Disruption’s Paul Singh Believes Canada as Ambitious as Silicon Valley, Wants to Prove It

Innovacorp, Nova Scotia’s early stage venture capital organization, is offering technology entrepreneurs the chance to spend up to six months at Disruption Corporation’s headquarters and $10,000 cash towards travel and living expenses.

The competition stems from Innovacorp’s recently announced partnership with Disruption, a tech and venture firm.

Paul Singh, founder of Disruption and former partner at 500Startups, is optimistic about Canada’s potential.

“A lot of people outside Canada don’t really know how much good stuff there is up there,” says Singh. “In the U.S., it’s not crazy for somebody to come over and say, ‘Here’s what we’re doing and we’re going to make a billion dollars.’ Nine times out of 10 you know that’s total bullshit. But the ambition is there.”

“I have a feeling that same ambition exists within Canadian entrepreneurs,” he added, “and this competition is our way of finding it, and giving those founders an environment to make it happen.”

The winning company will send at least one senior member and a business development person for up to 180 days in Disruption’s 27,000 sq ft workspace.

“We want high-growth Canadian tech companies to tell us what this opportunity could mean to their future if given the chance,” said Dawn Umlah, investment manager at Innovacorp. “What the winning startup will get is behind-the-scenes, concentrated access to potential new customers, investors and partners.”

Eligible companies must be backed by a reputable venture capital organization and have a minimum of 12 months’ runway. The deadline for submissions is March 18.