We (iNovia Capital) invested in Gamerizon for a number of reasons, and among them, one stands out: we believe that Alex, Martin, Robert & the team already have the ingredients required to build a very large Company. And by very large, I mean to grow to + $100M in annualized revenues within a reasonable short period of time, and not fall into the trap of an early sale of the Company to a major Media conglomerate. At least, this is our premise as of today! The team’s deep understanding of crucial game mechanics, and the fact that they have built into the company’s DNA a fundamental understanding of mobile and social interaction, makes us believe Gamerizon will outperform most of the game studios out there today. The Chop Chop franchise already show great traction, they own some key proprietary technology, have tons of industry knowledge, and they presented us with an impressive plan for growth. The team is doing all the right things as a start up. Self-funded until they hit tangible milestones, got over 15 million downloads of their product to prove traction, built an amazing team and early-on opened up to a few key potential investors. I also think we have the best co-investor for this Company. Who better than Vanedge Capital to help guide an A team that wants to build the next PacMan, the next Zynga? Vanedge! We are really looking forward working along side Paul Lee (ex-President of Electronic Arts, and Glenn Entis (ex-President of Dreamworks Interactive), helping Gamerizon rise to the top. Congrats guys, you are off to an awesome start! Check out Gamerizon site: http://gamerizon.com/ And most importantly, download chop chop on the AppStore!
Friday, September 16, 2011
Gamerizon Thinks Big, and Acts Big! Chop Chop
Monday, June 6, 2011
Startup Visa Canada: Who's In, Supporting Organizations, Media Coverage, and How You Can Help
- Ben Yoskovitz, Year One Labs
- Jason Bailey from SuperRewards and GrowLab
- Anthony Lee, Altos Ventures and C100 Organization
- Chris Albinson from Panorama Capital and C100 Organization
- David Crow from Startup North
- Roger Chabra, Rho Ventures
- JS Cournoyer, Real Ventures
- Paul Kedrosky
- Dan Martell, Flowtown
- Maria Pacella from GrowthWorks
- Brian Wong of Kiip
n the world of technology startups, waiting times measured in Olympiads will convince applicants to apply for a visa elsewhere." -
Joe Friesen, The Globe & Mail- Tell your friends to endorse the Initiative, if they have not already done so.
- Tweet and blog about the initiative @startupvisaca
- Send your local MP's a message with a link to the site and express your support for Startup Visa Canada
- Follow us on Twitter @startupvisaca and like us on Facebook
Friday, May 13, 2011
The largest gathering of Venture Capital and Private Equity firms is heading out to Vancouver
Posted first on May 12, 2011 by Chris Arsenault for CVCA VCRants Blog
I’ve been an active board member of the CVCA – Canada’s Venture Capital & Private Equity Association – for many years, with somewhat of a focus on helping make the annual main event a unique and uttermost valuable gathering of the minds that define our private capital industry.
I’m predicting that this year’s event will set new groundbreaking records. In fact, I think that this year’s event will break every record we have logged at the CVCA! And why you may ask? Because this year’s event speakers and attendees are made up of the most active and opinionated leaders in our industry.
We have the largest group ever of Limited Partners attending, coming from across North America, Europe and Brazil, which, in turn, is attracting practically every Venture & Private Equity Fund Manager and General Partner in the country.
This year’s Annual conference is being held from May 25-27th in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia, at the Westin Bayshore.
The speaker lineup is amazing and includes:
Leo DeBever, CEO and Chief Investment Officer, Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo)
Barry Gonder, Managing Partner, Grove Street Advisors, LLC
Doug Pearce, CEO and Chief Investment Officer, British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (bcIMC)
Maurício da Rocha Wanderley, CIO, Valia
Sebastien Burdel, Principal, Coller Capital Ltd.
Alan Hibben, Managing Director, Mergers and Acquisitions, RBC Capital Markets
John McCoach, President, TSX Venture Exchange
Andrew Rippy, Managing Director - Investment Banking, Pacific Crest Securities
Blair Cowan, Vice-President, Corporate Finance, CIBC
Vipon Ghai, Managing Director, Manulife Capital
Mark Jenkins, Vice-President and Head of Private Debt, CPP Investment Board
Greg Woynarski, Managing Director and Head of the Global Debt Capital Markets Group and Global Co-Head of Credit Capital Markets Group, Scotia Capital
Chris Arsenault, Managing Partner, iNovia Capital Inc.
Jeff Clavier, Founder and Managing Partner, SoftTechVC
John Ruffolo, Senior Vice-President and Head of Knowledge Investing, OMERS
Boris Wertz, CEO, W Media Ventures
Frank Dennis, President and CEO, Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee Company
Brett Hodson, President and CEO, Corix Group of Companies
Peter Luit, President and CEO, Livingston International
Tim April , Managing Director, Fund Investments, BDC Venture Capital
Jacques Bernier, Managing Partner, Teralys Capital
Jennifer Brooy, Vice President and Head of Equity, Export Development Canada
Melissa McJannet, Managing Director, Northleaf Capital Partners
Todd Tessier, Vice President, BC Renaissance Capital Fund
Stephen Dent, Partner, Birch Hill Equity Partners
Kelly DePonte, Partner, Probitas Partners
Aaron Gershenberg, Managing Partner, SVB Capital
David Henderson, Managing Director , XPV Capital Corporation
Tim Kelly, Partner, Adams Street Partners
Susan Long McAndrews, Partner, Pantheon
Dave Mullen, CEO and Head of Private Equity North America, HSBC Capital (Canada) Inc.
