Presidents of Valhalla Private Capital’s Edmonton and Kelowna chapters are bracing for “substantial growth” in 2022. 

While Edmonton chapter president Marco Donadeo maintains Calgary’s startup ecosystem is set to “take off” - in keeping with chairman Randy Stewart Thompson’s remarks of “really solid opportunities” in the region - Kelowna chapter president Grant Lawrence says a decrease in government financial support for entrepreneurs will lead to better deals for Valhalla members.

Marco Donadeo, Edmonton Chapter President

My predictions are that our chapter and ecosystem will continue to grow substantially in 2022. It has shown through the building of both entrepreneurial and investor infrastructure being placed in Calgary. 

This ecosystem is about to take off, companies are being incentivized to look for capital here, as the money is opening up to the entrepreneurs with more ease. 

This will result in more startup's coming through our network, increasing better deal access. Our chapter will respond with an appropriate amount of investment!

Grant Lawrence, Kelowna Chapter President

We are going to see a continued growing interest in the startup asset class this year and the terms of these investments will continue to move towards convertible notes and hybrid-SAFEs and we will also see an increase in the number of micro-funds focused on this space.

With the government slowing down the financial support (salary support etc.) there will be a wave of startups that were wisely using this support going to the market to raise capital so I expect there to be a further uptick in quality deals for Valhalla members. 

Mark Mitchell, Edmonton Chapter President

The Alberta technology economy is poised for substantial growth through 2022. 

More companies are entering or "starting up" in the province and more capital is being dedicated towards the venture ecosystem. 

The Valhalla Angels Alberta chapter expects this to substantially increase the amount of deals done and capital deployed through our network in 2022.

Camille Hunt, Vancouver Chapter President

If i had to make any predictions for Vancouver they would involve web3, crypto and NFTs - this is where we are going to see a lot of new hype, resulting in investment. 

In addition, healthtech will also be a point of interest in 2022, especially with Vancouver’s depth of good companies who have made it, including Abcellera.

Evelyn Cerda, Regina Chapter President

In 2022, we will continue to see a good number of new startups coming into the pipeline. 

Most likely, Sasktchewan will see a larger number of companies raising investment rounds - a combination of new startups and companies that managed to postpone fund raising in 2020 and 2021. 

There seems to be a more positive outlook for investment this year, and I think that at the end of 2022, our province will continue to see an increase in venture capital (from the +$200M in 2021, as per CVCA Q3 report). 

Although a large amount will still be allocated to scaling companies, Saskatchewan's startup ecosystem has been garnering attention from outside investors, and this will be a valuable strategy for our ecosystem's growth.

However, I do see our local angels and early-stage investors playing a more active role this year as we grow our confidence in investing in new technologies and first time founders; and I suspect that mechanisms such as the STSI (Saskatchewan Technology Startup Investment) tax credit and the new self-certified investor exemption will help incentivize higher levels of involvement. 

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