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Vancouver Founder Fund Closes its First Venture Fund at $14.1 Million
Monday, November 7, 2016Company Profile | Follow Company
Vancouver, BC, November 7, 2016--(T-Net)--Vancouver Founder Fund (VFF) announced that it has closed its first venture fund with a total of $14.1 million in committed capital.
Based in Vancouver, the VFF team are first-time fund managers who believe in a “service-based” approach to venture capital: using their own entrepreneurial and management experience to “extend the capacity” of founding teams is a central part of their investment thesis.
Fraser Hall and Dan Eisenhardt founded VFF with a determination to do things differently, according to the firm. They are pulling from their own experience raising early-stage capital from Vancouver-area sources for Recon Instruments, a company that makes heads-up displays for sports like cycling which they founded together and sold to Intel last year.
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Editor's Note: Fraser Hall and Dan Eisenhardt are previously co-founders of Vanouver-based Recon Instruments (in Yaletown) which was acquired by Intel in June 2015 (for a rumoured but not confirmed $175 million+).
Recon raised over $17 million in funding in 3 rounds from a number of well known investors including Intel Capital, local VC firm Vanedge Capital, and Motorola Solutions Venture Capital.
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Vancouver Founder Fund Co-Founders Fraser Hall and Dan Eisenhardt
“Vancouver Founder Fund is a fund built by founders, for founders. We set out to be the funding partner we always wished we had had as entrepreneurs,” says Dan Eisenhardt.
He and Fraser Hall pride themselves on creating a relationship with founders that is rooted in trust, and a partnership that extends beyond their financial commitment.
“We succeed by helping founders succeed. Sometimes that's getting in the trenches and other times it's having to step back,” explains Hall.
Investors in VFF include BDC Capital and a collection of local and European entrepreneurs.
“BDC Capital has been an invaluable partner as we establish ourselves within the ecosystem,” says Fraser Hall. “BDC Capital is one of the few institutional limited partners in Canada that invests in ‘emerging' and first-time fund managers. They are known for their patient approach to fostering the growth of new GPs like ourselves.”
“There are many promising IT Companies in and around Vancouver, and a vibrant angel community, but there's a definite lack of institutional seed-stage investors,” says Charles Morand, Director, Fund Investments at BDC Capital. “With this investment,” adds Morand, “BDC Capital seeks to encourage the emergence of a new institutional VC in this part of the country.” Through their investments in and mentorship of early-stage technology ventures, Dan Eisenhardt and Fraser Hall aim to grow VFF into a leading Western Canadian venture fund.
VFF's portfolio already includes: eSports Pools, Thinkific, Sokanu, Article, ThinkCX, and most recently, Tutela.
About Vancouver Founder Fund (“VFF”)
VFF was established in 2015 by Fraser Hall and Dan Eisenhardt (General Partners) to invest in seed-stage ventures in Western Canada. The investment focus is on businesses where the team can tangibly contribute to their success beyond a financial commitment. VFF is currently investing out of its first fund and is actively sourcing companies looking for partnership-based capital. Visit us at www.vanfounder.com and follow us on Twitter (@vanfounder).
About BDC Capital
With more than $2 billion under management, BDC Capital is the investment arm of BDC, serving as a strategic partner to Canada's most innovative and high potential firms. It offers a range of equity, venture capital and flexible growth and transition capital solutions to help Canadian entrepreneurs scale their businesses into global champions. To find out more, visit bdc.ca/capital.
Media Contact:
Anna Hill
Vancouver Founder Fund
anna@vanfounder.com
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