Jon Medved @OurCrowd
Jonathan Medved is a serial entrepreneur and according to the Washington Post (2007) “one of Israel’s
leading high-tech venture capitalists”. In the 2008 NY Times Supplement “Israel at 60” Medved was
named one of the top 10 most influential Americans who have impacted Israel.
Medved is the founder and CEO of OurCrowd, the world’s largest equity crowdfunding platform for
accredited investors which has raised more than $1B for almost 170 companies since its launch in
February 2013. Bloomberg Businessweek said that OurCrowd “has blown up the exclusivity around tech
fundraising” and The Jerusalem Post added that "It has taken OurCrowd only a matter of months to
become one of Israel’s most active funds". TheStreet.com said that OurCrowd is “Crowdfunding for Real Investors.” Prior to OurCrowd, Medved was the co-founder and CEO of Vringo (Nasdaq:VRNG) and the co-founder and General Partner of Israel Seed Partners, with $262M under management.
Inbar Haham @Plaza Ventures
Inbar has over 15 years of technology and finance experience. As a venture capitalist, she led business development for 5 years in the USA for Magma VC, one of Israel’s most established VCs. Inbar has an extensive network in the USA and Israel and a strong deal-flow pipeline. She stays involved in advising early stage startups on fund raising and growth strategies. Inbar was one of the first team members at Wix, one of Israel’s most successful technology startup. Inbar is featured as one of 10 Israelis making a mark on New York’s tech scene.
Duncan Stewart @Deloitte
Duncan Stewart has more than two decades of experience in the TMT industry, and provides management consulting about what’s going to happen next – a key strategic driver for manufacturers, banks and retailers. As an analyst and portfolio manager, Duncan has provided research or made investments in the Canadian technology and telecommunications sector, winning the Canadian Technology Fund Manager of the Year award in its inaugural year. In his time as an investor he deployed a cumulative $2 billion of capital into global TMT markets.
Elaine Kunda @Disruption Ventures
A serial entrepreneur Elaine has successfully built teams and realigned business strategies for over 15 years. She recently launched Disruption Ventures, a VC fund that invests in female founded and managed companies. This was a natural progression for Elaine as she has spent the past 6 years consulting and advising start-ups and early stage companies, helping them reach their goals and access financing. Prior to consulting, she was CEO of B5Media. The company was sold to Alloy Digital in April 2012.
Mark Skapinker @Brightspark
Mark Skapinker serves as the Co-founder and Managing Partner at Brightspark Holdings, Inc. Mark serves as Managing partner of firms since 1999 and co-founded Brightspark Holdings, Inc. in 2000. He has led Brightspark through the growth of the Canadian tech industry. After operating an incubator, Brightspark focused on traditional VC by nurturing and investing in some of Canada’s best early stage software companies (such as Think Dynamics, Radian6). Mark is also a Director for numerous companies (Newkidco International Inc., Multiactive Software, Inc., VoIPshield Systems, Inc.) and board member of the Upside Foundation of Canada.
Louis Freeman Jr. @Innovation Catalyst
Louis Freeman Jr., is a private investor, entrepreneur, and the CEO of Innovation Catalyst and the Catalyst Fund of Baton Rouge, a Louisiana focused entrepreneur development organization and early stage startup fund. He is also a member of the NO/LA Angel investor group. Louis has diverse and global investment experience with over 25 years experience in creating, financing and managing small businesses in the USA and in Asia. His business experience is wide ranging across many industries, including computers, consumer products, resorts, food and beverage, water and waste technologies, and alternative energy.
Ajay Gopal @Framework Venture Partners
Ajay Gopal is a Principal at Framework Venture Partners. Based in Toronto, Ajay comes to the firm with close to 10 years of investing and capital markets experience. Ajay’s responsibilities with the firm include deal sourcing, due diligence and assisting portfolio companies with operational and strategic initiatives. Also, Ajay is a partner and advisor of a healthcare services company currently in operation in Toronto. As an engineer by educational background, Ajay is keenly interested in meeting with technology companies across all verticals and focused on helping entrepreneurs with the scaling journey.
Éléonore Jarry-Ferron @Brightspark
Éléonore is an investment associate at Brighspark Ventures, coming from Ernst & Young, where she focused on alternative investment funds and private equity firms. Prior to that she co-founded Front Row Ventures, Canada’s first student-run venture capital firm.
