Harsimrat Thukral

2025 was the worst year for Canadian VC funding since 2016. At the same time, 80% of our founders burn through early-stage capital rebuilding broken MVPs. Scope creep still kills half of all software projects. Non-tech founders get quoted $50k to $400k for the same application with no way to validate what's real. And when they do build? Half of the IP generated here gets assigned to foreign companies. We don't have an innovation problem. We have a translation problem. Brilliant ideas die in the gap between vision and technical execution because founders can't speak developer, and developers can't read minds. The concept-to-PRD process still costs $50k to $400k in senior engineering time. Most early-stage companies can't afford that, so they hire junior talent, get locked into vendors, or burn runway on throwaway code. The Vision-to-Execution gap isn't capital. It's the $400k scoping barrier that keeps ideas trapped inside founders' heads. Until we fix the process, more funding won't solve anything.

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Clunky UI kills sales. Clean UX creates and accelerates sales. Because clients don’t buy features. They buy experiences they can trust with their clients. That’s why NDEX Systems Inc. -- the backbone of wealth management technology for 14,000+ advisors and 350+ firms across North America -- partnered with us at INSART. The mission: take the most complete, normalized, and secure portfolio data platform in Canada... and redesign the interface to unlock new adoption and sales opportunities. 🚀 NDEX already sets the industry standard with: → 300+ direct custodial feeds → 8,500+ supported data extraction sites → Real-time reconciliation & exception alerts → Export-ready data via REST API 👉 But the real transformation came from rethinking how advisors and firms experience that power: 1/ Navigation that accelerates workflows 2/ Performance built for massive data sets 3/ Responsive design across every device 4/ Interfaces designed to support end-client conversations and trust Swipe through the screenshots to see how a legacy interface evolved into a modern platform → built not just for data, but for growth. Great UX is when advisors stop thinking about the software and start focusing fully on their clients. Laurent Bensemana and Benjamin Amar, CPA let's keep building together! 👉 Here is the real question: What core UX principles do you believe every fintech platform should follow to accelerate sales? #Fintech #UXDesign #WealthManagement #PortfolioManagement #NDEX #INSART #WealthTech #SalesEnablement

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The CRA just posted an RFP asking for a local solution to generate Java code. Canada is finally waking up to what we should have been building all along. We spend $50B+ annually on R&D. Less than 2% of that IP gets commercialized. Over half gets assigned to foreign companies. The gap isn't invention. It's translation. Vision to execution. Idea to Production-Ready code that stays here. When a federal agency asks for local AI tooling to build software, it's a signal. Not just procurement. Recognition that exportable IP and sovereign capability matter. This is the bottleneck I've been watching for years. Brilliant innovators who can't build alone. Risk-averse capital that won't fund pre-revenue deep tech. A translation layer that costs $400k or doesn't exist at all. The RFP is small. The shift it represents is not.

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I’ve got a lot of respect for what Shopify has built. No doubt they’ve helped shape Canada’s tech landscape in a massive way. But I’ll be honest, their new internal AI policy sound like a short sided move to please shareholders. In case you missed it: Shopify is now telling employees that using AI is a baseline expectation. Teams are being asked to prove why AI won’t work before asking for more resources or headcount. AI usage will even factor into performance reviews. At Applauz, we’re huge believers in AI. We use it every day to unlock margin, automate grunt work, and move faster. But here’s the thing, AI is a tool, not a mission statement (yet 😉). And making it mandatory across the board won't help drive real innovation. Not everything should be "AI’d". Some of the most impactful work like coaching, culture, leadership, can’t be outsourced to a model. Let’s not lose sight of the human edge! You can’t systematize creativity. Requiring employees to justify headcount by failing with AI first might kill the kind of initiative and big-picture thinking great companies are built on. Tying tech adoption to performance reviews will most likely breed fear, not curiosity. You want your team leaning in, not looking over their shoulder. Fear might spark short-term compliance, but it rarely leads to lasting performance or engagement. Positive reinforcement, on the other hand, builds trust, encourages experimentation, and drives real growth over time. We should be empowering teams to choose the best tools for the job, not forcing them into a one-size-fits-all framework because it fits a narrative that is expecting to drive short term stock value. I’m all for moving fast and staying ahead. But let’s not forget: innovation starts with people, not policies. In case you missed it: https://lnkd.in/eCAKgUUN

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Proud to share that North Exit Ventures participated in Slate’s $1.3M pre-seed. Slate is building embedded lending infrastructure for Canadian platforms. So marketplaces, vertical SaaS, and AP/AR tools can offer SMB financing inside the product their customers already use, without having to build (or manage) a lending stack. Why this model is so compelling: - Distribution is built-in (no “go find borrowers” problem) - Underwriting gets smarter (platform data, not just bank statements) - Repayment improves (you can sit in the flow of funds) If you’ve seen Shopify Capital, you get the idea - but built for far more platforms in Canada. Huge congrats to founders Scott Elliot (CEO) and Devin Picciolini (CTO) - excited to be in your corner as you bring this infrastructure to market. BetaKit's full article below 👇 https://lnkd.in/eDbpZxZg

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Yes, when they start charging $100k per H1-B visa, Canada will look comparatively easy to bring international talent to. But it's been easier to bring talent to Canada for some time now. There are a lot of reasons that startups have wanted to have HQ in one of the hot US cities though - while talent is one reason, capital is another and at least for now the VC and PE landscape in Vancouver are very different.

