Scaling culture as companies scale by Jordan Banks - Quarterly Publication - Ed. 01 - Flipbook - Page 22
Scaling culture as companies scale by Jordan Banks
IT TAKES THE POWER OF
THREE FOR CANADA’S
STARTUPS TO THRIVE
B Y J O E C A N AVA N ,
A S P U B L I S H E D I N T H E G LO B E A N D M A I L
O
ur intrepid Canadian startups create
about 40 per cent of new jobs. This isn’t
a question of whether startups matter.
Rather, it’s: what can we do differently
to help them succeed? Despite billions of dollars
in government spending to improve Canada’s innovation economy over the past 50 years, a crucial
challenge remains: our inability to scale companies
to a world-class size. The Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2019 shows that 70 per cent of unicorns’ success factors depend on the ecosystem
itself. It’s time to take that ecosystem approach to
the next level if we really want to broaden our collective impact and become a country that fosters
startups, and long-term growth.
Joe Canavan discusses scaling companies in
Canada alongside Jordan Banks (President, Rogers)
This is about strengthening the collaborative
ecosystem among governments, corporations and
accelerators to create world-class winners.
WHA
What does that look like?
Government building policies that set
the stage for Canadian startups to star
in the show.
Corporations continuing to bake the
ecosystem into their definition of corporate responsibility.
Business accelerators and incubators
fuelling a co-operative approach that
sets Canada apart.
NEXT leadership and alumni stand alongside EY CEO,
Jad Shimaly, at the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Awards.
21
In Canada, we’re not starting from zero. The
knowledge network Startup Genome pegged
Montreal as a city worthy of a startup’s consideration. Why? A range of local research and development tax credits that could help some companies leverage their R&D spending by five or six
times, bolstered by national tax credits. They also
pegged Toronto-Waterloo and Vancouver among the
top 30 global startup ecosystems. Clearly, we have
momentum. Let’s start considering more matching
programs whereby government and corporate partners co-invest to make a real impact.
This is Canada’s time.
The startup potential in this country is astronomical. Let’s embrace this opportunity and work collaboratively to enhance our productivity, and ultimately, our prosperity
as a nation. The sky could very
well be the limit if we deliberately and purposefully make
it so.
READ MORE