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mcrock backs fog computing biometrics invixium
Author Rob Lilley Categories Friday Musings Posted on

Alberta Enterprise and Kensington Invest in McRock

Toronto, Ontario–(April 8, 2015) – McRock iNFund LP, an Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) venture  capital fund managed by McRock Capital, has held a subsequent close with new investments from  Alberta Enterprise Corporation and Kensington Venture Fund, L.P. The fund held a previous close in  December of 2014 with Cisco Investments, Teralys Capital Innovation LP, and BDC Capital. With this  close, the fund has exceeded its fundraising target. A final close is in process and will be announced in  2015.  

McRock has a strategic relationship with Cisco Systems, the worldwide leader in IT networking. The fund  is focused exclusively on the intersection of sensors and software in large industrial markets, an area  known as the IIoT. The fund will invest in high growth private companies across North America. It is specifically targeting large industrial markets looking to maximize the efficiency of operations by  connecting the unconnected and using software to make machines, equipment and devices run more  intelligently. In February 2015, the fund announced its first investment in Canada’s RtTech Software, an  industrial app company providing operational intelligence for industrial facilities. 

“We are pleased to announce that two very experienced venture capital fund investors have committed  to the fund so quickly after our last close,” said Scott MacDonald, co-founder and managing partner of  McRock Capital. “As part of this investment, we welcome Kristina Williams from Alberta Enterprise and  Rick Nathan from Kensington Capital to the fund’s limited partner advisory committee.” 

“The McRock team has significant IIoT expertise and a track record of building successful high-growth  companies, specifically in Canada,” said Kristina Williams, CEO of Alberta Enterprise Corporation. “We  see this as a strategic investment for AEC that will facilitate the growth of successful IIoT companies in  the province of Alberta, which has strong roots in industrial sectors such as oil and gas.” 

“McRock is exactly the kind of venture fund investment we are looking for in the Kensington Venture  Fund,” said Rick Nathan, Kensington Managing Director, “with a very experienced investment team 

specialized in an important and fast growing segment of the market. We see tremendous opportunities  in grid automation, digital oilfield and other energy and industrial technologies where we can now look  forward to investing with the McRock team.” 

About McRock Capital 

McRock Capital is a venture capital firm making investments in North American companies offering  Industrial Internet of Things software and sensor solutions for the grid automation, digital oilfield,  advanced manufacturing and smart city markets. For more information, visit www.mcrockcapital.com.  Follow McRock Capital on Twitter @McRockCapital 

About Alberta Enterprise Corporation 

Alberta Enterprise promotes the development of Alberta’s venture capital industry by investing in  venture capital funds that finance early stage technology companies. Launched with a $100 million  investment from the Government of Alberta, Alberta Enterprise focuses on funds that have a strong  commitment to Alberta. For more information, visit www.alberta-enterprise.ca 

About Kensington Capital Partners 

Kensington is a leading independent Canadian investor in alternative assets. Founded in 1996, and with  over $670 million invested to date in private equity, venture capital, infrastructure and hedge funds,  Kensington’s active management approach and relationship based business has generated top quartile  returns for investors. For more information, visit www.kcpl.ca.

mcrock backs fog computing biometrics invixium
Author Rob Lilley Categories Friday Musings Posted on

McRock Industrial Internet Fund Backs RtTech Software

Toronto, Ontario–(February 24, 2015) – McRock iNFund, an Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) venture  capital fund managed by McRock Capital, has led a $3 million Series A financing in Moncton-based  RtTech Software. Existing investor New Brunswick Innovation Foundation also participated in the round. 

RtTech develops and markets software apps that provide Operational Intelligence for industrial facilities.  RtTech offers two main solutions – RtDuet, a real-time software app designed to improve equipment  availability and utilization in industrial facilities like manufacturing and power generation, and RtEMIS,  an energy management information system designed to reduce energy consumption. 

As part of this financing, Scott MacDonald and Whitney Rockley, the co-founders of McRock, have both  joined RtTech’s Board of Directors.  

