Just after backing 9 startups by means of first fund, Pender Ventures hopes to raise $100 million CAD for Fund II.
Isaac Souweine has still left Real Ventures and joined Pender Ventures as a companion to support the Vancouver-primarily based venture money (VC) group’s expansion into Jap Canada.
Throughout his practically six several years at Montréal-based mostly VC agency Serious Ventures, Souweine invested in around 30 early-stage startups, which include Spark Microsystems, Botpress, Nomic Bio, Nord Quantique, Valence Discovery, and My Intelligent Devices. He also spent some time managing the FounderFuel accelerator as typical manager.
“We needed to make out that bench power throughout the region.”
Prior to becoming a member of Actual Ventures in 2016—first as entrepreneur-in-residence and then as a partner—Souweine worked at Sonder (then Flatbook) as VP of item, and Frank & Oak as director of item administration.
In an job interview with BetaKit, Pender Ventures Controlling Spouse Maria Pacella reported the VC agency was attracted to Souweine’s expertise serving early-stage providers and operating as a products supervisor. Pacella also cited Souweine’s function setting up and connections within just the Montréal tech ecosystem, which she described as “crucial to dealflow” for Pender Ventures.
Following concentrating primarily on British Columbia and Western Canada with Fund I, Pender Ventures plans to broaden its existence in other components of Canada through its 2nd fund.
“We preferred to develop out that bench power throughout the state, in Ontario [and] Québec in distinct,” claimed Pacella, introducing that Pender Ventures plans to convey on another workforce member in the in close proximity to upcoming to help this tactic, but declined to share further facts.
Souweine, who left Authentic Ventures previously this month to be part of Pender Ventures, hopes to assist aid this expansion. In an interview with BetaKit, Souweine reported that his choice to go away Authentic Ventures and sign up for Pender Ventures was about “growth and private growth.” He will stay based mostly in Montréal.
Relevant: As founding associates step again, a new Authentic Ventures prepares to raise its subsequent fund
“Real [Ventures], I mean, it is just an remarkable spot,” stated Souweine. “I have only very good points to say about Genuine Ventures. I figured out a ton, liked the men and women, beloved the mission. But soon after six years—no subject what you are doing—the mastering curve type of decreases a little bit.”
Launched in 2007, Serious Ventures is one of the most active early-phase VC corporations in Canada.
A concentrate on Québec has long been integral to Real Ventures’ seed stage-centered financial commitment thesis.
Souweine’s departure from Authentic Ventures is the newest in a collection of personnel changes to True Ventures’ expenditure crew that have taken spot because 2020. In excess of the previous two and fifty percent decades, True Ventures founding associates Alan MacIntosh and JS Cournoyer have transitioned to board spouse roles, Janet Bannister was named running partner, Hamzah Nassif joined as the firm’s second Toronto associate, and previous enterprise partner Sylvain Carle still left the company.
For his section, Souweine expressed excitement about the chance to faucet into his Québec community even though also increasing his concentrate to address Jap Canada a lot more broadly, and devote more at the Series A stage with Pender Ventures.
Relevant: PenderFund Cash launches new tech-focused undertaking team, closes $25 million fund
“When I satisfied the team—in particular Maria and [principal] Kenndal [McArdle]—they’re strong men and women who know their stuff, they hustle, they have a vision for what the agency is heading to be,” reported Souweine. “It’s a business which is on the way up.”
Released in 2019 with a $25 million CAD very first fund, Pender Ventures is the personal engineering VC arm of Vancouver-primarily based general public and private asset supervisor PenderFund Capital Administration. Pender Ventures focuses on B2B organization and healthtech startups at what Pacella describes as the “inflection stage.” This typically equates to the Collection A degree, and includes corporations with merchandise-market fit and early shoppers producing revenue about amongst $1 million and $3 million.
Souweine explained his choice to depart Authentic and join Pender was about “growth and personal advancement.”
“Pender Ventures is a minor bit more concentrated on fundamentals and searching for price, and companies that have type of achieved product-marketplace suit and have crystal clear paths to profitability, which is a whole lot unique than Real’s approach—I’ll contact it probably kind of ‘momentum-based’ investing,” stated Souweine.
To date, Pender Ventures has amassed a portfolio of nine firms that includes Edmonton-primarily based drug facts provider DrugBank, Toronto wound care management startup Swift Clinical, Vancouver-based clinic management application firm Jane, Winnipeg collaboration program firm Librestream, Vancouver-primarily based real estate tech startup Spark, and Vancouver company analytics computer software supplier Copperleaf, which went public last yr and at this time trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Now, Pender Ventures is completed generating new investments out of Fund I, and is in the system of boosting its next fund. Pacella mentioned Pender Ventures has set a target of $100 million CAD for Fund II, and expects its initially near to occur this drop.
Feature image courtesy Isaac Souweine.