Startupville

Dan talks with Dan Jimenez, COO of Chatbooks. If you’re not from the area, you might not think of Provo Utah when listing America’s hottest startup hubs. But in recent years the region has been taking off, and is home to one of the country’s fastest growing startups, Chatbooks. Dan talks about the growth in the Utah tech scene, and dives deeper into how Chatbooks pivoted from being a family social network app to becoming the world’s easiest photobook. He also talks about how Chatbooks competes in a small-but-mighty talent market, and how they’ve taken advantage of Provo’s strengths in culture and education to accelerate their growth.

Dan talks with Will Topping, Founder & CEO of Brand X Tech, and Trevor Burgess, CEO of Voltsafe. The wall outlet is one of the most ubiquitous technologies in the world, and it has existed largely unchanged for over a hundred years. A Canadian company with roots in two cities is poised to completely re-invent this century-old tech in a way that could change homes, buildings, and technology around the world. Will also talks about his new venture into Internet-of-Things tech, the two reminisce about the early days of Voltsafe (before it was called Voltsafe), and the lessons they’ve learned about entrepreneurship along the way.

Dan talks with Alex Cruder, Co-founder & CEO of Curbie, and Daren McLean, CEO of Territorial and Advisor to Curbie. Nobody likes used car dealerships, whether it’s the suit-wearing salesman giving you the high-pressure upsell, or all the mystery associated with buying a car with an unknown history. It’s a stressful, risky experience, which is why most people avoid them all together if they can. Curbie is a Saskatoon-based tech startup reinventing the used car dealership by selling cars online like Amazon sells books. They’ve also found an invaluable partner and investor with one of their first service providers, Territorial. In this episode, we discuss Curbie’s journey so far, the relationship between startup, investor and advisor, and what is on the horizon for both.

We hosted a live episode at Innovation Place in Saskatoon to celebrate Season 1 of Startupville! Dan and Mike bring back some of the guests from the first season to talk more about small-city startups and more! Remember Ryan Quiring from SafetyTek and Episode 3 of the show? Well his band, Tickle Trunk was the entertainment at our wrap party. So stick around until the end of the show to hear a teaser of what's to come for Season 2, and a special Startupville performance from them!

Dan talks with Katrina German, CEO of KatrinaGerman.com, and Greg Sutton, CEO & Co-founder of TinyEye. Managing risk is a tricky business. Every entrepreneur has their own motivations for what they do, and they have to balance their "why" with all the risks involved in building a startup. Gaining a better understanding of what drives you will allow you to take calculated risks, and align your startup in a way that's the best fit for your goals. For founders who can master the art of managing risk, even failure can be a step forward that propels you to new hights.

Dan talks with Wilf Keller, President & CEO of Ag-West Bio Inc, and Blaine Chartrand, Program Head of Bioscience Technology at Saskatchewan Polytechnic. The global population is expected to grow by over a billion people in the next ten years. Food production has changed in many ways, and technology is becoming a big part of how we are able to feed an ever-increasing amount of people. Coming from a hotbed of biotechnology and agriculture innovation, Wilf and Blaine discuss how tech is an integral part of growing more (and more healthy) food into the future. Combined, with over a half century in communicating bioscience and Wilf since the 1970's, they discuss some of the communication mistakes that were made from early innovators that have changed the public discussion around food innovation.

Dan talks with Jordan Boesch, CEO of 7shifts, and Leejay Schmitt, Co-founder and CEO of Skylite Labs. There’s no denying that Silicon Valley is the startup capital of the world. There’s a critical mass of experienced talent, capital, and mentorship, and the culture of hustle is unmatched. It all combines to create the perfect storm help startups scale. Is it possible for startup founders to take advantage of the opportunities smaller cities present, and still have access to the wealth of knowledge and support The Valley can provide? And how can they inject that Silicon Valley energy into their own communities to compete on a global stage?

Dan talks with Jeff Cutler, Chief Strategic Relations Officer at Canadian Light Source (CLS), Canada's synchrotron research facility and one of only a few in the world, and Kennedy Mangera, formerly of Canadian Isotope Innovations, a startup using technology gained from the CLS to solve the global shortage of medical isotope supply. Not all technology is ready for market when it's first discovered or invented, sometimes it can take decades for a breakthrough to reach its potential. Some of the most revolutionary ideas take years of long-term research and investment for it to ever see the light of day. In this episode, our guests discuss how important it is for an ecosystem to invest in hard science that can pay dividends for society (and shareholders) if you're patient enough to see it through.

*Episode note* - Due to an echo-prone recording location (and some enthusiastic table tapping), there is some extra background noise in this episode. Please accept our apologies! Dan talks with Ian Meier, Co-founder & CEO of Agrimatics, and Alix Hayden, Associate Director of Innovation Enterprise. In a small city, you’re only ever a few degrees of separation from the next great piece of advice or support that can save you months of headaches. What can you do in the early stages of your startup to learn from the mistakes of those who came before you? And does starting in a small city reduce your access to mentorship and support, or can you take advantage a smaller, more connected ecosystem in a way you never could in a city of millions?

Dan talks with Ryley Iverson, Co-founder & CEO of Townfolio, and DonnaLyn Thorsteinson, Director of Programs & Operations with the Saskatoon & Region Economic Development Authority and SquareOne. All cities and towns have an economic development office looking to grow activity in their region. Townfolio's software helps economic developers attract more investment, and they themselves are helping the local economy by growing their tech startup. SREDA, like many other economic development agencies, has embraced the power of tech entrepreneurship, because tech can scale faster than any other industry. This provides an opportunity for the local economies to skyrocket on the backs of a strong tech ecosystem, but there are many pieces of the puzzle to make this work successfully.

Dan talks with Katherine Regnier, Co-founder & CEO of Coconut Software and Ryan Quiring, Co-founder & CEO of SafetyTek Software. It takes a village to raise a startup. Building a startup is a marathon, not a sprint, and it’s so important for founders to surround themselves with the right people to help push them through it all. Whether it is getting advice from an experienced veteran, commiserating over shared struggles with other founders, or having those closest to you keeping you grounded as you think you’ve reached your limit. Nobody has ever built a successful startup alone. It comes in many shapes and sizes, and we all need to find our village to keep us moving forward.

Dan talks with Jacqueline Cook, Chief Strategy Officer with Vendasta, and Conrad Neufeldt, Co-founder & CEO of Kasper. Smaller cities have something of a little sibling syndrome. Can they get over their inferiority complex and play in the big leagues? It can take years for startup founders from off the beaten path to realize their potential and the hidden potential of a diamond in the rough. And there’s nothing like a good surprise to catch the eyes of talent and investment. Can big things come in small packages?

Dan interviews Jeff Dyck of Mentor, a Siemens Company, and Jordan Dutchak of the tech incubator Co.Labs. Mentor (formerly Solido) was the largest tech acquisition in the history of their home province when they were acquired by one of the world's largest tech companies. Co.Labs is the provinces first tech incubator, taking startups from 1 to 1000. In this episode, they discuss the chicken and egg problem that all unestablished tech hubs face, and how Saskatoon is fighting the odds to build a vibrant, meaningful tech ecosystem thanks to continued involvement from the established veterans and small upstarts in the region.

Startupville is hosted by Dan Gold, formerly of The Economist Group in London, UK and some of the world's largest media campaigns. Dan interviews successful small-city tech founders on what it’s like to start and grow a tech startup in a smaller center away from the major hubs like Silicon Valley and Toronto. At Startupville, we challenge the notion that the next big thing can only be made in Silicon Valley.