3 Atlantic Canadian ‘Innovation’ Trends To Watch
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We’ve just passed the halfway point of 2018, so this is a good time to check the pulse of the Atlantic Canadian innovation community. Note I wrote “innovation community” rather than “startup community.”
The key to understanding how this community is evolving is to try to avoid using the word “startup.” Talking to people in the community, I’ve realized that “innovation” and “scalable” are becoming the preferred buzzwords because the gap between traditional corporations and young innovators is narrowing, and this will continue. Here are three trends that are combining to change the face of the community:
- The dominance of growth-stage companies. As I’ve written recently, Atlantic Canadian startups raised more venture capital in the first quarter of 2018 than in any previous quarter, and Q2 was strong as well. In the first half of 2018, VC investment probably reached about $70 million due to strong funding by Introhive, Resson, Proposify and others. Each of these companies has more power to make an impact (in terms of employment, R&D, social benefit and exports) than dozens of first-year startups. The growth-stage companies that successfully morph into bona fide corporations will continue their ascent and continue to dominate the sector.
To read about the second and third trends identified by Moreira, check out the rest of his piece on Entrevestor.