Why Propel’s New CEO Says Now Is The Time To Invest In Atlantic Canada’s Startups
SAINT JOHN — When Covid-19 hit Atlantic Canada in March, regional startup accelerator Propel was in a pretty good position.
It had already switched to an all-virtual program in 2018, so it could continue on with its programming business as usual. But for then-CEO Barry Bisson, doing just that wasn’t going to cut it.
“Our former CEO Barry Bison actually said, ‘look, we have a duty to step up and help the ecosystem as much as possible because we’re in a privileged position being virtual. How can we help the rest of the ecosystem?'” says Kathryn Lockhart, Propel’s new CEO who started on the job a few weeks ago.
Propel switched to a continuous intake model, which allows startups and companies to join their programs at any time. It also started offering some of its programming and workshops to other startup accelerators and incubators in the region. Lockhart says she wants to continue to foster that kind of collaboration as Propel’s new CEO.
“That was an excellent initiative that really set the tone for a lot of collaboration. I want to continue that momentum because I’m a big believer that it takes a village,” says Lockhart.
“I’m a parent and I know it takes a village to raise children, but believe that, as well, for founders and ‘raising a unicorn’ as we like to talk about in the industry. Part of that is really collaborating within the region and we were able to do that with Covid as a spark.”
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Since the pandemic hit, Lockhart says Propel has seen shifts in the kinds of companies that are applying to their programs.
“We’re noticing, as a result of Covid, that businesses are needing to shift to respond to their very fluid markets,” she says. “What we’re seeing is more applications in healthcare, online education, e-commerce, optimizing supply chains through AI. It’s fascinating to see the shift in trends of applicants.”
Propel has also been working with more established companies that, because of the pandemic, need to think like a startup to pivot their business, a process commonly known as “corporate innovation.”
“For existing companies that need to innovate because their customer base shifted for Covid-19-related reasons, they’re really needing to digitize or pivot and want to validate that and it makes sense to work within our program,” says Lockhart.
“We’re excited to possibly impact the economy with our startup crowd, that’s our bread and butter. But [we also want to open] that door to existing companies that need to act like entrepreneurs and shift to respond to our very fluid world right now.”
Even with the recent spike in cases in New Brunswick, Atlantic Canada has faired much better than the rest of Canada when it comes to containing the spread of Covid-19. Lockhart says this gives the region an opportunity to double down on supporting its startups.
Winning this Covid game has allowed us to author our future. How are we really going to energize our economic recovery? My biggest wish as the CEO in the early stages of this is to drive that sense of urgency that now is the time to invest in entrepreneurs,” she says.
“Not later when everything feels back to normal, but now. Now is the time to invest, now is the time to get behind entrepreneurs.”
One of the ways Propel wants to help is by strengthening the relationship between promising startups and investors in the region. Lockhart says they’re currently working on projects to help with this, but can’t release any details yet.
“The investments haven’t looked great in Atlantic Canada. They have decreased in the past year, which has been a bumpy one for everybody,” she says. “We need to rally the investors and say now is the time to consider this investment class, whether it’s angel investing or venture capital. Consider this asset class to invest in our local economies and into these entrepreneurs because we need it right now.”
Atlantic Canada’s startups faced unique challenges in securing capital before Covid-19. But without strong ties to the investing community, Lockhart says the region risks having its high-growth startups moving elsewhere to grow.
“If we can’t get the capital here, I’m afraid we’re going to lose those entrepreneurs at some point,” she says.
In order to make the region a place for companies to want to stay and grow, Lockhart says the organizations that help them need to work together to better serve them
“Spending time competing or being territorial is not productive and it’s not helpful for the founders. We need to push the founders through different programs that suit their journey best at that moment,” she says.
“There’s a lot of great stuff going on in the Atlantic regions, so I’m really excited to help drive that urgency and really lead a collaborative effort to help find these next superstars, unicorns, and people who are willing to take that brave plunge and start a company.”