WeCommerce’s Q4 certainly wasn’t Tiny

Welcome to this week’s Sunday Briefing. In this issue, you'll learn of a new fund for Women’s Equity Lab, read about some sustainability best practices, and dive into VIATEC’s Community Catchup.

Oh — and remember when we asked you to help us reach 1,200 subscribers? We did it! Thank you for all your support — we appreciate you.

-James, @jimmermatthews

PS: We’re back with our next event on April 12. Join the crowd at #VicTJtalks at a discounted price now, for a limited time.

WeCommerce reports Q4 earnings

WeCommerce, a local leader providing ecommerce enablement software and tools for merchants, announced its financial results for the three- and twelve-month periods ended December 31, 2022. Of note, the company’s revenue in Q4 2022 was $13.3 million: an increase of nine percent on Q4 2021.

“We are pleased to report strong Q4 performances for our apps and themes segments, which have continued to demonstrate resilience and growth in the face of challenging market conditions,” said Chris Sparling, co-CEO. “The investments in product development across our portfolio continue to bear fruit, and we are looking forward to key feature launches in Q1 and Q2 of this year. As we prepare and move forward with the previously announced transformational transaction with Tiny, we are confident that we are well-positioned to capitalize on the significant potential of our combined businesses.”

That transaction saw Tiny and WeCommerce merge on January 23. Founded by Andrew Wilkinson and Chris Sparling, Tiny is a tech holding company that invests and takes majority positions in a variety of businesses. It has acquired over 30 companies since 2016 and has self-funded its growth since inception without raising any equity capital. Tiny founded WeCommerce and remains its largest shareholder.

News like this quarterly report is often followed by fine-print cautioning the use of “forward-looking information.” It’s never an exact science looking into the future, after all. But, as far as Tiny and WeCommerce are concerned, optimism is justifiably present.

Andrew Wilkinson is the co-founder of Overstory Media Group, the parent company of Victoria Tech Journal.

#VicTJtalks | Victoria: On the Climatetech Frontier | April 12

Our first #VicTJtalks event is live! On April 12, we're bringing together entrepreneurs, executives, talent, investors, and tech community members to network and learn from Victoria leaders in climatetech.

Local innovators are tackling climate change head on with technology to face a warmer world. From using the ocean to remove atmospheric greenhouse gas emissions to creating a climate-friendly built environment, there’s something special about the climate solutions in made in Victoria.

• Space sponsor: VIATEC

🏙️ Community catchup, powered by VIATEC

Say cheers to a new year of successes and failures with F*ckUp Night Volume 15.

Returning for another season, Victoria's favourite #fails night will start again on March 22. There's nothing like watching accomplished, confident people share their still-raw, professional disasters with a crowd of 250 community members.

Better than crying. Cheaper than therapy.

F*ckUp Nights is a global movement where stories of failed businesses and projects are told, questioned, and celebrated. It started in 2012 in Mexico City and has since arrived in Victoria.

Three "f*ckuppers" will have seven minutes each to tell their story, and up to 10 minutes for Q&A. What was the project? What went wrong? What did they learn? What would they do differently?

📰 More Victoria innovation news

💰 YYJ to YYZ: WEL Toronto, The Six’s outpost of the Victoria-founded Women’s Equity Lab, launched its second fund. Dive in.

🍃 Moment of truth: Joanna Buczkowska-McCumber, principal sustainability strategy consultant at Ideas for Impact Sustainability Agency, wrote about Silicon Valley Bank through a sustainability lens for her organization’s newsletter: The calamity of the moment.

🧬 True to this: In yet another example of Victoria’s biotech prowess, Immunoprecise Antibodies, an AI-driven biotherapeutic research and technology company, signed a collaboration agreement with Talem Therapeutics to jointly address the pair’s cancer treatment goals. Learn more.

💊 Link up: The latest joining of forces for VitaminLab, a local health and wellness company crafting custom supplements, sees it partner with Genova to integrate targeted supplement recommendations based on innovative testing within its software. Continue.

🕴️ Tech jobs of the week

Find your next career:

• Marketing Lead at Cuboh

• Associate Product Manager at Rooof

• Analyst, Infrastructure & Renewable Resources at BCI (British Columbia Investment Management Corporation)

• Sales & Administrative Representative at Moose Mobility Scooter.

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

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📅 Upcoming events

April 12: #VicTJtalks: Victoria: On the Climatetech Frontier

March 22: F*ckUp Night VOL 15

March 30: Compensation Trends with Benchmarket

Have an upcoming event? Reply to let us know.