AngelList has launched Intros for Canada to give more startups access to seed-stage funding through the network.
Intros will work like the first AngelList product launched in 2010, where companies could apply to be introduced to a curated list of angels.
“The Canadian market feels like the Valley 15 years ago. It is on the cusp of creating world-beating companies in AI, blockchain, and other technology fields,” said Naval Rakivant, co-founder of AngelList.
“Angel investing is one of the best ways for me to recycle knowledge and give back to the ecosystem.”
Interested companies must submit an application by August 30. After a 10-day application review, selected companies will be invited to a video interview with AngelList. If they pass the interview, they’ll be introduced to participating angels for a discussion on terms and investment.
AngelList first entered Canada with the initial launch of AngelList Syndicates in October 2016. Since then, startups like Drop, Inkbox, and Forestry.io have raised over $2 million on the platform.
“I worked for Brightspark and Wattpad since their early days,” said Two Small Fish Ventures founder Eva Lau, one of the Canadian angels participating in Intros. “I would like to leverage my unique experience in building large scale internet companies to help other Canadian entrepreneurs build the next big thing. Angel investing is one of the best ways for me to recycle knowledge and give back to the ecosystem.”
Alex Norman, Canada’s AngelList partner, will be answering questions on the application process on Product Hunt all day today.
“Intros for Canada enables Canadian founders to connect with and obtain investments from world-class angels early in their fundraising process,” said Norman. “The credibility of this investment should help founders raise money faster from multiple sources including other angels, VCs and AngelList Syndicates.”
Participating angels in Canada include:
- Dan Debow, co-founder of Workbrain (acquired for $220 million), Rypple (acquired by Salesforce), Creative Destruction Labs, and Helpful.
- Ryan Holmes, co-founder of Hootsuite
- Eva Lau, co-founder of Two Small Fish Ventures; previously head of content at Wattpad
- Jon Swanson, co-founder of Thumbtack (raised $250 million)
- Tikhon Bernstam, co-founder of Parse (acquired for $85 million) and Scribd.
- Matt Humphrey, co-founder of LendingHome (raised $100 million) and HomeRun (acquired for $100 million+).
- Brian Balfour, co-founder of Reforge, previously VP of growth at Hubspot and co-founder of Boundless and Viximo
- Naval Ravikant, co-founder AngelList, previous co-founder of Vast and Epinions
- Tom Williams, founder and CEO of BetterCompany.