“This funding could not have come at a better time as we look to capitalize on the exploding IIoT markets. We are adding features to our flagship industrial software apps that will leverage cloud-based  technology and will make our products more widely accessible and affordable to our global industrial  facilities clients”, said Pablo Asiron, CEO of RtTech Software. “The McRock founders have a tremendous  amount of experience growing technology companies. We are proud to have attracted an investment  partner with such a strong focus on the Industrial Internet”. 

In January 2015, McRock announced a strategic investment in its venture capital fund by Cisco Systems  and two of Canada’s largest fund-of-funds investors, Teralys Capital and BDC Capital. 

About McRock Capital 

McRock Capital is a venture capital firm making investments in North American companies offering  Industrial Internet of Things software and sensor solutions for the grid automation, digital oilfield,  advanced manufacturing and smart city markets. For more information, visit www.mcrockcapital.com.  Follow McRock Capital on Twitter @McRockCapital

mcrock jan 22 2015 mcrock attracts investment cisco and teralys pic - square
Author Rob Lilley Categories Friday Musings Posted on

McRock Industrial Internet Fund Attracts Investment from Cisco and Teralys

Toronto, Ontario–(January 22, 2015) – McRock iNFund LP, an Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) venture  capital fund managed by McRock Capital, has held a second close with new investments from Cisco Investments and Teralys Capital Innovation LP, a fund manager financing private venture capital funds  with more than $1.5 billion in assets under management. BDC Capital also increased its investment commitment to the fund in the latest closing.  

McRock is focused exclusively on the intersection of sensors and software in large industrial markets, an  area known as the IIoT. The fund will invest in high growth private companies across North America. It is specifically targeting large industrial markets looking to maximize the efficiency of operations by  connecting the unconnected and using software to make machines, equipment and devices run more  intelligently. A final fund close is scheduled in 2015 with a cap of $65 million. 

“The addition of Cisco Investments and Teralys to our investor base further validates the tremendous  momentum and appeal of the IIoT,” said Whitney Rockley, co-founder and managing partner of McRock  Capital. “We are excited to work closely with Cisco Investments, an incredibly strategic investor for  McRock, and two of Canada’s largest fund-of-funds investors, Teralys and BDC, to build global IIoT  companies together.” 

“What makes this so exciting is that only one percent of the world’s devices are connected today,” said  Paul Howarth, director, Cisco Corporate Development. “The founders of McRock Capital have deep  experience investing in Industrial software companies and are incredibly well positioned to capitalize on  the next evolution of the Internet. We are delighted to invest in McRock under our Cisco Canada  Innovation Program.” 

“Teralys is excited to be joining McRock, a specialized investment fund dedicated to the rapidly growing  Industrial Internet of Things sector,” said Eric Legault, managing partner of Teralys Capital. “The  founding partners of McRock have backed some very successful entrepreneurs and early disruptors in 

the past and will use their experience to support the next generation of high growth companies in that  sector. The creation of a new venture capital franchise is a great development for the venture capital  ecosystem in Canada.” 

About McRock Capital 

McRock Capital is a venture capital firm making investments in North American companies offering  Industrial Internet of Things software and sensor solutions for the grid automation, digital oilfield,  advanced manufacturing and smart city markets. For more information, visit www.mcrockcapital.com.  Follow McRock Capital on Twitter @McRockCapital

mcrock 17b the royal flush of resiliency
Author Rob Lilley Categories In the news Posted on

The royal flush of resiliency

Last summer when I wrote the blog “No, This Is Not My Boyfriend’s Computer”, I embarked on a mission to understand resiliency. When I think of resiliency, I am not talking about how people overcome everyday challenges but rather how people overcome life altering challenges. When facing adversity, why is it that some people stand back up and thrive while others don’t? Why do some people fall victim to circumstances while others push forward, stay positive and figure things out?

My quest to understand resiliency started because of three reasons. One, I met Ping Fu, the founder of Geomagic, at a GE Leading & Learning Event in NY. Her story of persistence in the face of adversity is simply incredible. Two, I judged a First Robotics competition and saw underprivileged kids triumph against kids that were given every luxury to succeed. Third, I started my own company, McRock Capital, my dream and passion and in order to be successful, I needed to be resilient.

