OMERS Ventures

This past week, I had the privilege of spending two days with a phenomenal group of Insurtech entrepreneurs and industry leaders—including voices from media, banking, VC, and beyond—at Insurtech Slopes. This annual event, held by David Gritz (InsurtechNY) and Stacey Brown, MBA (Insurtech Hartford) really delivered. While much of the conversation was "off the record," I wanted to share a few key takeaways: James Thaler (The Insurer) and Meg Green (Insurance Insider) kicked things off with a tactical session on “How to Get Covered by the Press.” A few standout insights: 🔹 Know your audience—a theme echoed throughout the event, just how critical it is to learn about someone you are reaching out and catering the contact to them. 🔹 Be punchy and concise—journalists receive up to 200 pitch emails per day, so clarity and differentiation are key. 🔹 Simplify your message—reporters aren’t living in the weeds like we are, so make it easy for them. 🔹 Build relationships early—many journalists prefer to know founders/executives before a news event to better frame the story. Kate Sampson (Merinn Advisors) led a compelling session on “When to Hire a Professional CEO.” She highlighted that fewer than 20% of founders take their company all the way to exit—and while this can be a tough reality to accept, it often leads to better outcomes for both founders and investors. Kate also referenced Noam Wasserman’s The Founder’s Dilemma and walked us through the signs that a founder may be reaching their limits—whether it’s execution struggles, board conflicts, or simply fatigue. I had the chance to share insights from both sides of the table in my session on “Financial Storytelling in Fundraising.” Having transitioned from founder to VC, I know firsthand how crucial it is to: ✅ Research your target investors—understand their focus, objectives, and constraints. ✅ Articulate how your startup fits their investment thesis and can generate the returns they seek. ✅ Tailor your pitch depth and detail based on your stage of growth (more on this in a future post!). Andy Tam (Deutsche Bank) and Josh Curry (BMS Re) wrapped things up with a lively discussion on “Understanding Valuation - Comparing Carriers, MGAs, & SaaS Models.” The conversation naturally expanded into funding dynamics and exit strategies, with key takeaways including: 💡 The importance of securing attention from decision-makers. 💡 How demonstrating strong product-market fit impacts valuation. 💡 The power of owning a unique market differentiator—one standout factor can have a significant impact on exit multiples and late-stage fundraising. After a full day of workshops, we capped things off with dinner, drinks, and—of course—a day on the slopes of Vail. All in all, an incredible opportunity for real, candid conversations in an intimate setting. Looking forward to keeping these discussions going! #Insurtech #Fundraising #Entrepreneurship #VentureCapital #Startups

Chills. "The funny thing with investors is that we can have a hard time articulating what we look for in a company... The one thing most investors agree on is the feeling you get when you meet a founder that has that rare, electric combination of passion, ambition, obsession, and capability to deliver an extraordinary product. They challenge your world view and make you revisit all of your underlying assumptions. It’s always exciting to meet that founder, and even more so when they’re on your doorstep in Canada. And it is extra special when that founder is building a business to help Canadian businesses grow faster and be competitive on a global stage. That’s how we felt when we first met Rob Khazzam, co-founder of Float, and his team in the early days of Float." Thank you, Laura Lenz, for your inspiring words and your support. Read the full piece👇 OMERS Ventures

The most valuable vertical AI companies won’t just automate tasks — they’ll capture and productize deep industry tribal knowledge, transforming how entire sectors operate. Tribal knowledge is the hard-earned, experience-based expertise that lives in the minds of specialists — how a master underwriter assesses risk, how a seasoned geologist interprets seismic data, or how a claims adjuster spots fraud. Until now, this knowledge has been difficult to scale. Vertical AI is changing that. By embedding this expertise into AI-driven workflows, Vertical AI startups are creating defensible moats and unlocking entirely new ways of working. The most durable, high-value AI companies will be those that: 🔹 Go beyond automation — capturing and codifying industry expertise, not just executing tasks faster 🔹 Create proprietary data loops — where human-AI collaboration continuously refines the system 🔹 Drive workflow transformation — changing not just how work is done, but what’s possible This shift isn’t just an efficiency play — it’s a fundamental restructuring of how expertise is leveraged and scaled. Our Marissa Moore, CFA breaks down how Vertical AI will change the nature of work.

Quick work from Altana on the latest tarrifs. And useful for Canadian businesses assessing the impact on their US customers.

