Paul Singh, the former U.S. based investor in 500 startups, oversaw capital injections in more than 500 companies across 35 countries, including about 20 in Canada. Last year, he left 500 Startups to start Washington-based Disruption Corporation, a research company. He claims there are plenty of impressive companies and startup founders in Canada, but he has concerns about the country’s tech startup scene. He conducted an interesting interview recently with the Financial Post about his thoughts on what Canadian startup entrepreneurs are doing too much of, and his innovative plan to include more of these startups on U.S. investment radar.
“Canada has a bit of a messaging problem,” said Singh. “A lot of people outside Canada don’t really know how much good stuff there is up there. Inside Canada, many of the entrepreneurs have a confidence problem. In my opinion they’re just as good as their U.S. counterparts, and they’re just as capable of building big businesses. But for whatever reason they don’t seem to be swinging for the fences.”
Singh argues that two main problems are impeding Canadian entrepreneurs: confidence, and our investors might not be giving them incentives to “swing for the fences.” He also said there’s way too many accelerators out there and government-funded tech initiatives should be lessened.
Read the interview here. Do you have a startup? Questions? Comments? Contact us or request a consultation.