Web Summit Vancouver brought the ventureLAB team - Michelle Ng and I joined our local colleagues Garry Chan and Hilary Kilgour - in the vibrant tech ecosystem found in Canada’s largest western city. It was a privilege to attend Websummit with over 1500 enterprising individuals from across Canada and the world. It is especially important in these times of political uncertainty to have events like this where the innovation ecosystem can come together to champion and support the entrepreneurs who are driving meaningful change.
And what a place for an ecosystem conference! You can feel the energy of Vancouver as you fly in over the glittering blue glass skyscrapers reflecting the harbour and the surrounding mountains. The blooming scenery no doubt inspires British Columbia’s flourishing cleantech and life sciences sectors.
Even before Web Summit officially began, Vancouver’s tech ecosystem was in full swing with events hosted by key players. Monday night I had the privilege to attend a Kickoff to Web Summit event hosted by Lawson Lundell LLP, MNP, Trade and Invest British Columbia, where I began to meet the incredible BC founders. I was pleased to hear from Paul Choi, BC’s Parliamentary Secretary for Asia-Pacific Trade, about his government's vision for expanding British Columbia’s trade partnerships in Asia to facilitate market growth. It’s this kind of forward-looking vision that will empower Canadian entrepreneurs to rise to the moment, especially as our trade priorities evolve in response to today’s global challenges.
Life Sciences is a huge focus for the BC ecosystem, and I opened my Tuesday morning at the University of British Columbia - Life Sciences Breakfast: How BC is Transforming Healthcare for Global Impact. Thank you to Innovation UBC for the opportunity to hear about the exciting advances spearheaded by their entrepreneurs and researchers in genomics and life sciences. As I get older, I look forward to their cures for my aching back and melting brain!
After a great start to the day at UBC, I took a long bus ride out to Simon Fraser University’s beautiful Burnaby campus. Students there have the treat of studying on a mountaintop, and the poke bowl selection is also top notch! More importantly, I had the opportunity to tour SFU’s 4D LABS, thanks to Nathaniel Sieb, Director of Operations and Administration. The tools and expertise on display are impressive and deserve to be better known and utilized!
Tuesday evening marked the official kickoff of Web Summit! I found myself pulled away from the main crowd and into a buzzing Demo Day hosted by TechTO, Panache Ventures, and N49P. The Cleantech, MedTech and AI entrepreneurs at this event clearly show that clever and responsible companies have a supportive community in BC.
After a long Tuesday , I needed a strong coffee to start Wednesday. Luckily Leslie Louie of Accelerate Okanagan knew just the place - JJ Bean Coffee Roasters on Burrard, which I can praise not only for delicious coffee but extraordinary efficiency! Toronto coffee shops please take note. Accelerate Okanagan does incredible things for Okanagan founders, and I look forward to seeing how ventureLAB can also help those working in HardTech.
Walking the floor of Web Summit, I was especially impressed by the Climate Zone panels. Anyone who doubts that cleaner, safer, affordable technologies can compete should spend time listening to these founders!
ventureLAB companies showed up in full force—every booth I stopped by had a steady stream of curious and engaged stakeholders. Shoutout to Bayes Studio, 6Harmonics, Lumotive, 7Gen, MedGeneius Inc., Wireless PNC, and NDITIVE (Techstars ’24) for making such a strong impression.
And a special mention to our partner Dell Technologies for having the most eye-catching oversized object on the floor—a giant laptop you couldn’t miss!
I wrapped up Wednesday at Alacrity Canada’s Web Summit Ecosystem Mingler. Thanks to Michael Chung for the invitation to an evening of relaxed but thoughtful conversation.
Thursday started with a downpour, but I wasn’t deterred - I took a morning walk through Stanley Park under my umbrella, soaking in the beauty of Vancouver even in the rain. Soon after I returned to the summit, where I had the opportunity to attend a reception on UrbanLogiq’s Global Foundation Model - Community Behaviour at Scale. Digital Twin technology can do a lot of good by bringing together private and government data - UrbanLogiq is certainly onto something and I look forward to seeing how their use of data to map urban landscape pans out!
After a few more meetings I was done with floor walking and hit the road headed for ventureLAB’s very own Hardware Investor Network reception! The Hardware Investor Network helps hardware founders to obtain funding for their difficult but rewarding journey to make the innovative devices that improve our lives.
Perhaps the only thing that could pull me away from our ventureLAB team was an event bringing together the BC semiconductor ecosystem. Many thanks to Rahul Deskari for the invitation, and EY Vancouver for hosting this event at their offices. It's always a pleasure to see Patricia Tokunaga of ventureLAB partner CMC Microsystem, offering insights into the global semiconductor ecosystem as she did on the panel at this event.
I closed the evening out at Steamworks Brewpub for the Hardtech Awards hosted by the passionate engineers at Misty West. Looking forward to continued conversations on fostering the Hardtech ecosystem!
Friday I had to leave the airport, but not before taking a couple pictures to remember Vancouver by. Web Summit left me with a powerful impression of Vancouver. BC is a place where natural beauty meets incredible human ingenuity. The trip made me all the more eager to support the growth of founders in this flourishing paradise.
From mountains to microchips, Vancouver reminded me that when bold ideas meet the right community, the future gets built!
