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GrowLab Matures with Announcement of Second Cohort

Two months ago, Techvibes reported that Vancouver's newest superangel, Mike Edwards, would be taking over the helm of Vancouver accelerator GrowLab. We warned Vancouver's startup community to buckle their seatbelts and prepare for "massive action" with Edwards in the Executive Director role.

Techvibes sat down with Edwards this morning to learn more about his first big GrowLab announcement—the cohort selected for their Spring 2012 program which kicks off next week.

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Toronto's Extreme Startups Reveals First Five Companies [Updated]

Toronto-based accelerator (not an incubator, like some misinformed people suggest) Extreme Startups has selected five companies for the inaugurual round of its program.

The organization saw applications from companies in 18 countries spanning five continents, according to TechCrunch—but ultimately settled with an all-Canadian lineup. Three startups are based in Extreme's hometown of Toronto, while one is from Edmonton and one is from Ottawa.

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Toronto’s Wave Accounting Secures $12 Million in Series B Funding

Today, Toronto-based startup Wave Accounting, a free cloud-based accounting software platform designed specifically for small businesses and solo entrepreneurs, announced that they have secured $12 million (USD) in Series B funding from the Social+Capital Partnership, a Palo Alto-based investor group aimed at turning venture capital into a socially progressive and constructive force that creates progress on a global scale, with participation from existing investors Charles River Ventures and OMERS Ventures.

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Learn More About One of the Largest Venture Capital Exits in Canada in a Decade

Late last year, IBM acquired Q1 Labs for a reported $500 Million. 

The provider of security intelligence software was founded by employees of the University of New Brunswick and their research and development centre is in Fredericton. Shaun McConnon, former Chairman and CEO of Q1 Labs, is flying up to Vancouver next week to speak at the Vancouver Enterprise Forum's May event.

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Is Angel Financing the Preferred Path to Exit for Canadian Companies?

Is angel financing the preferred path to exit for Canadian companies? If you're in Vancouver you can find out on Wednesday, May 16.

The Association for Corporate Growth will be hosting a luncheon that will shed light on the topic. Mark Longo of the Technology and Corporate Finance Group at Clark Wilson LLP will be moderating a panel that includes BC Angels of the Year Mike Volker (2010) and Boris Wertz (2011) and Early Exits author Basil Peters.

The panel titled Angel Financing: The Preferred Path to Exit for Canadian Companies will cover the state of angel investing in Canada and answer some of the following questions.

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Vancouver Coworking Community HiVE Seeks Crowdfunding on Indiegogo to Pay Down Debts and Grow

We just recently covered the end of Allerta's Kickstarter campaign, which saw the Canadian-born startup raise more than $10 million from over 66,000 backers in the span of one month. Back in Vancouver, coworking community HiVE is hoping to raise a modest $35,000 in crowdfunding money using the Indiegogo platform, which we earlier today suggested as one of 12 ideal sites to use in Canada.

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Crowfunding in Canada: Opportunities and Hurdles

Crowdfunding platforms raised $1.5 billion and successfully funded more than one million campaigns in 2011. Those numbers are forecast to double in 2012. The biggest player is Kickstarter.

TechCrunch suggests that with the US JOBS Act becoming law, the tech industry (and the economy at large) are headed for some big changes. Namely, the legalization of crowdfunding in startups for non-accredited investors has come to pass. In terms of its compound annual growth rate (CAGR), the North American crowdfunding industry is growing at a rate of 63% in terms of the total amount of funds raised.

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Etsy Raises $40 Million and Eyes Expansion into Canada

Etsy, the online marketplace for handmade and vintage goods, announced yesterday that it has raised $40 million from its existing VC investors.

This Series F round is on top of $51 million in funding to date and now pegs the company's value at more than $600 million.

What are they going to do with all that money?

Etsy’s chief executive, Chad Dickerson, told the New York Times that the new financing isn't needed to cover operational costs (they've been profitable since 2009) but rather to expand internationally. 

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