Hi Misfits!! Exciting news... QueerTech is launching a spring cohort for its LGBT+ Founders Program, called "Quatalyst." This 12-week program provides: 🌈 Resources tailored for 2SLGBTQIA+ entrepreneurs. 🌈 Mentorship from leaders who understand your journey. 🌈 Investment readiness and funding opportunities. 🌈 Actionable, practical programming so you can work on YOUR business - not some academic case study. Applications close soon and spots are limited. So, if you are ready to accelerate and join Canada’s first specialized program for queer founders, please click here to learn more & apply!! https://lnkd.in/g_HW8Se9
About us
Our mission is investing in LGBT+ led companies with proven traction and untapped potential. The vision is to position these founders at the heart of a growing ecosystem and showcase their investability globally.
- Website
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https://themisfits.vc/
External link for Misfit Ventures
- Industry
- Venture Capital and Private Equity Principals
- Company size
- 2-10 employees
- Headquarters
- Vancouver
- Type
- Partnership
Locations
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Primary
Get directions
Vancouver, CA
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Toronto, CA
Employees at Misfit Ventures
Updates
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🌈 Misfit Ventures is coming to Vancouver! 🚀 After an incredible launch in #Toronto, we’re thrilled to announce that #MisfitsUnleashed will land in #Vancouver this March 2025! Join us for an unforgettable afternoon featuring #LGBTQ+ founders, #visionary business #leaders, influential industry voices, #bold #investors, and a community united by #innovation and #inclusion. This will be a celebration of #impact, #diversity, and the #game-changing power of LGBTQ-led #startups. 🌟 🎉 Stay tuned for event updates, speaker announcements, and exclusive opportunities to connect with the Misfit Ventures community. Let’s make waves in Vancouver! 🌊 Mandy Potter Douglas Lui, CPA, CA Sam Naylor ⚧ #MisfitVentures #LGBTQInnovation #VancouverEvents #ImpactInvesting
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🚀 Big News for Misfit Ventures! 🌈 We’re thrilled to announce that Realize Capital Partners investment in Misfit Ventures, Canada’s first and only #2SLGBTQ+ #VC #Fund! This monumental step highlights Realize Capital’s commitment to advancing #equity, #inclusion, and #impact through social finance. 🌟 https://lnkd.in/gPvfVzma Misfit Ventures is proud to be part of Realize Fund I’s portfolio, which ends 2024 with 16 investments, committing $67.7 million to tackling inequity through transformative, positively reinforcing investments—all while targeting competitive risk-adjusted returns. This investment signals a huge leap forward for Canada’s #2SLGBTQ+ founders, who are building game-changing businesses and driving innovation. Realize Capital Partners support ensures that these voices are empowered to thrive in a more inclusive and equitable future. Thank you, Realize Capital Partners, for believing in our mission and amplifying the impact of Canada’s #2SLGBTQ+ #entrepreneurial community. Together, we’re proving that profit and purpose can go hand in hand. 🌈💼 Let’s keep building a brighter, more inclusive future—one investment at a time. Mandy Potter Sam Naylor ⚧ Douglas Lui, CPA, CA
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We are pleased to announce that Misfit Ventures has been selected as a 2024 Impact Index+ issuer! Impact Index+ is a select group of qualified private impact investment offerings that meets rigorous standards in impact, governance, and financial excellence. Offerings are vetted and reviewed by external reviewers, an Advisory Group, and the @SVX team. https://lnkd.in/ewcme5au Mandy Potter Douglas Lui, CPA, CA Sam Naylor ⚧ Sami Saad Naoufel Testaouni Althea Wishloff Lise Birikundavyi, CFA Whitney Rockley #SVXimpactindex #impactinvesting #lgbtq #vc #inclusion #venturefund
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At Misfit Ventures, we have a historical mission to #change our ecosystem, challenges #lgbtq founders face, for now and future generations to come. We are #proud to lead and welcome all to join
