David Blumberg to Visit Vancouver in April with $150 Million to Spend on Canadian Startups
Eventually, “the next HootSuite” of Vancouver will launch—a newer, even more agile and innovative company to carry the torch. It’s how every successful startup ecosystem functions.
To capitalize on this virtually inevitable opportunity, a notable venture capitalist from Silicon Valley is poking his nose around the city to sniff out today’s startups in hopes of getting a whiff of that next HootSuite—and he’s got $150 million burning a hole in his wallet. David Blumberg of Blumberg Capital, which has offices in the Valley and New York City, believes Vancouver is the next hot spot.
Blumberg Capital specializes in Seed and Series A rounds, particularly in social medial, mobile, and enterprise software, and invested in HootSuite very early on—which reaped huge rewards for the VC firm to the tune of a 52-times reward within a four-year window.
One company already on Blumberg’s radar in the city is Trulioo, one of the VC’s portfolio companies. Trulioo, self-described as a “data scientist’s dream,” helps website operators that support social login to detect spammers, trolls, fake users and bad actors; validate social profile information; and authenticate users in real time. Trulioo may be the next HootSuite, but if not, the startup may at least be involved in fostering the company who is: Trulioo has been hosting “pitch nights” and accepting applications from local startups, the best of whom will be selected by Trulioo to pitch directly to David Blumberg in April at the Trulioo offices in Vancouver on April 30.
As for why Blumberg has become so enamoured with Vancouver? In typical VC fashion, he keeps his reasoning blunt and logical: “Vancouver is a growing tech hub with great entrepreneurs and investment opportunity with supportive government.”
In an interview this week with The Vancouver Sun, Blumberg explains that entrepreneurs should adhere to the “six Ts” when dealing with investors: Theme, Team, Terrain, Technology, Timing, and Terms.
