The Boast team took to Vancouver for the first-ever INNOVATEwest, where tech leaders and members of Canada’s innovation ecosystem came out in full force to celebrate BC-based tech excellence.
Along with catching up with some of our favorite innovators on the floor, the Boast crew was all over the Breakout Sessions and attending each keynote, spreading the word about non-dilutive funding to drive growth across Canada.
One early highlight on Day 1 was Control Freak: How to Raise Growth Capital Without Giving Up Your Company, where our VP of Finance Sonny Gill was joined by Devon Thompson, Noah Shipman, and moderator Shamil Hargovan.
While the group had different perspectives on how businesses can achieve growth across industries and specific markets, a resounding theme included the need for founders to be realistic about runways, and ready to make hard decisions about their partners—including funders.
Control Freak with Boast’s VP of Finance Sonny Gill
Specifically, companies need to find financing partners who have experience working in both their industries and target markets that can share relevant expertise, helping tackle some of the hardest challenges at any stage of your business evolution.
Part of Boast VP of Finance Sonny Gill’s discussion of non-dilutive funding in 2024 at INNOVATEwest was the topic of runway, and the realities of how founders should budget to drive innovation without over-leveraging equity.
As Sonny explains, many companies only seek out non-dilutive funding as a last-resort, when it should be playing a role in your capital strategy from the start.
It’s not uncommon for founders to see the teams around them evolve as their business grows. In fact, finding new talent that is best equipped to help you achieve your goals is a healthy part of the startup lifecycle. This applies to both the people on your team as well as the different partners you seek out to develop and even fund your innovation.
These were just a few of the nuggets of wisdom shared by our fearless finance leader Sonny during INNOVATEwest 2024 in Vancouver.
Driving meaningful outcomes with Miriam Dong
Miriam Dong was also on hand to share her expertise throughout the event and at her Breakout Session on Unlocking a Data Driven Economy, where she and her fellow panelists discussed how some of the buzziest new tech can be used as powerful solutions.
Miriam put it perfectly: Innovation is rooted in problem solving, not just deploying the latest, buzzy tech or hopping on the AI bandwagon.
Generative AI continues to be all the buzz, for instance, but as the panel made clear, companies that deliver meaningful outcomes (and value) will stand apart when it comes to funding.
At Boast we’re incredibly proud to help some of Canada’s most innovative businesses seamlessly access the capital they need to achieve growth and solve bigger problems, helping them stand apart from others seeking their own piece of the booming market.
Our tech-enabled services make tapping into SR&ED easier and less time-consuming so teams can focus on R&D while we handle tax credits.
Neighboring innovators on the expo floor in Vancouver
Back on the expo floor, our team was thrilled to be elbow-to-elbow with fellow innovators who embraced Boast’s ethos: Deliver true value with our tech-enabled services.
Our INNOVATEwest neighbors seoplus+ are a perfect example of innovation in action, applying new techniques and tech to solve legacy problems.
Taking a unique approach to addressing technological uncertainty is at the heart of non-dilutive funding programs like SRED tax credits, which reward innovators for taking risks.
No matter what route you go for funding innovation, there are a wealth of resources on hand at INNOVATEwest to guide you through.
Daphné Poirier-Goupil of BDC joined Paul Davenport to discuss what they’re most excited about as this first-ever conference takes off.
We were boasting about Boast with The Firehood at INNOVATEwest Day 1!
Danielle Brewin Graham and Paul Davenport linked up to discuss the funding opportunities for founders at all stages during last week’s event.
When folks at INNOVATEwest think of SR&ED, they think Boast.
That’s because so many members of the Vancouver tech community have come to us this week to learn more about non-dilutive funding—or they already work with us to help accelerate their innovation.
This includes the team at Goodlawyer who continue to be amazing partners helping support innovators across North America.
Gideon Mentie joined Paul Davenport to chat about his experience at the event so far and the amazing collaboration between our two teams.
As our pal Chris Hobbs of TTT Studios puts it, INNOVATEwest has felt “like running into family members we haven’t seen in a while.”
The community of innovators on the floor during Day 2 was impressive, as we’re spreading the word about leveraging non-dilutive funding to drive even more world-changing ideas.
Chris was the MC over at the AWS Hackathon where he saw some of the amazing tech talent Vancouver has to offer firsthand.
An amazing kickoff for INNOVATEwest 2024
All said, we couldn’t be more thrilled with the great connections we made throughout the event, and we hope to see even more friends and partners next year.
But it doesn’t take an expo for the team at Boast to connect with our favorite innovators across North America. Everyday, we thrive when we get to hear about the innovation driving global change at some of the businesses we work with every day to tap into non-dilutive funding.
To learn more about what sets us apart, talk to an expert with the Boast team today.
