CSE Webinar: Qualifying Technology Companies for Investment

The CSE’s James Black and Mark Francis were joined by Angela Jackson, Co-Founder and Managing Director of the Portland Seed Fund, Derek Hunter, President and CEO of Bluesky Equities Ltd., and Sean Peasgood, President and CEO of Sophic Capital, for a webinar on May 19th, 2020. In this latest installment of the CSE’s “All Locked Down and Nowhere to Go” conference series, our panel of microcap investment specialists talked about what qualifies technology companies for investment.

In this timely webinar, our guests talked about how they approach companies for early-stage investment, including what criteria companies have to meet, the importance of management having “skin in the game,” how disruptive tech companies can respond to COVID-19, and how their portfolios have adapted or pivoted to meet the current economic crisis.

Following initial presentations, our panel of specialists dove into what specific management qualities they look for, as well as the importance of letting management demonstrate its competence after a first round of investment. Panelists also talked about the effects that COVID-19 has had on setting apart adaptable from stagnant companies, which companies caught a tailwind from the current situation, and the merit in taking a down round in valuation in order to come back stronger.