CIBC Innovation Banking Podcast

Originally released on October 4th 2023, this episode of The CIBC Innovation Banking Podcast is part of our renewed focus on highlighting exceptional conversations within the American Innovation Economy. Join us as we revisit these insightful discussions and shine a light on the ongoing innovation that shapes our industry. Angela Tran didn’t set out to be a venture capitalist; she wanted to be an...

Originally released on January 10th 2024, this episode of The CIBC Innovation Banking Podcast is part of our renewed focus on highlighting exceptional conversations within the American Innovation Economy. Join us as we revisit these insightful discussions and shine a light on the ongoing innovation that shapes our industry. In this episode, Krishna Srinivasan, the founding partner at LiveOak Ventu...

Originally released on January 24th 2024, this episode of The CIBC Innovation Banking Podcast is part of our renewed focus on highlighting exceptional conversations within the American Innovation Economy. Join us as we revisit these insightful discussions and shine a light on the ongoing innovation that shapes our industry. Morad Elhafed and the rest of the team at Battery Ventures in Boston belie...

Originally released on May 4 2022, this episode of The CIBC Innovation Banking Podcast is part of our ongoing celebration of meaningful dialogues with our listeners. As we highlight some of our standout episodes featuring trailblazers and icons in the Innovation Economy, we recognize the enduring relevance and value of the insights shared. Join us as we revisit these dynamic discussions and showca...

Originally released on November 20th 2020, this episode of The CIBC Innovation Banking Podcast is part of our ongoing celebration of meaningful dialogues with our listeners. As we highlight some of our standout episodes featuring trailblazers and icons in the Innovation Economy, we recognize the enduring relevance and value of the insights shared. Join us as we revisit these dynamic discussions an...

Originally released on June 1st 2022, this episode of The CIBC Innovation Banking Podcast is part of our ongoing celebration of meaningful dialogues with our listeners. As we highlight some of our standout episodes featuring trailblazers and icons in the Innovation Economy, we recognize the enduring relevance and value of the insights shared. Join us as we revisit these dynamic discussions and sho...

Originally released on June 2 2021, this episode of The CIBC Innovation Banking Podcast is part of our ongoing celebration of meaningful dialogues with our listeners. As we highlight some of our standout episodes featuring trailblazers and icons in the Innovation Economy, we recognize the enduring relevance and value of the insights shared. Join us as we revisit these dynamic discussions and showc...

Originally released on October 19th 2022, this episode of The CIBC Innovation Banking Podcast is part of our renewed focus on highlighting exceptional conversations within the American Innovation Economy. Join us as we revisit these insightful discussions and shine a light on the ongoing innovation that shapes our industry.   In this episode, Michael Hainsworth sits down with Tom Dretler, the co-f...

Originally released on November 2nd 2022, this episode of The CIBC Innovation Banking Podcast is part of our ongoing celebration of meaningful dialogues with our listeners. As we highlight some of our standout episodes featuring trailblazers and icons in the Innovation Economy, we recognize the enduring relevance and value of the insights shared. Join us as we revisit these dynamic discussions and...

Originally released on November 24th 2021, this episode of The CIBC Innovation Banking Podcast is part of our renewed focus on highlighting exceptional conversations within the American Innovation Economy. Join us as we revisit these insightful discussions and shine a light on the ongoing innovation that shapes our industry.  Financial planning startup Vena Solutions has raised more than $400 mill...

Originally released on October 27th 2021, this episode of The CIBC Innovation Banking Podcast is part of our ongoing celebration of meaningful dialogues with our listeners. As we highlight some of our standout episodes featuring trailblazers and icons in the Innovation Economy, we recognize the enduring relevance and value of the insights shared. Join us as we revisit these dynamic discussions and...

Originally released on November 15 2023, this episode of The CIBC Innovation Banking Podcast is part of our renewed focus on highlighting exceptional conversations within the American Innovation Economy. Join us as we revisit these insightful discussions and shine a light on the ongoing innovation that shapes our industry. According to Marcos Torres, investing is more serious than getting married....

