Made in Canada: Andre Charoo of Maple VC on Advancing Canadian Entrepreneurship

The rise of tech and rapid pace of change over the past two years have made Canada’s industries ripe for transformation. There’s never been a better time for ambitious Canadian entrepreneurs to make their vision into reality.

Tech is booming across Canada, from Hamilton to Calgary to Vancouver, and the eyes of the world are on us. Though often Canadians have had to look south for entrepreneurial opportunities, Canadians have everything that they need to stand out and make a name for themselves at home.

Andre Charoo, Founding Managing Partner of Maple VC, the venture capital firm investing in founders with Canadian roots, has a unique insight into Canadian entrepreneurship. Like many other talented Canadians, he felt the need to leave home to build his career abroad. During his time as one of Uber’s early hires, Andre realized his unique talent for growing and scaling tech ventures, which later inspired him to start his own venture capital firm.

Andre sat down with Jeff Adamson, Co-Founder of SkipTheDishes and the newly minted unicorn company Neo Financial, to talk about the challenges and opportunities Canadian entrepreneurs face, and what it takes to build the next big thing.

The Canadian Way

Canadians are known for being nice. Sometimes this means that we’re quiet about our ambitions and accomplishments. As Andre says about his own experience, Canadian founders often think “‘Okay, my resume is not going to speak loud enough because I didn’t go to Stanford. So how do I stand out?’ We double down, put our heads down, and look at the results of the products that speak louder than the resume.” But while a promising product is a key to investors, they’re also drawn to visionaries, the people that they are betting on to realize a product’s full potential. Canadian entrepreneurs must own their ambition to show investors that they are worth betting on.

What Sets Early Ventures Apart

Owning your ambition is your strength because your vision is your competitive advantage. If you compare companies with similar products, the most successful of these will be set apart by the scale of what they are trying to achieve. Andre discusses how the scope of Uber’s vision is what set them apart from other ride-sharing services. At an early stage, it is critical to be able to capture imaginations so you can attract the dreamers and investors who will make it all possible.

Creating a Canadian Ecosystem

Andre describes a misconception about building a tech ecosystem like Silicon Valley has: “People think that to create a really great ecosystem, you’re gonna need to build multi-billion-dollar companies. And just by definition, there’s not gonna be that many multi-billion dollar companies. And so you’d arguably have a better ecosystem if we supported the super ambitious individuals, which we haven’t, but we have them in spades.” Silicon Valley exists because of investors who take a chance on dreamers who inspire them, which is why Canadian founders often go south for funding. If we’re going to grow our own tech ecosystem, and create multi-billion-dollar companies, Canadian entrepreneurs need local support.

The First 25 Hires

When starting a company, the ideal initial hires are not the specialists — they’ll join later to help scale and grow the product. It takes generalists who are willing and able to wear all the different hats you need to get a new business off the ground. In the beginning, ambition and flexibility are key to hiring. Startups need employees as ambitious as their founders. Ambitious, passionate employees have a networking effect, acting as magnets for productivity and future hires.

Want to learn more about advancing entrepreneurship in Canada? Check out Andre Charoo and Jeff Adamson in our Fireside Chat here: