The market, fundraising & the future.
Join us for an exclusive gathering of visionary tech founders and leading investors at the "Founders & Funders" event. This event is a unique platform designed to facilitate insightful discussions on the current market landscape, strategies for successful fundraising, and the future outlook of the technology industry.
This event promises a engaging panel discussion, from Bocar Dia (Partner at Forum VC) & Krish Kohli (Investor from Great Point Ventures), and ample networking opportunities to connect with like-minded professionals.
Delicious food & beverages will be provided.
Agenda
Insights into the current technology market
Navigating the challenges of fundraising in a competitive market
The future of technology: Trends to watch
Focused discussions on niche markets and emerging technologies
Key Takeaways
Market Insights: Understand the latest trends and shifts in the technology market, including emerging opportunities and potential risks.
Fundraising Strategies: Learn effective fundraising techniques from seasoned investors and successful founders who have navigated the process.
Future Trends: Gain foresight into the future of technology, including AI, blockchain, and sustainable tech innovations.
Investor Expectations: Discover what investors are currently looking for in startups and how to position your company to attract funding.
Networking Opportunities: Build valuable connections with potential investors, partners, and fellow entrepreneurs.
Success Stories: Hear firsthand accounts of challenges and triumphs from established tech founders, providing inspiration and practical advice.
About the Panelists
Bocar Dia is a Partner at Forum Ventures sitting at the intersection of investing and working 1:1 with portfolio founders through the early stages of building, including go-to-market, founder-led sales, and fundraising. As part of the founding team of the Enterprise product at Hootsuite, Bocar helped the business grow to well over $150M+ and 2,000+ employees in under seven years. Bocar continues to advise, coach and angel invest in SaaS and AI startups from pre-seed to Series A. He is also currently a Sales Coach at the Harvard Business School and shares GTM advice at revenue.fyi and scalingto100.com
Krish Kohli is an investor at GreatPoint Ventures, focusing on Data & Data Infrastructure and leading the fund’s GenAI thesis. His notable investments include Coalesce (Data transformation platform), Shakudo (Toronto-based, building the operating system for Data and AI), Tembo (multi-workload database for Postgres) and a few unannounced deals. He also serves as an observer for Kinetica & Cooler Screens.
Before joining GreatPoint, Krish led teams at fintech startups Canalyst (acquired by Tegus) and YipitData and prior to that started his career as an equity research analyst. He holds a master’s degree in business analytics from UBC and an undergraduate degree in electronics and communication engineering from Manipal University. Outside of work, you can find Krish spending time outdoors, trying out new restaurants, listening to podcasts, skiing; he is also an avid tennis player and loves racquet sports!
GreatPoint Ventures is a $1.2B Seed through Series B venture firm founded in 2015 and based in San Francisco. The firm focuses on healthcare and enterprise software, with typical check sizes ranging from $500K to $20M.
About your Hosts
Shahrooz Nabavi is the Co-Leader of Fasken’s Emerging Technology and Venture Capital Practice and is a corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions and corporate commercial lawyer with an active transaction-oriented practice. He is primarily focused on technology and knowledge-based industries, representing emerging and high-growth stage companies and investors in and acquirers of such companies.
Shahrooz represents clients in a broad range of corporate matters, including start-up formation, venture capital and private equity financings, strategic commercial arrangements and M&A transactions. A significant part of Shahrooz’ practice involves corporate governance matters for later stage high growth companies and serves as corporate secretary to more than Board of Directors of venture capital or private equity backed Canadian companies.
Shahrooz is known as an innovative, results-oriented problem solver who proactively helps clients grow strategically and is focused on delivering effective and practical representation and leverages his background as an entrepreneur and the years he spent as in-house counsel at a major institutional entity, to provide tailored and balanced representation and advice to clients.
Antonio Zivanovic is a visionary entrepreneur and trailblazing tech founder, whose innovative spirit and dedication to financial well-being have earned him recognition as one of Canada's Elite Insurance Advisors. He is the driving force behind two groundbreaking ventures: The ReFrame Financial Group and ElektraFi.
The ReFrame Financial Group is a B Corp that seamlessly blends global excellence with a local focus. Under his leadership, ReFrame garnered numerous awards for its commitment to ethical practices and community-centric initiatives. This firm stands out not only for its financial acumen but also for its dedication to making a positive social impact.
Continuing his legacy of innovation, Antonio recently launched www.ElektraFi.io, the world's first total financial well-being platform. ElektraFi is a comprehensive solution designed to empower individuals to achieve holistic financial health. By integrating best in class AI with human ingenuity, ElektraFi is setting new standards in the industry and helping people navigate their financial journeys with confidence.
Balancing his professional achievements with a rich personal life, Antonio is a proud father to three energetic boys aged 3, 5, and 7. His commitment to family is paralleled by his passion for personal development. Antonio is an avid practitioner of stoicism, finding strength and resilience in its principles. He also enjoys rigorous physical training, which complements his disciplined approach to life.
About the Sponsors
A big thank you for our sponsors generous support and commitment. Their contribution is crucial to the success of our tech ecosystem, and we deeply appreciate their partnership.
www.ElektraFi.io - The world's first total financial well-being platform. ElektraFi is a delightful and frictionless solution to a stress-free live, where embedded financial advisory meets best in class AI + human ingenuity. ElektraFi's convenient one-stop-shop dashboard helps people understand, grow, keep track of, manage, save and much more. Thank you to ElektraFi's CEO, Antonio A. Zivanovic for his support.
www.Deloitte.com - World's largest Advisory Firm, supporting Founders across the world. Thank you to Brendan Cooper and Erica Pretorius for generously supporting this event.
www.Fasken.com - The first Canadian law firm with a dedicated emerging technology practice, Fasken has over 30 years’ experience helping tech visionaries transform their ideas into industry-defining realities. Thank you Shahrooz Nabavi for hosting and bringing us together.
www.Prenuvo.com - Thank you to Sean Jensen for donating the incredible whole body scan with Prenuvo.
www.SkipperOtto.com - Thank you to Sonia Strobel at the Team at Skipper Otto for donating five fish shares as prizes for the attendees.