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Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1490198
ON THE RADAR ( the informer ) I nside the Vancouver Convention Centre on two windy afternoons in Octo- ber, the fates of over 80 com- panies and their founders hang in the balance. In the coming months and years, some of the endeavours being pitched here will almost certainly end up changing lives beyond those in the building. But at this moment they are operating in relative anonym- ity, huddling in groups together throughout the centre, talking in mostly hushed tones as they rehearse lines and go over the key items in their pitch decks. Over the course of two days, these founders will pitch their companies to rooms full of venture capitalists and experts in four streams—biomedical engineering, compute, climate and advanced therapies—in the hopes that, by the end of the event, one or more of the peo- ple listening will put up their hand to signal that they would like to offer their mentorship. Already it's been a tough route just to get here, and a hand up means that the mentor is willing to take on at least four hours of coaching. No hands up and your time in the program is done—please leave the tribal council area immediately. But while it might all seem like something out of a TV show, Creative Destruction Lab – Vancouver (formerly known as CDL – West) is a lot more measured than that. The mission of this local branch of the nonprofit organization is what it calls an "objectives- based mentorship program for scalable, seed stage science and technology companies." CDL, which was originally founded in 2012 at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, is now in 12 universities across the world, including five in Canada. The Vancouver version is supported by UBC Sauder and led by Dar- rell Kopke, an adjunct profes- sor and long-time fashion retail If You Break It UBC-based Creative Destruction Lab promises to change the world several times over by Nathan Caddell E N T R E P R E N E U R S H I P BREAKING THROUGH There's no shortage of ventures that have had success through Creative Destruction Lab – Vancouver. Here are just a few of them. Addy YEAR IN CDL: 2018/19 Addy launched Canada's fist crowdfunded real estate investment app. Using Addy, Canadians over the age of majority in Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec can invest in institutional-grade commercial real estate deals for as little as $1. BarrelWise YEAR IN CDL: 2019/20 Designed to disrupt the wine industry, Vancouver's BarrelWise estimates that its topping mechanism is 74 percent faster than traditional methods and saves some $50 per barrel. The company closed a $3.1-million seed round last August. Beatdapp YEAR IN CDL: 2018/19 The Vancouver-based music startup uses blockchain technology to validate digital content streams. It raised $3.2 million in 2019 from Panache Ventures. Headcheck Health YEAR IN CDL: 2017/18 Co-founder and CEO Har- rison Brown started Head- check Health out of UBC to be an all-in-one concussion app platform. The company works with organizations like BC Hockey and the CHL to prevent mismanaged head injuries. KAI JACOBSON JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2023 BCBUSINESS.CA 15 VENTURE FORTH Some 80 seed stage tech and science companies pitch their ideas to experts, hoping to grab a mentor