions this year so the pressure was on to have the judging process well orchestrated. The 15 cm of snow which fell during the 8 minutes it took me to walk over to First Canadian Place added extra pressure due to the small number of judges who were able to get there, but that’s another story ...
December - More of the Same
Posted in Mike's Commentary
It’s fairly obvious that 2008 is going to be a very challenging year for the Canadian venture capital community and the companies that will be looking to raise investment capital. While the trailing 12-month investment numbers continue to trend marginally upwards, the shortage of new capital flowing into the sector, the still-early resurgence of a robust angel community, and the distinct lack of action by the government to remedy tax legislation to encourage foreign investment in Canada all point to a slow coming 12 months.
November 2007Another Call for Action
Posted in Mike's Commentary
This month I would like to tip my hat to Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu who have just issued an excellent 2007 survey on Global Trends in Venture Capital. Taking a strong stance, Deloitte’s press release goes on to call for the Canadian government to enact significant changes to current tax legislation which impedes foreign VC investment. It’s certainly nice to see one of the big guys stand up and issue a call to action for what has become a very dire situation for Canadian companies looking to attract investment capital.
October 2007It's Not Only the Snowbirds That Love to Head South
Posted in Mike's Commentary
Don’t you just love politicians! While Canada’s best private companies are increasingly being funded by US VCs, US public companies and private equity groups acquire Canada’s best public technology companies, and early stage companies are starved for capital, Ontario’s government issues a press release announcing the signing of a Letter of Intent to create a new VC fund.
September 2007Toronto's First "Startup Weekend"
Posted in Mike's Commentary
Last month I was invited by Alan McMillan, a local Entrepreneur in Residence at Jefferson Partners, to donate some cash to
Bioparma Rules
Posted in Mike's Commentary
During the month of August there were 15 reported transactions for a total of $191 million. This compares to July’s total of 21 transactions for $134.5 million and June’s reported total of 8 financings for a total of $69 million. The month would have been significantly higher if the amount of the 3i investment in Mold-Masters could be confirmed.
Quebec, Clean-Tech and Widdled Thumbs
Posted in Mike's Commentary
July’s financing numbers continued on an upward trend, albeit from a small base. Nonetheless, it’s always good to see movement in the right direction. Equally good to see was the widespread activity from a number of names that we haven’t seen in a while. To name a few, investments were made by: Yaletown Venture Partners, Skypoint Capital, Genuity Capital Partners, BDC Venture Capital, BCE Capital, Solidarity Fund QFL, Brightspark Ventures, Growthworks Capital and Celtic House Venture Partners.
Canadian Investors See Red, White & Blue
Posted in Mike's Commentary
As the saying goes, we live in interesting times. I believe that it’s a fair statement to say that in general the Canadian venture capital industry is struggling and despite commentary to the contrary, the sector is not healthy and the prognosis for the patient is uncertain. We are not seeing sufficient capital inflow to the funds to support a healthy venture industry and monthly investments in private companies continue to be disappointing.
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