#21 - Simba Wakatama - Loblaws x OneEleven Pitch Event

Speaker A: Welcome ladies and gentlemen, back to Startup Legends. Remember here on Startup Legends we interview rock stars from around the ecosystem. From limited partners to venture capital fund managers to heads of accelerator programs to crazy unicorn founders themselves. We go all over the world, try to find amazing people doing great stuff and people launching new programs, new funds. We bring them on the show to let them um, get a chance to tell their story and see which companies could apply today. With us I have a special friend, Simba from 111 who's come here to launch a program. Hey Simba, how are you doing?

Speaker B: I'm good, thank you. How are you doing Ash?

Speaker A: I'm doing great, I'm doing great. We just finished up the Elevate conference in Toronto last week. It was quite hectic. Things are settling down now. How about on your end, how are things at 111?

Speaker B: Well we just did one of the most ambitious uh, events we have done to date. We booked out an entire subway station and filled it with about 16 or so uh, different brands in the subway trains showcasing their uh, you know, from some cases it was the beverages, in other cases the food, in other cases the technology. So it was a really great event. We uh, had a live violinist, a live painter, an art gallery in there too, some disco bowl dancers. It was something else.

Speaker A: You guys did a great job. So for everyone at home, Simba please introduce yourself, tell us a little bit about you and who you are and what you do.

Speaker B: Yeah, so my name is Simba Wakatama, I am the head of partnerships here at 1:11 and what 111 is very briefly is where the top companies come to scale and grow. Uh, like Wealthsimple, Coho, Borrowell, they've all come here and they've scaled up and become essentially Canada's unicorns. Uh, on the side of that what I do specifically to help that is bring the top partners in the world and the largest brands in the world to help support the growth of the fastest growing companies. So I've closed deals with brands like Apple, Cisco, Microsoft, Google, um, you know, the list goes on and all I'm trying to do is have those companies bring value back to those scale ups, give them a little bit more access earlier on in their journey so that by the time they are ready to you know, really complete compete, compete at the world stage, they have the support of the biggest companies in Canada and in the world in this case.

Speaker A: Yeah. That's incredible. And so like would you say that 111 is a scale up accelerator? Would you go that far?

Speaker B: Yes. That, that is exclusively what we deal with. Scale ups, that's what we're interested in. There's a ton of support in Canada if you're early stage and then once you kind of graduate on uh, there's very little support until you are pretty much making it and you don't need any support. So uh, we fill in that gap, that seed plus we call it and we are looking to support the companies that are scaling. They're well on their way and they just now need more connections, more access. Uh, you know we bridge that gap. We're not getting involved in your business. Uh, we are just supporting you and building a community around you that's going to help you grow.

Speaker A: Yeah, and these brands, like big names like Koho, like uh, you know the Affinity as well as out of, out of 111 also there's a lot of awesome companies that have come out. From your perspective, are you guys also looking at scale ups and helping them beyond that community side too? Are you looking at funding at all or is it strictly just community building?

Speaker B: Well, so funding is an important part of the community. But it's not just vc. There's non dilutive. There's also, you know, banks just giving you loans and what does that look like? How are you navigating that? So we work with the innovation arms of pretty much every bank. We work uh, with the top VCs in Canada, uh, and we also work with non dilutive partners uh, that are going to help you find grants and other forms to even get your money back. Uh, so other government programs, there's many, many ways to get funded and we work with them all. So again we are a central node that you know, you can come to us and we can set you up with everything you need.

Speaker A: Incredible. So when should a company at what size do they start thinking 111 is something I got to entertain and potentially talk to you or somebody from your team.

Speaker B: The hard and fast rule is kind of once you start making a million dollars or more in annual recurring revenue or you know, we can start conversations once you've raised your first million then you know we want you on our radar. Right. Uh, that's, that's basically where you know you're in good hands. And also you know we charge for our, our uh, services. We have physical space as well located in the heart of downtown, right by Union Station. And so you know you're paying that membership fee, you should be able to afford it. And uh, that's why you need to have that there. Don't talk to me about fees. I don't know, you can find it on our website. Uh, but and you know I don't handle that side of the, of the business but it makes sense for companies in that scale and we've had tremendous success with companies of that size.

Speaker A: Yeah. And you guys launched so many programs and so many affiliations with brands like you were saying, there's one that you got, you have coming up that you wanted to announce a little bit. But before we get into that can you tell us another one that you've done successfully with another corporate partner?

