Venture Capital

Chris Carder shares his incredible journey as an aspiring journalist to successful entrepreneur, academic, and builder of startups at scale. He is currently the Director of Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Schulich School of Business, often ranked the #1 business school in Canada. The position is one he created as a result of building a startup community at Schulich from the ground up, tapping into the entrepreneurial drive of many students and alumni of the school. Chris' insights from building and selling multiples business, investing and advising many startups, to community building is invaluable to those looking to start or improve their business. Chris shares incredible stories throughout his journey from how he went all in on a pivot to how he just showed up on campus one day to build startup programs. We also discuss what we can do to improve the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Canada. You do not want to miss this video! Connect with Chris: linkedin.com/in/cwcarder/ Follow Schulich Startups: linkedin.com/company/schulichstartups/ instagram.com/schulichstartups/ Learn more more about the Schulich Venture Academy: https://execed.schulich.yorku.ca/schulich-masterclass/ Learn more about the Schulich Venture Studio: https://schulich.yorku.ca/schulich-startups/venture-studio/ How to connect with Matan: X: twitter.com/MatanHazanov LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/matan-hazanov-a9755416/ 00:00 Intro 01:08 Building the 1st business 08:08 The Genesis of ThinData 12:30 Going all in on a bold pivot 17:55 An important life lesson after exiting 19:53 Entering academia 22:30 Starting a startup community at Schulich 25:28 Schulich startups 29:35 A great success story 33:10 Schulich startup programs 36:33 Top 2 programs 43:08 Thoughts on improving entrepreneurship in Canada

Should you ask a VC to sign your NDA before sharing information about your startup? Startups thrive on outcompeting their peers through innovation. Its understandable that many startup founders will want to jealously guard information about their innovation, their product, and their business. But is a good strategy to ask for an NDA when approaching venture investors when seeking capital? In this video, I discuss: - the reasons a VC will not sign your NDA - why its a bad tactic to ask for this - when its appropriate to ask If you're a startup looking to raise capital, you don't want to miss this advice borne from 10 years of VC investing experience. I am not a lawyer, and nothing I say in this video should be construed as legal advice. This is my personal opinion from ~10 years of experience as a VC investor. 00:00 Intro 02:30 Why a VC won't sign 1st reason (time consuming) 03:22 Why a VC won't sign 2nd reason (makes job harder) 04:30 Why a VC won't sign 3rd reason (its a red flag) 05:48 Why its a bad tactic for startups to ask for an NDA 09:21 When to ask for an NDA

In this episode, I discuss 10 common mistakes that hinder entrepreneurial success and provide guidance on cultivating habits that foster business growth. I discuss the importance of financial management, maintaining a positive outlook, and the need for constant innovation. Listen to this episode to learn more about what to avoid, and how to avoid it. These habits will lead to the downfall of your business and some aren't obvious! 00:00 Don't run out of money 01:04 Complaining instead of executing 02:13 Lack of continuous innovation 04:42 Victim mindset 05:45 Inability to recruit good talent 06:55 Neglecting customer interactions 07:58 Internal conflicts 08:22 Hiding bad metrics 09:24 Short-term thinking 12:38 Lack of vision

Should you ask a VC to sign your NDA before sharing information about your startup? Startups thrive on outcompeting their peers through innovation. Its understandable that many startup founders will want to jealously guard information about their innovation, their product, and their business. But is a good strategy to ask for an NDA when approaching venture investors when seeking capital? In this video, I discuss: - the reasons a VC will not sign your NDA - why its a bad tactic to ask for this - when its appropriate to ask If you're a startup looking to raise capital, you don't want to miss this advice borne from 10 years of VC investing experience. I am not a lawyer, and nothing I say in this video should be construed as legal advice. This is my personal opinion from ~10 years of experience as a VC investor. 00:00 Intro 02:30 Why a VC won't sign 1st reason (time consuming) 03:22 Why a VC won't sign 2nd reason (makes job harder) 04:30 Why a VC won't sign 3rd reason (its a red flag) 05:48 Why its a bad tactic for startups to ask for an NDA 09:21 When to ask for an NDA

In this video, I discuss the 10 steps your startup MUST take before approaching any VC and asking for an investment. This is a primer on some of the important elements of raising venture capital, and the work you need to do as a startup founder before asking for an investment. By listening to this short video, you can improve your odds of being successful in a tough fundraising environment. While tailored to early-stage startups, these lessons can be applied to most situations of those seeking an equity investment. 00:00 Intro 00:53 Evaluate suitability 02:23 Start networking 03:21 Figure out capital required 04:31 Research potential investors 05:54 Refining your pitch 07:42 Develop a compelling narrative 08:44 Create a data room 10:50 Get your valuation right 12:51 Learn the process 14:56 Learn deal terms

In summer of 2020, at the peak of chaos in the healthcare industry, Michael raised a venture capital "Seed" round for his healthcare software startup. How did Michael turn a crisis into an opportunity, grow his business, and set himself on the path to success? Matan Hazanov, Managing Director of Verstra Ventures, interviews Michael Millar, the Founder and CEO of Verto Health. Some of the topics covered: - Michael's background, how and why he started Verto - How he developed an innovative solution in healthcare that few people could create and implement - How Michael adapted, grew, raised money and thrived as a healthcare software when customers stopped buying new software during a pandemic - When to pivot, and when to pivot back - Managing a remote workforce - Building a mission driven business and a strong company culture - Staying mentally healthy About Verto Verto has developed a Digital Twin Platform for healthcare that uses smart integrations to stitch data from multiple health data sources together to create a truly interoperable technology to bring every patient to their best possible health outcome. https://verto.health/ About Matan An entrepreneur with +9 years of formal VC experience. In his current role as Managing Director of Verstra Ventures, he leads the team in sourcing and investing in B2B early-stage vertically focused software companies as well as advising and founders.