Officially launching the recruitment of the program for the second year
After a successful year, BCF Ventures is now officially announcing the recruitment of the program for the second year, and we are excited to make it even bigger this year! See below to find out about the latest changes that we have added to our program this year, and hear from the founders of the first cohort.
Thanks to Hakim Merah, Senior Manager at Scale AI, for summarizing the first cohort in a few words:
“The Corporate Innovation Program’s strong focus on Intellectual Property offered immense values to founders. Each startup had its own 1-on-1 session with an experienced IP expert, a personalized session highly focused on the startup’s needs that encourage the founders to get an in-depth understanding of their own company and create an IP strategy. Promoting the development, protection and commercialization of IP is highly valuable for AI startups to strategize their competitive edge, and this program is leading the way in Scale AI’s portfolio of initiatives.”
Another important angle is the network connection with Corporations and Investors. Some of the startups have successfully raised their rounds following their participation. Scale AI is extremely proud to support this initiative in 2022 for a second edition.
Scale AI is an investment and innovation hub to accelerate the rapid adoption and integration of AI with supply chains across industries, and contributes to the development of a world-class Canadian AI ecosystem.
What did the founders say about the program?
We have selected 11 companies to join our first cohort, which had occurred in 2021. Some of our participating founders had shared what they thought about the program after having participated themselves:
Stephany Lapierre, CEO and Founder of Tealbook
“I had the pleasure to join the Corporate Innovation Program because I was attracted by the business development opportunities when they were matchmaking us with the corporations. We got connected to the Chief Procurement Officer at one of Canada’s national telecommunications companies. The program itself is very time-effective and highly professional because the organizers are respectful of the time commitment from the founders, and you get immediate value from the program’s structure.”
Tealbook is a leading supplier data foundation that autonomously enhances supplier data and powers e-procurement technology. The Toronto-based startup has recently raised a $50M USD in Series B funding to further expand their footprint after achieving 350% revenue growth in the past year.
Hugo Fuentes, Founder, CEO and Co-Founder of The Owl Solutions
“We had a great call with the IP expert during the IP session. The advice provided by the IP expert was very practical and relevant to our business case. We also received support for our company’s fundraising during the program, which is always a bonus for founders.”
The Owl platform is a supply chain management software that contains a powerful library of data analytics that help manufacturers and distributors track the performance of their operations and how it relates to achieving business goals. The startup counts Canada Goose, Jamieson Laboratories and Eneos as clients. The Owl Solutions was recently ranked as one of top analytics startups coming from Waterloo, Ontario, based on the company’s performance on growth and innovation. Hugo was also profiled by the Supply Professional magazine, the most trusted and read source of information for Canada’s supply chain community, to talk about how The Owl Solutions can change supply chain organizations.
Frederic Scherer, Founder and CEO of Jitbase
“I was in the middle of raising a round for my company, and the Corporate Innovation Program has helped me to connect with Venture Capital firms that invest in supply chain. I got connected with a Corporate VC that was the venture arm of the largest auto company in the world. I was glad to meet other investors outside of Canada and the program has accelerated my fundraising activities.”
Jitbase is a smart manufacturing software that calculates the optimal sequence of machinist activities on the manufacturing floor. The Montreal-based company has raised a Seed round of $650,000 from strategic partners, such as the aerospace manufacturing company Leesta, and other VC investment firms.
What is the Corporate Innovation Program?
We have the goal of supporting entrepreneurs by providing a 5-month part-time and remote program. Thanks to the renewed partnership with Scale AI, an innovation hub that spearheads AI integration in the supply chain industry, we are looking for AI-based companies in Supply Chain.
We are excited to offer the program that is entirely FREE — no admission cost or ownership equity from the startup.
What will you benefit from the program?
For a second year in a row, startups will be granted the opportunity to benefit from the following core pillars:
1Have a 1-on-1 session with our Intellectual Property experts to discuss about your company’s potential for IP strategies — Due to high demand from the last cohort, we are bringing back the IP experts who will highlight the important aspects that a company should focus on. In today’s digital world, it is crucial to understand the importance of IP strategies and data privacy practices when scaling a business. Founders have a chance to get an in-depth understanding of their company and learn about how IP can be used as a competitive advantage tool. *NEW* this year: our IP expert will do a proper assessment of your company and offer a Freedom-To-Operate (FTO) report, which is an effective and preventive method for anticipating possible third-party infringement of patents or industrial designs. Such FTO report usually comes at a hefty cost but we are very pleased to sponsor this report for free, as part of our goal to offer only the highest valued benefit to our participants.
2Matchmaking with Corporations for business development opportunities — Depending on the startups’ solutions, we will matchmake startups with corporations for possible pilot trials and future paying customers. *NEW* this year: we will offer a masterclass on how to pitch to corporations.
3Introduction to Investors for your fundraising activities — Have the potential to secure funding from BCF Ventures and our extensive network of co-investors. *NEW* this year: we will offer a masterclass on how to pitch to investors.
In addition, the renewed partnership with OVHcloud, Europe’s leading cloud provider, means that participating startups can get up to $150,000 CAD of free credits for its cloud services and 20+ hours of technical advisory services in the form of office hours.
How to reserve my spot?
Interested AI-based supply chain entrepreneurs can apply here at F6success. The application should take an hour at most. We urge you to apply soon, as we are only accepting a limited number of startups this year. The application deadline is Monday, February 28.
For any further questions about the program or any interest to collaborate as corporations and investors, you may send an email to bonnie.chau@bcfventures.vc
We hope to count you in!
