I started pitching the idea of Source Canada two months ago. Like any good idea, not everyone believed in it.
One person said “I’m not convinced this is a problem we need to solve.” Subtext: won't the best founders find a way? He wasn’t a founder.
A common response I heard was this: “We’ve been discussing procurement for years.” Or “we tried, but it’s really difficult to do matchmaking.”
In just a few days 250 tech CEOs have pre-registered for Source Canada. There could not be a stronger signal that yes, procurement is a problem we need to solve. Large corporations, including our sponsors, have committed to attend.
We’re finally moving from talk to action on a problem we can not only solve, but is crucial to unlocking long-term growth based on Canadian innovation and IP.
I founded Source Canada to create connections that lead to deals.
The event will be highly curated and limited to 250 attendees. 50 of those will be buyers from large corporations, the rest will be tech founders and CEOs. Companies attending must be Canadian-owned or Canadian-headquartered and not a subsidiary of a foreign firm.
For buyers, we are targeting a cross-section of enterprises in five categories:
- Banks and financial services
- Technology
- Advanced Manufacturing
- Telecommunications
- Energy
Because we are private-sector focused, we are excluding sectors where the government is the primary buyer, including defence and health. I would love those to be future events.
To get the most value out of attending, founders should consider if they are selling to one of Source Canada's target categories or have a horizontal solution for large enterprises.
We will start releasing blocks of tickets next week and will release more each week as we aim to balance the right mix of buyers and sellers. This will mean I will have to say no to people who I want to be in the room. It is a result of optimizing for the most value and not the biggest event.
I’m excited by the response since we announced last week and grateful to the sponsors, advisors and allies who are working hard to make Source Canada happen.
Startups should register their interest and corporations and sponsors can contact us at hello@sourcecan.ca.