Deanna Brown, CEO, Federated Media Publishing Inc.
Matt Klainer, Business Development Manager , Google
Michael Shim, Vice President, Mobile Partnerships, Groupon
Jim Orlando, Managing Director, OMERS Private Equity
Scott Stedman, Partner, The Yucaipa Companies
Gary Rubinoff, Managing Director, Summerhill Venture Partners
Chris Wormald, Vice President – Strategic Alliances, Research In Motion
Paul Deninger, Senior Managing Director, Evercore Partners
Jennifer Morais , Senior Principal, Funds and Secondaries, CPP Investment Board
Jim Pittman, Vice President, Private Equity, PSP Investments
Rakesh Saraf, Portfolio Manager, Private Investments, Alberta Teachers’ Retirement Fund Board
Lincoln Webb, Vice President, Private Equity & Infrastructure, BC Investment Management Corporation
Miguel Ferreira, Head of International Markets, Tarpon
Tim Formuziewich, Managing Partner, Brookfield Brazil
Miguel Perrotti, President, Invest Tech
Maurício da Rocha Wanderley, CIO, Valia
Duncan Littlejohn, Managing Director for Latin America, Paul Capital Partners
Michael Woolhouse, Senior Principal, Private Investments, CPP Investment Board
Sidney Chameh, Chairman, ABVCAP Founder and Partner, DGF Investimentos
Martin Pose, Partner, TozziniFreire Advogados
David Snow, Founder & CEO, Privcap
Bing Gordon, Partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers
Don Mattrick , President, Interactive Entertainment Business, Microsoft
Neil Young, CEO, Ngmoco
Stephen Todd Walker, Managing Director, Oppenheimer & Co., and Author of ‘Wave Theory for Alternative Investments’
And yes! The rumors were well-founded. Entertainment before the traditional Scotch Tasting Evening on the 26th will be provided by none other than “Great Canadian Entrepreneur and Entertainer Howie Mandel”
HOWIE MANDEL
Howie Mandel, one of the biggest names in comedy, will entertain us after dinner. Howie Mandel has remained a constant force in show business for over 30 years. This summer he embarked on his latest endeavor as a judge on NBC’s hit talent competition series “America’s Got Talent” alongside Sharon Osborne and Piers Morgan. Howie recently received an Emmy nomination for “Outstanding Reality/Competition Host” for “Deal or No Deal” and a Daytime Emmy nomination for “Outstanding Game Show Host” for the syndicated version of the show.
So if you are not registered and are looking for “the place to be” later this month, then LINK TO CONFERENCE WEB SITE, SPEAKER LIST & AGENDA and register today – we are almost sold out!
See you in Vancouver!
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
C100 AccelerateMTL – Bring it On Montreal Tech Entrepreneurs!
The event kicks off at 2:00 pm with “Do More Faster: Techstars Lessons to Accelerate Your Startup”, a keynote and open Q&A session with Brad Feld, co-founder of Techstars and Managing Director of the Foundry Group, investor in Zynga.
Brad will be followed by a panel of leading C100 seed investors and VCs from the US and Canada who will share what they think it takes to get their money and build world class companies from your own backyard.
Not to be missed is the final portion of the program – keynotes from Dave McClure, the Founder of 500 Startups, and Howard Lindzon, Founder of Stocktwits – to be followed by an interactive Q&A with both Dave and Howard.
Come join us to mingle and network with entrepreneurs, VCs and angels who’ve done it and want to support the next generation of great Canadian entrepreneurs.
Note: We will also be announcing the CIX Accelerator winning Montreal Entrepreneur that will be attending the Silicon Valley based Plug and Play Technology Center for three months.
**Doors open at 1:00 pm – come early!**
We also adding the second floor with tables as a business "office hours" area, allowing investors, entrepreneurs and C100 chartered members to hold one-on-one meetings.
For those interested in joining the team for an AccelerateMTL Ski Day click
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Follow up to Steve Blank post: VC’s Are Not Your Friends
“Great VCs do everything they can so that Exceptional Entrepreneurs have the tools they need to build Great Companies”.
After reading Steve Blank's post: VC's are not your friends:
– Steve Blank is a teacher, writer, and serial entrepreneur. He teaches at Stanford University, U.C. Berkeley’s Haas Business School and at Columbia. He is the author of “The Four Steps to the Epiphany” and “Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost”.
It was a good post, but not only the title of the article was mis-leading, the picture chosen to represent the post was just inappropriate. I couldn't resist but provide some additional insight.
