Promoting young Quebec startups abroad: this is the goal of a research project launched recently and headed by researcher Sophie Veilleux, professor at Laval University. Because if local companies already benefit from solid assistance at the incubation and acceleration stages, “we are now in the position of supporting them in their growth in foreign markets,” she notes. To achieve this, it intends to rely on the strengths of the entire ecosystem.
Since 2016, the world of technology companies has been booming in Quebec. Thanks to local creativity and the numerous financial incentives offered to local start-ups, Montreal ranks among the 40 most vibrant ecosystems in the world according to Startup Genome. Building on the support received, many entrepreneurs are now looking internationally. And there is something: “the start-upwho have a global business model from the start succeed in their growth much more quickly,” underlines Sébastien Tanguay, general director of CAMP, an accelerator-incubator based in Quebec.
How can we help them succeed in this crucial step? Training, mentoring, coaching, networking, partnerships, exchanges, trade missions, fairs… The options are multiplying across the four corners of the province. “There are some great initiatives that have been set up,” observes Sophie Veilleux. Now our role is to optimize them, see what is being done elsewhere and share the best recipes. »
This is what she and her team, in partnership with three business accelerators and incubators, including LE CAMP, will be working on over the next three years, as part of the project “Internationalization of startups: how to make the continuum of effective support? », funded by PERSEIS.
Conquer the world
For the two colleagues, one thing is clear: Quebec offers too limited a playing field for technological entrepreneurs, who often have to invest large sums to develop their product. “In the world of start-up, we develop companies with strong potential for rapid growth, explains Sébastien Tanguay. Realizing this potential requires access to a large market. »
This reality is well known across the world, where initiatives have been set up to draw attention to local businesses. “France has created a brand for its ecosystem, the French Tech, illustrates the director. When the start-up are moving, it’s always under this hat. It gives a strong positioning, it says: “here is France’s innovation potential”. » In Canada, the MaRS Discovery District in Toronto and Communitech in Waterloo are the envy of the director, who hopes to see Quebec develop a similar identity.
The province, however, benefits from an important asset: its propensity for mutual aid, a quality highlighted by Startup Genome which praises the “strong collaborative culture” of the Montreal ecosystem. For Sophie Veilleux, this generosity translates into a desire to pool expertise and learning. “Entrepreneurs in Quebec can benefit from the activities organized in Sherbrooke and Montreal,” she rejoices.
She will rely on this openness for the first phase of the project, during which she will identify Quebec initiatives and conduct interviews with stakeholders in the field in order to document the best practices already in place.
Learn from the best
For the second phase of the project, the woman who is also director of the International Entrepreneurship Research Center will meet inspiring actors around the world, particularly in Sweden, the Netherlands and France. “We didn’t want to take American examples because there they have access to 50 times more capital than us. It was important to choose models similar to ours, small countries where we find an educated workforce. In these countries, for companies to have a return on investment, they absolutely must export. »
Finally, all of this learning will be tested using a cohort of 20 companies from Montreal, Quebec and Sherbrooke. The experience of these young shoots will be used to expand the researcher’s documentation: is the time to enter foreign markets reduced? Have sales and growth rate increased? Are the affected markets diversified? “We want more of Couche-Tard!” » exclaims Sophie Veilleux with passion. “We want to know how to help the champions of tomorrow. For this, we must support them effectively. »
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