Event category: BetaKit Keynote Stage
Events
Failure IS an Option – the Story of Sampler
Douglas Soltys from BetaKit sits down with former Sampler CEO and founder Marie Chevrier Schwartz for an intimate conversation where they discuss the rise and fall of Sampler, lessons learned, and the mental stamina needed to navigate a perfect storm. Promised to be a raw, real, and thought-provoking conversation, we’ll learn that “failure is an option,” and that defining “failure” may be key to our success.
Douglas Soltys from BetaKit sits down with former Sampler CEO and founder Marie Chevrier Schwartz for an intimate conversation where they discuss the rise and fall of Sampler, lessons learned, and the mental stamina needed to navigate a perfect storm. Promised to be a raw, real, and thought-provoking conversation, we’ll learn that “failure is an option,” and that defining “failure” may be key to our success.
Firehood Angel Winners
$100K+ of Funding! Watch as the Firehood Angel Camp Winners are revealed.
$100K+ of Funding! Watch as the Firehood Angel Camp Winners are revealed.
Firing Up Canada’s AI Future: A Conversation With The Minister Of AI & C100 ED Michael Buhr
In this fireside conversation, Minister Solomon and Michael Buhr dive into how Canada can lead—not lag—in the global race to harness the value of AI. From keeping top innovation talent and homegrown tech companies in Canada, fueling scale with Canadian growth capital, enabling smarter procurement, to taking bold national bets, this discussion explores what it will take to turn Canadian AI ambition into real trusted economic value, productivity gains, and a global advantage. Expect a candid exchange on policy, innovation, and the confidence needed to make AI a true national asset.
In this fireside conversation, Minister Solomon and Michael Buhr dive into how Canada can lead—not lag—in the global race to harness the value of AI.
Founder Story Untold: Getting Acquired by A Publicly Traded SaaS Giant
In April of 2021, Autodesk, the publicly traded software company, announced that it acquired Upchain, a Toronto-based startup offering a cloud-based product life cycle management (PLM) service.
In this behind-the-scenes tell-all from tech entrepreneur, John Laslavic, you’ll hear the learnings on how John built (and eventually sold) Upchain: what worked, what didn’t, and what he would do differently, building, scaling and ultimately getting acquired.
In April of 2021, Autodesk, the publicly traded software company announced that it acquired Upchain, a Toronto-based startup offering a cloud-based product life cycle management (PLM) service.
In this behind-the-scenes tell-all from tech entrepreneur, John Laslavic, you’ll hear the learnings on how John built (and eventually sold) Upchain: what worked, what didn’t, and what he would do differently, building, scaling and ultimately getting acquired.
Founder Story: From Idea to Product-Market Fit
Peter Carrescia and Kirk Simpson have a long history together, starting in 2011 when Peter led the seed round at Kirk’s startup Wave Accounting (later known as Wave Financial) while managing director at OMERS Ventures. Peter later joined Wave and worked closely with Kirk through the successful sale of the company to H&R Block in 2019 for $537 million.
In early 2022, while casually discussing whether to invest in a startup, the idea for portable identity emerged, which led to the launch of Qui Identity in August with Kirk and Peter at the helm and initial seed funding of $8.5 million. In this talk, Peter will share details of how Qui raised funding for their initial idea and built a strong core team to help bring it to life. He will share how, through continuous market research and rapid prototype iterations, the company has moved closer toward product-market fit. Finally, Peter will share where Qui stands today, and the challenges and opportunities ahead as the company begins to scale.
Peter Carrescia and Kirk Simpson have a long history together, starting in 2011 when Peter led the seed round at Kirk’s startup Wave Accounting (later known as Wave Financial) while managing director at OMERS Ventures. Peter later joined Wave and worked closely with Kirk through the successful sale of the company to H&R Block in 2019 for $537 million.
In early 2022, while casually discussing whether to invest in a startup, the idea for portable identity emerged, which led to the launch of Qui Identity in August with Kirk and Peter at the helm and initial seed funding of $8.5 million. In this talk, Peter will share details of how Qui raised funding for their initial idea and built a strong core team to help bring it to life. He will share how, through continuous market research and rapid prototype iterations, the company has moved closer toward product-market fit. Finally, Peter will share where Qui stands today, and the challenges and opportunities ahead as the company begins to scale.
From Record-Breaking Seed Round to Unicorn: Finding Product-Market Fit as a Visionary Founder
For most founders, finding product-market fit is the #1 problem. Martin Basari achieved it with Applyboard as a first-time founder with no funding. Now he’s working on it as a unicorn founder with more money than any other Canadian seed-stage company. Hear his journey from inception of ApplyBoard to his new company Passage as he compares and contrasts his two founder experiences.
For most founders, finding product-market fit is the #1 problem. Martin Basari achieved it with Applyboard as a first-time founder with no funding. Now he’s working on it as a unicorn founder with more money than any other Canadian seed-stage company. Hear his journey from inception of ApplyBoard to his new company Passage as he compares and contrasts his two founder experiences.
Global Growth and Goofs: CERTN’s Journey of Expansion and Lessons Learned in the “Oops” Moments
Hear firsthand accounts of the mishaps and humorous missteps as we delve into CERTN’s international expansion journey. Discover the valuable lessons these experiences have taught Co-Founder and CEO Andrew McLeod about navigating global markets, growth, expansion, and company transition, all with resilience and wit.
Hear firsthand accounts of the mishaps and humorous missteps as we delve into CERTN’s international expansion journey. Discover the valuable lessons these experiences have taught Co-Founder and CEO Andrew McLeod about navigating global markets, growth, expansion, and company transition, all with resilience and wit.
Global Scale & Entering New Markets: Top Things to Consider
As your SaaS companies grows, it becomes increasingly important to identify expansion opportunities. Global expansion is a huge opportunity for revenue growth. But with many cultural, financial and practical differences to consider, global growth depends on careful strategy and commitment.
In this session, join executives at Hubspot, Clio and Stripe as they talk about their approaches, challenges and global expansion strategies. This session will cover everything from readiness, commitment and resources as well as measuring success and the return on investment.
As your SaaS companies grows, it becomes increasingly important to identify expansion opportunities. Global expansion is a huge opportunity for revenue growth. But with many cultural, financial and practical differences to consider, global growth depends on careful strategy and commitment.
In this session, join executives at Hubspot, Clio and Stripe as they talk about their approaches, challenges and global expansion strategies. This session will cover everything from readiness, commitment and resources as well as measuring success and the return on investment.
Grand Prize Draw & Closing Remarks
We’re capping off an exciting two days with final remarks and a chance to win one of TWO “Return to Ottawa!” Prize Packs Presented by Ottawa Tourism.
Prize #1 Hockey Package
- 2 x VIP tickets to IIHF World Juniors game on January 2nd
- 1 night stay at The Brookstreet Hotel on January 2nd
- Transportation to the game
Prize #2 SAAS NORTH 2025 Package
- 2 x VIP tickets to SAAS NORTH 2025
- 2-Night stay at Le Germain Hotel
You must be in the room to win!!!
We’re capping off an exciting two days with final remarks and a chance to win one of TWO “Return to Ottawa!” Prize Packs Presented by Ottawa Tourism. Prize #1 Hockey Package: 2 x VIP tickets to IIHF World Juniors game on January 2nd + 1 night stay at The Brookstreet Hotel on January 2nd + Transportation to the game. Prize #2 SAAS NORTH 2025 Package: 2 x VIP tickets to SAAS NORTH 2025 + 2-Night stay at Le Germain Hotel. You must be in the room to win!!!