I'm a venture capitalist with iNovia Capital yet, I'm first and foremost an entrepreneur. We identify and back Exceptional Entrepreneurs on the premise that the Founder Entrepreneurs are the ones with the passion and vision to get a Company through the real tough times as well as are the ones that are truly able to adapt the business as it becomes needed and can take advantage of the market opportunities that come up over the life of the Company. The Founders don’t need to be the CEO, but, they are the ones we back!
That being said, if, as an investor, I don’t understand the market that is then being addressed, the players, the opportunities and challenges, my intrinsic value as a VC becomes null. Sometimes this happens after the fact, as the company evolves and adjust it's business plan. Like most in my industry, I have limited time and limited capital. Thus, such change becomes a reason to back out. Even thought the entrepreneur is awesome.
Identifying the right investors to work with isn't that different then building a successful management team: you need the right people at the right time in the right position. An Entrepreneur needs the right investors, at the right time providing the right resources.
The message is somewhat confusing in Steve's post – one could easily fall into extrapolated statements, such as: your Employees aren’t your friends; your Customers aren’t your friends; your Suppliers aren’t your friends; your Partners aren’t your friends; and on… even family aren't your friends, right?
Though, I must add that the points Steve makes about what needs to be done to make of a Company a successful one and how VC does play a role is what I think is important in the post.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Supporting an entrepreneurial catalyst – the Canadian Innovation Exchange
I think the Canadian Tech Community is on fire, and even more so in Montreal. The next few years will be of utmost interest. Many elements required to build a solid foundation for Entrepreneurs seeking to not only launch but also to grow their tech business from their home town, are coming together and I think that the Canadian Innovation Exchange (the “CIX) provides one of those elements. Over the last few years, the CIX quickly became a must-attend conference for the principal players in the innovation economy aiming to showcase and accelerate the development of the great technology-based innovation emanating from Canada. And now, CIX can do even more.
The CIX has offered a great platform for tech leaders, entrepreneurs and investors alike, to connect, to share and to build relationships. This conference has not only been extremely successful, it has been very complementary to other innovation and entrepreneurial driven events such as Startup Camp Montreal (SCMTL), the Banff Venture Forum and The Canadian Financing Forum. Being innovative and taking the lead in developing unique opportunities is what entrepreneurship is all about, and I think that the CIX is doing just that.
By taking the lead in celebrating Canadian successes, showcasing the tremendous innovations coming to market and providing Canadian tech entrepreneurs with more than a “must-attend” conference, with the tools to exchange and access information and people throughout the year, the CIX can become a true catalyst for growth. By tying into the top Canadians in the Valley (the C100) in order to build stronger links with the global 500 Tech Companies as well as the top tier Valley VC’s, as well as leveraging the multiple initiatives to attract foreign investment into Canada that the CVCA has initiated, and by forging even stronger links with entrepreneurial events such as SCMTL, A100, Anges Quebec, Réseau Capital and others, I expect the CIX to play a critical role in connecting the dots and help deliver even more value to our community.
It’s an honour for me to have the opportunity to collaborate even more closely, as co-chair, with such a great team and to help make CIX an even more important partner to the tech & VC community. I’m really looking forward to gathering feedback, ideas and support from my colleagues and all of those actively wanting to play a part in building up our tech community here in Montreal and across Quebec.
If you have an idea to share please contact me @chrisarsenault
Here is a link to the full CIX press release posted on nextMontreal.com
Friday, December 31, 2010
Looking forward to 2011!
I have always been somewhat intrigued by the fascination some people have with looking back at a given calendar year. I assume they do so in the hopes that the enumeration of the past year’s achievements and successes (but rarely failures) will bring satisfaction and encouragement that repeats itself in the upcoming year. Experience has shown me that none of my last 19 years as an entrepreneur have ever been even close to resembling one another. I feel that the intensity has constantly increased year over year. I think the rush against time is never-changing, and the odds and the amount of effort required to overcome life challenges are always unique. Of course, at the same time, the stakes seem to keep getting higher. We have been investing in new opportunities driven by exceptional entrepreneurs at a rate of 8 deals per year since Fund II (launched in 2007). Over 60% of our deals have been in very early or pre-revenue companies. All of our investments were done in sectors we understand. We have invested in entrepreneurs that we believe in and in large and growing markets that fit our IT cluster strategy (Mobile Internet and Ecommerce, Enterprise SAAS and Cloud-Computing, Digital Media and Communications). Our management’s focused expertise has allowed us to better identify fast growing companies for which we can provide specific insights, and attract complementary skill sets and managerial experience. As a result, many of our investments are either rapidly growing revenue and/or are growing exponentially in their markets. We know that there is nothing easy about building a successful tech company these days. I can only applaud the founders and CEOs that we’ve been privileged enough to work closely with for their constant efforts and energy in making the impossible a reality. Hard work? Yes - and a lot of it! But, most importantly, these entrepreneurs have repeatedly proven that by focusing their energy on the elements of their business they do control, they can learn faster, adjust quicker and gain market validation at much lower cost than anybody else. We have lost 3 of our portfolio companies as a result of not controlling these factors. With all of what we have gone through over that last 12 months (our re-enforced management team, a rapid portfolio growth, M&A analysis, missed opportunities, liquidations, course-corrections, market changes, unique new investments and high quality deal syndication), I can only be ecstatic when thinking of the work load, challenges and opportunities staring at us right in the eye for 2011. However, when I come to think of it, I’m not a big fan of New Year Resolutions either (especially since I’ve listed so many in my past that I was never able to respect). I think we should stick to doing what “feels right”, and what drives our deep passion to succeed. I personally put a lot of effort in doing so. I think that what it boils down to is: “Doing more of what one is amazing at, and doing less of what one is mediocre at.” That simple rule makes me a better person, our team stronger and more cohesive, and our fund a great resource for exceptional entrepreneurs who are looking for a helping hand in building great tech companies. I'm totally psyched, curious, excited and anxious when thinking of what awaits us in 2011: raising a new fund, working with some of the most amazing entrepreneurs on the planet, building up our current portfolio of companies, identifying new opportunities and establishing long lasting relationships… in our own way, helping change the world for a better place! I’m looking forward to what lays ahead…Happy New Year!
