People Mentioned
Partner, Emerging and High Growth Companies, Calgary
From the passenger seat in the vehicle that serves as the moving set of the Between Meetings video podcast, Michael Grantmyre, partner, Emerging and High Growth Companies Group (EHG) and host Marian Danko talked about what makes Calgary, and especially its startup and technology ecosystem a special place.
“Law is what I do. But it’s a tool that I use to ultimately, hopefully, at the end of my career, be viewed as someone who’s been a community builder or an ecosystem supporter. And that’s how I view my role as a lawyer — the way I contribute to that.”
In Michael’s conversation with Marian, he says he has been part of the technology and venture space since his early days as a summer student working at another law firm in Ottawa. However, moving to Calgary two years ago, to help build out Osler’s Calgary EHG group, has allowed him to become truly enmeshed in the local startup scene. In large part that is due to Osler’s flat-fee service package for early-stage companies. By being a trusted advisor founders can confide in right from the beginning, Michael helps new ventures ramp up correctly starting from day one and offers them the type of guidance that prevents them from making harmful business decisions that can have lasting repercussions — such as diluting equity too early without major investment. Michael sees his role as not just offering legal advice but as building relationships and Calgary’s greater tech community.
While Michael loves everything that the city has to offer, including easily accessible opportunities for skiing and biking, great shopping and good restaurants, and is confident those amenities make Calgary an attractive location for investors and founders, he says it is the business environment that is its true draw.
“The ecosystem is growing like gangbusters here, and that’s just an exciting and energizing thing to be a part of. In terms of why it’s happening here, I would say you’ve got tremendous amounts of talent. You’ve got, as I alluded to earlier, a great lifestyle. You have a good work-life balance. The cost of living is great. And you’ve got some incredible tech companies that have set up in the city that have really become anchors for the community. And then on top of that, I think you’ve really seen the ecosystem start to put its weight behind building. And other members of the community, other industries and governments, similarly doing that has coalesced into the makings of a really vibrant ecosystem.”
Listen to the entire Between Meetings episode featuring Michael Grantmyre and host Marian Danko.
People Mentioned
Partner, Emerging and High Growth Companies, Calgary
