Canada is missing some founders
We know that a lot of those missing founders can be found in Waterloo
There are less companies being founded, less now than 2008 in Canada, according to data that can be found inside Crunchbase and it seems to mirror the investment data that is founded in Briefed.in. Waterloo also has seen a drop in companies calling Waterloo home after a peak in 2014/15 and could be near 2006 levels.
A detailed post looks at possible reasons: economic conditions, young talent choosing a different path, and funding challenges. There is also a good discussion thread on Linked.In connected to the post.
Our thesis continues to evolve at Eigenspace to focus more on Waterloo students and alumni. What we know:
cooperative education provides students with exposure to real world problems early in their careers
Students experiment and develop novel technology solutions for those problems
Alumni have experience and connects that can help students turn those solutions into a business
Founding a company with inspiration, community, and opportunity
To create more founders, we need to inspire and connect people to others. This means education, networking and opportunities to engage with founders and funders. We believe that many of the tools to engage students as founders already exist, it’s the same thing that makes Waterloo special, cooperative education.
What we have started to do at Eigenspace is engage the students in grass roots events that they organize. In the winter term of 2023 are investing in students and supporting them as they develop their ideas into businesses. Alumni stories and connections will be shared to inspire the students and shape their ambition and speed.
If you are as student and looking for support and inspiration, please reach out. We have a spot two for the winter term open for the right student and we are considering applications for Spring and Fall term of 2023 as well.