Hello all,
Just wondering if anyone here has experience with getting into the Canadian VC space, especially for someone coming from a (NY) BB background. I presume the recruiting process is a lot less structured, so was wondering what the best way to get a foot in the door would be.
Also, from what I understand, the Canadian VC space is quite fragmented. I've heard of a few names like Real Ventures, iNova, and Edgestone. Are these the main players or are there others out there?
Would appreciate any insight.
Cheers!
VC is already pretty small, I remember watching a panel interview of some VCs and one guy literally encouraged people not to try and get into the space because it's already so small. In Canada it's ofc even smaller.
Edgestone is pretty good, they probably only take one person a year I bet though. Very lean.
I think Dragon's Den is looking for a new Dragon.
In all seriousness though, I think CPPIB, OTPP, and OMERS also make VC investments.
As you'll inevitably see all over the place, the best road to Venture Capital is via starting your own venture. Check out bios at Canadian VCs like Extreme Ventures, Real Ventures, Brightspark, iNovia,OMERS Ventures etc.; successful starts (whether being an early stage employee or a founder) and successful exits put you on the best track for VC although it's still a small and close-knit sector. A solid academic/professional background in finance is obviously an asset but it's part of a package.
Having done a lot more research, this does indeed appear to be the case. Thanks for the responses, everyone.
Edgestone has changed a lot in the last 4-5 years. It used to do VC, and while it mentions VC in its description, it's only because they had funds which are now closed for investment. They are primarily focused on PE.
VC space in Canada is small, but as mentioned above some of the pension funds do look at VC. Teachers used to have a designated group for VC but I think now it's just through their Global Funds group. OMERS recently started up a dedicated VC team. CPPIB does it through their funds.
Try looking around the CVCA website. There's the ones Independent Gestion mentioned above. One other one I can think of is Summerhill Venture Partners.
I know Vancouver has a small tech community.
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