Speaker B: Yeah. So you know we worked with a lot of different corporate partners like I mentioned, some are bankers, some you know We've worked with VCs, we've worked with a ton. But one of our big partnerships that we just launched uh, is with a company you've probably never heard of. Their name is Blacklight and they do uh, gaming chairs. And uh, that's what you might see. Okay. Gaming chairs, gaming tables. And you say well what does that got to do with 111? Well actually uh, we're helping them with launching their brand into the tech ecosystem. They are more of a uh, gaming technology company that just happens to be selling chairs to start. Right. So as they're scaling out their much more deep tech uh, products uh they're going to need a platform for that and 111 is a great partner and platform. We've also got brands like you, we're the only brand in Canada and the first uh, uh ecosystem kind of accelerator incubator that's worked with Apple and Cisco and cdw. And each of their needs are different but with them we uh, support them with access uh to uh re educating the customer on in what's new and what's the best practice. Also giving them exposure to specifically the startup and scale up landscape. But we also brainstorm with them on new products and new ideas. Right. So it's quite um, I would say it's a relationship that's growing and it's very much uh, modular in how we put things together. It's not fixed. Right.

Speaker A: It's not cookie cutter. It's basically it's customized based on what the clients need.

Speaker B: 100% customized.

Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. Which is the way innovation should be too. But that's awesome. So you know without further ado we would love to hear about the current program that you're launching right now.

Speaker B: Yeah. So I'm excited and I would say this is uh, more of a opportunity uh than a program. Um, well what we're doing is now. I'll stop the suspense now is uh, we're allowing the top scale ups in Canada an opportunity to pitch to one of the largest companies in Canada which is Loblo's Companies Ltd. So they own Loblo and all the brands associated to them. Shoppers, Drug Mart, PC Financial. They also own pretty much all the largest drug chains. Sorry, that was a bit of a tongue twister. All the largest uh, drug chains and they own the largest grocers. So you know we're talking TNT as well. We're talking uh, no frills, not just Loblo. And so the technology arm, the CTO himself and uh, a bunch of the heads of each technology arm are going to be giving one day, one day and one day only to hear the pitches, very fast pitches of the top companies in Canada. You can apply for this. We are selecting only the best and of course 111 companies already the best. So we're, we're bringing them to and uh, we're going to present you in a room with them to pitch. It is not an open forum. This is a private gathering and of course you know we will wine and dine you a little bit. Right, we got it. While you're there. Uh, uh, but the uh, but the name of the game is putting you in front of the um, best of the best in Loblo's and having them assess whether you can deploy into their ecosystem of brands.

Speaker A: That's. So it's an exclusive invite only and you have to apply as a company to get selected to come in. So yes, first of all that's incredible as it is. That's the opportunity to present to all of these brands under Loblaws, Shoppers, Drug Bar, tnt, Real Canadian Superstore, Real Canadian Wholesale Club, no Frills, Dominion. The list goes on and on. Are you telling us that these companies have a chance to present a technology to all of these different department or all the different brands all the same time?

Speaker B: Yes. So how Loblo's Companies limited works is that all their technology is centralized right through the parent company, including their investment arm, Whittington Ventures. So not only do you, are you pitching for an opportunity to be deployed into a, a solution into the family, uh, of brands you're also technically pitching to be invested in.

Speaker A: Okay, this is interesting.

Speaker B: So tell us more about. So Whittington Ventures was acquired by Loblo's Companies Limited a while back. Um, and that's their, the arm they use to invest in companies uh, that they really believe in, uh, especially if the company is a startup and they might not be there yet like so they adjust there. Right. They just need that capital to grow. But they can grow within the brands and then they can be deployed within the brands. We're not talking about grocery stores here. Right. We're talking about the entire infrastructure to operate a, a um, you know, uh, a world class uh, fintech, grocer, logistics, you name it. And everything within that of course AI is a big thing now and you're going to see more and more of that. Uh, and their focus right now is on finding those companies that are going to help them be more efficient, more productive and uh, more environmentally and socially impactful.

Speaker A: There is, we call, we have this term called from seed to sale, literally from the ground all the way to the store. There are so many different parts of that supply chain from who you purchase from to how the trucks go out, to pricing on the shelves. So everything across the board they're looking for technology that's an ambitious kind of outreach from, from their side. Have they given you any specific mandates on areas that they're uh, looking for a technology in?

