Meet the first announced speaker for #VicTJtalks

Plus, UVic dishes out some awards.

Author

James Matthews
March 26, 2023

Welcome to this week’s Sunday Briefing. In this issue, find out about Discover Tectoria, read who won what from UVic, and see what Solaires has been up to.

By the way, if you're not already subscribed, you can sign up by clicking here.

Hear from Audette’s Christopher Naismith on April 12

When Christopher Naismith, who grew up on Vancouver Island, landed his first job, the role’s main responsibility was to tie ribbons around trees. When he came back a week later, he saw that the whole forest was clear-cut. This caused him to hit the reset button and set him down a path to climatetech. Now, Naismith is CEO of Audette — and the first announced speaker for our inaugural #VicTJtalks event. Audette works with real estate corporations on their carbon output. Their platform joins data analytics with climatetech to monitor and analyze key building data to help its users develop, track, and achieve their emission-reduction targets. The Victoria-based company is certainly investable, with the company securing funding multiple times over the past few years.

In 2021, Audette announced $1 million in seed funding. Then, in 2022, it received $800,500 from the province’s CleanBC Building Innovation Fund. Audette then had to re-categorize those million bucks to pre-seed to make way for its CAD $12.8 million seed round.

“Contrary to the decline in stocks and investments in other tech sectors, Naismith actually attributes the strong interest from investors in Audette to this macroeconomic environment,” our staff writer and moderator for the upcoming panel Allison Gacad wrote. To learn about that trend and more across the entire climatetech landscape, join us at Fort Tectoria on April 12.

🏙️ Community catchup, powered by VIATEC

Calling all innovative tech companies, research projects, and community partners! Are you looking to gain exposure, attract your next hire, or make valuable connections within Victoria's booming tech industry? Look no further than Discover Tectoria.

Nearly 4,000 attendees will come to see over 75 of Victoria’s most innovative and forward-thinking companies, combined with career talks, keynotes, groundbreaking local research, and product demonstrations — all gathered under one roof.

This is your chance to put your brand on display and connect with potential employees, investors, the media, and policymakers. With interactive displays and direct access to attendees, you'll have the opportunity to showcase your latest advancements in technology and inspire the inventors of tomorrow. Help us to show just how amazing and impactful our tech sector has become.

Hosted by VIATEC, Discover Tectoria is an awesome event for anyone looking to break into the tech scene or establish themselves as a key player within the industry. Don't miss out on this chance to elevate your brand, expand your network, and become a part of Victoria's thriving tech community.

📰 More Victoria innovation news

💰 Emend to that!: Wesley Clover International, an investment management and holding company, featured Victoria-based Emend Vision Fund on its blog. Dive in.

🥇 Best of the best: Bobbie Racette, founder and CEO of talent-as-a-service platforms Virtual Gurus and AskBetty, was named UVic's Peter B. Gustavson School of Business 2023 Distinguished Entrepreneur of the Year Award recipient. Learn more.

🏆 Space and space bars: Astrophysicist and women in STEM advocate Julie Claveau, and president of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global Policy and Advocacy team Gargee Ghosh, were among the winners of Presidents’ Alumni Awards from UVic. Meet them.

🤝 From Paris with love: Local cleantech outfit Solaires reported back from the Parisian Hello Tomorrow conference. Check out the recap.

🕴️ Tech jobs of the week

Find your next career:

First Light Technologies is hiring for a number of positions, including the ones below:

Hiring in Victoria? Reply to this email and let us know!

📅 Upcoming events

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Have something or someone we should know about? Reply or email [email protected] so we can work together to spotlight the lesser-known stories of Victoria's tech ecosystem.