For startups in Canada, raising capital is a major talking point both in social media and in the real world.
A funding roadshow and an article by BDC’s Matt Roberts on the current state of VC investments show up prominently as key topics of the current startup ecosystem social media conversation in Canada.
Over the past three months, the conversation has been active and diverse with 1,067 tweets from 636 accounts, and a combined reach of 5.1 million potential impressions.
Here’s what it looks like:
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The Fundica Roadshow appears near the center of the word cloud as people attending the event have shared actively in social media. The roadshow is a Canadian initiative by Montreal-based financial services company, Fundica. With stops in 10 Canadian cities between February and May, the event aims to “to educate entrepreneurs on funding opportunities and facilitate connections between funders and startups.”
BDC’s associate director of venture capital Matt Roberts is another large term in the word cloud. Roberts sparked social media activity and conversation with this post:
This CDN $ collapse is crazy – I shared some thoughts on what I think this means for the Canadian Tech Ecosystem. https://t.co/HCGAMr2VhG
— matt roberts (@mattroberts) January 16, 2016
In the post, he says 2016 won’t be as good as 2015 when it comes to funding for Canadian tech companies. The key issue? “The collapse of the Canadian Dollar, hitting a low that hasn’t been seen since the 2003,” he writes, which will impact talent and venture capital funding.
One of the most retweeted pieces of content in the conversation was from the Feb 23 launch of the City of Toronto’s #StartUpHereTo project, which aims to create awareness of, and support, Toronto’s startup ecosystem.
“Diversity is one of our greatest strengths” says @JohnTory about Toronto’s startup ecosystem #StartupHereTO
— StartupHereTO (@startuphereTO) February 11, 2016
Capturing Canadian entrepreneur stories also emerged as a popular part of the conversation. Another top retweeted message was about Startup North’s entrepreneur survey.
Canada’s first ever #entrepreneurship survey is underway, hoping to track the evolution of the #startup ecosystem. https://t.co/Gq6dDBII1g
— The DMZ (@RyersonDMZ) January 24, 2016
The top shared articles in the startup ecosystem conversation online include:
- DEEP Centre’s Map of the Canadian Accelerator and Incubator Ecosystem
- A wishlist for Canada’s startup ecosystem from Mark Evans
- Canada’s innovation ecosystem needs startups
Frequently Asked Questions
How active was the Canadian startup funding conversation on social media in early 2016?
Over the three months before the article, the conversation included 1,067 tweets from 636 accounts, with a combined reach of 5.1 million potential impressions.
What is the Fundica Roadshow?
The Fundica Roadshow is an initiative by Montreal-based Fundica that in 2016 stopped in 10 Canadian cities between February and May. It aimed to educate entrepreneurs on funding opportunities and connect funders with startups.
Why did BDC's Matt Roberts expect 2016 to be worse than 2015 for funding?
In January 2016 Roberts wrote that the collapse of the Canadian dollar, to a low not seen since 2003, would affect talent and venture capital funding, making 2016 weaker than 2015 for Canadian tech.
What is StartUpHereTO?
StartUpHereTO is a City of Toronto project launched in February 2016 to raise awareness of and support Toronto's startup ecosystem. John Tory said diversity is one of the ecosystem's greatest strengths.
What was Startup North's survey about?
Startup North ran what was described as Canada's first entrepreneurship survey in 2016, aiming to track how the startup ecosystem evolves. It was one of the most retweeted items in the conversation.