Event category: Fundraising & Exits

While primary investments are the bread and butter of venture capital, they are by no means the only way that investors buy shares. Indeed, for companies that have reached stable profitability, secondaries are sometimes the only way to get involved. They can also be a crucial tool for re-aligning cap table ownership, winning competitive rounds and supporting founders to go big. Naturally, these benefits come with challenges, especially in terms of aligning interests across the transaction. Speaking from both the investor and founder side, our panelists will unpack some of these challenges while sharing their insights from past secondary transactions.

Join us as we untangle the twists and turns of the tech M&A rollercoaster, from its 2022 nosedive to the promising signs of a triumphant comeback in 2024 and learn why 2024 is predicted to be the year of recovery.

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.

Join Jordan Hill, Founder of Growth Partners and startup CFO, as he unveils the roadmap for VC-backed startups scaling from $1m to $10m ARR. The presentation will cover best practices from Finance and RevOps, such as: key scaling metrics, leading indicators for revenue and cash flow, and managing the "Lead to Cash" strategy. You will depart with five immediate, actionable steps to help manage your startup's growth. This is an essential session for startups aspiring for robust financial growth.

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.