Ian Crosby is on his third accounting startup, and he’s not even sure if this one is possible. After co-founding Vancouver-based business bookkeeping software Bench Accounting in 2011, and then the “Stripe for accounting” with Teal in 2023, Crosby is back with Synthetic and a big bet: that he can make the future of bookkeeping…
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM There is something that happens in a dream that never happens anywhere else. A familiar place, a workplace or a school corridor, becomes somehow wrong, layered with elements that don’t belong, approached from a direction that doesn’t exist. That sense of wrongness is, it turns out, the point. New…
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM For the first time in history, a country is on the verge of eliminating a form of cancer entirely. Australia is on track to reach that milestone by 2035, and possibly sooner, through a combination of widespread HPV vaccination and a screening system that has been rebuilt from scratch….
Perhaps the greatest mystery is not that aliens exist, but that they have watched humanity for so long… waiting to see what we become. They study humanity not with hatred or fear, but with curiosity. They witness wars, kindness, invention, and destruction. If aliens are truly observing us, they may not judge humanity by its…
Top Down Ventures has now closed what might be the first institutional venture capital (VC) fund dedicated to early-stage managed service provider (MSP) software and AI startups. To date, Top Down has backed 12 companies through Founders Fund I. The Vancouver VC firm announced the final close of Founders Fund I at $28 million USD…
Richmond, BC-based last-mile delivery company UniUni is reportedly planning to go public by merging with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). According to The Globe and Mail, the deal would see UniUni merge with MAK Acquisition, a Toronto Stock Exchange-listed SPAC led by ex-Dye & Durham CEO Matthew Proud, and value the combined entity at…
Nul points for Russell Brand’s latest book How to Become a Christian in Seven Days from reviewers who have taken great delight in ridiculing the first offering from Tucker Carlson’s new publishing outfit. “With its lewd jokes and word-vomit prose, the comedian’s account of his conversion is enough to put anyone off Christianity.” His…
“A proper grown-up communicates clearly and assertively.” This is something I have heard many people say. By that definition, I wouldn’t have been classed as a proper grown-up for most of my life. There was a time when I couldn’t even ask someone for a glass of water. I know that might seem crazy to…
One morning I woke up. I had been sleeping on the floor as usual. Nothing special had happened the night before; I just opened my eyes. But I was seeing without concepts, without thoughts or an internal story. There was no me. It was as if something else had woken up. It opened its eyes….
Scientists are increasingly worried that a vast system of ocean circulation, which delivers warmth to northern Europe and impacts climate globally, is at risk of collapse. Mounting evidence suggests it may be nearing a tipping point, though the research is far from certain. As the world careens past our hoped-for target of 1.5 degrees Celsius…
