Each year we feature an interview with a key leader involved in the event. I’ve been fortunate enough to interview, Whitney Rockley and Scott McDonald in 2017 and 2018.
This year’s interview, is my first in my new series “The Leading Edge”. It’s with Remi Schmaltz, CEO and President of Decisive Farming. Our conversation covers emerging technologies being adopted by broadacre farms and farmers and why. You’ll learn about his company and the role it is playing in helping farmers be successful.
We also talk about Decisive Farming’s relationship with McRock Capital, their Canadian VC partner, and McRock’s IIoT Symposium taking place Jun 12, in Montreal, Canada.
Timeline
Use the timeline to pick what you want to listen to
00:00
Market: What is a broad acre farm and how big is the market? Where is Decisive Farming focusing today and in the near term?
02:50
Technology: How is technology solving key challenges for farmers and the agriculture market? What technologies are being used today? What challenges are farmers facing because of technologies?
07:50
Farmers: Are they innovators and early adopters of technology? What’s their mindset and approach to trying technology and eventually implementing it into their farm operations?
10:30
Decisive Farming: What’s the journey been like for you, your family and your company? Tell us more about your web platform My Farm Manager™ and the supportive mobile app Croptivity™ and the role they play in helping farmers be successful. How important is data and system integration.
16:43
Customers: What’s the typical farm client for Decisive Farmer? What are they like and how are you engaging with them to develop the market and acquire new customers? What are the key issues that you’re platform is addressing and delivering value to farmers?
24:00
McRock Capital & IIoT Symposium: How are they unique and what’s the relationship like with them as a funder? How are they different from other venture capital firms? What do you think about McRock’s IIoT Symposium? How is this annual event valuable to you and others that should attend?
30:18
Final Question: What advice would you give a new tech entrepreneur in order to improve her or his chances of success?
Learn more about McRock Capital’s IIoT Symposium and take advantage of the early bird special before May 1/19.
Chris Herbert
Cofounder
Chris Herbert is the founder of Mi6. Mi6 is a B2B (Business to Business) marketing and business development agency dedicated to helping companies build their brands and develop commercial relationships. He is the founder of ProductCamp Toronto and the Hi-tech community Silicon Halton. He tweets under the handle @B2Bspecialist.
Here’s our next installment in our conversation series with Silicon Halton members, sponsor partners and generally some pretty cool people that we’d like you to get to know. Our guest is Silicon Halton member Sam Reid, Director of Business Development [LinkedIn] for Quaenet [Web Site | LinkedIn | Twitter].
Local Matters
Local companies like Quaenet, from Oakville, are extremely important to the success of our entrepreneur and technology ecosystem. Canada (Halton Region) needs to lead in key emerging technology fields like the Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Blockchain etc. There are many reasons why but the most obvious one is why not?!
So we’ll keep telling you about some amazing people and companies, in tech, in our back yard and encourage you to support them. These local companies drive economic development, partnerships and jobs and are well suited to provide technology solutions and services not only globally but to the many non-tech companies here in Halton region as well.
Let’s Learn about LPWan, LoRaWAN and Quaenet!
Sam presented to the Silicon Halton IoT Peer2Peer group recently [Learn More & Join] and he and I had a conversation. HIs slides and the recording of our conversations are below. Enjoy!
NOTE: The timeline below outlines what we discussed. To fast forward to a spot in the interview press the > key on your keyboard.
00:35
What is LPWan and how is it better than than using cellular and wifi for IoT?
01:53
Most telematics solutions required connectivity using cellular or satelite? What is the use case for LPWan for fleets?
03:49
Who is Quaenet and what’s the status of their LPWan roll out? How is Quaenet funded and what are some key partners integral to building out Quaenet’s LPWan infrastructure?
06:55
What is LoRaWAN and how can you get started using LPWan technology? Should you set up your own private network or use a public one like Quaenet’s? What are the advantages of using a public LPWan operators network?
11:10
How is 5G different than LPWan/LoRaWAN?
13:35
What types of customers is/can Quaenet support and what are some use cases. Examples covered include Smart Cities, asset management, farming and even golf courses.
22:07
What is it that you want Silicon Halton members to know about Quaenet and some of the key goals for the company?
Here’s my next installment in Silicon Halton’s conversation series. I’m interviewing people within the SH community and beyond. The topics and reasons for each interview will vary but the common goal is to help our members and the community to grow.
For us growth is a core part of what keeps the heart of the Silicon Halton community beating. We want you to grow through learning, grow your networks, grow professionally, grow your company and do everything possible to help the hi-tech industry grow in Halton region.
Interview with Jim Orlando, General Partner at OMERS Ventures
OMERS Ventures is the venture capital investment arm of OMERS, one of Canada’s largest pension funds with over $95 billion in net assets. OMERS Ventures is a multi-stage investor in growth-oriented, disruptive technology companies across North America.
