Takeaways On Turning Real Problems Into Productized Solutions
A recap of January 29th's Calgary Tech Thursday's session featuring some of the most exciting early stage companies in the ecosystem
We brought together some of the most exciting early-stage companies in Calgary to talk about what it’s really like to scale services.
“Every entrepreneurial origin story starts with frustrations in some sort of environment that they’re operating in.”
- Amanda Julian, Chief Science Officer and Co-Founder, Monark
We were thrilled to co-host this event with DMZ and TDIP. Below is our recap of the event’s top ideas. We hope you enjoy!
Missed this one? Check out the recap on YouTube or listen on our Podcast. Also be sure to follow us on Instagram for updates on everything Tech Thursday.
Key Takeaways
Build Something Borderline Embarrassing: The first iteration of any product/business should be borderline embarrassing, because the initial feedback received will be invaluable to the scaling process.
Focusing On Revenue Is Much Better Than Relying On Venture Capital: Companies that prioritize revenue and reinvest profits into growth often build stronger businesses and give founders more optionality as they scale.
Build Something Borderline Embarrassing
Vision and feedback are two of the most important ingredients in the scaling process. That often means building something that feels borderline embarrassing at first, and dealing with more early pain points than if you started with a polished system or product. But it also creates a faster path to pivoting, adjusting, and ultimately scaling.
Why It Matters: If you focus too much on the actual offering and not the vision, it can be easy to lose sight of the problem being solved, cause friction when it comes to adjusting on the fly, and ultimately limit the scalability of the company.
A big thank you to the DMZ for including TD Innovation Partners on their Calgary tour. We’re grateful for the opportunity to spend time with such a strong and welcoming ecosystem. The conversations, energy, and ambition in the ecosystem were incredible.
TDIP is a full-service team providing bespoke, high-touch banking and financing solutions in support of Technology and Innovation companies at all stages. If you have questions about startup banking or want to continue the conversation, feel free to reach out to td.innovationpartners_sbb@td.com
Focusing On Revenue Is Much Better Than Relying On Venture Capital
Revenue generation builds a stronger company than venture capital funding, particularly when that revenue is consistently reinvested. It strengthens cash flow, validates market demand, and keeps decision-making and control in the hands of the founder.
Why It Matters: Venture capital is often treated as a requirement for success. This is not the case - and reinvesting capital, evidencing revenue growth, and continuing to build is not only a successful strategy, but will also make a business more attractive to potential investors down the line.
Hot Take: LLMs DON’T Create Value By Themselves
LLM’s are often talked about as the future of work, and while they are a very powerful tool, it is important to remember that these AI products are only as valuable as the systems in which they are employed.
Why this matters: Just because a company heavily uses LLM’s doesn’t mean they are inherently efficient; additionally, the presence of an LLM doesn’t signify ‘AI only’ work. The key to scaling while using these AI systems comes down to a combination of the power of LLM’s with human-created systems and thinking - neither works at their peak if they are siloed.
CTO’s Go Head-to-Head on February 19th!
🛠️ February 19th
Topic - CTO vs CTO
In this head-to-head conversation we’ll explore how leaders from a fast-moving tech company and a legacy organization make decisions about architecture, resourcing, and scaling their teams. The focus is on real trade-offs and the thinking behind the choices that shape how companies build and grow.
Note: This event will take place at The Princeton.
Speakers:
Saba EI-Hilo, CTO at Certn
Cullen Jennings, CTO for Audio/Video Collaboration and AI at Cisco
Moderated by: Philippe Burns, Co-Founder at Tech Thursday
As always, a big thank you to our sponsors who help bring Tech Thursday to life: Boast, Neo Financial, Skip, Motiv, Alberta Innovates, Crestview Strategy, and Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG).