In Innovation, It’s David vs Goliath
By
John Stackhouse
Published May 15, 2020
|
30 min listen
Canada’s economy has been put on notice. Leading into the COVID crisis, the biggest powers were throwing around their weight, and the world’s smaller countries were beginning to feel it. . In a post-COVID economy, small nations will need the savvy of the shrewdest start-ups, and their start-ups will need to be even more on their game. It’s the only way a small country of relatively small businesses can excel in a big world dominated by big platforms.
David Skok has a front row seat for this new competition for scale. As the founder and editor-in-chief of The Logic, he’s running Canada’s digital publication focused on the innovation economy, covering companies and creators who are in a race against time. Just like his media start-up.
In this episode we discuss:
1. Can the media succeed in Canada without subsidies?
2. What do we need to create ten Shopify's?
3. Is Sidewalk Labs’ exit a victory or defeat for Canadian innovators?
About RBCDisruptors
RBCDisruptors is an ongoing speaker series hosted by the Office of the CEO and moderated by SVP John Stackhouse. The series is designed to bring leading thinkers into RBC to talk about major shifts in the world around us. Featuring thought-provoking sessions on digital technology, changing workplaces and big shifts in consumer behaviour, RBCDisruptors helps RBC, its clients and partners better understand these changes and stimulate conversation on how we can seize related opportunities.
John Stackhouse
Senior Vice President, Office of the CEO, Royal Bank of Canada
As Senior Vice-President, Office of the CEO, John advises the executive leadership on emerging trends in Canada’s economy, providing insights grounded in his travels across the country and around the world. His work focuses on technological change and innovation, examining how to successfully navigate the new economy so more people can thrive in the age of disruption.
Prior to joining RBC, John spent nearly 25 years at the Globe and Mail, where he served as editor-in-chief, editor of Report on Business, and a foreign correspondent in New Delhi, India. Having interviewed a range of prominent world leaders and figures, including Vladimir Putin, Kofi Annan, and Benazir Bhutto, he possesses a deep understanding of national and international affairs.
In the community, John serves as a Senior Fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs and C.D. Howe Institute, and on the boards of Queen’s University and the Aga Khan Foundation of Canada.
John is the author of three books: Out of Poverty, Timbit Nation, and Mass Disruption: Thirty Years on the Front Lines of a Media Revolution. His fourth book, Planet Canada, about Canada’s global population in an age of nationalism, will launch in April 2020.
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