Not only do I get to run a VC fund with the best partners, but I also get to have great friends in them too. Sam Naylor ⚧ & Douglas Lui, CPA, CA make everyday of “work” feel like retirement. They’re passionate to their core about uplifting marginalized founders and creating true equity in the VC ecosystem. It’s not just words, it’s in the way they live their day to day. Starting a VC fund is no joke - you go a VERY long time without a paycheck and work extremely long hours, balancing fundraising and founders and everything in between. We look out for each others mental and physical well being so we can continue being strong both individually and as a team. Fortunate to be on this Misfit Ventures ride with them 🩷 #vc #venturecapital #investor #founders #startup
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A night of celebration with #investors #vip #businessleaders to thank them for their continued support and their belief in us. Particular thanks to the honourable Rechie Valdez, Minister of Small Business, to spend a delightful evening with our founders Mandy Potter Douglas Lui, CPA, CA Sam Naylor ⚧ , along with our many distinguished guests at the stunning and historical University Club of Toronto - the perfect venue for the perfect moment. #lgbtq #VC #venturecapital #canada #ecosysten
What an evening that Misfit Ventures hosted last Thursday. We had some of the most supportive VCs, LPs and ecosystem leaders for a fancy dinner at the University Toronto Club. The Honourable Rechie Valdez joined us all evening and gave her remarks. I was lucky to sit beside her and share hours of amazing conversation and I can say with true conviction that this is a leader we all need and deserve. We are lucky to have Rechie in our corner supporting our fund, but most importantly supporting all marginalized founders. Thank you to our advisors Lise Birikundavyi, CFA and Althea Wishloff for joining both events last week and supporting us in so many ways. Thank you Rohan N. and the entire Boann Social Impact team for leading the way with this inaugural fund. Thank you to TD for sponsoring both events and especially to Adam Leroux for being our biggest champion and making this all happen. Thank you to everyone who joined this small and intimate gathering and for the amazing conversations. We are privileged to be surrounded by the network that we have. Realize Capital Partners Lars Boggild, CFA Jacki Jenuth Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP Matthew Lombardi TELUS Global Ventures (TGV) Jeannette Wiltse Rashid Javed Nadien Godkewitsch Canada's 2SLGBTQI+ Chamber of Commerce (CGLCC) Chris Z. Justin Dharamdial Jeremy Lin Roxxena Farid, B.Comm, CFP®, CIM®
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A groundbreaking event by our trailblazing founders Douglas Lui, CPA, CA Mandy Potter Sam Naylor ⚧ Canada’s first and North America’s largest #LGBTQ+ #VC fund is officially launched. A historical moment for all of the community, #Canada and the VC ecosystem. Thank you to 170+ #founders #investors, business leaders and many public and private institutions for supporting us. Honoured to have Rechie Valdez, Minister of Small Business to deliver our keynote, calling the community and wider for celebration and continued investment. The journey has just begun. Join us and be part of this historical moment.
Venture Partner. Board Member. Strategic Advisor. Passionate about Social Impact, ESG and a Compassionate, Equal World
🌟 A Historic Moment for the #LGBTQ+ Community and Venture Capital! 🌈 October 21st marked the #groundbreaking launch 🚀 of Misfit Ventures 🌈, Canada’s 🇨🇦 first and North America's largest LGBTQ+ VC Fund — a monumental achievement for #Toronto, #Canada, and the global #LGBTQ+ #VC ecosystem! With over 170 registrants, representing 1/3 #startups and #founders, 1/3 #investors, and 1/3 business leaders and allies, this event was a testament to the power of #diversity in action. 