On the TechTO stage ×1
First seen on a TechTO stage in 2021. Every TechTO talk is searchable — ask the archive about Alex ↗
In their words
At the seed stage we're like an 85/15 ratio. It's 85 percent about the founder and 15 percent the idea — and the idea is around market and execution.
My least favourite word in this business is coachable. What kind of coach am I? I never really played the game. I can't be a great coach.
The companies where I can explain what they do in five words or less, that doesn't sound complicated to the end buyer, are the ones that have the positioning right and succeed out of the gate.
More from TechTO ×5
Quick answers
How did Alex Baker get into venture capital?
He sat next to Kevin Talbot on a five-and-a-half-hour flight back from San Francisco. Talbot was running the Royal Bank of Canada's fund and told him to come in if he was interested. Baker says venture capital in Canada was so nascent in 2008 he 'couldn't find a stitch of information online.' It took four or five months to land the job. Talbot is now his partner.
What does Alex Baker look for in a founder?
Someone who pushes back thoughtfully. He says his least favourite word in the business is 'coachable' — meaning a founder who will just execute a VC's strategy — because investors sit too far from the day-to-day to know what's really happening. He wants a founder who answers an objection with a different perspective.
How does he think about positioning?
Five words or less. He points to his own deals — Greenlight is 'a debit platform for kids,' TouchBistro is 'a point of sale for restaurants,' 7shifts is 'a scheduling platform for restaurants.' His initial anxiety with each was that they seemed too simple, but he says simplicity is what the buyer needs in order to tell a friend what they just bought.