Few places in the world exist that are truly supportive of people willing to take risks... and of course, even fewer places exist that encourage people to actively seek risk.
Italy during the Renaissance was busy producing some of the greatest works of art. It was no coincidence that artists Michelangelo, Raphael, and Botticelli all happened to live within a 250 km radius of each other. Hell, even the man behind one of the most well-known pieces of art (The Mona Lisa) lived within that radius, at the same time as the previous three. And though their work is now considered "priceless", they lived through a time that was as punishing as it could get and their pieces weren't without controversy and risk... and yet these world renowned artists pursued their callings. Later in the century many other Italians did the same thing, some in Arts and some in Astronomy. One particular name that stands out is that of Galileo's, who was condemned by the Catholic church for pursuing his own version of the truth.
Similarly, Western Europe during the late 1800s and early 1900s was in a similar position. Within a few hundred kilometers of each other lived people like Albert Einstein, Max Planck, Erwin Schrödinger, and Madame curie. Here is a picture showing 29 of some of the greatest minds to ever embrace science.... They lived... close to each other... at the same time. It, too, was no coincidence.
And in order to name so many people from such a small radius, it's clear that there must've been many more who failed to contribute in the same way as the previously mentioned/pictured. For one to become Michelangelo hundreds had to sculpt and fail. For one to become Curie thousands more had to chase their passions in a time where women couldn't even vote, let alone become world renowned.
The most recent example of this has been Silicon Valley. Is it a coincidence that Apple, Google, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Stripe, YouTube, Reddit, Airbnb, Uber, Lyft... and countless more happen to hail from the same country, state, and even city?
And even when a successful company isn't originally from the valley, they have some deep roots there. For example, some of the founders had either moved there in the early days, or they had joined an incubator/accelerator/program in the valley to be mentored and guided by the best. By people who had done it thousands of times and failed nearly 99% of those times (e.g. founders of Facebook, Uber, Google, Apple, Reddit, Stripe had worked on many projects before creating companies which now reside in the minds of billions of people).
For so many notable people to live at the same time, and so close to each other, there must've been something that made this possible. Italian Renaissance, European scientific advances, and Siliconic tech giants have all benefitted from having great thinkers close to each other... not a continent or country away. This is the foundation of every great system.
In Toronto, we're severely lacking this system, and by association, it means we're lacking the right people. So in Toronto, no one is more responsible than You and I, the citizens of Toronto, the people of the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The Perspective:
In the system, many Torontonian entrepreneurs feel they are not supported by the programs in place, and though they may be right, they fail to see that their ideas are either stuck in 2006 or are out of their scope. I am very much guilty here. I've created more things that belong in 2006 than anyone else. I feel like I am a walking reminder of 2006. And for scope, the addition of the word "AI" in their startup names should be indicator enough that they have no idea what they are talking about. Yet... they continue to pursue their dreams in the thick fog that is their delusion. It is as unsafe for them as it is for everyone around them (investors, incubators, other startups). In short, a vast majority of startups in Toronto fall under one of the following;
- Great idea + Bad founder
- Bad idea + Great founder
Of course everything in the failed startup world falls under the previous two, but what's impeccable is the sheer number of times the previously mentioned categories occur in Toronto/Canada. There's neither a shortage of founders nor ideas, and yet, how many great Toronto/Canadian startups can you name? No more than five at best, and even that is a stretch. Now ask yourself the same question but substitute Toronto for California/Seattle/USA or China.
Investors are no better. I have yet to talk to someone who doesn't stumble and get stuck at the word "profitability". How do you monetize it? Will your users pay for this? Will you make this paid from day one? Will you offer a free service? How does that affect profitability? What is your current profitability? What is your future profitability?
I mean, Startups (which is just a fancy word for "a business") require a certain level of delusion, and in that delusion, it is hard to hear the word "profitability" on day one, when there is no product, no users and no real attempt at profitability. Anyone can put together a pitch deck with three circles showing you the market size, the penetration rate, and expected profitability for the next ninety years.... Does that mean it will all happen? Hell, no! It just makes you comfortable knowing the numbers are in billions. That kind of mindset is a huge blow to the system... It means you're in an area where risks are endless, but comfort in pretend-numbers made up by pretend-founders makes it all okay. In contrast, the investors in the Valley don't think like this. They value people above all else, and for good reason. They know that bad founders will not even get an opportunity to crack profitability, let alone reach it.
And then there are the incubators and accelerators, which are more focused on garnering positive attention by supporting the most ridiculously ambitious ideas (e.g. garden covered roofs)...without any serious vetting. I've seen it again and again... Pretend-founders put together a slide deck, a mediocre plan delivered by an overly charismatic team only to disband or quit a week or a month after winning whatever it is they won. I remember Ryerson University awarding $40,000 to a kombucha producing startup... that literally quit the week after. I have seen seven other instances of this exact thing happening at Telus, UofT Mississauga (UTM) and Scarborough. UTM handed out $5,000 based on how many friends one could bring to the competition... There were no judges at all. I'm not even going to speak more on this.
Now, that is a lot of complaining... More complaining than most care for, but as part of the system, and as part of the problem I think things can be better. And in order to do that, we must hold ourselves accountable.
We are all good at something, and if we're not good at what needs to be done, perhaps what we can become the best at is to bring in the right people. There's no doubt that such people exist, and they are willing to give their time, especially when they receive something back... but we need these people to exist in OUR CITIES and in OUR COUNTRY, not in our Southern neighbour and most definitely not in a country 15,000 kilometers away. We need more qualified thinkers at the helm of our institutions and ideas so that we can track these people like hawks, monitor every move of theirs, question them when we don't understand something, and take notes when they do something completely unexpected... The result will be an unrecognizable ecosystem with a strong will to exceed expectations.
This all sounds very similar to a company being run by a revolutionary CEO, who doesn't force the employees to become better, but simply enables them by setting an example in the very building they step foot in at 9:00 AM.
We are all good at something, and if we're not good at what needs to be done, perhaps what we can become the best at is to bring in the right people. There's no doubt that such people exist, and they are willing to give their time, especially when they receive something back... but we need these people to exist in OUR CITIES and in OUR COUNTRY, not in our Southern neighbour and most definitely not in a country 15,000 kilometers away. We need more qualified thinkers at the helm of our institutions and ideas so that we can track these people like hawks, monitor every move of theirs, question them when we don't understand something, and take notes when they do something completely unexpected... The result will be an unrecognizable ecosystem with a strong will to exceed expectations.
This all sounds very similar to a company being run by a revolutionary CEO, who doesn't force the employees to become better, but simply enables them by setting an example in the very building they step foot in at 9:00 AM.
