| [Calgary, ALBERTA] It might have been one of the hot bets of the Canadian Internet industry not long
ago, but these days the Calgary dot-com business is giving the phrase 'royal flush' new meaning. Economic
woes and employee dissatisfaction are rocking the bedrock of this erstwhile sanguine IT paradise.
Recent carnage is all over southern Alberta's wired wonderland. All 12 employees at NextClick Ltd.
opted to resign rather than wait for the company to crumble. Internet service provider Cybersurf Corp.
recently battled an attempt by disgruntled shareholders this month to seize control as the company's share
price plummeted. And at Cell-Loc Inc., Michel Fattouche, co-founder and chief executive, has promised
to invest up to $20-million (CDN) of his own money into the company to aid the construction of a
network for its wireless location technology. Blogging & Bloggers Archives | Samizdata.net::
At the moment I am sitting at the house of a Physicist and Venture capitalist friend in Connecticut in between jobs north of DC and a trip out to Laramie to
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Business News for IT Managers::
Experts Peering Ahead to 2001 See Israel Still Strong in Infrastructure - 12/28/ 2000 Venture Capital Shortage Crippling Calgary Dot-Coms - 12/28/2000
http://news.earthweb.com/bus-news/archives.php/200012HOME |
What ails the Internet industry in Calgary is, of course, not an isolated economic phenomenon. With tech
markets crumbling and venture capital drying up, the industry that has played a major role in reshaping
Calgary's economy is preparing for more layoffs, closures and restructurings in the new year.
This isn't to suggest, however, that venture capitalists aren't taking any risks these days. The Canadian
venture capital industry is on a record-breaking streak. More deals were closed and more money was
invested in the first nine months of this year than for all of 1999. GREENIE WATCH: 03/01/2008 - 04/01/2008::
In China, polysilicon plants are the new dot-coms. Flush with venture capital and with generous grants and low-interest loans from a central government
http://antigreen.blogspot.com/2008_03_01_archive.htmlHOME |
An indication of the weakening credibility of dot-com companies is evinced by the relative healthy state of
the VC industry in Canada. More than $3.4-billion (CDN) worth of equity financing deals were completed
by the end of September, easily passing last year's total of $2.7-billion (CDN) according to figures
compiled by Toronto-based Macdonald & Associates Ltd.
In the third quarter, nearly $1.1-billion (CDN) of venture capital was invested, more than double the figure
for the same period last year. But that number is slightly off the $1.2-billion (CDN) in financing completed
in the second quarter. The number of deals closed in the quarter increased to 330, up from 314 the
previous quarter and 231 during the same time last year.
However, word on the street is that relatively little of these VC funds are making their way to start-up or
struggling Internet ventures because of the sector's instability. Until there are some real signs of dot-com
revitalization, capital is likely to be in short supply within Calgary's Internet industry.
Unfortunately, experts warn that today's struggling dot-coms won't be able to get back on their feet
without VC backing or some other form of fiscal support - all of which could have an increasingly negative
effect on Calgary's Internet industry.
 Experts Peering Ahead to 2001 See Israel Still Strong in Infrastructure
 Merrill Lynch Declares 2000 "Tumultuous" |
