Profile: Drew Cashmore and Firework

What is Firework?

Firework is an end-to-end immersive commerce solution built for retailer websites - bringing the power of shoppable and live video into the places where people shop.

What was the insight/inspiration that led to the launch?

The meteoric rise of live shopping in China coupled with the clear need for a re-imagination of online shopping in the rest of the world.

How has it been received by the market? Why do you think it has been so well received?

We've partnered with brands including Walmart, L'Oreal, Amex, Unilever, NBCU, Natori, Vogue, Muji, Vuori, Levi's, The Gap, and more to bring video commerce to their websites.

The positive reception stems from the fact that when brands host videos on their websites, the time spent through conversion spikes. That is something brands are recognizing. They can no longer just relegate their audience building to social sites alone.

Why did you decide to join?

I joined the leadership team during their Series A. My core reason for joining is a fundamental belief that what we do is at the forefront of the next generation of commerce - it's going to happen and Firework was and is best positioned to be the leader in that space.

My belief in the founders - and a big reason I joined the company - is the incredible tech that was already established coupled with a very audacious vision. It wasn't to put the video on a website, it wasn't to help brands run livestream shopping initiatives, but it was to change the way in which people engaged with websites on the open Internet.

A strong product vision and an audacious goal were what appealed most to me.

What has been the hardest thing on your journey so far?

I joined the pre-product market fit. To that, there has been a lot of rework on the go-to-market whilst having a large sales team already in place. Micro-pivots with an established sales team can be very challenging.

What has been the most pleasant surprise?

How fun it is! A shift from spending a disproportionate amount of time on political posturing, to spending a large amount of time on really thinking about and exploring the approach.

Who is the unsung hero on the team? Why?

My VP of Sales Enablement and Product Marketing has four superpowers; a) moves faster than time, b) can get to the answer before there's a question, c) is respected by everyone as a result, d) somehow is everywhere, all at once.

You need a right hand that you can just trust to 'go'!

What are you trying to achieve over the next 12 months?

Establish Firework as a 'must-buy' (not a nice-to-have) solution in much of the World, generate a ridiculous amount of quality pipeline, and increase the likelihood that that pipeline converts to a customer.

What advice do you wish you had been given prior to launching?

What is your proudest accomplishment outside of your startup?

I had two kids in the last two years - getting them to laugh (which is not difficult), but it's the thing that makes me proudest and happiest.

Who are the Canadian startups you like in your market?

• Salesfloor - Revolutionizes the digital sales experience by combining human interaction and AI

• Sampler - The ultimate product experience platform

• Storytap - Taking a video first approach to customer experience

• ShopThing - Making top brands available through digital live shopping events and experiences

Quick Takes: The Feds launch the Canadian Innovation Corporation. So, what does this mean?

What is the news?

The Federal Company announced the launch of a new Crown Corporation, the Canadian Innovation Corporation, which we will call CIC for the rest of this article, with $2.6b in funding over the next four years.

What is a Crown Corporation?

Crown corporations are wholely owned federal or provincial organizations that are structured like private or independent companies.

The idea behind a crown corporation is to fill a gap in the economy that a private company would not fulfill while at the same time giving the entity the chance to act without direct government influence on its actions.

What is the purpose of the CIC?

The CIC was created in part to help Canadian companies close the gap in investing in research and development in comparison to other developed countries which results in lower productivity gains in Canada.

The CIC will do this by helping businesses commercialize their research and protect their intellectual property.

How will it do this?

It is not clear as of yet as the CIC is not up and running. The goal is to have the entity running later this year and it will draw inspiration from similar programs across the world.

Interestingly, the CIC is explicitly not only focused on high technology but will have programs to help commodity businesses and manufacturers innovate. The government also stated that it expects funding to be between $500,000 to $5m per project.

Why does it have such a large budget if it is a new Crown corporation?

A significant portion of its budget comes from IRAP, the Industrial Research Assistance Program, moving from the National Research Council to the CIC.

What are the takeaways for the community?

If you are a startup hoping that this impacts you in the near term, you are most likely out of luck as we need to see legislation passed and the entity created. While the government is hoping to do this by end of the year it may take longer. Once it is created it will take more time to create the programs that can provide capital. In addition, it looks like funding will be project-based, which means you will have to jump through hoops and work against CIC's priorities to get funding. Not a great way for an agile fast-moving startup to work.

Will this help the ecosystem by resulting in more innovation and investment in research at the corporate level? Maybe. 

Our personal take is that this program will not achieve its goals as it is structured poorly. It should be rules-based and deploy capital in a predictable method and does not tackle the underlying issue in Canada - an economy with too many oligopolies protected by poor regulations.

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