Friday, December 17, 2010
A brave new world: Amid the recent industry turmoil a rash of new VC players have emerged in Canada
This post was originally written for the Private Capital Privé winter 2010 edition of the printed magazine. And was Curated for nextMontreal on November 22, 2010. No point in letting a good crisis go to waste. Opportunity emerges during times of market challenge. At the tail end of perhaps the toughest decade that the global – and Canadian – venture capital industry has endured, a flurry of new fund managers has hit the fundraising trail in Canada and successfully raised first-time funds. It takes guts, and patience, to launch a new venture at times like these. You may have heard that the venture industry in Canada has been declining for years, that LPs are ‘pruning’ managers rather than adding new ones, and that raising a new fund is nothing short of a suicide mission. Nonetheless, you can’t say that entrepreneurial spirit and guts are not alive and well in the Canadian venture capital industry. Compelling market opportunities, good teams, and perseverance in a difficult fundraising environment is paying off for a new generation of emerging VC managers in Canada. In more than one way, we are witnessing the re-birth of the Canadian venture capital industry. Canada has always been, and continues to be, a venture market that is dramatically underserved by capital, and so there is plenty of room for new entrants – indigenous, entrepreneurial and from outside our borders. Over the last year, against all odds, a new generation of emerging “entrepreneurial investors” teamed up around specific domains and market segments, built strong teams the same way a startup builds an A-team, and launched into a world of opportunities and chaos. Impressive accomplishments on the fundraising trail by upstart GPs has created a dramatically changed landscape in Canadian venture capital. Not to belittle the effort, it should be pointed out that some of these debut funds were on the money raising trail for a few years. And now we have a whole new crop of opportunities being pursued, by a whole new crop of new venture investors. Global digital media funds, global water business funds, expansion capital where none existed before in Canada, to name a few. Capital: $100M first closing First Close: May 2010 Partner Locations: Vancouver and Shanghai Investment Focus: Digital media Sources of Capital: Numerous Canadian and foreign institutional, corporate and private LPs. Team: Paul Lee is the former president of Electronic Arts responsible for the worldwide studios, as well as an active and successful angel investor. Glenn Entis is the former chief visual and technical officer of Electronic Arts and former CEO of Dreamworks Interactive. Divesh Sisodraker is the former CFO of Taleo Corporation, former CEO of Pivotal Corporation and former finance head at ALI Technologies (McKesson). Jason Chein is former general manager of EA China and former Asia developer relations with Microsoft’s Xbox group. Capital: $100M+ First Close: February 2010 Partner Locations: Toronto Investment Focus: Water technologies and water-related businesses Sources of Capital: Canadian and International institutions. Team: XPV’s team is a marriage of investment expertise, sector knowledge and deep industry operating experience. “Tenacity, focus and an enormous team effort has positioned XPV to capitalize on the growing investment opportunities now present in the water sector,” said David Henderson. Capital: $50M+, first closing First Close: July 2010 Partner Locations: Toronto Investment Focus: Growth equity firm investing in expansion and later-stage enterprise software and information aggregation companies. Sources of Capital: Institutional investors form Canada and the U.S. Team: Georgian Partners Justin LaFayette, Simon Chong and John Berton; all have hands-on experience in operating and managing expansion stage technology ventures. Capital: $300M first close First Close: November 2009 Partner Locations: Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver Investment Focus: Later-stage Canadian technology companies Sources of Capital: Anchored by commitments from BDC, EDC and Teralys, which sponsored the formation of Tandem in collaboration with two of Canada’s best- known business leaders. Team: Tandem’s managing partners – David Bookbinder, Andre Gauthier, Christopher Legg and Alex Moorhead – all have significant investment and entrepreneurial experience domestically and internationally. “Tandem is the only Canadian based growth equity fund, this give us a unique advantage in both sourcing and working closely with our portfolio companies,” said Christopher Legg. Capital: $20M First Close: March 2010 Partner Locations: Toronto Focus: Invest in domain expert entrepreneurs who are building early stage mobile and Internet software companies, surrounding them with an ecosystem of experienced operators to get their ideas from conception to market. Sources of Capital: A family owned commercial and residential real estate developer Team: The main investment partners are Robin Axon and Duncan Hill. Robin is ex-Ventures West and Duncan was an EiR at Ventures West and previously founded Think Dynamics (acquired by IBM back in 2003). “At MantellaVP we believe strongly in maintaining alignment between founders and investors. We work shoulder to shoulder with entrepreneurs to build their business, and provide the right capital at the right time. This ensures that at all stages of the company’s evolution, a good outcome for the founders is a good outcome for everyone,” said Duncan Hill. Capital: $50M