Canada Spotlight

WHY ATTEND COLLISION? Since launching in 2015, Collision has grown to become one of North America’s “most important technology marketplaces”.

Collision brings together the people and companies redefining the global tech industry.

Will you join us for Collision 2024?

10th

largest economy in the world by GDP

CANADA FACTSHEET: 38 MILLION population

4th

largest tech ecosystem in the world

13th

largest economy in the world by PPP

43,000+

ICT & tech companies

UNITED STATES biggest trading partner

24

unicorns

COLLISION IN NUMBERS

40,000+

130+

1,000+

countries

investors

800+

1,000+

attendees

speakers

2,000+ startups

media

300+

partners

TOP 10 INDUSTRIES AT COLLISION AI & MACHINE LEARNING

SAAS

FINTECH & FINANCIAL SERVICES

HEALTHTECH & WELLNESS

ADVERTISING, CONTENT & MARKETING

TELECOMMUNICATIONS & IT

EDUCATION

ENTERTAINMENT & MEDIA

DATA & ANALYTICS

E-COMMERCE & RETAIL

TOP CANADIAN SPEAKERS AIDEN GOMEZ

Founder and CEO, Adhere

MARGARET ATWOOD

Author

RYAN REYNOLDS

AUTUMN PELTIER

Actor

Indigenous rights and water activist

JUSTIN TRUDEAU

MICHELE ROMANOW

Prime Minister of Canada

Co-founder & CEO, Clearco

TOP CANADIAN INVESTORS SHAILESH LAKHANI

REBECCA KADEN

Managing director, Peak XV

General partner, Union Square Ventures

CONNOR SOLIMANO Investment analyst, Insight Partners

VINOD KHOSLA Founding partner, Khosla Ventures

JAI DAS

JUSTIN OUYANG

Co-founder, president and partner, Sapphire Ventures

Investor, OMERS Ventures

SHAWN XU

TONY CONRAD

JOHN RUFFOLO

Partner, Lowercarbon Capital

Partner, True Ventures

Founder and managing partner, Maverix PE

KING GOH

SAAM MOTAMEDI

Partner, Headline

Partner, Greylock Partners

HOW CANADA IS TAKING ON THE TECH WORLD “People want to come to Canada because of stability, predictability and rule of law,” said FrançoisPhilippe Champagne – Canada’s minister of innovation, science and industry– speaking at Collision 2023 in Toronto.

A bold claim. Does the evidence bear it out? Is Canada really a country that, as François-Philippe put it, “de-risks the process of innovation” for businesses?

Michele Romanow, cofounder and CEO of Clearco, noted that Canada has a tech ecosystem supported by private businesses and investors, and supported from the top of the country down: “Canada is in a place where we have the talent, and the backing of the government.”

Part of this ability to take on the tech world comes from Canada’s diverse population. A cultural melting pot, Canada has created a tech ecosystem

François-Philippe Champagne Government of Canada

underpinned by a diversity of ideas that investors look out for.

“It shouldn’t matter who you are, or where you grew up or went to school. You should be able to access capital if you have a great business with great metrics,” said Michele.

“PEOPLE WANT TO COME TO CANADA BECAUSE OF STABILITY, PREDICTABILITY AND RULE OF LAW” François-Philippe Champagne Government of Canada

Ultimately, Canada’s diverse talent pool and its national support for innovation bolster one another in an upward cycle of progress, giving the country a strong platform from which to work towards François-Philippe’s aim: ensuring Canada is best-in-class.

TOP CANADIAN STARTUPS POWERED BY PEOPLE INDUSTRIALS, MANUFACTURING & CONSUMER GOODS

EVOCO

INDUSTRIALS, MANUFACTURING & CONSUMER GOODS

CATALOG

MOESIF

HR & RECRUITMENT

AI & MACHINE LEARNING

ENERGY

FINTECH & FINANCIAL SERVICES

AI & MACHINE LEARNING

BOTCO.AI

TERSA EARTH

FOXQUILT

CENTML

MOONHUB

DATA & ANALYTICS

DATA & ANALYTICS

PRIVATE AI AI & MACHINE LEARNING

STARTUP SPOTLIGHT

CHARGELAB We chatted with ChargeLab co-founder and CEO Zak Lefevre to find out how Collision helped drive success for the EV-charging software company.

Can you tell us a bit about ChargeLab? ChargeLab builds software for managing EV charging stations, offering ‘affordable turnkey solutions’ including hardware, software and installation for businesses and governments. The ChargeLab SaaS solution is available in 30 US states and Canadian provinces

“I THINK IN ANYTHING STARTUP RELATED, THE WAY TO STAND OUT IS TO HUSTLE MORE THAN YOUR PEERS.” Zak Lefevre ChargeLab

Was attending Collision a useful experience in the early stage of development? Did you make any important connections?