I reached out to Jim to drill a bit deeper into his predictions and to get his take on the health of the venture capital investment and exit scene in Canada for 2018. Enjoy!
The Canadian Venture Capital scene: the good news & the bad news
07:50
How many rounds of fundraising are too many?
15:11
Are there enough investment opportunities in Canada? Is the lack of exits due to the lack of “quality” companies? Plus the importance of “optionality”
20:32
Are Canadian startup companies just a bunch of “sellouts”? Is the only way for them to succeed is to be acquired instead of continuing to organically grow or going public?
Here’s my next installment in Silicon Halton’s conversation series. I’m interviewing people within the SH community and beyond. The topics and reasons for each interview will vary but the common goal is to help our members and the community to grow.
For us growth is a core part of what keeps the heart of the Silicon Halton community beating. We want you to grow through learning, grow your networks, grow professionally, grow your company and do everything possible to help the hi-tech industry grow in Halton region.
This annual event is very unique and a must attend event for entrepreneurs in the IoT space. The network and relationships that Whitney Rockley and Scott MacDonald and the McRock Capital team have and make in the IoT space are wide and deep.
I can’t stress enough how important the role they are playing in helping put Canada on the map is so many ways.
First, they attract corporate firms who are developing and looking to bring to market IoT solutions. These firms will invest in IoT startups and provide them access to their customers to validate and commercialize their IoT products.
Second, they get IoT and that they understand the challenges that IoT can solve for municipalities, manufacturers and other industrial segments.
Third, they don’t shy away from hardware. Something many software centric VCs do. The reality is hardware matters when it comes to IoT.
Fourth, they’re Canadian … eh! The entire team are what I like to call “McRock Stars” in startups and IoT. Too cheesy?
This is the 7th year for the IIoT Symposium. Why McRock Capital created this event and why it continues
04:56
What is it about this year that makes the event different than previous years?
08:23
How is corporate venture capital different from venture capital? Why is it important for IIoT startups to know the difference?
14:31
How startups are using the IIoT Symposium to network in order to get customers, develop partnerships and this year, a new opportunity, pitch to raise capital.
16:39
We talk about this year’s IIoT Awards: 1) IIoT Entrepreneur of the Year; 2) IIoT Corporate Leader of the Year and, 3) IIoT Diversity Leader of the Year
19:26
McRock’s tracking of diversity within their portfolio of companies.
20:27
The fun side of the IIoT Symposium. Jazz, inspiration, arts and laughs!
Chris Herbert
Cofounder
Chris Herbert is the founder of Mi6. Mi6 is a B2B (Business to Business) marketing and business development agency dedicated to helping companies build their brands and develop commercial relationships. He is the founder of ProductCamp Toronto and the Hi-tech community Silicon Halton. He tweets under the handle @B2Bspecialist.
Here’s my next installment in Silicon Halton’sconversation series. I’m reaching out to people within the SH community and beyond. The topics and reasons vary but what is common that drives interviews is Silicon Halton’s continued goal of helping our members grow.
For us growth is a core part of what keeps the heart of the Silicon Halton community beating. We want you to grow through learning, grow your networks, grow professionally, grow your company and do everything possible to help the hi-tech industry grow in Halton region.
SB Partners has been a partner and sponsor of Silicon Halton since the community started in 2009. Their contributions have been important to the growth of SH.
In addition to the financial contributions they’ve made, many of the Partners have presented at SH meetups on a variety of topics, have been guests at our peer to peer events, and made themselves available as subject matter experts. It’s an amazing community focused partnership!
Something Wonderful Happened This Year at SB Partners
This February, CEO John Chisholm announced the rebranding of SB Partners which included a new brand, tagline and website. But it was much more than a “new look and feel”. It was more strategic and launched SB Partners on their newest journey with their clients and within Halton community.
Call me curious (or maybe nosey) I wanted to learn more and get the backstory! Why did SB Partners feel the need to rebrand? How did they do it? Should other companies rebrand, if so when and why? What was the experience of re-creating the SB Partners brand like?
So, I reached out to Elaine Holding, Director Client Services and Business Development at SB Partners to ask these questions and others. Below is our full interview.
Interview Timeline
You can fast forward/rewind by clicking on the play button. Mouseover the waveform chart above and/or use the > key on your keyboard .