My first revelation is that the topic of resiliency is a fairly new area of investigation. Researchers have been trying to figure out why some people are more resilient than others and whether we can learn to be more resilient.

Here is what I found. Resilient people are flexible, adapt to new circumstances quickly and thrive in constant change. They are inherently positive, empathetic and have confidence they will bounce back even though they may feel totally overwhelmed at first. They take responsibility for their actions, think through consequences and have a certain level of self-control and discipline. They allow themselves to feel grief, anger, loss and confusion but they don’t let it become a permanent state[1]. When we fall, which we all do, resilient people don’t automatically say “here we go again…I am failing” or “that idiot, his actions have ruined my life and made me miserable”. The resilient person says “what can I learn from this experience so I can do it better next time.”

Researchers know that resilient people are less likely to become ill during difficult times. They heal and bounce back stronger than before. They give their families a better chance of bouncing back from tough situations and even help their communities get through hard times. But one of the most interesting findings I read was that researchers believe that experience trumps genetics. The key is to find your passion and purpose in life[2].

When I think of the entrepreneurs I have known that have demonstrated incredible resiliency and achieved outstanding success, they had, without a shadow of a doubt, an incredible passion and purpose in life. Many of them also stared adversity in the face at a young age and bulldozed through it. They did not give up because they couldn’t out of necessity. They didn’t have a safety net. They didn’t have parents running to their side to rescue them. They had to figure things out for themselves. Self-managed learning is one of the cornerstones required to being resilient.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I was doing this research I realized that I loved the underdog. The person who defies all odds and wins (like Ping Fu) or the robotics team from Runnymede Collegiate, the inner city school that kicked the butts of the private schools. Perhaps it’s not surprising that I prefer to work with resilient underdogs and, on the other end of the spectrum, I want to tornado kick the parents who call in a favours to get their kids jobs.

I do know one thing for sure. Resilient people don’t give up. They are unstoppable, relentless and possess all the great attributes characterized by researchers. The resilient underdog is the royal flush.

Author: Whitney Rockley, Co-founder & Managing Partner, McRock Capital

[1] Dr. Al Siebert, The Resiliency Advantage
[2] Dr. Robert Brooks, The Power of Resiliency

mcrock 30. oct 30 2014 look ma no hands
Author Rob Lilley Categories In the news Posted on

“Look Ma, No Hands” – A start-ups coming of age

It’s that exhilarating moment when you have mastered a skill to the point where you take it to the next level…and you want people to see it. As a venture capitalist I have an appreciation and respect for business operators that crank their businesses to not only achieving revenue growth but also profitability.

When it comes to the creation of shareholder wealth, there is much debate over growth metrics vs revenue (let alone profitability). I have no desire to tackle this argument here but I can tell you I like revenue and profitability. Too often companies that have developed great products and have paying customers still have an addiction to continuous equity injections to sustain operations.

If your company is experiencing any of the following symptoms, beware:
1) Yet another new CEO;
2) Not enough board room chairs for investors; and
3) Any round of financing beyond the letter “C”.

We live in a world where a select group of technology companies can create significant value by simply leveraging their viral coefficient. For all the rest, revenues must grow and eventually lead to profitability or wealth creation never materializes. I recently experienced an exhilarating moment in a company’s evolution from start-up. I have been a Director of Pure Technologies (TSX:PUR) for a number of years and on March 13th, the company announced its first ever dividend.  The company’s news release states, “We are generating strong free cash flow from our operations in addition to growing recurring revenues…we are pleased to be in a position where we can begin to return a portion of our free cash flow to our shareholders on a regular basis. This significant announcement reflects our confidence in our ability to enhance shareholder return while continuing with investments important to our growth.”

What can one say about any company that delivers growth AND Yield. Wait for it…”Look Ma, No Hands!”

Author: Scott MacDonald, Co-founder & Managing Partner, McRock Capital

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