In the eyes of Boris Wertz, founder of Version One Ventures, being a successful venture capitalist means, “remembering you are a coach, not a player.”
In his first few years as an investor, Wertz struggled to follow his own advice. Today, he is one of the top early-stage investors in Canada, with more than 60 consumer, Internet, and enterprise companies in his portfolio.
Wertz is also the founder of JustBooks – an online platform to find used books in Europe. He led that company until it was sold in 2008. Following that, he dabbled as an angel investor, which eventually led to him becoming a venture capitalist. Having the perspective of both an entrepreneur and an investor has been valuable for Wertz; he has advice for both sides of the field.
In this edition of the Startup Canada Podcast, Wertz shares an inside look into the life of a VC, and the pros and cons of Canada’s startup finance environment. Hosted by Rivers Corbett, we’ll hear what Wertz has learned from his experiences as an entrepreneur-turned-investor, and what he thinks needs to change in Canada to help more businesses grow.
The Startup Canada Podcast Show is a production of Startup Canada, a grassroots, entrepreneur-led movement to bring together, celebrate, and give a voice to Canada’s entrepreneurship community. On the podcast, award-winning entrepreneur host Rivers Corbett speaks with the movers and shakers of Canada’s entrepreneurship community to give a glimpse into the future of business, and share insights on everything from social innovation to the future of work, investing, and why we need to think bigger to take our businesses global. Join Rivers Corbett for new episodes every Tuesday airing at 10 AM ET for lessons, trends, and opportunities in entrepreneurship from Vancouver to Fredericton; and Israel to Peru.
You can find every episode of The Startup Canada Podcast Show at www.startupcan.ca/podcasts/.