Crowdlosing
I am no angel, but I know a thing or two about losing money as an angel investor. Hopefully I have learned something along the way. There is a very dangerous myth afoot that small investors are being held back…
Salaries that are out of this world – from MaRS really.
The CEO of MaRS Discovery District (an incubator in downtown Toronto) is paid an astonishing $500,000 plus pension and benefits. This is unconscionable. It is an obscene amount of money to pay for a position that is a cross between…
A fetish for sticks and bricks.
Everyone wants to support innovators and entrepreneurs. But in 2014, they don't need "sticks and bricks", or beautiful buildings that just create bureaucracy and overhead. Big, fancy buildings are completely unnecessary and probably counter-productive for supporting entrepreneurship. They are a…
Sales are the lifeblood of innovation
A technology company without sales is just a project. A business is only a business when it has revenues. Customers and revenue are the sine qua non of business - without them, 'you ain't got nothing'. A decent business has…
Venture capital myths
Is there really a 'shortage' of venture capital? If so, where is the evidence? If there is a problem, is this something that government can/should try to solve? Asking start up founders if they would like more money is not…
Case study
Case study module Click the links to watch the videos: Patents Trademarks Industrial Designs (design patents) Copyrights Case study
New fund, less funds
Talk about spin. Here is a piece from the Globe and Mail about fresh money being raised by new venture capital funds: Veteran venture capital firm launches $105-million fund. Either this is pure spin, or they have missed the glaringly…
New VC fund, right approach
On June 18, 2012, in Uncategorized, by Neil Milton Best wishes to Bruce Croxon and his team at Round 13 - much of what he is saving about the need for sophisticated VCs in Canada willing to fund and able…
Great company, great news
On June 19, 2012, in Commercialization, Innovation, Intellectual property, Patents, Stories, by Neil Milton Well deserved congratulations to our client, GaN Systems Inc., which has closed its Series B financing less than a year after closing its Series A financing:…