Deep down, I am a product marketer. I have focused on the design and implementation of complex systems involving humans and technology. I was curious at how projects/products were funded, internally at a companies, particularly when so many projects failed to resonate with customers and drive growth. This grew to a desire to better understand how new companies, the ones that don’t make sense yet, get funded and why.
My practice is focused on coaching and educating founders about the expectations of “venture” investors. This is focused on establishing a plan, setting targets and milestones, and adapting to feedback from potential customers, customers, and investors. I focus on helping teams understand why investors need growth, what that means for their milestones and plans. And to understand why money without an ambitious but achievable plan (that won’t come true), is the disconnect. This includes working with pre-seed, seed, series A startups at Eigenspace, CDL Atlantic, Propel ICT, Volta Cohort, MaRS, Velocity, and others.
In a previously life, I worked at OMERS Ventures focused on community and deal sourcing. My goal was to connect the founders of emerging technology companies and those that invest in emerging companies. My belief is that by increasing the number of connections and the number of interactions we improve the health and strength of our ecosystem. Which results in better connected founders, and better outcomes for everyone.
I have held product, marketing/growth and venture capital roles at startups and larger companies including Influitive, Reactivity (acquired by Cisco) and Microsoft. I am a graduate of the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Waterloo.
I am a heart attack survivor 💔. I was lucky enough be close to the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre at Toronto General Hospital, And I am grateful to the Heart & Stroke Foundations for advances in medical research, patient care, heart disease prevention and awareness in Ontario and beyond. I love to ski, maybe a little too much. My quiver of skis is always n+1. (If you’re curious there are 4 active pairs of skis and 7 total in the quiver). And I hope I am raising my daughters to respect the mountains and love the skiing. Even right now I'd prefer to be in the trees, or the bumps, but definitely on the snow (but not in a tree well 🌲) .