Can you tell our readers where and how it all started and where you are today?
Where do I start… I was born in 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Since then, my life has been a roller coaster of crazy events, and I ended up becoming his CFO at Google, where I spent seven wonderful years with him starting in 2008. Until 2015, I had a glamorous role, but a lot of responsibility.
So after retiring, I spent two years traveling the world with my wife to recharge my batteries. Upon returning home from my trip, I thought about where I could make the biggest impact. My home country of Canada has all the right ingredients to create large-scale technology successes, but lacks the capital and expertise to keep talented Canadian founders here. I could clearly see what I was doing.
The general consensus was that Canadian companies would either take the plunge and relocate to Silicon Valley or take exit routes overseas.
I saw for myself that we were trying to bridge that gap and try to keep and develop Canadian champions here in our home country. Joining Canada’s largest venture capital firm was a natural choice for me. In doing so, we believed we could enrich Canada’s technology ecosystem, mentor and mentor outstanding local entrepreneurs, and support them in their quest to build global technology giants.
Fast forward to today, Innovia Capital is firmly based in Canada and has quietly established a presence in Europe over the past six years. We recognize that the Canadian and European markets have many similarities, so we leverage our years of experience in Canada to help European winners grow in Europe, while also We take advantage of opportunities to leverage our connections to support our founders’ growth outside of their home base. .
Collectively, we manage over US$2 billion in assets and are pleased to have achieved exits for 58 of our portfolio companies. We pursue a full stack strategy in Canada, but here in Europe we stick to pre-seed and growth investments only. For everything else, we rely on our deep network of leading early-stage companies. We are excited about the companies we meet and look forward to helping European founders achieve global success.
What industry do you work in?
We connect best with founders making big changes in enterprise and consumer software who dream of transforming entire industries.
As a company, we have a clear focus. This means investing in enterprise software with a iterative business model and consumer software with proven unit economics. The companies in our portfolio aim to transform several industries through technology, including commerce, digital health, fintech, future of work, cybersecurity, and travel and hospitality. Inovia has helped founders through major platform migrations. From web to mobile to cloud and now generative AI.
What do you look for in a founder?
I personally like to partner with founders from seed to IPO, so I like to meet founders who are intellectually and emotionally committed to this type of journey.
My criteria for choosing investments is pretty much the same as it was when I was at Google. Because we believe it is the surest path to success. So I’m asking myself, do these founders have the vision and technology to reach a billion people, or can they have an equal impact on their specific industry? Go big or go home!
For founders to accomplish this, they typically need the following:
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great technology
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global thinking
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Alignment with our values and long-term vision – Venture capital is a relationship-based business and we are in it for the long term
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Management team with a solid track record of execution
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In Europe, the focus is on growth, a clear product-market fit
Can you tell us about your current portfolio?
absolutely! Inovia has a portfolio of approximately 75 technology companies at all stages in North America and Europe. My growth stage direct investments include his global B2B and B2C companies in various industries based in North America and the EU. hopper, Neo4j, Zwift, wealthy simple, forward and speed of light.
My partner also recently invested bookish We are really excited to start supporting their journey.
What will the future look like? New trends/technology, changes in global/regional economic conditions?
I’m skeptical about many of the latest technology fads. But I strongly believe that the AI supercycle is different. It’s here now, and it’s reshaping human-computer interaction as we’ve come to know it. AI is an important and innovative technology that must be studied to realize its most useful potential. This moment is commonly referred to as humanity’s transition to the next platform, similar to microprocessors, GUIs, PCs, browsers, smartphones, and the cloud.
Inovia’s view of this market is no secret. We see this moment as a special opportunity to create new value at the business and social level, which is developing before our eyes.
Over the past 24 months, we have strengthened our team of experts to guide our advice and thinking about the impact of AI and how to build, operate, and scale companies in the new AI era. The team includes multiple AI PhDs, experts from leading data companies such as Google Deepmind, Microsoft Research, and DataDog, and experienced financial and business professionals.We encourage you to read our full paper here.
What makes it different from Inovia?
We are a team of investors and executives who have built world-class companies. Our roots are in Canada, but our network and mindset are global. We support a founder’s ambitions from seed to his IPO and have a track record of realizing them.
When I was CFO at Google, I played a role in a company that grew rapidly and became a global giant. On the operator side, my colleagues Raif Jacobs and Dennis Kavelman were his CFOs at Deliveroo and RIM respectively. Just for the record, we’ve helped guide successful companies from seed to IPO and beyond.
We take a hands-on approach and proactively support founders as they build global, sustainable technology companies. This is particularly unique in the European market and allows us to differentiate, especially with an operator-led mindset.
We’ve built and expanded a global company. We have had many experiences, including “walking a mile in their shoes.” We support our founders and give them a head start by proactively helping them profit from both our mistakes and our global network. In this winner-take-all competition, this is invaluable, especially for European founders looking to expand into North America.
Do you have any advice for founders?
Think globally from day one. Prove your product’s market fit domestically, but in parallel, keep your eyes on the real prize: building a truly global company.
Patrick Pichette is the next partner. Innovia Capital.