word czar. two-guard. currently:
@BetaKit
previously:
@MobileSyrup
@BlackBerry
and a bunch of dead sites you might remember fondly. "Wildly out of control."
@lowkeydbjosh
No character abilities. Next season: Revenant takeover mode where character abilities are silenced as the ring closes.
"What's the matter? You scared?"
5 years ago, I jumped off a cliff and founded my own company. With no revenue or guarantees, that first year was fueled by a personal
@Borrowell
loan as I worked to turn a publication into a business.
This week, that loan was repaid in full. Never forget what got you here.
Seven years as a founder today. Happy Birthday,
@BetaKit
Incorporated.
Part of my job is to hold tech founders accountable. But I will never underestimate how hard the good ones work, or the burden of their responsibilities (often faced alone).
OK, back to work.
For the third year,
@BetaKit
is looking to amplify the voices of Canadian women in tech worth following. We're making additions/updated to this list () but suggestions are very much welcome. Getting out of the TO bubble is a high priority. Tweet us!
Breaking
#CDNtech
news from
@BetaKit
about
@BetaKit
. There's so much I want to say about this announcement, but I need you to focus on three things:
First, we're hiring. Job posts are live. Come build with us. ⤵️
Today marks a new chapter for
@BetaKit
as we announce our strategic partnership with Good Future to fuel our growth as Canada’s leading startup and technology publication.
#CDNtech
This week we released our first-ever
@BetaKit
Podcast video episode.
I was very happy to speak with Alberta's own
@FoldableHuman
about his YouTube career, internet grifts, and why he spends so much time thinking about them.
Feedback very much welcome.
Last month was the 5th birthday of the company I founded. Today, we launched a foundational step for the next five years of
@BetaKit
. Let's talk about why.
If you're a 'Canadian' company incorporated in the US for tax purposes, and you're upset that the wage subsidy won't apply to you, consider the path that got you to this point.
1yr ago,
@skanwar
& I met up to catch up on life &
@BetaKit
. I had no idea why he wanted to meet I was just happy to do so.
1yr later, my life and the business have changed. I love working with this guy so much I’m even willing to post this horrible picture of me. Seriously WTF?
After the Good Future news, people kept asking me about my "next thing." As if BetaKit wasn't *the thing*.
I'm not going anywhere; we're assembling the squad.
Siri is an experienced, mission-aligned leader who will help build BetaKit into the best
#CDNtech
publication, period.
Today is a pretty amazing day at
@BetaKit
: in just 15 days, we have surpassed all of March's monthly traffic.
(To any sponsors looking to reach
#CDNtech
, now is a *great* time to run a campaign)
Recorded in quarantine,
@BetaKit
has a new podcast to help
#CDNtech
make it through
#COVID19
. Article and some links below.
Spotify:
iTunes:
SoundCloud:
RSS:
It's been 1 day since
@BetaKit
broke news that Shopify had canned its CMO & merged its marketing into product. You can't find this story in any national pub. Why? Likely because they can't match our reporting but are unwilling to link to us. The state of Canadian media in 2020.
After 3 weeks of silence on the matter, yesterday (!?) I got a phone call from
@CollisionHQ
& it looks like they now want me speaking on centre stage tomorrow.
It won’t be with the panelists I expected, but I am always ready to talk
#cdntech
& tech from a Canadian perspective.
We have people taking redeyes to make it in time for the
@BetaKit
Town Hall. This little event has some legs. Team is working hard to make it worth it.
Starting my day off at
#elevatemoney
@ElevateTechFest
with two of the first people I interacted with when I started my journey into the
#CDNtech
ecosystem just over 4 years ago and their two organizations that I interact with on a daily basis.
The outpouring of enthusiasm and support BetaKit has received this week has been incredible. For those I have yet to respond to and thank, I hope you now understand the reason why.
I am truly excited about the future of BetaKit. Right now, I just miss my friend.
The BetaKit team is deeply saddened to share news of the passing of our dear friend and colleague, Charles Mandel.
We will have more to share about his legacy soon. For now, memorial donations can be made in his name to Food Banks Canada.
Happy to say that November was
@BetaKit
's 2nd biggest month of the year (bested only by the truly bizarre STONKS/reddit month).
After all the changes we've undergone as a company/publication this year, feels great to close it out on a high note.
