Photo: Amir Solowiejczyk (left) and Andrew Finkle of Structur3D Printing at the HAX Boost demo day in San Francisco, Nov. 10, 2015.

SAN FRANCISCO

The setting is an industrial space in San Francisco’s South of Market district. The flavour is typical early-20th-century hip, with exposed beams and oak wood tables. It’s dark inside except for the glow of smartphones and laptops, and the brightly lit stage Andrew Finkle is about to have all to himself.

Finkle, co-founder of Structur3d Printing based in Waterloo Region, spends the next four minutes explaining how his company provides 3D printing enthusiasts with an affordable add-on that can print with a variety of pastes. Nutella is one of them, he tells the audience, which gets a good laugh.

While the response is a good sign Finkle’s presentation is going well, what matters most is who is in that audience: venture capitalists, investors and potential partners in Silicon Valley who can help the company grow.

The demo event was put on by HAX, a hardware-focused accelerator based in Shenzhen, China, with operations in San Francisco. Structur3d Printing happens to be one of a select few startups in the first cohort of the 42-day HAX Boost program, which provides mentorship, a shared office space in San Francisco, and staff to help with things like sales, marketing and logistics.

“The program has been intense,” Finkle said at the Nov. 10 event. “We’ve been very busy, meeting all of these people, making some connections, but a lot of them are extremely valuable.”

To be eligible for HAX Boost, a startup needs to have a product, a team of at least two people (one founder and one employee in charge of sales), and the desire to grow. Other startups in the first cohort tackled markets such as bike-theft prevention, time-lapse photography and tiny drones that could be piloted with a smartphone or tablet.

Amir Solowiejczyk, who handles the business side at Structur3D, said he discovered the program through word of mouth. He added the mentorship in the Bay Area has been top notch, and it has helped that Structur3D is a Canadian startup.

“People do know Kitchener-Waterloo, people are familiar with Communitech. Velocity is one of the places that people are really familiar with as well,” said Solowiejczyk. “Overall, the reception for our area in Canada is great. So coming down here and creating connections is definitely worthwhile.”

Cyril Ebersweiler, founder of HAX, said Canadian startups often live up to the reputation of Waterloo Region, and make for great participants in the accelerator’s various programs.

“We’ve had Canadian and Waterloo companies coming over since the very beginning of HAX, and we joke internally that there wouldn’t be a HAX program without a Waterloo team these days,” said Ebersweiler.

“I think Canada, something is going on over there. Pebble started it all, but there are a lot more cool companies that are coming up,” he added.

In terms of the differences between Waterloo Region and Silicon Valley in finding investors and partners, Finkle said speed is one thing that stands out.

“Down here, everything moves a little bit faster; there’s a lot of connections being made,” said Finkle. “I feel like the kind of serendipitous moments that happen, where it kind of creates a small advancement or value for you, happen a little more often.”

However, both Finkle and Solowiejczyk said at this stage in Structur3D’s development, there’s no near-term plan to establish a permanent presence in Silicon Valley.

“We’re really committed to being a Canadian company, and coming down here and creating connections is bringing more money, more responses back to Canada,” said Solowiejczyk.

HAX Boost is currently accepting applications for its second cohort, which will begin in February 2016.