By Mike Woollatt CEO, Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association What’s on the Horizon? Many of our members are wondering where the Government is at with the next Venture Capital Action Plan (VCAP 2.0). First off, I am willing to bet the Liberal Government certainly won’t be calling anything “Action Plan” anytime soon. Names
The first three months of 2016 was undoubtedly a hot quarter for venture capital activity in Canada – we saw a total of $838 million VC deals, with numbers nearly doubling VC activity in the same period of 2015. We’re nearing the close of Q2 and we thought we’d reflect back on the VC activity
*Article originally published in May 2016 edition of Private Capital Magazine By Whitney Rockley Co-founder and Managing Partner, McRock Capital Disrupt or Be Disrupted. In the ever-accelerating world of technological advancement, this statement is not just a clever tweet, it’s a sober competitive reality. We live in a world where every company, industry, city and
Northleaf Capital Partners is pleased to announce that Travis Isbister has joined the firm as an Associate on the Infrastructure team. Travis will be based in the Toronto, Canada office and will participate in all aspects of Northleaf’s infrastructure investment activities, with a primary focus on market research, transaction due diligence, execution and asset management.
Article originally published in May 2016 edition of Private Capital Magazine By Senia Rapisarda Principal, HarbourVest When I first arrived in Canada six years ago, the term venture capital was almost inevitably met with both a mix of scorn and sympathy. I was often presented with horror stories about the dismal returns for institutional investors (resulting
Article originally published in May 2016 edition of Private Capital Magazine By Kirk Simpson Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Wave Reflecting back on the early days of Wave in 2010, I’m amazed at how much has changed in the tech landscape — all within a short six years. Firstly, while raising capital is never easy,
Mark Machin, President & CEO of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has announced the following appointments: Alain Carrier has been appointed Senior Managing Director, Head of International and has joined the CPPIB’s Senior Management Team. Previously, Alain was Managing Director, Head of Europe for CPPIB. In this role, Alain will be responsible for CPPIB’s
Article Originally Published in May 2016 edition of Private Capital Magazine By Peter Misek Partner, BDC Capital IT Venture Fund Canada’s financial institutions have enjoyed an enviable track record, especially when you consider their record in the financial crisis of 2008. Even way back in 2002, we led the world in electronic banking, payments and
There’s no doubt that PE and VC firms are well aware of the various risk factors that come to light when making an investment in a company. Company founders and owners are constantly on the lookout for ways they can limit their risk in an investment while ensuring they receive proper growth capital needed to
Article originally published in May 2016 edition of Private Capital Magazine By Imran Ahmad Partner, Cybersecurity Practice, Miller Thomson LLP Imagine the following scenario: A Waterloo-based company is developing an innovative technology that integrates artificial intelligence into the aerospace manufacturing process. A private equity firm, seeing a great opportunity to invest in a technology that