initial closing First Close: October 2010 Partner Locations: Montreal Investment Focus: Seed stage venture capital firm investing in Internet, software, mobile, digital media, social and casual gaming startups. Sources of Capital: Invest Quebec, Fonds FTQ and private LPs Team: John Stokes, JS Cournoyer, Alan MacIntosh, Mark MacLeod, Austin Hill and Daniel Drouet, who have all been entrepreneurs, angels and/or VCs. “The Web and mobile web are creating major disruption, incumbents are being challenged and new markets being created. The productizing and commercialization of ideas can be done with significantly less capital and as innovation is becoming harder to realize internally, established companies are using acquisitions to fuel revenue growth…what a great time to be starting a business … or a venture fund!” said John Stokes. Capital: undisclosed First Close: Started investing in November 2007 Partner Locations: Vancouver Investment Focus: Consumer Internet, social media, online commerce Sources of Capital: personal investment fund of sole partner, Boris Wertz W Media has completed over 20 investments to date, with a majority done in the Pacific Northwest. WMedia also has a unique connection with Vancouver based Bootup Labs. Incubators 2.0 (aka “Accelerators”): In the late 1990s, the first wave of private incubators arrived on the scene in Canada, emulating the models of their U.S. counterparts. A few short years later, precipitated by the technology and equity market implosion, this part of the Canadian venture and startup eco-system entered extinction. Various government programs attempted to fill some of the gaps in providing services (but usually not capital) to the new generation of post-bubble era technology startups. Now, nearly a decade later, with an explosion of new startup activity in Canada’s major technology clusters in Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto, a new wave of entrepreneurially driven accelerators – such as Montreal StartUp, Vancouver’s Bootup Labs, Ontario’s BaseCamp (Mantella-related), Extreme Ventures NeoTech, Bolidea and newly-launched Year One Labs – are taking the Canadian startup landscape by storm. Newcomers such as these are helping build a more savvy roster of entrepreneurs eager to attract follow-on financing from VCs. Some are already generating exits before VCs have an opportunity to get a seat at the table; witness Extreme’s two visible exits, one to Google and the other to Electronic Arts, within its first few years in operation. All provide hands-on support at every stage of a company’s creation and growth – from business development and marketing to financing and team development – to help facilitate early market traction. Oh yeah, and some also have cash, which, not surprisingly, still matters an awful lot to most startups, even if the amounts they need are smaller. Silicon Valley comes calling: Not alone in their optimism for the Canadian investment landscape, the new crop of Canadian venture capital players are also joined by a number of new entrants from the Silicon Valley who are exhibiting keen interest in the Canada. In each case, there is knowledge of the Canadian market opportunity owing to one or more partners having roots in Canada. Altos Ventures, Bridgescale Ventures and Panorama Capital – all Sandhill Road firms – have made investments in Canadian companies during 2010. All three firms focus on expansion-stage venture financing, while making selective earlier-stage investments on occasion. The deals being done by these Valley funds split quite evenly between Western Canada and central Canada. What is most striking is the visibly increasing commitment of partner time to the Canadian market. In the case of Bridgescale, two Canadian-based partners have been added, both in Toronto, including the October 2010 announcement that Derek Smyth – the final partner remaining at now defunct Edgestone Venture Capital – was joining the Bridgescale team. Bridgescale is the first Silicon Valley firm to locate partners in Canada. A betting man might wager that they won’t be the last. This fall, Silicon Valley’s technology accelerator on steroids, Plug and Play Tech Center, announced expansion plans into Canada. CEO Saeed Amidi made the announcement at a private gathering in Vancouver (where he also happens to have a second home), stating a keen personal interest in “strengthening and leveraging the bridge between Canada’s technology sector and Plug and Play’s industry and venture capital network in the Valley.” Virtually every major technology company in the acquisition game, and a list of venture capital funds that appears only in the wildest dreams of most Canadian entrepreneurs, is partnered in some way with Plug and Play in Sunnyvale, California. Plug and Play plans to set up shop in Vancouver in 2011 and its venture arm Amidzad Ventures, which has seed funded dozens of Valley startups including major players such as PayPal, comes along with the deal. Canada goes calling in China. Russia comes calling in Canada: With only a few short years into a landmark fund structure involving a major corporate capital commitment from Research In Motion, alongside commitments from U.S. and Canadian institutional LPs, the Black Berry fund managers – a new partnership between JLA Ventures and RBC Capital – announced the first closing of a new Blackberry Partners China Fund. With $100M+ in initial commitments, this vintage 2010 fund represents a first in Canadian venture capital – a Canadian venture fund manager successfully establishing an international fund. Interestingly, VanEdge Capital, which closed during the