Speaker B: Yes. So of course um, AI is definitely at the center of one of the things they're looking for. Uh, another key part of uh, what they're looking for is going to be supply chain management. And when it comes to the actual Loblo employees then they're looking for things to do with efficiency and they're looking for productivity. Right. But end to end efficiency is going to be one of these big things that come up. But it, how it looks might be different. Right. So they might be on the fintech arm of things. How can we process payments better get uh, you know, get uh, things paid faster. Right. It might be on shipping and logistics. Ah. And I have an example of a 111 company which is a success story. It was called uh, Gattic. They do autonomous shipping and trucks. Uh, so Loblo's actually um, worked with them to deploy pilots nationwide and I believe they invested in Gattic and continue to work with them. Our other partners as well, uh, you know CDW and Apple have worked with Loblo's to build infrastructure in the back end, uh, to make sure that uh, you know, you're checking inventory on iPads, you go to your lockers that they have in grocery stores and you know they have your food in the locker which is autonomous. So there's many, many little pieces to making a uh, uh, corporation that large, which is essentially A collection of corporations work efficiently if you fit into that. And the more you fit into, the better your chances.

Speaker A: It's such a large category of items, you know, from payment loyalty, uh, PC optimum points. What can you do with that? Using AI, how could you do pricing? You know if um, I guess what it sounds like though is you're looking for scale ups with these type of companies who have the ICP of a law of loss of a grocer. They actually want to go after them. They worked with those clients in the past, they've got some evidence. So it's not, we're not looking for net new companies that have never worked in the grocery industry because it won't necessarily be approved. Or can you talk a bit more about that?

Speaker B: Look, it's an unfortunate truth, but this is not an opportunity for your new idea to be pitched to Loblo. This is for established startups who have shown an ability to work with enterprise clients already to now get this opportunity to work with one of the largest in Canada. So if you do not, if you cannot deploy immediately into uh, Loblo's companies limited, uh, then you are in fact limited. Right. So it's not for you. This is for the people who are, they just need a big break. But they already have shown success with enterprise clients. They are able to scale and if it's a matter of well we just need funding, if we have a letter of intent, then that's not, that's not that bad. Right. Um, they can work with that but it can't be where you have to actually build out your technology to service them. Yeah, that can't be the case.

Speaker A: And even some of the licenses like SoC2 and ISO 2700 there's some kind of minimum level of certification to work with an enterprise. So these things should either be in your, in the radar, on the, as an audit, on the books or already completed and, and to pass through.

Speaker B: Correct, correct. And uh, you know some of these things are not hard to do in a short space of time, especially with the help of uh, professionals and professional services that can, you know, just get it done very quickly. But some things will take time and now's not the time to you know, pitch and then figure it out after the fact. We're going to be looking for these things within the application process, um, and then, and the filtering process. Right. And we're only taking top batch. See 111 is not about making bad ah, companies good or okay, companies good. Right. 111 is about making good Companies. Great. Okay, so we're not interested in dealing with fixing broken things. We're interested in dealing with putting fire on the sort of fuel on the fire, right. Accelerating what's already working. That's our niche. There's you know, consultants, they go in and they fix broken things. Right. So that's for them. And Loblo is similar where they cannot afford to work with a company that's not ready because they have so much brand, um, loyalty to consider. They have so many integrated systems, systems that if one thing goes down, everything goes down. They cannot afford to um, take that risk. And so we want to support them in, in making sure that, or reassuring them that we're also helping them scale and be better. Right? That's, that's the goal.

Speaker A: So, so like imagine I'm one of these, these companies, okay, Perfectly fit for enterprise. I've done some contracts maybe with Costco, maybe the Walmart, and I'm ready to go. Maybe like, blah. What does this application actually look like? Where am I going? Is it a form? Am I filling it out? How long does it take?

