Golden Ventures looks to capitalize on portfolio winners with two new funds

Golden Ventures has closed 2 funds worthy a combined $147 cardinal CAD ($120 cardinal USD) to grow beyond early-stage investing and articulation a increasing database of Canadian VCs with dedicated accidental funds.

The Toronto-based task steadfast has closed its 4th seed-stage money with a full of $123 cardinal CAD ($100 cardinal USD) and a $24 cardinal CAD ($20 cardinal USD) Opportunities Fund.

“So, there’s often further accidental for america to put that we were conscionable not capitalizing on.”

With its caller accidental fund, Golden is the latest home-grown VC with a dedicated money to capitalize connected larger stakes successful winning companies arsenic exits accelerate crossed the Canadian tech ecosystem. While portion of a macro-trend, it is simply a notable enlargement for 1 of Canada’s astir salient early-stage investors.

“The Opportunities Fund truly came astir successful presumption of conscionable recognizing that, done effect investing, we truly physique precise beardown relationships with the founders of these companies,” said Matt Golden, laminitis and managing spouse of Golden.

“We typically lone put successful our effect conveyance up to the Series A, and rarely, seldom beyond that, yet we person entree to those deals and tin proceed to adhd worth to those companies,” Golden added. “So, there’s often further accidental for america to put that we were conscionable not capitalizing connected and, so, we wanted to marque definite that, for the payment of the founders and the payment of our investors, we had different conveyance that we could proceed connected that travel with them.”

Golden’s constricted partners (LPs) for the funds see some caller and returning investors. Existing investors see BDC Capital, Foundry Group Next, HarbourVest Partners, Kensington Capital Partners, Northleaf Capital Partners and Teralys Capital, arsenic good arsenic undisclosed household offices and individuals. LPs joining for the archetypal clip see ECMC Group, Plexo Capital, RBC, University of Chicago and Vintage Investment Partners.

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Golden did not supply a breakdown of which LPs invested successful which money but told BetaKit determination was a fig of LPs that invested successful some Fund IV and the Opportunities Fund.

The 2 funds bring Golden’s full assets nether absorption to $280 cardinal CAD, crossed 5 funds. Since launching successful 2011 with a absorption connected mobile products and services, Golden has garnered a ample portfolio, with 80 progressive companies, and expanded to go assemblage agnostic.

Golden began investing retired of the Opportunities Fund and Fund IV astatine the opening of this year, the last adjacent for the second was held successful caller weeks.

Golden’s determination to motorboat an accidental money follows a way of notable early-stage investments successful the likes of SkipTheDishes, Wave, Wattpad, and Top Hat. This group, on with Golden’s broader portfolio, person led to beardown wide money show for Golden. According to the firm, Golden’s “core portfolio companies” person realized implicit $1 cardinal successful exit value, and, since January 2021 alone, person raised much than $500 cardinal successful follow-on capital.

SkipTheDishes, which was sold successful precocious 2016 to UK-based rival Just Eat for $200 cardinal CAD, was 1 of Golden’s aboriginal wins. Ameet Shah, a spouse astatine Golden, told BetaKit the exit returned a important information of Golden’s 2nd fund. Golden has since gone connected to go an early-backer successful Neo Financial, which was created by 2 SkipTheDishes founders.

Shah besides noted the caller acquisition of Wattpad (one of Golden’s archetypal investments) for $754 cardinal CAD returned much than Golden’s full archetypal fund. Over the past six months unsocial Golden has besides seen companies similar Top Hat, Clearco, Xanadu, and Brightwheel unafraid important rounds of financing and unafraid notable valuations. Golden’s portfolio besides includes names similar Faire, ApplyBoard, Ritual, BenchSci, Avidbots, and Inkbox, galore of which person raised just amounts of superior implicit the past year.

“When we were gathering SkipTheDishes, determination was a steep learning curve arsenic archetypal clip founders successful an earlier tech ecosystem similar the Canadian Prairies,” said Andrew Chau, present CEO of Neo Financial. “Golden was precise important successful helping america to span that cognition gap. Now, with Neo Financial, we person the accidental to use our learnings and physique thing adjacent bigger. There’s a full cohort of repetition founders successful Canada up to bat again.”

“If we’re well-positioned to beryllium participants successful that past we should.”
 

Golden’s main absorption volition stay connected seed-stage investing, with the Opportunities Fund giving the steadfast the accidental to clasp important stakes successful its portfolio companies arsenic they turn and find occurrence astatine Series B and beyond. The bulk of Golden’s Opportunities Fund volition beryllium allocated to existing portfolio companies with a tiny information disposable for caller investments.

The steadfast is besides looking to marque earlier-stage investments, allocating a information of Fund IV to what it’s calling “angel investments.” These earlier-stage investments volition fundamentally beryllium smaller cheques for companies the steadfast says “may not conscionable our halfway concern criteria but wherever we person a beardown content successful the founders and the opportunity.” Golden is targeting up to half-a-million for ‘angel’ investments, $1.5 cardinal for Fund IV, and $2.5 cardinal for the Opportunities Fund.

Golden is the latest among a radical of Canadian VC firms crossed a assortment of concern stages that are hoping to dump much superior successful winning investments for greater returns. Recent early-stage examples see Version One Ventures and Diagram Ventures, While later-stage players similar Inovia and Georgian Partners person besides looked to re-invest successful portfolio winners with growth-stage funds.

“During COVID, surely you saw the task scenery accelerate [as good as] the institution instauration and a batch of the financings accelerating and, so, [the thought of an accidental fund] became truly beforehand and halfway during that time,” said Matt Golden. “It made a batch of consciousness astatine that point, due to the fact that we besides had capable companies implicit the years that were hitting that maturity signifier wherever having an ongoing conveyance to put arsenic they deed definite stages truly made a batch of sense.”

RELATED: Q1 2021 highest connected grounds for Canadian task superior with $2.7 cardinal invested

Shah said that by launching the Opportunities Fund, Golden is besides looking to payment from companies staying backstage longer. Over the past year, the Canadian tech ecosystem has experienced a noticeable surge successful sizeable, later-stage backing opportunities and exits.

“Companies are staying backstage longer, truthful it takes them longer to get to liquidity and there’s each this worth that’s being captured successful the backstage markets and extracurricular the nationalist markets,” said Shah. “So, if we’re well-positioned to beryllium participants successful that past we should.”

Acknowledging the summation successful Canadian tech startups going nationalist implicit the past year, some partners noted the fig remains comparatively tiny and Golden is looking to optimize for the companies staying private.

With the caller funds, Golden remains focused connected investing successful Canada and the United States. Fund IV is acceptable to marque 20 to 25 investments with the Opportunities money making betwixt 8 to 13.

The announcement of the 2 funds besides comes alongside the promotion of Jamie Rosenblatt to partner. Rosenblatt has been with Golden for implicit 5 years, archetypal arsenic an subordinate and past principal. Golden called him “a captious contributor and protagonist not lone to our portfolio founders.” Rosenblatt’s investments see Crux OCM and KitchenMate.

Image courtesy Golden Ventures

The station Golden Ventures looks to capitalize connected portfolio winners with 2 caller funds archetypal appeared connected BetaKit.