Among the many challenges facing entrepreneurs and innovators in Canada is the lack of role models. People who have 'been there and done that' are a huge source of motivation and inspiration for others. In Ottawa in the mid 1990s,…
There is lots of talk about Canada needing a national securities regulator and very little action. I think that one of the main reasons for this is that in fact, there is no compelling need in Ontario for a national…
Good public infrastructure and good public policy are crucial for entrepreneurs. The overly simplistic notion that all government needs to do is "just get out of the way" grossly fails to capture the myriad important things government must do in…
The Resource Curse and Weak Commercialization Canada's sub-par commercialization of R&D is not caused by government, or universities, or research labs. It is 'caused' by inaction by the private sector. Commercialization of R&D will only work if it is…
It is not secret that Canada has good research and researchers, and yet has a very low rate of commercialization of this R&D. Compared to what happens in countries like the United States, UK, Israel, and Sweden, little of our…
There is a common myth that 'all start ups are good', followed closely by the implication that "all" or "most" start ups succeed. In my experience, founders universally assume that their start up will be a blazing success. Accordingly, if…
Milton's First Law of Angel Investing: Most Start-ups Are Terrible Investments. Start-ups start small, weak, and of no real value, and they either die fast or they stumble along small, weak and of dubious value for years, and this has…
Angel investing cannot be charity investing. Angels need to earn a return on their investment commensurate with the risk that they take, if angel investing is to be sustainable. If they do not earn sufficient return, then they will run…
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…
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…