It’s been actually helpful from a recruiting perspective. One of the folks we have manning our booth this year found out about ChargeLab at Collision last year, so we’ve actually done hiring as a direct result of Collision.

Collision is a great experience where I can be in Toronto, where we are based, and meet up with over half of the people we’re actively working with. That’s been really valuable – not because I never would have met this or that VC, but the fact that I can connect in person with so many people within a 48- to 72-hour period.

Do you have any advice to other founders for how to make the most of Collision? What’s your hack?

Get there early and leave late. Go to all those social events. Go to Collision After Hours. It’s just one week, you know? You can put off other things. I think in anything startup related, the way to stand out is to hustle more than your peers.

Talk to the people you think you’re not allowed to talk to, but also be thoughtful. Have a point of view – a unique perspective – and bring value to the other person. I think the people I’m most likely to engage with now as a later-stage, growth-oriented founder are the people who bring me immediate value and needs.

Zak Lefevre ChargeLab

STARTUP SPOTLIGHT

SUPADEMO

Meet Supademo co-founder and CEO Joseph Lee, and discover what Collision meant for the AI-powered product demo company’s growth.

Can you tell me about what Supademo does, and how you came to co-found it?

Supademo was founded in 2023 by my co-founder, Koushik, and me.

We help anyone create beautifully interactive product demos with generative AI. We’ve helped more than 10,000 users across 75 countries drive adoption, accelerate time-tovalue, and close more deals.

Who are some of the connections you made at the event?

It was an amazing melting pot of investors, fellow founders and potential customers. I personally met several angels and VCs through off-conference events held by the likes of Forum Ventures and Vancouver Takeover. We were also lucky to meet several existing Supademo customers who were exhibiting at both the ALPHA and BETA booths, and who were actively using Supademo to demonstrate their products at their booth and on the show floor. That was amazing to see.

Joseph Lee Supademo

Did attending the event have a positive impact on your business development? If so, what was the impact?

Absolutely. Aside from the investors we met who

helped us close an oversubscribed fundraising round, we were able to connect with existing Supademo customers who were serendipitously using Supademo to demonstrate their products to other attendees.

“FOR EARLY-STAGE STARTUPS OR YOUNG, ASPIRING FOUNDERS, I’D DEFINITELY RECOMMEND COLLISION.” Joseph Lee Supademo

Through our own startup booth, I was able to demonstrate our product to over 200 potential users, ultimately leading to over a dozen paying customer conversions.

Would you recommend the event to other founders?

For early-stage startups or young, aspiring founders, I’d definitely recommend Collision. It’s an amazing confluence of opportunity, luck and network.

SPOTLIGHT ON

THE INDIGENOUS ATTENDEE PROGRAMME Collision is committed to developing respectful and meaningful relationships with Indigenous communities in Canada – beyond the dates of our event and into the future.

Through the Indigenous Attendee Program, we aim to create a culturally safe space at Collision for attendees from Inuit, Métis and First Nations communities across Canada.

Access to Collision through the Indigenous Attendee Program is free for anyone from Canada’s Inuit, Métis and First Nations communities who is over the age of 18, and who has a genuine interest in attending Collision.

These tickets will provide the same access to Collision’s content and networking sessions as our general attendee event tickets.

We want to make our Indigenous Attendee Program as accessible as possible. The program is open to up to 1,000 people, and you can register at collisionconf.com/ indigenous-attendee-program

IMPACT AT COLLISION Impact is a movement encouraging companies and entrepreneurs at Collision to focus on how – with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a guiding light – they can use tech to benefit their industry, their communities and the entire planet.

At Collision, we’re celebrating the change-makers at the forefront of this movement.

WHO CAN GET INVOLVED? STARTUPS

INVESTORS

Startups working towards the UN SDGs can learn from startup-focused sessions on topics related to sustainability and social equality, and can network and build connections with a community of like-minded founders.

Impact investors can look forward to curated meetings with innovative startups focused on bettering the world, and to knowledge-sharing opportunities generated by attending or hosting targeted masterclasses. The next big investment deal could be waiting at Collision.

SPEAKERS

PARTNERS

Speakers can use the Collision event as a platform to highlight the work they’re doing to build a more equitable and sustainable future for all. Impact-focused speakers – from global CEOs to cultural icons – can use their influence to share their message across industries and countries.

We partner with mission-driven organizations that are looking to make a positive impact on the planet and society.

Our aim is to make our series of events as forward thinking as possible, highlighting startup innovation, community mobilization and corporate transformation to support global sustainable development.

Visit collisionconf.com/impact for more information.

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