The double bonus has been the connections and people involved with Startup TNT. We’ve had multiple investors who have been watching us, who are now making introductions to developers, residential builders, and other cleantech companies that have materials that are super interesting. TNT fed into connecting with Avatar Innovations, which led to XPRIZE, which helped us tap into a whole community of like-minded people.

IT’S FUN! You get to enjoy some drinks, chat about cool new technologies, and meet all kinds of awesome people. It always feels like I get the opportunity to bring some value in and get some value out.

The Summit couldn’t have come at a better time for us. We managed to close our fundraising round in August 2021, just as so many new Covid dog owners were preparing to return to work. The investment allowed us to scale from a 1-person team (so just me) to 5 employees, plus we’ve managed to increase revenue by more than 2.5 times since.

As a family and as a business, we’re all about supporting the community and being part of the community. We had done some angel investing before TNT, but after being part of the first Summit, I was hooked. I love the way that it’s structured, and the exposure to a variety of companies and investors. I don’t personally have time to vet all the companies and all the deals, and the process of the Summit allows us to find some great gems in our Saskatchewan startup community.

The whole TNT program was really good for us - it was really like an accelerator for us. Not only did it connect us with really great people, it was also a great introduction/education on how to talk to investors. It was really friendly and the TNT team was great for guiding us on tasks like organizing our data room, what financials to share, what questions investors would ask, etc.

I found that the $5,000 investment lowers the threshold and makes investing more accessible. I thought of it like an investment in my education, as the due diligence process and investor education sessions were super educational. And the $5K is basically the same cost as a college course. I also really liked having the personal connection that you get, when you invest locally. I could see where the money was going, and the direct impact it would have.

We used the Summit to kick off our financing round and raised $2.2M. The process made us more prepped to continue doing fundraising post-Summit.

TNT has a very welcoming atmosphere and by design, it provides a path for experienced angel investors to share their wisdom with newer and first-time angel investors. A lot of the investors also come with expertise in complementary areas, creating something that I like to think of as akin to the Swiss cheese model of risk mitigation. Subject area experts can narrow in on the due diligence for certain startups, while others focus on their strengths for each deal (ex. term sheets, IP, competitive market analysis, etc), and collectively, a well thought out decision can be made. Everyone is able to learn in a very collaborative environment, in the best way, by doing.

Winning the Summit was like rocket fuel for us. Not only did it help raise awareness of our company and increase our credibility in the investment community, it also helped expedite the process of closing our first round of fundraising. We also did a side deal with investors that we met through the Summit. Those investors joined our board, and have become great advisors for us

We’re both born in Saskatchewan, and we’ve chosen as a family to keep our roots here. We want to see the people around us succeed, and also see our kids, and the future generations succeed. We want to create a legacy of success for Saskatchewan.

You meet with investors, doing due diligence, explaining your ideas, site visits, etc. You get to educate people on who you are, what you’re building, and your why. It’s important because you get time to build the trust needed