Ricardo Marvao @Beta-i
Ricardo is co-founder and Board Member of Beta-i. Based in Lisbon, Beta-i is one of the main entrepreneurship and innovation organizations in Europe. Recognized as one of the world most active startup accelerators and by Wired magazine as “the top incubator in town”, accelerated over 700 startups, that have raised +80M, having also 12.000+ people attending events. Co-founder & CEO of Evolve Space Solutions (Germany and Portugal) since 2004, developing software products for the Aerospace Industry, with clients like Airbus, Boeing, and more.
Sergio Escobar @BCF Ventures
Sergio is a Super Angel investor across the United States and Canada with a diversified investment portfolio of companies ranging from B2B Cloud & SaaS startups to B2C Consumer startups. Sergio has over 15 years of experience as a multiple times tech entrepreneur with startups in Aerospace, eCommerce, Manufacturing, AgTech and Financial Technologies. Over the last 8 years, he has been deeply involved in the international entrepreneurial scene through his involvement in Founder Institute, Techstars Startup Programs, McGill X-1, Startup Bootcamp FinTech London and more. He has been pioneering the Canadian investment scene by launching one of Canada's very first super angel funds.
Suraj Gupta @Rogue Insight Capital
Suraj Gupta is President and CEO of Rogue Insight Capital, a Toronto-based angel investment firm, a subsidiary of the Gupta Group, Canada's largest private hotel developer. Suraj has worked with innovation inReal Estate, PropTech, FinTech, CleanTech, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Autonomous Vehicles, Metals & Mining, Hospitality and more. They worked in nine countries, and have invested in Lyft, RobinHood, Sourceress and more.
Sharon Zohar @The Big Push
Sharon Zohar is a Digital Product entrepreneur with more than twenty years experience founding, investing, advising, and operating technology, internet, and digital media companies. Sharon is driven by her passion to identify new innovative technologies and business models that have the potential to disrupt traditional markets and are designed to improve the human condition. Prior to The Big Push, Sharon held executive positions in various technology and media companies. She left the corporate world to pursue entrepreneurship where she successfully developed a number of mobile and software applications for health, finance, and media markets.
Scott MacDonald @McRock Capital
Scott MacDonald is Co-founder of McRock Capital, VC for the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Venture Capitalist and company builder. Director and Chairman of numerous high-growth public and private companies such as worldsensing, Serious Integrated, Inc., Invixium, RtTech Software. He was a Partner at Emerald Technology Ventures AG, where he focused on energy efficiency and information technology investments within the clean technology sector.
Althea Wishloff @Panache Ventures
Althea Wishloff is a venture analyst at Panache Ventures, which is one of the most active early stage VCs in Canada. Prior career experience in buy-side finance, and has extensive background in fintech, indigenous issues, and most recently, acting as a researcher for Sidewalk Labs, the civictech subsidiary of Alphabet Inc.
Pauline Brunel @Impression Ventures
Pauline Brunel, has a financial background and started her career working in M&A focusing on growth companies in Paris. She then switched to the capital markets side working for JPMorgan in London as an Associate, before finally joining the Luxembourgish regulator’s alternative investments team as a Senior Officer.
Wes Goldstein @Energy Impact Partners
Wes is an entrepreneur, advisor and investor. He helped launch both Energy Impact Partners (EIP) and Mobility Impact Partners (MIP), two funds that invest strategically in the energy and transportation sectors, respectively. He remains an Operating Partner at both funds as is focused on sourcing and evaluating Series A+ investments that apply ML/DL to various enterprise and industrial applications.
Over the last eight years, Wes has also helped launch two operating companies, one in the geospatial big data and analytics sector and the other building microgrids in emerging markets. He has just launched another company, Judex.io, that is applying a deep learning approach to reduce fraud in both enterprise and government applications. Wes remains a Managing Partner at HTI, an advisory services firm that he joined approximately 15 years ago.
Ed Frank @Axis Innovation
Ed Frank founded Axis Innovation on the principle that the right team can connect the right people and bring great ideas to life. With broad experience in the telecom, media and technology sectors, Ed has focused on strategic and operational issues as a corporate investor, consultant and entrepreneur.
Previously, Ed served as CEO of IDT Ventures, a division of IDT Corporation (NYSE:IDT) which invested in several companies that led to high-profile exits including Hopstop (to Apple) and LateNiteLabs (to Macmillan). He created the IDT Startup Bootcamp to connect early stage startups with co-investors which was a springboard for the creation of Bootcamp Ventures which he co-founded. Ed dedicates significant time mentoring startups and has an MBA and BS in Engineering, both from Columbia University.