same month as Blackberry China, also has designs on Asia, and one of its initial three partners is based in Shanghai. Previous attempts to establish funds with an Asian focus, including efforts over the past decade by private independent managers such as McLean Watson and even the Canadian government’s own BDC Venture Capital, have not taken flight. More evidence of the growing international presence of Canadian venture capital is found in the Russian-Canadian partnership led by Rusnano, who has recently announced plans to partner with John Varghese, CEO and managing partner of Canadian venture fund manager VentureLink. Varghese plans on assembling a new nano-technology focused fund that will pursue investments from a Canadian base. Is this a sign? A new direction for Venture Capital? A new Canadian reality? The Fund will invest in Canadian companies that have the potential for global expansion. The wrinkle or added benefit of the partnership with Rusnano is that each investment will have a corporate sponsor in Russia prior to the first investment being made. Thus the go-to market strategy of each company will be established with a customer that can be referenced, facilitating global expansion. Can we say procurement assistance? Domain expertise, cross-border partnerships, a growing network of valuable industry and private capital relationships, value-added support, seed acceleration facilities and teams: these are all trends gripping Canadian venture capital. A brave new world – with brave new leaders – is evolving, and fast. Co-written by Chris Arsenault and Steve Hnatiuk NOTE: this post was originally written for the Private Capital Privé winter 2010 edition of the printed magazine. And was Curated for nextMontreal.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Respect for C100 Knockout Entrepreneurs!
After attending “Knockout Entrepreneurs! Venture Capitalists Boxing For a Cause“, the first word that comes to mind is simply: RESPECT. I mean, you have to respect these entrepreneurs for being REAL entrepreneurs! It’s not just about taking such risk in front of their friends, family and industry colleagues; It’s about putting on a great boxing match, showing commitment to a venture, demonstrating their passion for a cause, having the ambition to succeed, taking risks beyond their comfort zones and for at long last hearing that final bell with their heads held high. I (alongside all of the other 160 attendees) was ridiculously impressed after witnessing such a well executed 6 rounds of boxing. After 150 hours of training, François-Charles “The Sniper” Sirois, walked into the ring for the first time ever as an underdog. Like most champions, he was confident of heart, body and mind. Sauntering into the arena with the sounds of “Eye of the Tiger” mixed with “I Gotta Feeling”, Sirois showed some out-of-the-box and energetic thinking that defines him. Unknowingly blessed by a famed (and perhaps genetic) “there is no way I’m going to lose” attitude, the Sniper gave 100% of what he knew he could give, plus an additional 100% of energy, creativity and effort he didn’t even realize he had prior to stepping into the ring. In contrast to France-Charles’ inexperience was Jacques “TNT” Bernier. Jacques walked into the boxing ring with an experienced entourage of purple-clad past champions with a look of complete determination and focus on his face. With AC/DC TNT blasting in the background, I can honestly say that for a moment, when I looked into Bernier’s eyes and grasped his level of concentration, my thoughts turned to: “Oh my, I hope neither one of them get badly hurt”. Jacques was “In the Zone!” Older? Yes. More experienced? Oh yes. In shape? Not as much as François-Charles – but it didn’t matter. TNT didn’t dance around the ring as much as the Sniper did, but his forceful experience and knowledge of when to push at the right moment and time paved the way to a triumphant victory after 6 rounds of top-quality prize-fighting. Checkout the short Video of round 5 The two fine combatants raised almost $40,000 for two very important causes:Fondation Sainte-Justine and Centre of Excellence for Cellular Therapy of Hôpital Mainsonneuve-Rosemont. Luckily, no one was badly hurt, although I do think François-Charles walked out with a broken rib. It was a true sign that he and his opponent gave us all they had. This was their first match, but also their last match! Great entrepreneurs come in different styles, types and personalities. But they all share similar quality traits. Entrepreneurs: By taking up this crazy yet unique challenge, Jacques & Francois-Charles showed us what truly great entrepreneurs they are. Congratulations!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Knockout Entrepreneurs! Canadian GP & LP put-on the Gloves for a great cause on Nov. 18th
By Chris Arsenault, iNovia Capital
Posted on October 28th for nextMontreal.com
Do you remember the last time you got into a heated argument that culminated with your adversary laying down the proverbial gauntlet by issuing those infamous three words – “I dare you!”? Then, without even a shadow of a doubt and before you can even comprehend the seriousness of the situation, you responded with a testosterone-tinged “Sure, I’ll do it – name the time and place!” More often than not, the consequences of such actions end up being 
Now, to be honest, I’ve given more than my share of cocky replies over the last 20 years in the business. That being said, I can also say none of my “quick replies” ever landed me in a prize-fighting ring versus a trained boxer who also happens to be Canada’s largest VC and PE fund investor!
