Geoff Kelsall (00:09): Why does Band VC invest in technology like you do? Where does your investment thesis come from?
Mike Mannix (00:16): We're a corporate venture as a service business, and we're the first to go to market in Canada. So this is a unique model that people may not be aware of. Ultimately, what we do is run a corporate venture program for companies that want to leverage venture as part of a broader innovation program. Generally speaking, therefore, our corporate activities guide our thematic or portfolio interests and direction.
Geoff Kelsall (00:48): What do you think is the most exciting thing about Alberta's technology sector and venture capital today?
Mike Mannix (00:54): We have a hard-working culture here. I think we have supportive governance and government that wants the industry to grow. We needed the impetus to really move beyond the energy sector. We've had to mature as a population, and as we've grown in size, we've had different talent and interests and all sorts of other people immigrating.
So, interestingly, when I went back in 2016, the technology ecosystem was just really starting to take off in Alberta. I'm not the oldest, but I've been through several cycles. You talk to older people. They have gone through many more cycles.
There's always the mindset of, “I'll never do it again,” and there's the mindset of, “Oh, this time I'm going to diversify.” And, you know, “We need better stability.” This time it was different. You're talking to all generations, and the outlook for the energy industry back then was different than it has been for the past 60 years. True veterans of the industry were of the opinion that the nature of the industry was changing globally, changing fundamentally, and that something needed to be done differently.
So there was a momentum to look for that “something different.'' And within that, the global digital economy is picking up, and markets and regions around the world are driving forces to develop their own technology ecosystems, and Alberta is no exception in that regard. We are incredibly fortunate to have what I call “Godfathers.” You could say they are Alberta's “tech giants,” and out of the goodness of their hearts, they're bringing that community together and really anchoring that community for the future of the province and the vision of the future of its people. I was allowed to. They put values ​​into that community and gained mass and a little bit of density. And they started it, right? And then we were able to bring in support from the government, and then we were able to bring in support from industry, and capital started flowing.
Innovators started receiving more support in the ecosystem and infrastructure. Things like CDL started to turn on. What excites me most about Alberta tech is that I think it's naturally positioned to take advantage of some of the core elements that I talked about earlier, the industrious nature of the province.
We have great growth and talent, great immigration and good capital flows. Here we see the formation of a technology ecosystem continuing to accelerate. We are currently the fastest growing company in the country on a quarterly basis. And there's just that positive momentum. I'm excited because it's the beginning of something. Don't get me wrong, we still have a long way to go, right? We're not Ontario, B.C., or Quebec yet, but we're gaining momentum. There is good evidence here. We have really community-minded, solid founder advocates like Symend and Hanif Johighani who really want to pay it forward and give it back. Masu. They'll reinvest here and coach here.
That's what we need, right? You need some of those companies to be a hit. You need them to scale. We need them to anchor our community. Benevity is clearly an important anchor. There are also soliums. The list goes on and on, but I've had enough wins that I'm starting to recycle. It's not just about capital, it's about talent, right?
And what's really interesting is that there's a concentration of qualified founders right now who have scale and are really maintaining momentum.
Geoff Kelsall (04:29): So when you look at startups that you're looking to invest in, what specifically do you look for as key metrics for a successful business?
Mike Mannix (04:41): You know, we're looking for scalable problems. We're looking for those true solution sets. But what experts in the corporate field tell us, and what we learn, is a real problem set. We're looking for founders and teams who are collaborative people, and we talk about everyone being coachable. We want a group that thinks that our capital, our team, our background, our expertise is additive to what we're trying to do, right? So we want that group to really looking for.
And then there are the traditional ones. Of course, all we're looking for in negotiations are the traditional items, such as a good valuation and financial outlook. In that respect, I would not say that we are any different from the market. So when we make these investments, we want to look for teams that need help: founders.
These are people who want someone, a group, etc. who are passionate and resilient but who think they are additive. Because that's our business model. We aim to make it easier for founders to scale their businesses, help businesses innovate and survive in the digital economy, and seek to help businesses accelerate the pace of change to become sustainable. Masu. right?
Jeff Kelsall (05:53) Yeah.
Mike Mannix (05:54): If we can work together in that model, the amount of value we can create, the new business we can scale and support, and the existing business we can sustain, makes a lot of sense to me. It becomes something. . So I think probably the unique thing that we really dig deep into is trying to understand the mindset of the founders, their teams, how they work.
You know, there are details. I'm a bit of an organization geek, data geek, or rather than data geek, I'm a detail geek. So if we're working hard and there are a lot of little details that are always off, that's a wake-up call for me. So I think founders are looking at this when they go into the data room, when they provide materials, when they collaborate on the due diligence process.
I know it's difficult. I know you're traveling a million miles a minute, but where there's smoke there's fire, so make sure you work as strictly as possible. So, I would like to dig deeper into this.
Mike Mannix (06:57): The most obvious and unique thing is, again, we're the only model doing this in this country. I explained a little bit about why I'm doing the part again. I think Canada has great opportunities. We have to get out of our ways a little bit. And you know, we serve customers on both sides of the border. We have customers in the US and Canada. And it's incredible how aggressive, fast-paced, and risk-on Americans are. And we have to compete with that.
And we need more entrepreneurship in this country. I hope that our corporate customers, our clients who are listening to this, really think about how they innovate. Take a long-term view and work with startups. Because they have the solution to your problem. All you need is a model to work with them. And a little shameless plug here, but if you're going to do it, put it in a corporate venture wrapper. Because we create a ton of value by working with startups.
Why not capture that value and recycle it into things like R&D and get that margin back?
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide on the subject. You should seek professional advice regarding your particular situation.