Speaker B: Yeah, it's a form and it's very quick. I believe you're going to put a link here. But it's also, if you search 111, the words on, on LinkedIn, uh, or even on my own LinkedIn, um, you'll see uh, the form very simple and it's very quick. Just have your pitch deck ready, answer some basic questions and uh, we will scour through and we'll reach out to you if you uh, if we like you. Now, you've got until November, uh, sorry, you've got until October, uh, 15th, I believe. Yes, October 15th. To apply by the 20th, you should know, uh, what position you're in whether you're going to pitch or not. And we want to make sure you are pitch prepped, uh, because it's going to be a elevator pitch. They'll have your pitch deck, they'll have your information already. We're just wetting the beak, so to speak. And they will follow up with who they believe they want to work with on an individual case by case basis. And then that is the beginning of the relationship. So we're not guaranteeing that, um, they're going to work with you. And this is not, uh, the time to spiel your whole life story. Right? It's a dragon's dance style pitch.

Speaker A: Do you have an amount of time? Like what's the, what's the limit on that?

Speaker B: Most likely three minutes. Three to five minutes. Most likely. Three, the more companies we have, like, we're not going to fill companies for the sake of filling companies. If we have a lot of good companies, you'll have less time. And if we have a, a, uh, few good companies, you'll have more time. Yeah, yeah.

Speaker A: If I was an enterprising entrepreneur looking at, looking to take advantage of this opportunity, I'd probably think of three things if I have three minutes. First of all, what's, do some research on the problems Loblaws is facing. Figure out across the different industries where, what that issue is, how big that issue is. Number two, what have you designed as a solution, as a technology and that could potentially help this and how do you have thought of that? What's already been validated and number three is now how can uh, they benefit and what potentially in KPIs, 40% more efficiency, 30% productivity boost in employees. These are the kind of things, is that kind of the idea that entrepreneurs should be thinking?

Speaker B: Yes, I think so. And a demo speaks a thousand words. If you only have three minutes, uh, you might want to walk through a demo that shows exactly how you're helping Lobos practically, uh, where they can understand what you do. I'm not going to lie. Most of the pitches that I receive, I don't know what the company does by the end of the five minutes or whatever. They never actually really seriously addressed what they do, like how they do it. What, what am I actually receiving when it comes to sas, um, all the very high end talk of saving the world is the hoorah, rah. Ah, it's fun. But when it comes to SaaS, what are you doing and how are you doing it? Right. When it's uh, B2C. Yes. Now we can be a lot more, uh, uh, you know, creative. Yeah. Let's say that because there is a lot more creativity involved, involved in the purchasing decisions. Right. But sadly it's not really the case. So, uh, you know, if you're going to pitch your enterprise and you already know the enterprise, you can pick a brand, you can say how you're going to help that brand and show how you help that brand. Right. It's not that hard. And three minutes, you don't have to show everything. You just have to prove that there's more to talk about. Then they'll talk to you in detail, you'll sit down and that's it. When, uh, will you ever have the time of the cto? Never again, basically. Not even if they work with you. So this is, this is the time. No Pressure.

Speaker A: You know what, you actually brought up an interesting point. You said potentially a demo. Do people get to exhibit A deck? Do they get to present actually up there? Or is it.

Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, you'll have a tv. You can. Oh, do not wing it because I'll cut you off at, ah, three minutes. I don't care what you said. Right. So, uh, do not wing it. We'll be tight with time we have. We have to respect everybody's time, including yours. If you're out there, if you're, if you're watching this, we're respecting your time. Right. So, um, yeah, I will cut you off at three minutes sharp. Not a word over.

Speaker A: That's true.

Speaker B: Unless we have more time. But you'll know if we have more time and everyone will be informed ahead of time how much time they have. But if you can do a, uh, five minute pitch in three minutes, then, then just do it in three, right?

Speaker A: Yeah. And just to talk a bit, the logistics of the day. Is there a Q A after that, after every pitch?

Speaker B: Yeah, there'll be a short Q and A.

Speaker A: Okay.

Speaker B: There'll be a short Q and A. And remember, they will have your information. Right. So the intention is that we want to wet their beak enough that they're going to reach out to you and set up a proper meeting with their teams and the appropriate expert in their team where you can actually talk sharp and you can talk deeply. Right. So you don't want to be discussing some things will go over certain people's heads. Right. It's not their department, it's not their understanding. And, uh, and then, so you'll have in a room of, say, five people, one person understands the problem deeply and so they might be a little more aggressive with the questions. The other person might take that as negativity, not knowing that the one person is actually interested. Right. So you don't want to have that conversation right there and then that's what we don't want. We just want the opportunity that the experts are there, they'll take it in and the right person will reach out to you. You'll have the proper conversation with the proper people in the room. And we're facilitating that for the entire ecosystem.