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Canada has something Silicon Valley doesn't. A pan-Canadian community of 3,200+ senior tech leaders. Volunteer-led. Unsponsored. No agenda but helping each other execute faster. We don't optimize for eyeballs. We optimize for trust. The result? Real-time signal on what actually works. Peer-tested frameworks. The kind of collective intelligence that only emerges when status signaling is off the table. Communities don't scale by adding more people. They scale by deepening trust per node. When senior operators can ask the hardest questions without pretense, the entire ecosystem moves faster. That's the Canadian advantage. Not louder. Deeper.

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Kitchener-Waterloo-based cybersecurity startup Cavelo Inc. has raised a $5 million CAD seed extension round led by existing investor Inovia Capital. 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗘𝗧𝗔𝗜𝗟𝗦 👉 https://lnkd.in/dv9Qra-G James Mignacca Eldon Sprickerhoff Mandy B. Christina Strambu Abdallah Abid Alexandra Kehayas Noor Jahangir Shaun Guidolin Clay Lambert Logan Campbell Paige P. Katherine B. Etienne Gauthier Kris Shoemaker Katie Walford Larry Meador Kimber P. Jake Slinger Taha Mubashir Matt Koivisto Callum Currie Brendan Reekie Anoop K. Phil G. Nathan Brunkard #Startups #Founders #FundingNews #VentureCapital #CyberSecurity #PrivateEquity

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𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭. Every year, we see founders building strong products in fast-growing tech areas — but struggling to translate momentum into real traction when entering Canada. Understanding where the ecosystem is heading helps companies: Position their technology in the right conversations Connect with the right partners and customers Align faster with funders, programs, and market needs Avoid costly assumptions when expanding internationally The tech trends shaping Canada today will continue to define who wins market access in 2026 — especially for companies in AI, climate tech, cybersecurity, and deep tech. 👉 If you’re scaling a growing company and want to understand how these trends connect to real opportunities, this is where the work begins. Insert your startup into the ecosystem. Join the Softlanding Program and access the networks, insights, and connections that help technology companies grow in Canada. https://lnkd.in/gmvE_mFZ #CanadianTech #StartupEcosystem #TechTrends2026 #MarketEntry #Softlanding #GlobalFounders #InnovationCanada #TechExpansion #StartupVisa #IRCC

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Product leaders from across Canada met today for PLX Lean Coffee for a discussion of hot topics from the trenches! We took on two burning issues: HOW TO PRIORITIZE - CUSTOMER REQUESTS, LONG TERM VISION, ETC. - We discussed the high stress environment of competing priorities and how to allocate scarce resources among so many priorities. - Key to our discussion was that this was a very early stage start up (3 co-founders) in a very competitive and fast-moving market. - "What do you need to do to raise your next round of funding" became the key question. From that, clarity came quickly. - The company needs to turn four beta customers into long term contracts. We discussed what that would take, and how the success of the trials was being measured and communicated to the customers. - The co-founders must be completely aligned. There is no room for pulling in different directions. - The product leader decided her most important next action was to come up with better metrics for the trials, communicate progress against those metrics consistently with those customers, and let those metrics drive the decisions on product priorities. WHAT IS THE PLACE OF PRDs IN A WORLD OF VIBE-CODING AND NEED FOR SPEED? - A product leader shared he was questioning the value of the PRDs he is currently expected to deliver. - There were not many fans of PRDs in the group. PRDs require a lot of time to research and write and require lengthy sign-offs. They assume all requirements can be known up front. - The preference was for multiple flexible documents, most which live in Jira and Figma, that are more useful to developers and designers. Vibe-coded prototypes can be used very effectively to communicate requirements. These are the "what" and "how" parts. - Some parts of the PRD are still needed - the "why" parts - product strategy, link to business goals, success metrics. This is done for the product leader's own thinking and to communicate up. It does not have to be a PRD. With participation from Vancouver, Calgary, and Toronto, Lean Coffee keeps growing and getting better. If you are a product leader (CPO, VP, Director) and want a great place to bounce questions and ideas off your peers from across Canada, join us for our next one.

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US investors bet on talent, knowing 9/10 startups fail. Canadian investors demand guarantees, as if failure is a moral flaw. When your startup fails in Silicon Valley: → VC: "Good luck, kid. Call me when you're ready to build again." When your startup fails in Canada: → VC: "You owe me $500k. Pay me back for the rest of your life." A founder friend of mine spent 10 years building a hardware startup. It’s failing now. In the Valley, investors would say "wrap it up" and be ready for their next venture. In Canada? They’re shackled to a $500k personal guarantee with a well-established VC: - No restructuring - No support - No way out This founder took a swing and missed. Instead of encouragement, they got a financial death sentence. And we wonder why Canadian founders don't take risks? We say we support entrepreneurship, then punish failure like it’s a crime. This is why Canadian innovation is stuck in a loop: → Seed investors don’t back bold B2C plays → So ambitious B2C startups can’t get funding → Investors blame founders, founders blame capital ...and the gap keeps growing Until we fix this toxic approach to failure, our best founders will keep heading south.

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