Jason Weiss @Axis Innovation
Jason is the COO & Deal Flow Manager for Axis Innovation and part of its founding team. He manages all dealflow and fundraising for startups, investor relations, startup screening and selection, as well as initiating new events and corporate projects.
Prior to Axis Innovation, Jason was an associate at Bootcamp Ventures helping launch global startup events in 4 countries, he worked closely with leading Israeli startups and international investors, and worked in the Israeli Ministry of Economics. Jason is a frequent speaker on Israeli innovation and entrepreneurship, and was selected as a Tikvah Fellow on the Israeli economy and an Israel Government Fellow. He received his B.A. with honors in business economics and international relations from the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB).
Gilad Novik @Lakestar
Gilad brings more than 20 years of experience in investing, product management and technology innovation. With significant European, US and Asian experience, Gilad has a world-class reputation in the technology, telecommunication and internet worlds, with special access to global networks in academia and research institutes.
Before Lakestar, Gilad acted as CTO at Horizons Ventures. or six years, he successfully identified and engaged with all of Horizon’s investment activities, winning some of the key tech deals in recent years in the US and Europe. Notable investment exits include Waze, Onavo, Summly, DeepMind, Misfit and Hola. Earlier, Gilad worked with the Hutchison Group for 10 years on senior strategy, innovation and research roles in Tel Aviv, London, Berlin and San Francisco. Gilad holds degrees in Telecommunications Engineering and an MBA. He is a member of the Technion University Board of Governors and was ranked among the “Top 100 influencers in Israeli Hi-Tech” in 2015.
Yossi Boker @Toronto Stock Exchange
Yossi Boker is Head of Business Development, Israel for TMX as of March 2017. His responsibilities
include leading the Exchanges’ efforts to strengthen its relationships with the Israeli business
community and to establish new connections in pursuit of the TMX international growth strategy. Mr
Boker, in collaboration with Canadian investment bankers and other business partners, promotes the
advantages of the TSX and TSXV’s unique capital ecosystem and supports Israeli companies in listing on
the TSX/ TSXV.
Alex Tong @Information Venture Partners
Alex is on the investment team at Information Venture Partners, and is focused on identifying, evaluating and supporting the fund's investments in FinTech and enterprise software startups. Prior to joining Information Venture Partners, Alex worked at Hootsuite as its first team hire in corporate development. Alex worked cross-functionally with its leadership team, executing on numerous growth initiatives including corporate and team acquisitions, new mobile apps (content and social selling) and raising venture capital. Prior to Hootsuite, Alex worked at BMO Capital Markets in both its Mergers and Acquisitions and Financial Institutions Group, working on various mandates including a U.S. regional bank acquisition, financial technology M&A, large P&C insurance IPO, and other M&A assignments. Alex also worked at CIBC in its Leveraged Finance Group, focusing on credit opportunities involving various private equity and mid-market companies.
Stephen Pincus @Goodmans
Stephen Pincus is a partner at Goodmans, a member of its Executive Committee and head of its Capital Markets Practice. Widely recognized as one of Canada’s leading lawyers, Stephen has played a pioneering role in the development of Canada’s capital markets. According to Lexpert, he is dubbed by Bay Street as Canada’s King of REITs.
Jamie Firsten @Goodmans
Jamie’s practice focuses on advising emerging companies in connection with venture financings, M&A, and corporate and commercial law matters, with a main focus on technology companies. Within technology, Jamie is active in the enterprise software and e-sports space.
He acts for startups as well as established private and public companies in a wide range of industries, including information technology, media, hospitality, manufacturing and industrial, retail and natural resources.
Christian Lassonde @Impression Ventures
Lassonde is a tech founder and CEO, having built and sold Virtual Greats, a luxury online IP rights broker, and Millions of Us, a digital agency. He has also taught high-growth technology entrepreneurship at The Next 36 to over 30 companies. Those companies have gone on to build successful products and raise millions of dollars in follow-on financing.
Jessie Lam @Mark Masons Investments
Jessie Lam is an active tech investor internationally, with focus on data-driven technologies. Formerly as CFO at Brinc, Jessie advised portfolio companies on all financial matters including cash flow, fundraising and financing strategies, as well as, oversaw the investment strategy and financial governance for Brinc globally. In addition, Jessie has spoken at events throughout Asia as an active female venture capitalist. Previously, she worked in the banking industry for 10+ years and is a Certified Public Accountant.