Shift by Alberta Innovates

Shift talks with Doug Holt and Simon Raby about Alberta's scaleup gap and what the ecosystem is doing to help businesses grow.


Listen Later

Send us a text

On this episode we talk with Doug Holt and Simon Raby about a report Simon prepared for Alberta Innovates that identifies a scaleup gap in Alberta. Essentially, we're good at starting companies but not so good at growing them. Our discussion explores the scaleup gap and what those in the Alberta entrepreneurial ecosystem, like Alberta Innovates, are doing to address it. 

BIOS
Doug Holt, Associate Vice President of Investment at Alberta Innovates

Doug is a seasoned executive with over 20 years of experience in the fields of finance, technology and education. Over the course of the last decade Doug has helped Alberta based SMEs raise over $130M in growth capital, founded two companies and became a published author in his research efforts. 

As a professional debt investor in the US high yield market, Doug was part of a small team that  grew a publicly listed ETF on the NYSE from $80M (USD) in assets under management to over $1bn (USD). Doug also spent a decade as an educator teaching both domestically and internationally and earned his M.B.A. from the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary in 2008.

Dr. Simon Raby, Associate Professor, Entrepreneurship

Simon is a 'pracademic' working as a Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Mount Royal University's Bissett School of Business and Co-Founder of Business Improvement and Growth (BIG) Associates Ltd. BIG identifies the drivers of growth, challenges convention and offers practical ways for ambitious business owners and their organizations to achieve sustained growth and performance.

Simon's research program is focused on uncovering the strategies, practices and methods of support that enable business growth, leadership transitions and people performathe Bissett Faculty nce. Most recently, Simon delivered a program of research on the growth of Alberta's Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) to understand the drivers of growth, innovation and diversification for these firms. This research has since led to the creation of The Leader's Growth Mindset. (Taken from Mount Royal University's Bissett Faculty)

More reading for fun!
Leading to Scale by Simon Raby et al. (opens a .pdf)


Shift by Alberta Innovates focuses on the people, businesses and organizations that are contributing to Alberta's strong tech ecosystem.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Shift by Alberta InnovatesBy Shift


More shows like Shift by Alberta Innovates

View all
HBR IdeaCast by Harvard Business Review

HBR IdeaCast

1,830 Listeners

Freakonomics Radio by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

Freakonomics Radio

32,260 Listeners

Making Sense with Sam Harris by Sam Harris

Making Sense with Sam Harris

26,462 Listeners

a16z Podcast by Andreessen Horowitz

a16z Podcast

1,032 Listeners

The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast by Dr. Jordan B. Peterson

The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast

34,064 Listeners

The Daily by The New York Times

The Daily

111,761 Listeners

Disruptors by RBC Thought Leadership, John Stackhouse

Disruptors

11 Listeners

Worklife with Adam Grant by TED

Worklife with Adam Grant

9,188 Listeners

ARC ENERGY IDEAS by ARC ENERGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE

ARC ENERGY IDEAS

28 Listeners

Front Burner by CBC

Front Burner

418 Listeners

The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway by Vox Media Podcast Network

The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway

5,312 Listeners

All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg by All-In Podcast, LLC

All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg

9,095 Listeners

Hard Fork by The New York Times

Hard Fork

5,438 Listeners

Real Talk Ryan Jespersen by Relay

Real Talk Ryan Jespersen

19 Listeners

The Decibel by The Globe and Mail

The Decibel

124 Listeners