Speaker A: That's interesting. And it's a great place for you to, uh, kind of come out there. And it's a good thing to also pretty much reference which department or which brand. What are you trying to also address? Like, like when, uh, I used to work at Procter and Gamble and I used to work with Walmart and Shoppers, uh, at Drug Mart. One big problem we used to have is in the winter time, in summertime, these trucks had to put an AC for certain perishables. Where there's food, the AC takes space. And so they'd have to remove that space of how much can be in there. A cool idea is a smaller, more compact, uh, portable air conditioning for these trucks. Maybe now more space, more deliveries can be done, things like that. Just innovations. This is logistics, this is payments. This is a supply chain that would be also go a long way. So that person who's the VP or the department head in that region will also know, oh, this is specifically for me, so I got to pay better attention to this versus something else. Right?

Speaker B: Yeah, exactly. And you know, better insulation. Right. Then you don't need AC at all. You can pre till the truck. But the point is like, look, it doesn't matter what the solution is. If you're, if you're presenting a solution to them, you, they have to first agree that there's a problem there. So, uh, you're kind of going to have to take the only risk you're really taking is with the assumption of the problem. Once they buy into that, the rest is history. Uh, I do, I do this a lot with partnerships. Like the, the first thing I'm trying to figure out in any of these large partnerships and the reason why I've been able to do so many in record time. When they all say, you know, Apple said, oh, it'll take at least a year. It didn't, uh, Google said, oh, it'll take at least a year. Took like a couple weeks. Uh, it's very simple. All my efforts are on understanding their problem and their goals. As soon as I understand that matching up the solution is very simple. And you're just agreeing on basic terms. Right. Amounts, deliverables, simple. But it's all focused on their problems, is they spend a whole year already deciding what they're going to do for the next year. I'm not trying to change that, I'm trying to adapt into it.

Speaker A: Right, yeah, you can, you can go into research on all the news articles that Loblaws and their press companies have put out. You can go take a look at their annual shareholders agreement from last year to see what they put in there, what their innovation section is saying within there, what their ambitions are. And then you can, like, like you said, Simba, and this is corporate, you cannot completely change the ship. All you can do is steer it slightly, few degrees in a better direction

Speaker B: from the inside from the inside.

Speaker A: Right. As opposed to the outside, which is an awesome opportunity. So if I'm at home here, I'm a company. I've said, okay, this is a good fit. I'm going to apply. Talk to me about more about these dates. So you said the applications are live at the moment and we'll put all the show links and uh, so the links in the show notes and in contact information for yourself as well. But I apply, I find out by the 20th and the date is on the 24th. Is that correct?

Speaker B: Yes. And the deadline to apply is the 15th. It's a very tight runaround. Right. Turnaround. Right. But that's how we do it where we are operating like a startup as well. We're not going to be hypocrites. Right. Uh, so we are operating like a startup. We're sticking to these dates. Um, and you know who, who knows, maybe we get a ton of applications and we close earlier. So hurry up. You know, we're going to take the best of the best. So you better come correct.

Speaker A: What does the 24th day actually look like? What time does this start? December end, in case.

Speaker B: Yes. So, okay, first of all, if you are not, and this is one of the questions there, if you're not available. Okay. Or representative. Because only one person can come. If you are, you or a representative are not available. Yeah. That's another thing. No team pitching. Okay. If your representative cannot be there in person, downtown Toronto on the, uh, location undisclosed for obvious reasons, on the 24th for an entire afternoon to early evening, do not apply. Don't waste my time. Don't waste your time. It's an automatic no if you can't be there in person. Oh, but, oh, just check out my pitch deck. I will check out your pitch deck. Okay. Whether you can make it or not, that's, that's fine. But you will not be considered for this date.

Speaker A: And this date, what is it in the morning? Is it in the evening?

Speaker B: It's. It's going to be in the afternoon. The entire afternoon.

Speaker A: Got it. So number one, if you're not going to be able to make it, do not waste Simba's time. Pretty much, yes. Simba's time is very valuable. He has a lot of go through. So, so he needs to be able to, to sift through. That's, that's pretty fantastic. Um, so you've worked with these programs before. You've done these partnerships with corporates. You've been able to go. We know about how these sales cycles work. Right. It takes Very long time. Sometimes you have to go to different decision makers. Getting access to some of the main key decision makers, be able to pitch directly to them, is a fast way to bypass a lot of the internal, um, requirements going through enterprise. Are, ah, you testing any specific um, things outside of this that the companies can also do to be able to be qualified for these, uh, for the potential challenge?