🌈 CALL TO ACTION 💪 We were honored to have Rechie Valdez, Minister of Small Business, deliver a stirring keynote. As a first-generation Asian immigrant myself, her words deeply resonated with me — echoing the challenges we face and the resilience we cultivate to overcome skeptics and outperform expectations. Her recognition of Mandy Potter, Sam Naylor, and myself, along with Misfit Ventures, underscored the significance of our work, as she called on the entire business community — from public institutions to private corporations — TO TAKE A CLEAR STANCE ON SUPPORTING INCLUSIVITY 🌈. The event also featured an incredible cohort of pitches spanning #protech Husmates 🏘️ by Parimal Gosai Lesli Gaynor, #climate ☀️ tech CarbonBridge by Sophia Xu, B2B SaaS SpikeFli Analytics by Heather Pauls, and life sciences/biotech 🔬 by the serial entrepreneur Gabriel Levesque-Tremblay — a glimpse of the 1,000s of LGBTQ+ founders with both financial and social impact potential. The investability of this community is undeniable, and the event proved just that. 🌟 Lastly, our sincerest and heart-felt gratitude to Boann Social Impact Rohan N. Dana Rose Granofsky 🙏 Special thanks to our event sponsors: TD: Your decades of unyielding support—from pioneering same-sex spousal benefits to financial investment in our community—have set the bar high. Adam Leroux Roxxena Farid, B.Comm, CFP®, CIM® Al Ramsay (he/him/his) Kristin Godwin Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP: Thank you for hosting us at your stunning 63rd floor space, providing an inspiring backdrop to this milestone event. Institutional partners: Realize Capital Partners Lars Boggild, CFA, Toronto Foundation Nadien Godkewitsch, Radical Ventures, TELUS Global Ventures (TGV), CIBC Innovation, RBCx, BKR Capital, Raven Indigenous Capital Partners, Canada's 2SLGBTQI+ Chamber of Commerce (CGLCC) Pru Girme, QueerTech, Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (CVCA), and BDC—your collaboration fuels our mission forward. 🌈 Misfit Ventures is more than a VC fund; it’s a #movement, a #commitment to empowering the next wave of #LGBTQ+ innovators. Here's to changing narratives, achieving real #impact, and driving financial success through #diversity. Sami Saad Naoufel Testaouni The journey has just begun, and I couldn't be more grateful for all of you who made this launch truly historic. Let’s keep making waves! 🌊✨ #LGBTQVC #VentureCapital #MisfitVentures #InclusionMatters #DiversityDrivesReturns #VC
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Congrats to our Managing Partner Mandy Potter on her NYC celebration with Gaingels at Nasdaq and even meeting the legendary #katemckinnon. Join us on this amazing journey and hope to see many of you guys in Toronto on Oct 21 Douglas Lui, CPA, CA Sam Naylor ⚧ Sami Saad Naoufel Testaouni NVIDIA Gabriel Levesque-Tremblay #lgbtq #vc #startup #canadafirst
Happy National Coming Out Day! I’m spending it in NYC celebrating being one of the Gaingels 100! We got to see NVIDIA ring the Nasdaq bell which was amazing seeing Jensen Huang ! I’m excited and buzzing and humbled by this whole experience and the places that Misfit Ventures takes me 🩷🩷🩷
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Congrats to our amazing Managing Partner Mandy Potter on her recent feature in Gaingels Douglas Lui, CPA, CA Sam Naylor ⚧ Sami Saad #lgbtq #vc #firstincanada #lgbtqfund #startup https://lnkd.in/gvvbG_3n
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Calling all 2SLGBTQ+ founders! Exciting to announce our launch event coming up in #toronto on Oct 21 in Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP office (huge shout out!). Among the many special features - drag host, super diverse business leaders, amazing public and private institutions, a ministerial key note - we invite all LGBTQ+ led start ups to a pitch competition to some of the biggest funders in town. Send us your pitch and register for the event before it sells out: https://lnkd.in/g_5X6FaU Mandy Potter Douglas Lui, CPA, CA Sam Naylor ⚧ Sami Saad TD Boann Social Impact Rally Assets BDC InBC Investment Corp. Raven Indigenous Capital Partners BKR Capital Chris Z. Canada's 2SLGBTQI+ Chamber of Commerce (CGLCC) QueerTech RBCx RSM Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (CVCA) CIBC Innovation Ripple Ventures
Misfit Ventures is seeking Toronto/GTA area (unless you want to fly in!) queer-led startups to pitch at our event on October 21st. Please share with your network and send your interest to howdy@themisfits.vc We are also selling fast so get your tickets ASAP! Here's the link: shorturl.at/bj7yV Sam Naylor ⚧ Douglas Lui, CPA, CA