​​🚀 AI is reshaping how we build, scale, and invest. What does that mean for founders, operators, and investors?

​​Join StandUp Ventures & TechTO for a dynamic morning of panels, breakfast, and candid discussions featuring women leaders in tech, AI, and venture capital.

​​This event will bring together 150+ founders, investors, and operators to explore:
✅ How AI is transforming leadership & decision-making at high-growth startups
✅ The new rules for building in an AI-native world
✅ How VCs are rethinking capital efficiency, moats & risk in AI investing

​Agenda

​​9:00–9:25 AM | Networking Breakfast

​​9:25–9:35 AM | Welcome & Opening Remarks

​​9:35–10:05 AM | The Unfiltered Journey – Later-Stage Founders Panel

Raw, real conversations beyond the glossy headlines—highlighting success, failures, pivots, and leadership lessons including leading through these recent times from Founders who have reached that next level.

​10:05-10:35 AM | Founder Panel: Building in an AI-Native World

​​AI is rewriting the rules for how companies are built—faster development, leaner teams, and new capital efficiency dynamics. But is it really that simple?

​10:35–11:05 AM | VC Partner Panel: How Venture is Evolving in Real Time

​​Hear from 4 founding partners at VC funds on how AI is reshaping venture capital—new theses, founder expectations, and portfolio strategy shifts.

​11:05–11:30 AM | Closing Fireside with Mantle and Transformer Lab

​​11:30–1:35 AM | Closing Remark

​​11:35 AM–12 PM | Continue Networking and End of the Event

​🌟 Additional Highlights:

​​📢 Women-Owned CPG Showcase – Featuring innovative products from female-founded consumer brands
🤝 Networking with 150+ founders, investors & tech leaders
💬 Women Founders Office Hours – 1:1 investor meetings for women founders (apply via event page)
🎟 Limited spots available! Secure your ticket today.
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​Featured Speakers

​Shelby Austin, CEO & Founder at Arteria AI. Arteria AI, under the leadership of CEO and Co-Founder Shelby Austin, has secured a total of $50M USD in funding. Their $30M USD Series B round in October 2023 was led by GGV Capital U.S., with participation from Illuminate Financial, Information Venture Partners, BDC Capital, and Citi.

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​Candice Faktor, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Disco, the AI-first learning platform that helps organizations build, operate, and scale modern academies. By combining AI-powered course design, personalized learning, and automated operations, Disco makes it radically easier to create and run engaging learning experiences—whether for customer education, professional training, or internal upskilling.

A serial entrepreneur and former GM at Wattpad, Candice is revolutionizing online education for the world's leading organizations. Under her leadership, Disco has raised $20M USD from investors including GSV Ventures, Quiet Capital, Inovia Capital, Golden Ventures, and StandUp Ventures

​Mallorie Brodie is the CEO and Founder of Bridgit, a construction technology company transforming how contractors manage projects and resources. Bridgit has raised over $43 million from investors including Camber Creek, Storm Ventures, and BDC Capital.

​Annie Luchsinger is the Founding Partner of Breakers, a Seattle-based venture capital fund backing early-stage software and consumer internet startups across North America. Previously, she was an investor at Anthos Capital, where she helped launch its Seattle office. Annie also co-founded Grace, an end-of-life startup, giving her firsthand entrepreneurial experience. A University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate in Retailing and Entrepreneurship, Annie champions diverse, outlier founders beyond traditional tech hubs. She’s part of Recast Accelerate’s inaugural cohort, a program supporting women and non-binary fund managers.

​Jamie is Partner of Golden Ventures, he works closely with portfolio founders, entrepreneurs, accelerators, incubators, and the broader startup community, to help find, fund and build exceptional companies.

​Jamie began his career in corporate development at O’Leary Ventures, a private early-stage investment company owned and chaired by Kevin O’Leary. He then joined Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP where he practiced corporate law with a focus on M&A and corporate finance in the technology sector. Prior to joining Golden Ventures, Jamie was the Head of Business Development for Avid Life Media.

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​Michelle McBane is the Founder and Managing Director of StandUp Ventures, a pre-seed and seed stage fund investing in women-led and co-led B2B SaaS, digital health, and marketplace startups across Canada and the US. A recognized leader in early-stage venture, Michelle was named the 2025 Woman of Achievement in Venture Capital. Under her leadership, StandUp Ventures has raised two funds and backed some of Canada’s most promising early-stage companies (including all of those featured today!) Beyond investing, Michelle is a champion for inclusive innovation, serving on the CVCA Diversity & Inclusion Committee and shaping national conversations around equity in tech and VC.