00:00 | Introduction and conversation starter
01:06 | Elaine gives us a bit of an overview of SB Partners and some of the key leaders important for Silicon Halton members to get to know. She talks about the value SB Partners offers to the local community and delivers to private tech businesses and entrepreneurs
03:32 | We talk about how SB Partners have been involved in the Silicon Halton and broader business community to date and the importance of “doing the right thing”
05:36 | SB Partners focus and role in providing thought leadership and informing the community on key matters that can impact their business
07:15 | Elaine and I discuss:
How Silicon Halton members can engage and get value from engaging with SB Partners
How SB Partners is helping technology companies of various sizes, stages of growth and development
How it’s important to establish the right corporate and accounting structure at the outset
10:28 | Elaine outlines ways to engage with SB Partners:
When your business model is in place and you need to ask about the corporate and financial structure
When you’re starting to earn revenue and you need to ask about CRA (Canadian Revenue Agency) compliance
How to pay yourself as an owner. Understanding what your options are
Understanding how the tax system is going to work for you in the best way, and as the company matures
Getting advice on succession planning, valuation of your company and others for mergers and acquisitions AND setting up family trusts to fully capitalize on being an entrepreneur
13:15 | I ask Elaine how SB Partners is designed to help growth oriented technology entrepreneurs and their companies. And, the importance of choosing an accounting firm that can scale with your growth
15:06 | Elaine explains how SB Partners has being getting value from their partnership and sponsorship with Silicon Halton. Also, she offers her perspective on how Silicon Halton is delivering value to tech companies in Halton region
17:30 | I talk briefly about a new Silicon Halton program being launched with SB Partners designed for CEOs of local tech entrepreneurs aspiring to grow. Stay tuned!
18:22 | Really cool discussion with Elaine about SB Partners new branding and why they did it. Key areas covered:
Why did SB Partners rebrand? A very important change in the accounting industry was a contributing factor
Firm has evolved and current branding was becoming a bit disjointed and inconsistent. It was time to refresh the brand to reflect where it is today and where SB Partners is heading
Why new hires chose SB Partners recently and the role the new brand played in this decision
The role “archetypes” play in branding a company. For example an example of an Outlaw archetype would be Harley Davidson. It’s important that your brand represents who you are not what you want it to be. The archetype that SB Partners chose was the Hero
Elaine talks about the meaning behind the brand, the logo and their tagline: “Accounting for Our Community”
26:51 | Elaine shares the story about the internal launch of the rebranding and the role the movie: “It’s a Wonderful Life” played. We talk about how other companies should think about branding over the longer term in order to stay relevant and in SB Partner’s case independent. Here’s a key moment in the the movie that resonates with me that I want to share with you:
31:47 | Chris asks Elaine “what are the keys to success for today’s tech companies and tech entrepreneurs”. Hint: it boils down to leadership and humility. We wrap up the interview
Thank You SB Partners!
Thanks to Elaine and the SB Partners team for all you do for our community and Silicon Halton. Check these presentations delivered by members of the SB Partners team at past Silicon Halton events and you’ll see why they’re a great community partner!
It’s a Wonderful Life is one of my favourite movies and the meaning behind it strikes a deep chord with me. Below is a music video that I found and wanted to share. It demonstrates how each one of us, in our community, can be intertwined and positively impact other people’s lives.
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Chris Herbert is the founder of Mi6 Agency. Mi6 is a B2B (Business to Business) marketing and business development agency dedicated to helping companies build their brands and develop commercial relationships. He is the founder of ProductCamp Toronto and the Hi-tech community Silicon Halton. He tweets under the handle @B2Bspecialist.
Here’s my first installment in Silicon Halton’s conversation series. I’m interviewing people within the SH community and beyond. The topics and reasons for each interview will vary but the common goal is to help our members and the community to grow.
For us growth is a core part of what keeps the heart of the Silicon Halton community beating. We want you to grow through learning, grow your networks, grow professionally, grow your company and do everything possible to help the hi-tech industry grow in Halton region.
Silicon Halton, and my firm Mi6 Agency, are communications partners for the upcoming IIoT Symposium being produced by McRock Capital taking place on May 18, 2017 in Montreal, Canada.
McRock Capital, was the very first Venture Capital Firm and Fund in Canada and most likely the world, to be exclusively focused on the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) market. I’ve attended this event twice and will be covering it on behalf of Silicon Halton this year.
What’s very interesting about this event is how the McRock Capital team have brought together the right mix of stakeholders in the IIoT scene.
Large global enterprises: companies that provide market insights and are looking to invest, partner and go to market with IIoT startups
Entrepreneurs: emerging leaders and risk takers who are forging new paths in the IIoT space through their ideas, startups and passion
Funders: people and organizations that finance and fund IIoT ideas and startups
Subject Matter Experts: who can help you understand market challenges and opportunities and give you a view into the future of IIoT
Government orgs: those that support entrepreneurs to start and grow their business
And finally, there’s celebrities, music, comedy, food and networking as part of the socializing and entertainment that this event is known for. If you’re in the IIoT space I strongly recommend that you attend this event. To learn more about McRock Capital and the upcoming IIoT Symposium check out my interview with co-founder and Managing Director Whitney Rockley.