With the explosion of
#CDNtech
news right now, it seems like a good time to note that
@BETAKIT
IS HIRING a full-time reporter! Here's some links to the role:
@Jobbio
:
@gaulinmedia
:
The company I founded turns 5 tomorrow. It’ll also be
@BetaKit
’s 9th birthday. Tomorrow at 9:00 AM EST
@erinbury
and I will do an AMA on
@joinclubhouse
to celebrate. Join us!
It’s clear that the elephant in the room of
#CollisionConf
is Premier Ford. Many of the initiatives/investments celebrated onstage last night and today have been cut by his government. A thread on what I’ve seen/heard so far.
Slowly coming to grips with the idea that *Microsoft-owned LinkedIn* might be the only Web 2.0 social network to make it to the end of this decade.
Imagine placing this bet in 2012.
This story underscores one of the main components of
@whoisjaren
’s original reporting. Namely, the confusion inherent to all the different, often overlapping, branches of WE.
WE Charity told the CBC they "never paid an honorarium to these individuals for their involvement."
Turns out that WE entities actually paid over $350k for speeches by Margaret and Sasha Trudeau.
I don't know who needs to hear it but I'm sure someone reading this does: you can take a night off. It's okay. Shit is really hard right now and you can punt to a new day if you need to.
BREAKING: sources have confirmed to BetaKit that
@mattroberts
is now engaged. He probably doesn't want me doing this, but he should have expected as much after all the grief he's given me this year. =D
BREAKING:
@mattroberts
has closed another smart long-term investment, marrying
@amishahdotca
. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but sources indicated to me it’s of the “till death do you part” variety.
It's
@BetaKit
's job to connect, inform, and interrogate
#CDNtech
. Sometimes that can be an absolute bummer.
Sometimes it's an opportunity to provide Canadian talent a resource to get re-hired, and work on something other than a layoff story. Check it out.
I am physically averse to self-promotion, but this is pretty cool.
We've worked hard to turn the BetaKit Podcast into the best
#CDNtech
podcast this year, and next year we want to go bigger. Come join us.
The number of comments we have to keep deleting from this post due to blatant racism should tell you everything you need to know about the value of its content.
Job alert: BetaKit is now hiring a new CEO/general manager and new senior editor on
@Jobbio
.
#CDNtech
deserves quality journalism. If you believe this the way we do, come join us.
We thought it was a fun story when local pizza joint of note
@ga_pizza_
had raised $13M to scale its new 'pizza subscription' service.
The company has now filed preliminary docs to go public on the
@tsx_tsxv
.
@megesimpson
has the scoop (slice?).
The next time someone tells a journalist to “learn to code,” I’m going to kidnap them and explain what it takes to report a story involving five companies, multiple asset sales, and sexual harassment. Reporting is harder than coding because you can’t google the answer.
My love is not feeling well (nothing significant, but the mild symptoms fit the profile), so we made the call to quarantine for the next 14 days. Sharing in case anyone else was considering and on the fence.
We have three cats, Zelda, & other necessary supplies, so don't worry.
Apparently if every adult in Ontario has 119 drinks on a patio this summer, restaurants can make up for their lost revenue
Team work makes the dream work, so giddy the fuck up, folks
Learning a lot about which disturbed individuals are willing to ride this hellsite into the ground with me until its last dank meme breath is finally expelled.
I love you all.
Canada’s telecom oligopoly directly contributing to Canada’s payments oligopoly also being unusable across the country is perhaps worthy of a think-piece.
Never take calls from
@SeanSilcoff
before 9am. Because one day he'll call on April 1 and you'll be forced to give him the slow golf clap for a job well done.
If I ever do get around to writing a book on entrepreneurship, I think I would call it "how to eat shit with a smile on your face." Applies to founders of companies at all sizes.
Shopify CEO: stock price is irrelevant to players on the field and should not influence decision-making.
Also Shopify: we must preserve our CEO's voting control, here's a 10 for 1 stock split to boost liquidity and drive price.
Your must-read piece for today is
@kelseyarolfe
's deep dive into the glacial pace of Canada's open banking consultations.
#FinTech
community response ranges from 'less optimistic' to "insecure and terrifying," so you know Kelsey spoke to the right people.
So ends
@isabelle_kirk
's last day as a
@BetaKit
staff writer. While we will miss her dearly, we are super happy she'll be working with us regularly as a freelancer.
Better still is the dogged replacement we found at her recommendation. Looking forward to their shared bylines.
New year, new faces at
@BetaKit
. A lot of new accounts being created today (secured by 2FA and
@1Password
!). Expect a few more new faces later this month.