John van Leeuwen found himself facing a country of skeptics when he first tried to raise venture capital funding for his Burlington, Ont.-based green technology company, EcoSynthetix Inc.
“All Canadians are from Missouri,” he said, invoking the slogan from the “Show Me” state, and that left him no choice but to look south of the border, where investors are willing to accept the higher risk that often comes with big ideas. In Mr. van Leeuwen’s case, the idea was a plant-based, latex product that was a cheaper, environmentally friendly alternative to the petroleum coating found on glossy paper and packaging.
Save for the money he secured from a venture capital fund he himself was involved in, not a cent of Canadian VC money was available to help him bring this idea to market.
