Chris Neumann is a 4x Founder turned Early-Stage Investor with a focus on enterprise software, developer tools and AI!

Chris was previously a General Partner at Panache Ventures, Canada’s leading early-stage fund. Before that, Chris founded Commonwealth Ventures, a San Francisco-based accelerator for Canadian and UK startups. He was also a Venture Partner at 500 Startups, the CEO and Cofounder of DataHero (acquired by Cloudability) and the first employee of Aster Data (acquired by Teradata). Chris is dedicated to supporting the most ambitious founders in Canada and around the world as an investor and through his blog, chrisneumann.com.

Join us for our final conversation of the season as we delve into Chris' journey, while he gives us advice on fund-raising start-ups.

Josh Green, co-founder of Mysa, discusses the company's journey from its inception nine years ago to its current state with over 80 employees. Mysa specializes in smart thermostats for energy management, having launched five products and recently acquired Zen Ecosystems to expand into the commercial market. Josh emphasized the importance of trusting the process, surrounding oneself with great people, and focusing on customer feedback. He highlighted the challenges and successes of the acquisition, noting that 70% of the commercial market approach was new. Josh also stressed the significance of energy efficiency and the need for more cleantech startups in Atlantic Canada.

To learn more about Mysa visit: https://getmysa.com/

Nicole LeBlanc, Partner at Woven Capital, joins Kathryn Lockhart to share her experiences navigating the global startup ecosystem.

In this discussion, Nicole emphasizes the importance of networking and relationships in securing meetings with potential investors and discussed the current challenges faced by startups, including geopolitical market dynamics, AI, data privacy, infrastructure, sustainability, and regulatory changes. Both Kathryn and Nicole share awesome insights on how to navigate career opportunities through networking and curiosity while raising capital for startups by researching investors, tailoring the pitch, and engaging on a personal level. Their conversation also touched on the evolving landscape of raising capital in Atlantic Canada, highlighting the challenges and opportunities that come with it.

To learn more about Woven Capital, visit: https://www.woven.vc/