Is NL's startup ecosystem as impressive as we say?

Somewhere in my first three weeks at Genesis, I asked the CEO: does this province really punch above its weight as a startup ecosystem, or is that just something we all say?

I’m a very proud Newfoundlander, and suspected that maybe this common statement was a feel-good exaggeration.

Turns out, it’s true.

• We represent 1.3% of Canada's population and produced one of the largest software exits in Canadian history. Everyone here knows Verafin, our province's first unicorn.  But here’s the context that success sits in: Canada has produced only about 33 unicorns. Additionally, Verafin's $3.6 billion CAD acquisition was, at the time, the largest Canadian software deal since 2007.
• … and if we’re not splitting hairs on private vs. public ownership, Kraken Robotics gives us our second unicorn story. Kraken is publicly traded, valued at more than $1 billion, and passed $100 million CAD in revenue in 2025.‍
• There’s a pattern here. CoLab raised $72 million USD in Series C funding in late 2025, and this spring announced a multi-year, multimillion-dollar agreement with Bombardier. Spellbook tripled revenue in 2025 and reached a $350 million post-money valuation with its Series B. And Pelorus Venture Capital’s first fund has returned $1.50 for every dollar invested in NL tech companies. The momentum is real, and honestly, it’s extraordinary.‍

If we were a country, our per-capita startup output would compete with some of the most celebrated tech ecosystems in the world. 

I landed at Genesis six months ago, and can already see that this momentum is not slowing down. Looking around our shared space, you can see signals of what actually matters when it comes to startup success: 

• Startups experimenting, smart and fast. Successful founders pivot often, try new things daily, and change course in response to new information on a weekly basis.
• ‍Founders who are all in. Obsessed with the adventure, high-potential founders take the resources and opportunities in front of them, then go looking for more, including the people who can help.
• ‍Ideas with strong early signals. Problem and idea validation is about the data set, and the founders who make it keep gathering data until they find proof they're onto something. 

So, we built Residency: a response to all of the above: an ecosystem with something special in the water, and a visible generation of early-stage founders poised to take advantage of it. Our job is to meaningfully meet them where they are.

Residency is a concentrated track within Genesis Membership: funding, network, space, and peer support, focused on founders who demonstrate the patterns above. 

It’s not about how much we like their idea. It’s about what makes founders successful:

• Demonstrating the agility of an experimentation mindset, the curiosity to find what works, and the willingness to abandon previous assumptions, direction, and even products;
• Taking full responsibility for the progress of the startup; and
• Relentlessly digging for proof of a problem people will pay to solve.

My favourite part is that it’s built to capitalize on what makes Newfoundland and Labrador unique, above everything else: the generosity of the founders already succeeding here.

After working in entrepreneurship at the national level for almost a decade, I can say with confidence that there is no ecosystem like what we have in NL. In fact, some of our founders may have too many advisors in their corners; too much help to navigate and make sense of.

Residency founders are invited to apply, and the Genesis Founders’ Council of local startup leaders decides who is accepted. Once in, founders get structured, consistent access to the Council as mentors and guides. Local expertise that used to depend on who you knew is built into the program: a panel of advisors who align on feedback and hold founders accountable for growth. 

All in all, it’s a ridiculously exciting time to be building, exploring, and experimenting in our province. Spread the word. And if you’d like to get started – at any stage of the journey – say hi. 

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Anna Smith is the Director, Programs at Genesis, a hub for early-stage tech startups in St. John's, Newfoundland & Labrador. Before Genesis, she spent nearly a decade at Venture for Canada leading strategy and curriculum design for seven national programs that built sustainable pathways for over 10,000 emerging entrepreneurs. Learn more about what we do.