Event category: Plenary

In this session we’ll sit down with the former CFO of Later as we uncover insights from working with advisors, the executive team and the board. Attendees will learn the crucial role of the CFO in driving strategic alignment and growth. You’ll walk away with practical guidance on M&A readiness, enhancing business appeal, and navigating negotiations and post-deal transitions.

Are you at a crossroads in your business growth journey? Perhaps you are struggling to choose between raising additional capital or pursuing M&A opportunities. What if you didn’t have to pick just one option? What if you could unlock new avenues for expansion and liquidity by pursuing both options simultaneously? That’s where a majority recapitalization comes in, led by a PE or growth equity fund. PE and growth equity funds have significant dry powder, and have a tried and true playbook for scaling companies. This session will explore the advantages of this funding and two-step exit strategy. With a recapitalization, you can breathe new life and capital into your company and propel your business trajectory toward unparalleled growth, de-risk by taking chips off the table for founders, employees and early investors, and set the stage for a future liquidity event via an acquisition or IPO.

Entrepreneurs create better mousetraps – products and services that outperform. But even if they’re wildly successful, these entrepreneurs are stuck in a cycle of optimization, customization, and (gulp) price cutting. It’s relentless, exhausting, and limiting.

Big brands know something many entrepreneurs don’t: the path to massive mainstream audiences isn’t building better products. It’s building brands.

Investors love sustainable, scalable, de-risked growth. That’s why they love entrepreneurs with solid brands.

You can build a brand investor love while you build your product and set yourself up for a smoother ride to greater success. Join Marc Stoiber, founder of Brands Investors Love and former creative director for brands like Mr. Clean, McDonald’s and Budweiser as he lays out the roadmap.

This panel of experienced lawyers, investment bankers, and serial acquirers will discuss why M&A deals falter and how to avoid common pitfalls. They will share their knowledge on identifying deal-breakers, overcoming obstacles during due diligence, implementing strategies to mitigate risks, and mastering negotiation tactics to secure favourable terms.

In this discussion, we will explore the incredible journey of Surrey, BC-based Safe Software. Recently, the company has been making headlines due to a strategic investment from JMI Equity, a well-known American growth-stage investor known for backing prominent Canadian tech firms. Don Murray, the company’s Co-founder and CEO, will provide insights into the intricacies of this milestone deal and what it means for Safe Software. He will also share the secrets behind the company’s incredible growth, from a project focused on sharing geospatial forestry data to becoming a global leader in data integration solutions, with over 25,000 customers across 121 countries. As the company looks to the future, you will hear first-hand how this investment marks a new chapter for Safe Software.

This session offers a detailed overview of the present economic conditions and their impact on tech M&A. From market dynamics to emerging opportunities. The discussion will cover industry sector differences and market trends that entrepreneurs need to consider to understand how they impact their businesses. The session will also uncover strategic opportunities available in the current M&A environment.