Yes, ladies and gentleman; Jacques Bernier, Managing Partner at Teralys Capital, has dared the VC community to face him in the ring. He wants to go at it, one-on-one and show what he’s made up of.
Personally, stepping into a ring is already something I consider a little crazy. Furthermore, to go out and face one of my future potential investors on a boxing ring is almost suicidal. It’s definitely a lose-lose proposition...Or is it?
François-Charles Sirois, a dynamic young entrepreneur (and also President of Telesystem - one of Canada’s most active entrepreneurial investor through its numerous funds), heard the calling in October 2009. When Jacques threw out his “I dare you” in a friendly meeting, François-Charles rapidly evaluated the odds of winning or losing, the time he needed to train, the muscle-mass he needed to gain to face Jacques, identified Jacques’ main weaknesses, calculated the difference in age and speed, and rapidly (because all of this happened within a micro-second) answered back: “Sure, I’ll fight you. Give me a year to prepare. Oh, and by the way, I care tremendously for a specific foundation that gives support for kids and want to give 100% of my winnings to the Fondation Sainte-Justine.” “My winnings” – talk about a bold statement! Jacques quickly replied: “Perfect - but to be clear, my winnings will go to the Centre of Excellence for Cellular Therapy of Hôpital Mainsonneuve-Rosemont, which is a cause close to my heart”.
Definitely, François-Charles is walking into this adventure with but one objective in mind - to win! While Jacques already knows he has won!
Being a Montrealer and having had the opportunity to be friends with both Jacques & François-Charles, I had the pleasure of hearing, discussing and sharing allot of the buzz this “I dare you” challenge has generated since last year. These guys are knockout entrepreneurs!
In the left corner, wearing purple shorts, you have Jacques Bernier; A self-made entrepreneur with an amazing amount of energy, vision and execution skills. In addition to have been an amazing athlete (race car driver and as a boxer) he is an avid cycler. Jacques usually doesn’t hold any punches, and gets things done once he puts his mind to it. The Billion dollar Teralys Capital fund of funds was his making, hardly a small feat.
In the right corner, wearing red shorts, you have François-Charles Sirois, a younger entrepreneur with nothing less than hundreds of millions under management. Telesystem has direct ownership in a series of companies (Stingray, Plexo, Zone 3…), VC funds under management (ID Capital, Propulsion…) and other funds co-managed (Tandem, Enablis…). Telesystem has been an important player in the Telecom arena and in the Venture Capital industry in Canada and elsewhere in the world. Yet, in a nutshell, Telesystem is about Entrepreneurs. And François-Charles, a solid entrepreneur who fears nothing but himself, makes calculated risks and takes bold moves. I’ve witnessed (and in some cases actively participated with) him launching new businesses and converting wild ideas into sustainable companies. He has the drive and the guts to go for Gold, nothing less.
So on November 18th, after a year of intense training, practice, and preparation, the challenge will be answered via a friendly boxing match organized by Christian Zabbal, Pascal Tremblay, Jacques Bernier and François-Charles Sirois.
This is an “Invitation-Only Event” and all proceeds from this event will support both St-Justine and the Centre of Excellence for Cellular Therapy of Hôpital Mainsonneuve-Rosemont. Because it is a private event, and constraints of the room, only a limited number of guests will have the opportunity of attending this memorable match.
This is going to be a knockout event! And I’ll be there to take the shots (picture-shots that is!).
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
The C100 is Changing the Pace of Development for VC-backed Canadian Tech Entrepreneurs
This article was first posted on August 10, 2010 for nextMontreal.com - The source for news & opinion
on technology and startups in Montreal
I first heard about C100 in September 2009. Chris Albinson was just paving the way for the organization, and it’s very quickly become one of the most influential Canadian Tech Entrepreneur Associations around. Comprised of a passionate group of primarily Silicon Valley-based Canadians, the C100 aims to foster relationships that will lay the groundwork for future Canadian success stories at the highest echelons of the technology industry.
So why so much hype around the C100?
For starters, this young organization has demonstrated quantifiable results and has awakened hundreds of Canadian technology entrepreneurs to a new dimension – one where Canadians are helping fellow Canadians succeed. In order to achieve such success, a C100er doesn’t just lend his or her name to setup a meeting in the Valley or provide funding to a talented entrepreneur; rather, he or she provides a “Path to Success”. The package provided by C100ers to young, dynamic and talented Canadian entrepreneurs includes access to role models, coaching & mentoring sessions, networking events, financial capital and a healthy dose of inspiration. “There is a bigger story here than just providing introductions or capital”, said Anthony Lee, a General Partner at Altos Ventures who co-founded the C100 alongside Chris Albinson (Managing Partner at Panorama Capital). “This is a non-for profit, we have no permanent staff, no one is being paid to do this, everybody is a volunteer and cares about giving back to Canada”.
