NACO Academy Podcast

Sep 11 2021 2
NACO Academy Podcast artwork

NACO Academy Podcast leverages the collective wisdom of 4,200 angel investors that have invested $1.12 billion into 1500 companies. Join us on a journey into the depths of the innovation economy and bring you the knowledge you need to build, grow and scale at the intersection of innovation, capital and entrepreneurship. Learn more about the National Angel Capital Organization (NACO) at www.nacocanada.com

RSS feed Share
Copy RSS


Subscribe on Podcast Addict


Why Canada needs a post-pandemic prosperity strategy

Sep 11 2021 5 mins  
Benjamin Bergen is Executive Director of the Council of Canadian Innovators, a national business council led by the CEOs of Canada’s fastest growing technology firms.It’s easy to be a pessimist these days. We have now been slogging through the turmoil, strain and heartache of a global pandemic for more than a year — long enough to grind anybody down. But by their very nature,

Season 2 Preview

Sep 10 2021 2 mins  
Season 2 is packed with actionable content and intimate conversations. For pure concentrated knowledge on mobilizing capital and scaling the next massive global success story, we will be interweaving content from a Practical Guide to Angel Investing and you will hear from over 100 prominent thought leaders at the intersection of entrepreneurship, capital and innovation, including:

Absolutely Critical to Preserve Diversity of Tech Sector: Laura McGee, CEO and Founder of Diversio

May 26 2020 12 mins  
“We crunched data a few weeks ago and the risk that the pandemic poses — in terms of erasing the gains that Canada has made on supporting diverse entrepreneurs — is significant and undeniable. The proportion of women-led business in a ‘do-nothing scenario’ will drop from 17% to 12%. Businesses everywhere are struggling and failing. According to our statistics, the diverse

Small Business is 98% of Our Economy: Frances McRae, Assistant Deputy Minister of Small Business and Marketplace Services Innovation, Science and Economic Development

May 26 2020 26 mins  
“You’ve heard the government say they are not afraid of adjusting the measures that have rolled out. Getting money out there as quickly as possible was important, but there would be adjustments. I think that’s what you’ve seen the government do the last number of weeks — they’re not afraid of saying they need to tweak, add more programs, expand eligibility and change pr

Government Should Leverage Angel Investors: Michael King, Finance Professor at the Gustavson School of Business, University of Victoria

May 26 2020 8 mins  
“To get to the punchline, the government should set up a co-investment fund that matches angel investments dollar for dollar. It should adopt a national tax incentive scheme that already exists in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia. And it should consider replacing the loans that are being made available through its support packages with convertible notes. The Canadia

Government Funding to Survive the Crisis: Opening Remarks by Claudio Rojas, CEO at NACO

May 26 2020 6 mins  
The combined impact of the health pandemic and economic crisis hit hard and fast. This resulted in initial government relief taking what was described as a “people first” approach, with an emphasis on employees at risk of layoffs, and trying to minimize the impact on individuals. –– All of this was focused on helping to flatten the curve. And the curve is flattening. As pro

Canadian Entrepreneurs and Angel Investors Must Lead the Way: Ali Ehsassi, Parliamentary Secretary to The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry

May 08 2020 26 mins  
“Over the past few months, we’ve been working hand in hand with companies as they retool and rapidly scale up to produce critical equipment such as masks, face shields, ventilators, medical gowns and test kits. This is an excellent opportunity for Canadian innovators. As many of you may have heard, Minister Bains likes to say this often and loudly—our approach to personal pro

Canada's Moment to Shine: Dr. Kamran Khan, CEO and Founder at BlueDot

May 08 2020 13 mins  
“History is unfolding right before our eyes. I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that this pandemic is maybe one of the most important and significant events in human history. We’ve never had a moment where the entire planet has been crippled by a tiny little virus in the way that COVID-19 has impacted us,” said Dr. Kamran Khan, the founder and CEO of Toronto-based BlueDo

Massive Tech Companies Grow From a Robust Pipeline of Start-ups: Janet Bannister, Managing Partner at Real Ventures

May 08 2020 11 mins  
“I use the analogy that you can’t grow a tree without planting a seed. And similarly, there’s no way you can build massive tech companies in Canada without supporting a robust pipeline of young, promising start-ups. Fostering of these early-stage tech companies must be done in Canada by Canadians.”“We need to keep investing in seed and pre-seed ecosystems. I sometimes get

Innovating at the Speed of the Crisis: Opening remarks by Claudio Rojas

May 08 2020 10 mins  
Innovating at the speed of the crisis is a concept that speaks to the importance of angel investing in early-stage start-ups and scale-ups, as well as the government’s decisive response to supporting the ecosystem. “We’ve already seen our government lead the way innovating at the speed of the crisis with unprecedented collaboration to catalyze and harness the power of the pri