On the TechVancouver stage ×1
First seen on the TechVancouver stage in 2019. Every talk is searchable — ask the archive about Matt ↗
In their words
Maybe five quality startups in your entire career — the ones that are really gonna change the world, or change your pocketbook, or change something.
Most major league baseball players will get five at-bats in a single game. So imagine if they had to take their entire lives — the family's on hold, missing going out, spring training, minor leagues — for only five at-bats.
Pick people that have a complementary psychology to yours. Don't create an echo chamber in your office — find disagreeable people that are passionate, and the sparks you create will bump off each other.
Around the web ×1
Quick answers
Who is Matt Toner?
A Vancouver founder and investor. He co-founded Shred Capital in 2020 and was CEO of Biba Ventures, the augmented-reality playground company recognised by TIME and Fast Company in 2019.
What is the Kalina principle?
Toner's name for a filmmaker friend's observation that a career holds only about eight real opportunities. Applied to founders, he argues you get roughly five quality startups — so be deliberate about which ones you spend.
What did he say about failure?
That Canada is more reluctant to fail than the US markets he worked in, where 'until you've failed a couple times it's almost like you haven't broken in yet'. His advice: fail early, in the minor leagues.