Content highlights of 2010s | VC, tech, trends, and more

As is tradition, January was a time for our team to pause and reflect on the last decade. To celebrate, we’re dusting off some of our most popular posts that you might have missed.

1. Tech is (still) Canada's rising resource

It seemed like every VC in the early 2010s was blogging about how the industry was at a turning point. No one quite knew what was going to happen, but everyone sensed that disruption was imminent. Mark was no exception, noting that recent exits (notably Radian6), mixed with the emergence of micro-funds and an influx of passionate Canadian entrepreneurs was a sign of positive change to come. 

Read Mark's reflection on the Canadian VC landscape from September 2011.

Eight years later, an unprecedented number of new tech startups, VC funds, and success stories continue to emerge in Canada. The question becomes: how can tech investors make the most of these new opportunities?

Read the follow-up in our 2019 post: "The Digitization of Everything: What Does It Mean For Tech Investors?" 

2. VC performance metrics: measuring the unrealized

At the end of the day, the most important factor in any VC investment is its potential for return. When it comes to VC performance metrics, it can be tricky even for more experienced investors to adequately measure and analyze unrealized returns. In our most shared post of the decade, Eleonore outlines the 101s of VC metrics, and the most common traps investors fall into.

Get the full lesson here. 

3. An exceptional founding team is our #1 criteria and our portfolio’s common denominator

Our team wrote a series of behind-the-scenes posts to give some insight into what goes on when we evaluate and invest in companies. Each story is different, but you’ll find that the common thread regardless of stage, product or industry is always the same: a dedicated, experienced and passionate founding team.

Go "Behind the Deal" with:
Hopper;
Nudge Rewards;
AOMS; and
Potloc.

4. The accredited investor exemption is simpler than you think

To our surprise, our most-read post of the decade is the one that outlines the different ways an individual can fit the accredited investor exemption.

A possible explanation might be the lack of other online resources online for this type of investor. A lot of myths surround the exemption: we often get asked whether accredited investors have to pass a test or be certified to fit the criteria. The answer is no - to be accredited, you only have to fit one of the threshold criteria of salary or assets.

As FinTech continues to evolve and new platforms catering to the accredited investor emerge, we expect that the trend of investing in new alternatives such as VC will continue to grow.

Read our "The Canadian Accredited Investor Exemption Explained" post to see the full criteria.  

5. More and more Canadians are investing in VC, but they want to do it alongside experts

On the topic of individuals investing in venture capital, our most popular video features some of our actual investors and their strategy when it comes to why and how they invest in VC.

Watch why Randy, Howard and Sandy are investing in the VC asset class - and stay tuned for new investor interviews in the new year!

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