Wednesday, March 4, 2020

Velocity launches venture fund for healthtech startups

This article originally appeared on Waterloo Stories.

The University of Waterloo has launched a second venture capital fund targeted at early-stage startups involved in health technology.

The Velocity Health Tech Fund will give early-stage health startups a chance to access $50,000 in pre-seed funding to grow their business and would be awarded following a pitch competition. 

The Health Tech Fund will make investments in addition to the $50,000 that pitch competition winners gain from the current Velocity Fund. The current fund was launched last year and has raised US $1.3 million and has invested $600,000 into 12 startups. 

“Following the launch of the Velocity Fund last year, it quickly became apparent that there is a significant appetite among individual investors in Canada to get in on early-stage startups,” said Adrien Côté, executive director of Waterloo’s entrepreneurship program, Velocity. “We launched the second fund in part to meet a market demand among investors that we know exists and to address the ongoing challenge that early-stage companies face in attracting investment.

“Focusing our second fund on health tech only made sense given that 38 per cent of the companies we have in our incubator operate in this space, a trend we only see increasing over time,” said Côté. “Access to additional early capital allows founders to tackle unique, and often costly, aspects of building a health tech company.”

The Velocity Health Tech Fund awarded its first investments on February 27 to two startups involved in health technology. Life Sciences Key Technologies received a total of $100,000 from both funds, while Caribou received $50,000 from the new health tech fund.

The Velocity Health Tech Fund was launched to accredited investors four weeks ago and has already reached $1 million US, meeting its initial fundraising goal.  The fund’s investment will help early-stage, health tech startups accelerator and strengthen their product development, IP strategies and understanding and navigating the regulatory environment associated with the healthcare industry. 

Interest in the fund has primarily been from individuals who are currently employed in the health care field.

"I invested in this fund early because I believe in the impact that startups can have in our health care system, and I am passionate about health," said Dr. Richard Weinstein, an ophthalmologist based in Kitchener, Ontario and Health Tech Fund investor. "Because my ability to holistically judge the potential of health-tech startups is limited, this kind of fund provides me with a more straightforward, vetted way to invest in the sector.” 

The University’s first startup venture fund, the Velocity Fund, was launched in April 2019. The AngelList-powered venture fund gives investors a way to invest in a diversified portfolio of early-stage startups supported by Waterloo’s Velocity Incubator. The fund replaced a grant system used to fund awards in the incubator’s tri-annual Velocity Fund Finals.

Co-op releases 2019 annual report

Co-operative and Experiential Education has released its 2019 Co-op Annual Report.

"Waterloo was founded on the innovation of co-operative education over 60 years ago, and today, is recognized as Canada’s most innovative university for 28 years in a row," writes Executive Director Ross Johnston. "With more than 21,000 co-op students across six faculties, and 7,100 employers in more than 60 countries, the University of Waterloo is recognized as one of the pre-eminent institutions in co-operative education."

"Our 2018 – 2019 fiscal year saw co-op enrolment top 22,400 full-time undergraduate students. This is a 17% per cent increase since 2014,” Johnston writes. “While we implemented a new model to calculate employment rates, we reached an impressive 97.6% employment rate in Fall 2019, facilitating more than 21,800 work terms throughout the year. Our international presence has continued to grow over the last year too, with 3,200 international work terms (an increase of 37.4% per cent since 2014, including work terms facilitated in the US)."

"As we continue to expand our webcam and phone interview options, we’re enabling students and employers to participate in more co-op interviews than ever before. Between 2018 and 2019, we reached a record high of more than 99,000 job interviews, conducted on and off campus. Many of these interviews took place in the Tatham Centre, which very much remains the heart of co-op at Waterloo. It’s a facility that fosters the employer-student connections that add value to our program for students and employers – including 1,500 new employers who hired over the last 12 months."

"With an innovative mindset combined with years of experience and a large student and industry network, it’s an honour for us to publicly acknowledge what makes our co-op program so unique."

Read the rest of the Executive Director's message about the 2019 report.

Wednesday's notes

Check out this week's highlights from the Centre for Career Action:

• Employers on campus this week hosting employer information sessions include: Open Text Finance Academy and PwC. Make sure to register through WaterlooWorks and check the calendar for any updates!
• Career-a-Thon – Saturday, March 7, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
  In the first ever Career-a-thon for undergraduates, students will be guided through the career planning process and hear about career paths from a panel of Waterloo alumni. Encourage students to register for this one-day career exploration session.
• How to Leverage your Research to Maximize your Career Success – Tuesday, March 10, 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.
  Professor Larry Smith, Director of The Problem Lab, author and TED speaker will share how graduate students can use research skills and ideas to stand out in a crowd of job applicants.
• Centre for Career Action (CCA) drop-in advising hours for March: Students can drop in for résumé, cover letter and interview support from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
• CCA Workshops: See the Career Centre Events Calendar on WaterlooWorks for all upcoming student and employee workshops. 

Here's the latest Nutrition Month "myth vs. fact" supplied by Health Services Dietitian Sandra Ace:

Myth:

Feed a cold and starve a fever.

Fact:

The origin of this centuries-old adage seems to have its roots in the belief that eating food would generate body heat needed when someone has a cold but avoiding food would help it cool down when overheated. Although further studies are needed to clarify how food affects our immune system’s response to infections, most research has shown this advice has little or no merit.

When you have a cold or the flu, with or without a fever, you may not have much of an appetite, but “starving” yourself will not decrease the severity of your illness or speed up your recovery. While most adults have enough energy stores to get by for a day or even a few days when they don’t feel like eating much due to a viral infection, nourishing foods are important in preventing and recovering from most illnesses. Even more important may be staying well-hydrated, since a having a fever or the mucus production that typically accompanies a cold or influenza increases fluid needs. Hydration is even more important in babies, small children and the elderly who have more of a challenge getting enough fluids when they’re ill and who may become dangerously dehydrated more quickly.

If you’re feeling under the weather from a cold or the flu, try eating frequent light meals and be sure to include fluids at whatever temperature you prefer. Try soup, juice, smoothies, fruit – foods with both calories for energy and fluid to help you to stay hydrated. Common sense suggests it’s best to avoid alcohol and too much coffee when you’re ill. Follow this updated advice when it comes to colds, influenza and fevers: Take care of your body, including prioritizing sleep, drink enough and don’t starve yourself.