GRIT - Ed.05 - Magazine - Page 2
CONTENTS
LETTER FROM
THE EDITOR
4
UNLEASHING
THE POWER OF
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
FOR ALL
Recently, it feels like there’s a new headline every
week that showcases how the Canadian tech industry
is thriving. With a record-breaking number of Canadian ventures announcing IPOs this year, an influx of
VC funding, and global tech companies building new
headquarters in Canada; there’s no denying that Canada’s time to shine is now.
By Jad Shimaly
6
A BRIEF
HISTORY OF
DIGITIZATION
PLUS
IN THIS ISSUE:
8
10
A NEW
FRONTIER
By John Kelleher
12
REIMAGINING THE
ROLE OF FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS
By Hossein Rahnama
14
THE POWER OF
PERSONALIZATION
By Saroop Bharwani
16
THE FUTURE OF
EDUCATION IS BRIGHT
2
By Emilie Cushman
GRIT
Hossein Rahnama
HOW PUTTING PEOPLE FIRST EMPOWERS
DIGITAL TRANSFORBy Michelle Scarborough
18
TRAINING THE NEXT
GENERATION OF
24
BEHIND THE
SCENES WITH
By Nadeem Nathoo
20
26
HOW HOMEGROWN
TECH IS HELPING
GLOBAL BUSINESSES SURVIVE AND
By Jacqueline Cook
THRIVE
ASK A
FOUNDER
22
30
CONVERSATIONS ARE
By Mike Murchison
Being born and raised Canadian, I feel so proud to
belong to a country that is flourishing and making its
mark on a global scale. I’m also grateful for the land of
this beautiful country, and acknowledge that Canada
is the traditional territory of many nations that is now
home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis
people.
We recently welcomed our newest cohort, which
consists of over 90 entrepreneurs and 60 ventures.
Upon graduation in September, their brilliant minds
will be joining our alumni network of 750+ Canadians,
all contributing to a more prosperous and competitive
Canada. To date, our alumni have launched over 250
ventures, secured over $1.6B in capital investments and
created 3,000+ jobs spanning across 20+ industries.
As we look forward, we hope to deepen our impact
by reaching and inspiring more Canadians to join the
next generation of entrepreneurs. While the spotlight
tends to fall on our major cities of Toronto, Montreal
and Vancouver, we hope that this edition of GRIT illustrates that great entrepreneurs and ideas can come
from anyone, anywhere.
Reflecting on our mission, NEXT Canada was built
to support Canadian entrepreneurs. Though we’ve
been around for over a decade, our work is only just
beginning.
With this edition of GRIT, we’re taking you across Canada to meet some of our entrepreneurs - no flight or
car needed! Starting with the east coast in Newfoundland, read about how Emily Bland took a seedling of
an idea and grew it into a B Corp certified organization
that encourages people to live more sustainably. As we
move cross country, we share stories from our alumni
changing the landscape of the Canadian economy and
touching industries such as; mining, autonomous trucking, and speech and language disorders for children.
JAINY TONG
Director of Marketing
and Communications,
NEXT Canada
28
COMMUNITY
NEWS
DIGITAL DISRUPTORS TO WATCH
By
Canavan
IN Joe
2021
GRIT, Edition 05; June 2021 PUBLISHER: NEXT Canada EDITOR IN CHIEF: Jainy Tong
NEXT
EDITOR: Kaleigh Donnelly DESIGN & ART DIRECTION: Olivia Tomic NEXT Canada, 175 Bloor Street
East, South Tower Suite 1800, Toronto, ON M4W 3R8 grit@nextcanada.com www.nextcanada.com
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