Resilience

Commitment

Perseverance

Focus

ABOUT US

First Ascent Ventures was founded in 2015 and invests in emerging Canadian technology companies that are building the next generation of disruptive, enterprise B2B software that leverages the cloud, big data, analytics, mobility, AI and machine learning. The founding partners of the Fund Richard Black and Tony van Marken have been involved with over 35 technology companies as founders, operating executives, advisors and investors with a track record of successful growth and premium returns.

First Ascent Ventures is looking for outstanding, committed entrepreneurs and management teams who seek not just financial backing, but the experience and expertise of successful financial and operating executives who can create a catalyst for growth and ultimately a successful exit for all stake holders.

The story behind the name

In mountaineering a first ascent is the first successful, documented summit of a mountain by an unclimbed route. First ascents are notable because they entail genuine exploration, with greater risks, challenges and recognition than climbing a route pioneered by others. This is not dissimilar to the challenges and risks involved in building a start-up technology company.

INVESTMENT CRITERIA

Our target companies have growing monthly recurring revenues with a strong product offering and top tier customer references. We typically invest from the Series A round onwards with around $5 to $10 million per investment. In order to add value we require a board seat and actively assist management teams to grow their business.

 

  • “In early stage companies, the investors you bring on the journey can be as crucial to your success as your first executive team hires.  Selected well, they will contribute at crucial times and on critical topics in a helpful and valuable manner.  In a Canadian context, First Ascent Ventures, is one of the most thoughtful, pragmatic and experienced names in venture capital.  Any early stage company Founder/Leadership team would do well to have them in the tent and on the journey.”

    Andrew Waitman - CEO, Assent Compliance

PORTFOLIO











  • “I’ve had the opportunity to work with Tony and the team at First Ascent Ventures, since 2016. They have been instrumental in helping grow Q4 from an early stage company to the scaled business it is today. It’s never easy to build a company and there are always ups and downs. Having the right partner, like First Ascent Ventures, makes all the difference in achieving success and getting to the next level.”

    Darrell Heaps - CEO, Q4 Inc.

The Team

scribble2

ScribbleLive is an award-winning content performance company that provides global brands with the insights and solutions they need to better attract, convert, and retain their audiences.

Companies such as Red Bull, FedEx, Dell, Reuters, Yahoo, American Express, and the Boston Globe leverage the ScribbleLive Content Cloud to create scalable, premium content, interactive experiences and real-time audience engagement.

Our goal is to help you optimize your content performance and drive better business results.

q42

Q4 is a leading global provider of cloud-based investor relations and capital market solutions with has offices in New York, Chicago, Toronto, Copenhagen, and London.

Their comprehensive portfolio of IR solutions, including quantitative and real-time shareholder analytics, IR desktop, websites, and webcasting arm industry professionals with the tools and insights required to run award-winning IR programs, make effective business decisions, and better engage with the street.

assentthumb

The Assent Compliance Platform is a centralized supply chain data management platform that leverages automated supplier engagement and logic-driven data validation to provide actionable analytics on information.

The solution combines leading-edge technologies with extensive supply chain expertise to enhance data management for product compliance, corporate social responsibility and vendor risk.

sensibill-logo2

Sensibill works with the most innovative global financial institutions to solve their customers’ pain point of managing receipts.

Sensibill’s solution drives net new engagements across online and mobile banking channels, while unlocking deep purchase insights across all payment methods. The service is fully white-labeled, designed specifically to meet bank requirements and is live with Tier 1 financial institutions today.

The company operates in the United States, Europe and Canada.

RubikloudLogo2-300x167

Rubikloud is changing retail with intelligent decision automation using AI.

Based in Toronto, Canada, our cloud-native AI platform and two flagship AI applications (Promotion Manager & Customer LifeCycle Manager) automate and improve mass promotional planning and loyalty driven marketing for large retailers and CPG's.

They believe that AI should deliver business operational improvements and an immediate financial impact. Today we have multi-billion-dollar clients with retail brands operating in North America, Europe, and Asia.

Upchain-new-2

Upchain is a cloud PLM solution that integrates engineering data up and down the value chain to drive collaboration, innovation, and growth.

Started in 2015 with the goal of changing what PLM means for users across the supply chain, Upchain's vision is a completely interconnected supply chain from the first nut to the final bolt, where collaboration is the default setting, and where mission-critical data is simultaneously accessible and secure. We think process doesn’t have to be as hard as it is, and we intend to make it a whole lot easier for everyone.

TDWv2-300x167

ThinkData Works Inc. is a Toronto-based technology company whose platform, Namara.io, is used by some of the worlds’ largest organizations to process and refine data into usable products. We host one of the worlds’ largest repositories of publicly available data and enable our clients to significantly increase the amount of information they use to run their business.

At ThinkData, our mission is to build the easiest and most secure solution that enables our users to access, collaborate, and integrate with the data that powers their business. Some of the largest companies in the world use our platform to build machine intelligent solutions that are redefining their industries - all built on the back of our platform Namara.

Sportlogic

Sportlogiq is an AI powered sports analytics company. We help teams win more games and broadcasters engage more viewers.

Our advanced analytics software tracks the location and actions of every player on the ice, field, or court using standard game footage. Machine intelligence techniques are then used to extract meaningful insights from the data collected, allowing teams and fans to understand and experience the game in ways previously unimaginable.

Dialogue

Dialogue offers a range of healthcare services to employees and their families. We work hard to keep individuals healthy, present at work, productive and happy.

Through Dialogue, employees can chat with a nurse for any health or well-being related questions, consult a psychologist when they are stressed, chat with a nutritionist to lose weight, or consult with a doctor for conditions that can be managed virtually. We are a new part of your employees'​ benefits program. No more time wasted in waiting rooms, or conditions that go untreated because they simply don't have time.

DailyPay

DailyPay partners with companies to offer employees the ability to control when they get paid. Not only does this solution empower financial wellness, but for the company it acts as a tool to recruit, retain, and engage their workforce. At DailyPay, our mission is to offer people their first steps toward financial security.

The senior management team at DailyPay spent years at AOL, Goldman Sachs, and LendingHome. DailyPay is backed by leading venture capital firms and world class strategic investors. The Company is headquartered in New York.