Think Global

How Canadian identities and local networks can provide pathways to international audiences

A Workshop by Qasim Virjee Community Development, Canada

SoftLayer, an IBM Company

The Canadian Startup story is different than elsewhere in the world.

We can’t emulate the Valley in just one area of the country and Canadian entrepreneurs need to consider their collective cultural strengths - which set them apart and above Americans and others.

Think Global

Overview

• Huge Geography

• Limited local $ (In 2014, VC $1.9B invested in 379 deals)

• Seed vs after-round finance availability

• MegaDeals [$100M+] unlikely

• Cultural emulation makes success impossible

Think Global

Local Problems

• Canadians spend the most time online /week globally

• We look at more diverse content than anyone else in the world

• Canadians pay some of the highest rates in the world for Internet

access (i.e. its important to us.)

• English speaking Canadians spend ~7hrs/week more than French

Canadians

Think Global

Solutions: Digital Culture

• More than 200 ethnic diversities (2011 National Household Survey.)

• Nearly 7million Canadians are foreign-born (~21%) (2011)

• Canada’s average immigration intake is ~250,000 people

• Asia was the largest immigration source over the past 5 years

• 70% of visible minority groups live between Montreal, Vancouver and

Toronto (where ~50% of the population is non caucasian.)

Think Global

Solutions: Cultural Diversity

• Community (2/3 of Canadians in a statistics canada survey in 2008

reported feeling a ‘very strong sense of community belonging.’)

• Ease of corporate registration

• Mainly urban populations

• Ethnic diversity

• Living cultural links

Think Global

Unique Value Propositions

• Founder: Nana Osei

• Goal: Fair wage jobs in Ghana

• Product: Lightweight eyeglasses made of reclaimed redwood, zebra

wood and bamboo.

• Global Story: Designed in Canada, materials from Ghana,

produced in Japan and China.

Think Global

Examples: Bôhten

• Founders: Jeremy Johnson, Christina Sass, Iyonoluwa Aboyeji, Ian Carnevale

• Goal: Give brilliant young people in Africa an on-ramp to the digital economy

and give companies access to world-class talent.

• Product: Global talent acceleration & skills marketing/placement.

• Global Story: Co-founders based between Toronto & Lagos accepted to

Highline Accelerator in Toronto (formerly Extreme Startups) before pivoting,

rebranding & sourcing global investments (incl. Steve Case (co-founder AOL)

& Omidyar Network (eBay founder’s foundation.)

Think Global

Examples: Andela (ex-Fora)

:)

Qasim Virjee qvirjee@softlayer.com Cell: 1.416.305-0201