Collision’s Paddy Cosgrave talks Shopify, tech slowdowns and meaningful connections

Paddy Cosgrave seemed a little nervous.

It was the first time we’d sat down for a chat since 2018 – before Collision’s first appearance in Canada in 2019, shortly after Toronto was named as the host city.

“There’s so much fire and uncertainty plaguing some of the big names in Canadian tech that I just don’t think people even know how to process how they could compete in Collision without getting slammed on stage.”

things have not go perfectly rolled out of the gate in 2019, and we all know what happened in the years to come. In fact, just yesterday, Cosgrave published a LinkedIn position revealing how his company nearly went bankrupt in 2020 due to the pandemic.

So, in our conversation recorded just a week before Collision 2022, Cosgrave was aware of the need for the conference to make a second first impression. In this episode, we discuss that, in addition to hosting a non-profit making conference, how Collision has changed since its 2019 iteration, and the value proposition of IRL tech events after the pandemic. Particularly for one expecting 35,000 people – 40% more than last time it was IRL.

But that’s not all we talked about.

Paddy is a… frank boy, with a sophisticated and global perspective on the current state of technology. So I took the opportunity to get his perspective on a variety of topics, including the current tech downturn and Canadian tech’s ability to handle the pressure.

Cosgrave had a lot to say on this last topic, related to Shopify in particular (note: Shopify doesn’t seem to be participating in Collision much this year).

So why does the co-founder of some of the biggest tech conferences in the world think Canadian tech can’t stand, in his own words, getting “slammed on stage” for a bit?

Let’s dig.

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BetaKit Podcast is hosted by Douglas Soltys & Rob Kenedi. Edited by Kattie Laur. Sponsored by RBC.