By Mark Evans Canadians are, by and large, nice and polite. Unfortunately, we’ve made this approach part of our business and entrepreneurial landscape as well. While we may be confident, we’re not bold, cocky or aggressive. South of the border, entrepreneurs are a different breed. They truly believe they’re the best, the smartest, pioneers and […]
Not so risky business
By Mark Evans Canadian venture capitalists have a problem: they’re cautious, conservative and have a low tolerance to risk. It’s an easy thesis to accept because, in part, it’s true. It explains why The Globe & Mail published an extensive feature on the challenges facing Canada’s venture capital and startup sectors. The focus of The […]
Canadian tech: thriving, not vanishing
By Mark Evans According to a feature story in Saturday’s Globe and Mail, Canada’s tech sector is vanishing. Not only that but “the air is quickly coming out of Canada’s high tech sector – or what’s left of it.” First reaction: this is a troubling situation. Second reaction after reading the lengthy story: It’s an […]
Canada’s startup landscape: sexy?
By Mark Evans It must have been quite the party last week at the Canadian Venture Capital Association’s annual meeting in Montreal. In stark contrast to previous years, it seems attendees were downright giddy about the venture capital landscape and where it’s heading. It may be that after several years of bad news, a glimmer […]
Let’s get this party started
By Mark Evans South of the border, the party is raging. You can almost hear Prince’s “1999″ playing in the background as startups find themselves being courted by investors and snapped up for eye-popping amounts. The current case in point is Facebook’s $1-billion purchase of Instagram, which is staggering any way you want to slice […]
So what if RIM failed? Would that be all bad?
By Mark Evans As an enthusiastic supporter of Canada’s high-tech community, I’m hoping RIM can somehow find a way to revive its flagging fortunes. But the terrible debut of the PlayBook, the modest reception to the BlackBerry 9900, and October’s global network outage has not only put RIM on its heels but caused some industry […]