​Amar Varma is the Co-Founder & CEO at Mantle. Amar began his tech career in Silicon Valley, playing a key role in the development of foundational technologies like the PC GPU and USB 1.0. His experience in the public and private sectors ignited his entrepreneurial drive, leading him to venture capital, where he developed a keen eye for promising ventures. A prolific entrepreneur, Amar co-founded Xtreme Labs (acquired by Pivotal/VMware), Hatch Labs (parent of Tinder, acquired by IAC), and Autonomic (acquired by Ford). Now, as co-founder and CEO of Mantle, he brings extensive experience and unwavering dedication to innovation.

​Alex Norman is the Partner of N49P, an early stage fund Canadian Venture Fund and the Co-Founder at TechTO, Canada’s largest tech community. Previously Alex established and led AngelList Ventures in Canada, co-founded HomeSav which was acquired by Rebellion Media and helped launch Simply Business which was acquired by The Travelers Cos. Alex also has significant professional services experience having worked for McKinsey & Company and Lehman Brothers in their technology mergers and acquisition group. Alex has a BCom from McGill University and an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

​Marie Chevrier is the CEO of TechTO, Canada's largest tech community, and Peerscale, a peer network for scale-up executives. As the founder and former CEO of Sampler, Marie led the company in revolutionizing the product sampling industry, helping brands like L’Oréal and Kroger digitize product sampling for millions of consumers. Her journey - marked by both successes and challenges - inspired her to dedicate the next part of her journey toward fostering Canada’s tech ecosystem with a deep focus on supporting the people behind the companies.

​Lucas Perlman is a Principal at StandUp Ventures in Toronto, where he supports and invests in early‑stage tech companies across Canada and East Africa. A CPA by training with a BBA Co‑op from Wilfrid Laurier University, Lucas brings sharp financial acumen and a deep passion for SaaS and enterprise metrics . Before VC, he held leadership roles at MaRS Discovery District, including Senior Manager, Partnerships, Enterprise, and served as Board Chair at Anza, championing entrepreneurial access to growth capital. A former BDO Canada accountant, Lucas is also known for his fervent devotion to the Montreal Canadiens, even while residing in “enemy territory” in Toronto.

​Anwaar  Malik is the Founder & CEO of AllMind AI, a VC‑backed Toronto-based startup revolutionizing institutional trading with real-time market forecasting tools. He combines credentials in investment management and IT service leadership to deliver unified data and AI workflows tailored for hedge funds and investment teams. Under his leadership, AllMind AI recently launched Level 3 market‑depth analysis, enabling users to visualize order book dynamics and block trades in real time. A compelling voice in fintech, Anwaar is passionate about leveraging AI to streamline data infrastructure and reclaim alpha.

​Gabriella Hachem is Co‑Founder at Dessn, an AI‑native platform transforming how product teams design and ship UI - bringing designers, PMs, and code together seamlessly Previously a lead at Planned and Salesfloor, she’s built expertise across product, design, and engineering, thriving at their intersection. Under her leadership, Dessn launched its MVP and celebrated its first anniversary in March, continuing to refine UX with multi‑agent capabilities. Based in Canada and active in Toronto and Montreal tech communities, Gabriella inspires with her passion for collapsing silos and accelerating product development.

​Darcy Clarke is the Founder & CEO of vlt technology inc., a Toronto‑based SaaS platform empowering the JavaScript ecosystem with cutting-edge developer tools. A serial entrepreneur, he previously co‑founded Themify (a commercial WordPress company) and held leadership roles at npm Inc. and GitHub, shaping open‑source standards and supporting millions of developers worldwide. With over two decades of experience, Darcy mentors teams across design, development, and culture—closing gaps between technology and user experience. A renowned speaker and community builder, he organizes meetups, writes for tech publications, and shares thought leadership on the future of web innovation.

​Ali Asaria is the Co-Founder at Transformer Lab, he is a Canadian tech entrepreneur and the original creator of the iconic BlackBerry game BrickBreaker. A Computer Engineering graduate from the University of Waterloo, he has founded multiple companies valued over $100M, including Well.ca and Tulip. With deep experience scaling teams and raising over $100M in venture capital, Ali also brings strong M&A expertise. He has served on several private and non-profit boards alongside top-tier investors. Today, Ali focuses on advancing artificial general intelligence (AGI) as a way to better understand the human mind. A values-driven leader, he’s committed to impact, curiosity, and putting others first.

​Thank You To Our Sponsors

​If you would like to know more about our sponsors, please visit:
CIBC
Mantle
Dentons

​We are officially part of Toronto Tech Week 2025, a weeklong citywide collection of events to connect and celebrate the builders. June 23 → June 27, 2025 | torontotechweek.com.