With over 300,000 Canadians now working in Northern California (almost 1% of the Canadian population!), the C100 aims to attract those Canadians at a stage of their lives where they want to give back to their homeland in a truly unique way. “C100 Charter Members include top executives from technology giants such as Apple, Cisco, Electronic Arts, eBay, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Oracle, plus a terrific group of start-up CEOs, and some of the most active venture capital investors in both Canada and the US”, said Anthony. The C100 already has over 500 General Members, with 70 Charter Members, including a few Montrealers, such as executives from Google, Microsoft, Ubisoft and from a select few venture firms like iNovia Capital and Founders Fuel. But we need more reach into C100 from our local Montreal and Quebec expatriates. As Chris Albinson puts it so well: “We should not worry about Brain Drain but Brain Flow. It’s about time Canadians come out of stealth mode and start showing what we do.”
With a few exceptions, this is the profile of a C100 Charter Member today:
· Canadian and Silicon Valley based;
· Senior Executive (VP or C-Level) within a successful tech company, Founder or CEO role at a start-up or as a Partner with a VC Fund;
· Has the ability and resources to provide coaching, mentoring and introductions to aspiring Canadian entrepreneurs;
· Fully committed to participating in the process and supporting developments in the lifecycle of a start-up;
· Passionate about Canada and driven by the opportunity to do more for their country and compatriots;
· Wants to give back!
Since its inception, the C100 Organizing Committee has already helped kickstart a new era in Canadian entrepreneurship. Beyond delivering on membership goals, the organization has hosted over a dozen networking events in major cities across North America (including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Menlo Park, Vancouver and Ottawa). The inaugural 48Hrs in the Valley mentoring event was also a tremendous success, hosting 20 top Canadian tech startup entrepreneurs for a two day session in the midst of the world’s technology headquarters. To build on the momentum of these events, the group has also continued to hold quarterly mentoring sessions via Cisco Telepresence to provide additional support to eager entrepreneurs.
Check out the upcoming 48Hrs in the Valley scheduled to be held on October 27-28th in Menlo Park. Let me know by email if, as a Canadian Entrepreneur, you want to apply and participate.
Commitment, Mentorship and Coaching:
§ Held its first “48Hrs hours in the Valley by hosting 20 top Canadian entrepreneurs;
§ The next 48Hrs in the Valley will be held on October 27-28th;
§ Held 5 Mentoring sessions via Cisco-Telepresence;
§ Ongoing Quarterly Mentoring Cisco-Telepresence Sessions;
Canadian tech leadership awareness in the Valley:
§ DFAIT series of Entrepreneur Bootcamps;
§ Major Networking events in the Valley and major Canadian cities;
Cross border deal making (VC funded Canadian tech Companies):
§ Calgary based Tynt, Toronto based Kontagent, Montreal based Beyond the Rack,
§ Edmonton based Immunet, Toronto based Dayforce, Montreal based Vantrix, to name but a few Tech startups that raise over $40M this year;
§ And, Toronto based Bumptop acquisition by Google was also co-funded by two C100ers.
Like it or not, the growth of Canadian tech startups is still heavily dependent on their ability to effectively access the US market (notably Silicon Valley). Already we at iNovia have worked on 5 different Canadian tech startup opportuities with C100 members, one which turned into an investment in Tynt and another one in Fixmo. Not a bad start! The key value-add a C100 investor brings any Canadian startup is access and personal relationships with some of the leading tech companies based in the Valley.
I think that the passion and drive behind the C100 marks an important change for Canada and the Canadian Tech Community. Not only is it time that we realize we are already leaders within the global economy, but by regrouping and providing a forum to learn from each other, we are poised to play our most important role yet in the ever changing landscape of Communications, Digital Media, Enterprise Software and the real-time Internet.
Given the tremendous traction that the group has already gained, it’s hard to believe that the C100 is only a few months old! If you haven’t yet had a one-on-one conversation with a C100 Member, don’t miss the opportunity to meet up at the Vancouver GROW conference on August 19-20th, at the Quebec city conference on October 25-26th or through one of the many mentoring, coaching and networking events. You’ll find all the details athttp://www.theC100.org. And follow The C100 on Twitter.
If your ambitions meet those of the C100, then I welcome you to join now and come make a difference. It’s awesome to see Montrealers participate as Charter Members, the General Membership, as well as some of the key C100 Sponsor Members. Yet, we can pull our weight even more and play a critical role in building out our own ecosystem by reaching into the Valley and connecting our Entrepreneurs with enhanced access to capital, mentoring, knowledge, customer relationships and most importantly inspiration.
Your comments and involvement is more than welcomed!
This post was first written up for the nextMontreal.com - The source for news & opinion
on technology and startups in Montreal
