Staircase Ventures leads seed-stage rounds into Canada’s highest potential tech companies with unparalleled dedication to accelerating founders’ development and performance.
Janet Bannister
Managing Partner
Founder Growth Platform
01
Executive CEO
Coaching
CEOs are paired with coaches, who specialize in working with start-up leaders, to set them up for continual growth and success.
Receive 6 to 12 months of one-on-one confidential coaching.
02
Peer
Support Groups
Founders are matched with other leaders across North America with similar opportunities and challenges.
Join confidential, facilitated peer groups with other founders.
03
Health & Wellness Programs
Founders receive access to a dedicated Cleveland Clinic Canada health coach who works to enhance their health and wellbeing.
Benefit from a dedicated health coach to optimize physical & mental health.
04
Personal Financial Advisor
Founders benefit from a personal financial advisor who specializes in supporting tech founders.
Access a financial advisor specialized in early-stage founders.
05
Family Support Stipend
Founders receive cash stipend as a reflection of our values and respect for founders as “whole people”.
Receive a cash stipend for child/elder support or other family needs.
Staircase Carry Fund
All Founders Receive Carry
Every founder we back benefits from the upside of the Staircase Ventures Fund. Much like founders give stock options to their team members so everyone wins together, we share carry in the Fund, so all founders are incented to support and celebrate one another.
20% of Carry is Set Aside
Staircase Ventures (the “GP”) sets aside 20% of its carry (the profits it makes from investing) for Founders and Advisors. We allocate carry equally to each company and within each company, the carry is divided amongst the founders based on their common shareholdings in the business.
Carry Vests Overtime
Much like stock options, your allocated carry will vest over five years and will continue to vest as long as you are part of the Staircase Ventures portfolio. If your company has a successful exit before the carry is fully vested, the unvested carry will vest immediately.
Our Team
Managing Partner Janet Bannister has 25+ years of building and investing in rapidly growing tech companies. A team of Advisors, all of whom have launched and built $1B+ businesses, support the portfolio with their knowledge, experience, and networks.
Robbie Marks
Associate
Madison Wright
Venture Scout
Mike Wessinger
Staircase Ventures Advisor and
Co-Founder/Former CEO, PointClickCare
Craig Miller
Staircase Ventures Advisor and
Former CPO, CMO, Shopify
Ahmed Khaishgi
Staircase Ventures Advisor and
Founder/Former CEO, SquareTrade
Kristen Hamilton
Staircase Ventures Advisor and
Co-Founder/Former CEO, Koru
Angelo Papatheodorou
Staircase Ventures Advisor and
Former SVP Sales, PointClickCare
Manoj Verma
Staircase Ventures Advisor and
Co-Founder/CRO, TabaPay
Mike Shaver
Staircase Ventures Advisor and
Distinguished Engineer, Shopify
David Belbeck
Staircase Ventures Advisor and
Former CFO at PointClickCare
Investment Focus
Stage
Staircase Ventures leads pre-seed and seed stage investment rounds. We look for companies with initial product in market and early signs of product-market fit.
Sector
We invest primarily in B2B software companies which are leveraging technology to deliver radically improved efficiency or effectiveness to their customers.
Geography
Staircase Ventures invests in Canadian-based companies, most of which are targeting a North American or global market.
“I think the thing that most stands out about Janet, is her character and deep care for the founders with whom she works. She always puts her founders first, works very hard to help them in multiple ways, and inspires them to believe in themselves and their ambitions.” – Humera Malik, Founder and CEO, Canvass
Contact Us
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