March 22, 2023: 14 Books Investors Want You to Read

What is Ziggy?

We enable sustainable business growth through referral marketing programs that reward with tokens and NFTs.

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

Historically, the internet excelled at collecting money from users but was incredibly ineffective at paying users. Blockchain technology now enables payments via login credentials, promoting innovative ways to boost and retain user engagement.

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

At present, we cater to web3 clients who appreciate referral marketing but cannot utilize web2 solutions, making us their sole option. In time, we eagerly anticipate extending our services to web2 clientele as well.

How did you know you were ready to found a company?

I've always been into creating and building. I've crashed and burned more times than I can count, but after we sold Setter, I knew I wanted another fun adventure.

How did you meet your founders/know they were the right people to start a company with?

I'm actually a solo founder! I wanted to build the company with others but I didn't find partners with the right values and skillsets at the right time.

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

Blockchain development is really tough, with insane market volatility and fierce competition.

In October, we lost our lead engineer which was very disheartening, but ultimately I found new teammates that are a treat to work with.

What has been the most pleasant surprise?

We raised some funds early on and I've found our investors to be incredibly supportive and encouraging.

What is your super strength?

Communication and Problem-Solving.

I'm very good at listening, synthesizing information, and communicating it in a way that everyone understands. I'm also a very good problem solver.

Who is the unsung hero on the team? Why?

Newton has been with us from the very inception of our latest product ChainVine.

He's dug deep to become an expert in referral marketing with blockchain incentives and frankly inspires me every day with the product designs that he puts together.

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

We'd like to be expanding beyond successfully serving only web3 customers towards bringing web3 incentives to web2 customers more broadly!

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

What is your proudest accomplishment outside of your startup?

I trekked to Everest Base Camp, have done a couple of Half-Ironmans, have kitesurfed in over 10 countries and as a kid, I used to compete on the Quebec Sailing team.

Who are the 5 Canadian startups you like in your market?

We're in a very new space and so there really aren't many people in our market in the world let alone Canada.

With that said, I think the Metacommerce team in Toronto is making some great products!

Connect with Bryan and learn more about his journey here

Bryan will be taking the stage tonight at our TechTO: Special Web3 event at OneEleven!

Learn more about his journey, advice for succeeding in the space, and more! LAST CHANCE TO GET YOUR TICKETS!

What is the news?

A trio of acquisitions was announced over the past two weeks by three different larger private Canadian tech companies.

What were the announcements?

The three deals are:

• As reported by Betakit, Saskatoon-based Vendasta announced that they acquired San Francisco based Broadly. This was Vendasta's fourth acquisition in the past two years.

• Toronto-based PointClickCare announced the acquisition of Patient Pattern. This is PointClickCare's fourth acquisition since 2019.

• Montreal-based Paper announced its second acquisition in a month. It is Readlee a reading software.

What are the similarities between all these deals?

All three deals have a few things in common:

• The acquirer is a well funded private company with large revenues looking for growth.

• This is not the first company they have acquired - they all appear to be using acquisitions to fuel non-organic growth.

• The companies they acquired will increase the product suite and hopefully will grow revenue by selling into their current customer base. It should be noted that the Vendasta acquisition was also focused on cross-selling to Broadly's customers.

• All the acquired companies were venture backed.

• None of the deals included the price of the acquisition.

Why is this happening?

Tune in to tomorrow's episode of Quick Takes at 12:00pm ET/9:00am PT to learn more about why this is big news for the ecosystem

Quick Takes returns tomorrow

Quick Takes returns LIVE with a brand new episode on March 23 at 12:00 pm ET/9:00 am PT across the TechTO platforms.

Catch up on past episodes here, and subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts.

• #ICYMI - Catch up on past newsletters if you hadn't yet subscribed!

• Canadian Startup news of the week >> LEARN MORE

• Raise News: Graft, an SF-based unstructured data analytics startup, raised $15m led by Radical Ventures, per an SEC filing >> READ MORE

• Haply Robotics secures $4.8m CAD >> READ MORE

• 14 books investors wish all startup founders had read >> CHECK OUT THE FULL LIST

• Founder FAQs: How do you find a Co-Founder? Leave us your suggestions here

DMZ 2023 Cohort - NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS

Why is this cool? Our friends at the DMZ are now accepting applications for startups to join their 2023 Cohort! Located in the heart of Toronto the DMZ’s startup incubator is an equity-based program that helps venture-backable tech startups grow their business over the course of 18 months >> APPLY HERE

Senior Product Manager, #paid (Remote)

Why is this cool? #paid is a creator marketing platform that sits at the intersection of brand and creator collaboration. They help direct-to-consumer and Fortune 500 brands like Phillips Hue, Clearbanc, Unilever, and Sephora, activate creators to drive growth. They're looking for a Senior Product Manager who will help define, design, and drive #paid strategic product initiatives. In this role, you will develop a deep understanding of their market, customers, product, and business and translate that into product offerings that empower creators and brands to succeed >> APPLY HERE

Full Stack Developer, Adaptive Pulse (Waterloo, ON)

Why is this cool? Adaptive Pulse connects, transforms, and analyzes your data to produce insights to understand customer behavior and drive the business outcomes that you want to achieve. As a Full Stack Developer, you will take complete end-to-end ownership of projects and features across the entire stack. You’ll be joining a small team working at the forefront of AI/ML, NLP, and Big Data Analytics >> APPLY HERE

*Reply to this email and let us know the jobs you'd like to see

Check out the interesting content, events, and happenings for the community here:

• TechTO Special: Web3: March 22, 2023 - TONIGHT!! Learn all about one of the hottest topics in tech from the top innovators in the business >> REGISTER HERE

• Best of TechTO Returns! April 3, 2023 >> REGISTER HERE - LIMITED TICKETS AVAILABLE!

• *EXCLUSIVE TECHTO INSIDERS SOCIAL: April 13, 2023 >> Learn more about how to attend on our website >> LEARN MORE

• HealthTO: Privitization - April 19, 2023 >> REGISTER HERE

Want to showcase your company, events, and opportunities to 60,000 subscribers across the Canadian Tech Eco-system? Reach out to [email protected] to learn more!