Patrick White, the managing director of Ottawa-based startup accelerator L-Spark, is leaving the tech hub he co-founded after 12 years at the helm.
White is stepping away to join Ottawa-based video surveillance software company Solink as director of corporate programs, where he will oversee the company’s government program strategy and build out partnerships. White told BetaKit in an interview that it was hard to say goodbye to L-Spark, but working with entrepreneurs all the time made him want to “get into the game.”
“When you’re working with all these startups, it always gets your juice flowing,” White said. “I think at the end of the day, I saw a great fit and made that jump.”
“A post-Pat White L-Spark is unchartered territory.”
Lindy Ledohowski
White said there has been lots of discussion with his co-founder, executive managing director Leo Lax, and that it appears L-Spark will look to bring someone in to replace him.
In a statement to BetaKit, Lax described White as “irreplaceable.”
“He’s been a key builder of both L-SPARK and the broader Canadian tech ecosystem,” Lax said. “As we move forward, we’re looking to find a new leader who will guide L-SPARK into its next chapter.”
According to L-Spark’s 10-year impact report, the accelerator has mentored 130 companies, which have raised a collective $388 million. White, who said he’s proud of every company that has gone through L-Spark, said the greatest lesson he has learned as a mentor is that you should put the entrepreneur first, coach them into developing their “ask” (whether closing an investment or getting an introduction, “make the ask to get an answer,” he says), and to encourage them to strive for big dreams that initially don’t seem possible.
“This is the power of accelerators and incubators,” White said.
RBCx vice-president of relationship management, Lindy Ledohowski, told BetaKit she owes much of the last ten years of her “professional existence and experience” to White’s insight and advice. Ledohowski founded EssayJack, an early L-Spark cohort company that was acquired by Wize (now Wizeprep) in 2021.
“When we had an investment go sideways with EssayJack, Pat was the first person I called. When we had an acquisition offer on the table, Pat was the first person I called. When I was thinking about my next career before joining RBCx, Pat was the first person I called,” Ledohowski said in a message to BetaKit.
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“For over ten years Pat and L-Spark have been synonymous. A post-Pat White L-Spark is unchartered territory,” she added.
Sonya Shorey, president and CEO of neighbouring tech hub Invest Ottawa, said it has been an honour to work alongside White, adding that he has played a pivotal role in shaping the growth and success of countless entrepreneurs and companies.
“Pat White has been an unwavering champion of Canadian founders for more than a decade, and his legacy is woven deeply into our tech ecosystem,” Shorey told BetaKit. “He brings an incredible combination of entrepreneurial grit, humility, and commitment to the people he supports.”
White won’t be completely out of the picture, though he won’t have a formalized role. He said that he will be available to give his opinion or help anyway he can, and that he intends to be engaged with SaaS North, the annual tech conference L-Spark co-founded, to see it “thrive and grow.”
“I think most of the entrepreneurs that have gone through our program would say they got value and continue to, and that’s a big win for me,” White said. “I think we still have an opportunity to do a lot more, as a country and as tech companies, and I want to see us keep pushing for greater and bigger dreams.”
Feature image courtesy SaaS North.