web summit story night w/ jack newton (clio), ivan zhang (cohere) & cansbridge fellows
In October 2024, Betakit released an article saying, "If we can’t get in the same room together to share stories, we risk Canada’s lost tech generation being the current one."
In January 2025, Cansbridge began hosting an event series to do exactly that. We have the privilege of meeting 1000 young builders every year who have the potential to be Canada's next great leaders and entrepreneurs. We also believe storytelling is the most powerful (and human) way to expand their sense of what's possible.
This May 29th from 7-9pm, Cansbridge, Betakit, La base entrepreneuriale, and McCarthy Tétrault are joining forces to host the next part of this series: a storytelling night bringing together both veterans and youth in the Canadian innovation community, in Vancouver during Web Summit.
The following speakers will each share 5 minute stories on the theme of "Inflection Points": the point in their journey where they were inspired to dream bigger, take more risks, and see the sky as the limit.
Jack Newton, Founder of Clio
Ivan Zhang, Co-founder of Cohere
Isaac Souweine, Partner at Pender Ventures
Anjali Dhaliwal, 2022 Fellow, Founder of avo
Callum Woznow, 2022 Fellow, Founder of Slate
Jesse Pound, 2022 Fellow, Founder of Vunatec
The event will flow as such:
7:00-7:20pm Arrive, grab a drink and snack, make a friend 7:20-
8:20pm Sit back and enjoy stories from our scheduled speakers
8:20-9:00pm Mix and share your own stories with fellow attendees
Space is extremely limited so register today!
About Cansbridge: Since 2011, the Cansbridge Fellowship has empowered 250 young leaders and entrepreneurs with an opportunity to work in Asia's innovation ecosystem. Alumni raised over $150M for their startups, generated over $400M ARR, been recognized by Forbes 30U30 and Rhodes, and have given back over $0.5M to enable future Fellow positions.
About La base: At La base entrepreneuriale HEC Montréal, the mission is clear - to inspire and propel entrepreneurship with economic and societal impact and technological innovation, both in Quebec and internationally.
About McCarthy: McCarthy Tétrault is a Canadian law firm that offers a full suite of legal and business solutions to clients in Canada and around the world, including MT❯Ventures which specializes in startup services.
About Betakit: BetaKit is Canada’s startup and tech innovation publication of record. See here (betakit.com/canadian-techs-lost-generation/) for the original article that inspired this event series.