Speaker B: Do not DM me. Do not DM Loblos. They're not looking, I'm not looking. We're going through the process. Even our 111 companies are applying too. Right. Um, now obviously we've pre vetted them, we work with them, we know them and they get priority. Uh, so they're taking up space as well. Right. Um, but yes, please, please do not think, oh, if I just send you a video that will make. Please don't do that. Um, we made the application to be streamlined and we've got such a short window that we're gonna go through it the normal way. Um, that said though, if you think you're a good fit for 111, um, aside from this, uh, because this is just one day, right. We've got plenty other partners and I think you're a great fit for 111. Uh, well, being part of 111 gives you access to all our partners, all of them. And we'll go out of our way to set up meetings for you. Right. It might not necessarily be with the CTO, but it'll you, it'll 9 out of 10 times be with the decision maker within the organization. So uh, if you want to fast track your way, uh, then, you know, come join 111. We'd love to have you.

Speaker A: That's, that's an incredible. So that's a separate thing. If you wanted to also apply to 111, we'll also put that um, in the show notes where you can go and see if you qualify to be part of this insane ecosystem that gets you right in. Open every door, every window in Canada to access this. So you know how companies are you selecting in total? Do you have an idea of like how many people you want?

Speaker B: Between 12 to 18 right now is my target. That's why we have to keep the time so tight. Imagine 12 to 18 companies pitching in an hour and a half.

Speaker A: It's tight.

Speaker B: It's tight. You've done, We've done similar things, but I mean you have to be ruthless with the cutoffs.

Speaker A: Yeah, yeah.

Speaker B: And we're just. But again, remember, this is not, we're just Whetting the appetite. This is just so they know you, they know your face. There'll be time to mingle and they'll also be the follow ups and they'll have your presentations. Uh, uh, you know, you. Sorry, your pitch decks. So you're fuller pitch decks. They'll have it beforehand.

Speaker A: Okay.

Speaker B: They can digest the information beforehand.

Speaker A: Okay. This is an important question. Now, this pitch deck that you're talking about, there's multiple types of pitch decks that startups use. Some of them for sales, some of them for EVC and investment and capital. With this decks application, you're not talking about an investor deck where you have information about their rounds and what they're, what they've done. You're talking specifically about a sales deck would have problems, solutions, case studies and uh, how this works. Correct.

Speaker B: That would be the best way to go. Um, you can have an investor deck, uh, if you like, because again, there is an investment arm. But then you have to make that clear that that's your intention, is that you're also open to investment. Right. I think it would be better suited for you to have that conversation after the fact when they've already bought into you. Not, uh, off the bat. Uh, because again, they're there for enterprise solutions, they're not there for investment, uh, you know, opportunities per se. It's not out of the question. But that's not the activity at hand. So always be topical. Right. Um, your pitch deck is, is. It's a proposal almost.

Speaker A: And that firm that they were working was called Wellington Ventures. Whittington.

Speaker B: Yeah, Whittington.

Speaker A: Yeah, Whittington. It's also like, it makes sense. I mean, the best approach is if they can see the value in using the tool, it makes sense as an investment.

Speaker B: Yeah, they'll pass it on to Whittington. It's strategic. Yeah, it makes perfect sense.

Speaker A: Yeah, exactly. So that's awesome. Perfect. That's pretty much it. I love to love to be able to share this with the audience. Is there anything else, Simba, that you want everybody at home to know that's listening in? Um, maybe even potential other partners, maybe other other corporates that potentially want to also run their own programs in the future. Anything you want to tell the whole ecosystem?

Speaker B: Well, I'd like to say thank you to the whole ecosystem. Thank you for supporting us. Um, we put on, like I said just now, the most ambitious event we've ever done. It was sold out. We've had people out the lines at this point. I think we've had at Least six or seven sold out events where the wait list is longer than the amount of attendees. Double, uh, triple in some cases. And so thank you to the entire ecosystem. That's a testament of the community, the support. And I'm seeing familiar faces. Everyone's friendly, everyone's helping each other. Jobs are coming out of that. Our partners are happy. They're getting, not only are they getting opportunity and deal flow, they're getting employees from that they're getting connections, personal friends. So thank you to the ecosystem. That's what I want to say. That's all I have to say.