In a conversation with host Michael Hainsworth, Andrew Waitman, CEO of Assent, a data management platform that informs and guides ESG strategy, delves into the evolving landscape of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance), and the importance of responsible supply chain management. He underscores the growing scrutiny from stakeholders, investors, and the public, who now prioritize ESG and susta...

Bow River Capital is an employee-owned diversified investment platform that specializes in the lower middle market. John Raeder, the Vice Chairman and Head of Software Investments, launched the Maiden Fund in 2018, a Software Growth equity fund at Bow River, which was oversubscribed by $160 million dollars. John focuses on what he sees as a capital gap in the lower middle market, helping SaaS comp...

Malcolm Locke, CFO of UK-based B2B software service company Egress, sits down to discuss Brexit, expanding to North America and why the UK is still attracting investments. He’s joined by CIBC Innovation Banking’s Managing Director for UK & Europe, Sean Duffy, who adds his valuable expertise to the conversation. In a post Brexit and high-inflation environment, how can UK based firms grow and expand...

Maria Pacella has over two decades of experience investing in emerging growth technologies, and thinks that the best venture capitalists have a range of experiences gained through working in different roles. As an investor, Maria looks for three things: people, product and pent-up demand. She would prefer to invest in a strong team and founder with a smaller market than one with a large market and...

In the business world, it’s never been more important for companies to build a brand that’s trustworthy, credible and authentic. Considering realness is the basis for her business model, StoryTap co-founder Bernadette Butler lives and breathes by this maxim. StoryTap turns consumers into evangelists—not by using fancy, high-quality video content, but through videos that consumers submit themselves...

Since it spun out from the wildly popular online media company TechCrunch in 2015, Crunchbase has been blazing its own trail. The company recently raised $50 million in a Series D round, and it comes at a difficult time for raising funds—not just for B2B software as a service, but for the industry as a whole. Nobody knows that better than Crunchbase’s CEO, Jager McConnell. In this episode, Michael...

If you've ever filled out a survey online, there’s a good chance you've used technology created by Montréal-based company Potloc. The consumer research company extracts consumer insights by reaching niche audiences through social networks. In this episode, Michael sits down with Potloc’s Co-Founder and CEO Rodolphe Barrere. After co-founding the company in 2014, he and the team raised more than $5...

There comes a time when some startup founders need to turn over the reins of their company to someone new. Some founders may hold on for too long and ultimately fail to accelerate the company’s growth, and others may move too fast and miss out on a chance to capitalize on the first mover advantage. In this episode, Michael sits down with Hootsuite’s new CEO, Tom Keiser, to discuss his plans for co...

Professional investors need an efficient way to compare their universe of companies, which is where firms like Canalyst come in. Canalyst’s database of thousands of enterprises helps give the pros the edge they need to uncover more investment ideas, generate better returns and bring in more assets. In this episode, Michael sits down with Canalyst’s CEO and Co-Founder, Damir Hot. During their discu...

 Although some venture capital firms snapped their wallets shut during the first few months of the pandemic, it quickly became apparent that the startups who were able to pivot their business model and go fully digital would not just survive this time period, but thrive. In this episode, Michael sits down with Christian Lassonde, the Founder and Managing Partner of Impression Ventures, to discuss...

It’s been said that data is the new oil. Not only has it acted as a fuel for growth, but data has been the catalyst for a whole new way of doing business. In this episode, Michael sits down with Stephany Lapierre, the founder and CEO of Tealbook, a supplier data foundation that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to enable supply-side innovation. As a supply chain thought leader, Ste...

Account-based marketing (ABM) is a targeted B2B strategy that focuses sales and marketing resources within a specific market. Terminus, a leading account-based marketing platform, has a goal of moving from an ABM company to a platform of record — but how does a startup evolve as it expands from its home turf all the way to Europe, the Middle East, and Asia? In this episode, Michael sits down with...

Some like to be a big fish in a small pond, while others enjoy the hustle of being a small fish in a big pond. For the founder of Two Small Fish Ventures, Eva Lau, swimming with the sharks of Silicon Valley was more her speed. Along with her husband Allen Lau, the co-founder and CEO of Wattpad, Eva launched the investment firm to give back and help nurture the startup ecosystem in Canada, and has...