October 5, 2023: This is your superpower for winning over investors

Let’s get to know Optable and what inspired its creation

What is Optable?

Optable has embarked on a transformative journey to revolutionize the utilization of online identity and individual data, aimed at enhancing the customization of offers and content. This vision places transparency and privacy controls at the forefront of the user experience.

Employing contemporary and robust methodologies, they enable data correlation through secluded iterations of their platform. Their cutting-edge technology prioritizes limited data transference, safeguarding user privacy while affording data ownership rights and ensuring adherence to regulatory standards.

Optable is at the forefront of simplifying and enhancing the data clean room methodology for streamlined collaboration within the advertising ecosystem.

What inspired the idea?

Optable's inception was spearheaded by Yves Poiré, Vlad Stesin, and Bosko Milekic.

This dynamic trio had previously been the masterminds behind AdGear, an avant-garde advertising platform that was ultimately acquired by Samsung Ads. Their observations revealed the tides of substantial transformation, propelled by privacy regulations and the decline of ubiquitous public identifiers like third-party cookies, which had long been the bedrock facilitating data synergies.

If you’re in Montreal tonight - come and meet Bosko in real life!

He will be sitting down with our friends at Deloitte Ventures to chat all things Optable and sharing his perspective on the tech scene in Canada

We are excited to announce that Float and TechTO will be working together to bring you stories, content, and offers to help you run your companies better.

Float is the made-in-Canada solution for corporate cards and expense management. TechTO has been a long-time client of theirs and the platform allows you to spend, track, approve, and reconcile all your CAD and USD expenses in one simple-to-use platform.

Over the coming months, you can expect exclusive content and offers from both of us.

We are excited to have them on board as a partner of our community!

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The Power of Experience: How Successful Founders Leverage Expertise to Secure Funding

Founders in the news

On Tuesday, two seasoned founders made headlines by announcing their new ventures and the substantial funding they've secured. Dennis Pilarinos, based in Vancouver, introduced Unblocked, a developer tool designed to answer questions about your company's codebase. This innovative tool has already raised $8.3m USD in a funding round led by Amplify Partners, First Round Capital, XYZ Capital, and a host of angel investors.

Meanwhile, in Toronto, Amar Varma announced Ten Key Labs / Mantle, a platform designed to alleviate the stress of managing company equity stakes across platforms. This venture has also secured a significant $10.5m USD in funding from a variety of sources, including Eniac Ventures, Craft Ventures, Sierra Ventures, Leaders Fund, and several angel investors.

Why are investors excited?

Despite the plethora of developer tools available, the process of building products with developers remains inefficient. One of the main reasons for this inefficiency is the difficulty developers face when trying to understand the codebase and rationale for how the code was developed at their company. This often requires numerous random interactions with colleagues, interrupting workflow and consuming valuable time. This inefficiency increases the monetary and time cost of building products.

Pilarinos, with his experience of building, scaling, and exiting buddybuild, is well-equipped to tackle this problem. His previous experience has given him a deep understanding of how emerging LLMs can be incorporated into a solution, and he has the credibility to build the team and get design partners to quickly build it.

Similarly, managing cap tables and equity for companies is a problem that many companies, including Carta and AngelList, have tried to solve but many still find it error-prone, time-consuming, expensive, and not forward-looking. Varma, with his multiple exits, venture capitalist background, and active angel investor status, is well-positioned to solve this problem.

The notable takeaways

Both deals were led by US venture capitalists and had relevant angels and partners from other firms participating in the round. The amount raised implies that the valuation for both of these deals was at a premium to current market valuations.

This demonstrates that not all experience is created equal. Founders with solid exits tackling problems in areas where they have credibility will also have a significant advantage in raising funds.

Interestingly, both of these opportunities are leveraging the power of LLMs. This is a growing trend we are seeing. Experienced founders are looking at large problems with new eyes and seeing how LLMs can be incorporated in creating better solutions.

More things to consider

We are still in the early days of the LLM/generative AI boom, but experienced founders have been quick to realize that this gives them a new tool to solve old problems in new ways. These founders will have an advantage in raising funds, but it doesn't guarantee that they will succeed. It's also important to note that while LLMs provide inspiration and part of the solution, they are not sufficient to create a new solution on their own.

The power of experience cannot be underestimated. As these recent funding successes show, experienced founders with a clear vision and the right expertise can still raise significant funds, even in a competitive market.

Reply to this email and let us know your takes, and what you’d like to hear about on a future episode

Theme: Future-Proofing Businesses through Innovation & Sustainability

Experience the City of Toronto’s free full-day, in-person signature event in support of small businesses. The forum features main stage programming with keynote speakers and expert panels from a wide range of sectors, as well as the Nobellum Pitch Competition, breakout rooms, small group speed mentoring, a vibrant Indigenous Market and a trade show hosting a diverse display of small business services and goods providers. Only electricity from renewable energy sources will be used at the forum.

Monday, October 30, 2023
Metro Toronto Convention Centre

WHERE: South Building, Level 800, Exhibit Halls F & G
TIME: 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m

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