Last night, we gathered at a beautiful restaurant in San Francisco for another Family Dinner of Fintech founders and operators, co-hosted by our friends at Stripe. As always, there was no shortage of conversation - fintech folks do an incredible job of knowledge-sharing and community connectivity. To that end, I’m doing my part to share some of the common themes we noticed throughout the evening: - Markets Are Ready for Voice Agents: Voice was arguably the most popular topic, with many founders diving into this category. - Legacy Code Upgrades: FIs using outdated code (looking at you, COBOL) need to upgrade their systems to leverage AI. The time is now—finally! - Health: Sleep, diet, and balance are a hot topic among founders. - Building in SF: Teams come to San Francisco to build because it is where great talent is found, and networking is paramount. - Middle and Lower Market Adoption: Smaller financial institutions are now more willing to adopt tech and be design partners. US banks of all sizes are wading into the water—you just can't ignore it anymore. - Re-evaluating the Venture Ladder: Everyone is critically examining the traditional "raise, burn, raise" model. - GTM and Speed: In an age where medium-term technological moats might be fading, go-to-market strategies and speed are more important than ever. - And of course, AI was a recurring theme throughout the evening, underpinning every conversation! We host these dinners for a few reasons, but chief among them is to make sure we’re as deeply embedded in the community as we can be - and that includes understanding the most topical issues facing founders and operators. A huge thanks to everyone who came and shared good food and great conversation last night. Let me know if you’d like to be invited to one of our next dinners, there is always lots of room at our table. ----- #vc #fintech #startups #tech #sf #entrepreneurship Ryan Zauk Dave Wechsler Charlie Wilson Emma Cruz Hiro Taylor

Last night, we gathered at a beautiful restaurant in San Francisco for another Family Dinner of Fintech founders and operators, co-hosted by our friends at Stripe. As always, there was no shortage of conversation - fintech folks do an incredible job of knowledge-sharing and community connectivity. To that end, I’m doing my part to share some of the common themes we noticed throughout the evening: - Markets Are Ready for Voice Agents: Voice was arguably the most popular topic, with many founders diving into this category. - Legacy Code Upgrades: FIs using outdated code (looking at you, COBOL) need to upgrade their systems to leverage AI. The time is now—finally! - Health: Sleep, diet, and balance are a hot topic among founders. - Building in SF: Teams come to San Francisco to build because it is where great talent is found, and networking is paramount. - Middle and Lower Market Adoption: Smaller financial institutions are now more willing to adopt tech and be design partners. US banks of all sizes are wading into the water—you just can't ignore it anymore. - Re-evaluating the Venture Ladder: Everyone is critically examining the traditional "raise, burn, raise" model. - GTM and Speed: In an age where medium-term technological moats might be fading, go-to-market strategies and speed are more important than ever. - And of course, AI was a recurring theme throughout the evening, underpinning every conversation! We host these dinners for a few reasons, but chief among them is to make sure we’re as deeply embedded in the community as we can be - and that includes understanding the most topical issues facing founders and operators. A huge thanks to everyone who came and shared good food and great conversation last night. Let me know if you’d like to be invited to one of our next dinners, there is always lots of room at our table. ----- #vc #fintech #startups #tech #sf #entrepreneurship Ryan Zauk Dave Wechsler Charlie Wilson Emma Cruz Hiro Taylor

Announcing the latest speaker to our all-star roster for this year's HR Confidential at Transform in March. Heather Dunn, CPO at Brex will be on stage tackling some of the top challenges and opportunities facing People leaders today. If you'll be at Transform, you can register to attend our event at the link in comments. Spice level: high 🌶️ CC. Eugene Lee Neil Motwani Julianna Vitolo

Welcome to the OneVest champions club! Salesforce Ventures, Allianz Life Ventures and TIAA Ventures join us as big believers in the potential of wealth management technology for enterprises across North America and beyond. A huge congratulations to Amar Ahluwalia and the entire OneVest team!

Super excited to yet again support our portfolio company, OneVest with their Series B and deeper expansion into the US! #fintech

Hootsuite Updates You Won’t Want to Miss! We’re bringing the freshest updates to help you crush your social media goals in 2025 (and beyond). From better collaboration to smarter reporting tools, this webinar is your backstage pass to all the new features in Hootsuite. Here’s a sneak peek: 📈 FREE Pixel Connector: Say goodbye to third-party cookies with Meta’s Conversions API Gateway. 🤝 Internal Comments in Plan: Collaborate with teammates without ever leaving Hootsuite. 📊 Streamlined Analytics: New templates make building reports easier (and way more engaging for your stakeholders). 🎉 Upgraded Year in Review: Ride the Spotify Wrapped wave with monthly and quarterly Performance Highlights reports. ✨ Bonus: Bring your burning questions, or just enjoy the legendary vibes of our webinar chatroom. Register now: https://ow.ly/u0Qo50UPto1