Event category: Fundraising & Exits

Whether you're a first-time founder or an experienced entrepreneur seeking to fine-tune your funding strategy, this session is your roadmap to financial success. Don't miss your chance to learn from like-minded innovators, ask burning questions, and leave with a concrete plan to fund your startup dreams. In this session, you’ll learn critical fundamentals, gain insider knowledge and hear stories from seasoned entrepreneurs who have successfully secured funding for their startups.

You might get the opportunity once in your career to build what can truly be a VC-backed company.   What metrics suggest that you have a venture-scalable company? Why do some early-stage ventures fail to grow beyond seed-stage? 

In this session you’ll hear learnings from very fast-growing companies that have successfully moved from bootstrapped to VC-backed. 

2021 has been a banner year for public market recognition of SaaS in Canada.  The recent rush of IPOs is frothy by any standard.  Mark Shulgan, Head of OMERS Growth Equity (OGE), shares his unique insights on scaling businesses from growth to IPO-readiness. An IPO holds companies to a higher standard — for finances, disclosures and delivering to plan, therefore setting it up for a stronger future. It would seem that many of the next generation of SaaS Founders may exit via IPO. 

Canadian companies are raising growth rounds left and right, and it’s so exciting to see Fellow’s $24 million Series A round added to that list. While COVID-19 tailwinds helped the company close a round in just two weeks, Aydin, CEO and co-founder (and 6x SAAS NORTH emcee) credits the company’s intense 30-day preparation process as a huge factor in their success. Take a look inside how Fellow prepared for its Series A fundraise and learn the steps that you can follow too. 

It is a challenge for bootstrapped entrepreneurs to know WHEN the best time is to raise capital and to evaluate the different capital options available to determine what is best to drive growth.  The Canadian tech ecosystem is flush with liquidity at present and lenders, VCs and other investors alike are competing for the best businesses. Hear from lenders and entrepreneurs about their practical experiences navigating these challenging waters and exploring different sources of debt and equity financing opportunities.