Speaker A: Do you want to give us quick, quick sneak of anything else that's coming up in the future that is, uh, potentially, uh, on the radar or is it everything in stealth mode at the moment?

Speaker B: If you should know, you will know.

Speaker A: It's on a needs to know basis. I love that.

Speaker B: Yeah, follow me on social.

Speaker A: I'll Throw uh, Simba's LinkedIn in there so you can go and spam him and ask him what's going on. No, I'm just kidding. Yeah, he's very busy. Like we said. Don't, don't bother Simba unless you, you actually have something useful.

Speaker B: But uh, yeah, and hey, you know, I'm not unapproachable or anything. Um, you know, it just might take some time for me to get to your, your dm, but I, I like to try and get through them all and uh, you know, in person as well. Come out to come out to events. If you see me at a, uh, event, just come and say hi. You know, I love, I love chatting with people. Honestly, it's easier to get me in person than it is, uh, to not. So if I see you and I, you know, I'm the type of person, if I met you once, I'll go out of my way to say hi the second time I see you. So come out for sure. And uh, be part of the ecosystem. Get, get, you know, get into the ecosystem is the best way to do it.

Speaker A: Yeah. I'm gonna ask you one last question before we wrap up.

Speaker B: Okay.

Speaker A: And this question is regarding the ecosystem. I mean, you are clearly one of the awesome rockstar leaders in this Toronto and Canadian ecosystem. Tell us, tell me a little bit about what this state of the ecosystem, like how the funding environment is, what's going on in tech with startups in Canada, Toronto. Please do.

Speaker B: So my take on the startup ecosystem right now is that we're recovering very well. There's still a desperate need for funding. Like it is insane it's insatiable because, because we're recovering, the startups are doing better and have more sales and all this, but they can't grow fast enough. So the appetite is even bigger now, uh, for investment. And if we don't fulfill that appetite, someone across the border will. And someone from a, you know, obscure part of the world where they're losing their money to 5%, 6%, 7%, 10% inflation monthly will say, I don't care if that's a bad company. It's a stable enough company that I'm not losing my money to inflation. I'm going to invest over there in Canada. Right. And you don't want that happening at scale. Right. Um, so we need to take care of ourselves. We need to, you know, support our companies with cash. Everyone wants to support companies with everything but money. Money makes the world go around. Give them your money. Advice is cheap. All right, so that's to you, investors. Okay? Open those books. You might need to take a few more risks, but unfortunately, that's the name of the game.

Speaker A: Yeah, honestly. Well said. Uh, this is the time. This is a productivity challenge. As it is, Ontario, Canada is falling behind globally in productivity at the moment. And this is a great initiative to look for those things that can increase productivity. And there'll be more coming down the pipeline and investors coming in into the ecosystem. Whether you're an angel putting at the early stage, a VC coming in at the seed series A, or an lp, a family office trying to come in for the first time to invest in funds. We need capital to build this whole ecosystem back up, be an innovation leader of the world. Which, you know, yes, is great event. We, we put out about 4% of the world's science, but only commercialized 1% of it. So we need to flip that script. And people like me and Simba are

Speaker B: advocating for investors, advocating even our capital needs capital. So we, you know, so hey, any way we can help, we will. So, you know, if you're looking for the next best company to invest in, definitely reach out. Uh, we always, you know, I know Ash sees a ton of deals, um, and especially on the fun to fund side, I see more, um, on the actual, you know, direct to the, to the company side, direct investment investments. So definitely, uh, reach out. Always happy to help.

Speaker A: Like I said, guys, I'm gonna put all the information that you heard here in the show notes. You can see links to where to apply for this Loblaws initiative. You can see links for Simba and links to 111 to where to apply for their space. This, uh, is incredible. Thank you so much, Simba, for coming on the show.

Speaker B: My pleasure. Happy to be here.

Speaker A: Remember, everyone at home, this is Startup Legends, where we interview rock stars from around the ecosystem. Everyone from limited partners to venture capital fund managers, heads of accelerators, corporate innovation, all the way down to exited founders and unicorns. So thanks once again for listening in, and we'll catch you guys next time on Startup Ledge.

Speaker B: To the new, new age. Welcome to the new age. To the new age. I'm radioactive Radioactive m.