Our Team

Meet the faces behind Spring who collectively bring a world of knowledge and experience to the entrepreneurship and impact communities.

Keith Ippel

CEO & Cofounder

With over 25 years experience as a leader in technology & impact businesses, Keith has accelerated companies and ecosystems and raised over $30m in angel investment and venture capital. A global keynote speaker, teacher, and advisor, Keith leads Spring and focuses on our strategic growth and global ecosystem advisory work. Keith has been riding his bike to work for over 10 years now- rain or shine!

Caroline von Hirschberg

Chief Operating Officer

Caroline brings fresh experience starting and scaling social ventures in the UK and Kenya. Along the journey of iterative product development to international product launches of renewable energy solutions, Caroline has learned the value of human centred design, the rollercoaster of managing international operations, the value of partnerships and how to raise funds from multiple sources! She’s now excited to share these insights with social entrepreneurs looking to grow their impact.

Vivian McCormick

Business Development Director

Vivian was a practicing lawyer in Vancouver for over 10 years, first with a national law firm and then as in-house counsel with Business Development Bank of Canada. Taking her knowledge and experience further into the business realm as an advisor, she started her own entrepreneurial journey with her first company Flax Sleep. She supports entrepreneurs with raising capital and oversees Spring’s programming and partnerships.

Damanbir Singh

Director of Operations

A recent transplant in Vancouver, Damanbir is a cross-sector professional who enables mission-driven organizations to create a positive impact. With a mixed bag of experiences ranging from advising entrepreneurs, fundraising and managing donor relations, he is keen on learning and contributing towards the growth of social enterprises and the impact investing space. At Spring, he manages operations and special projects providing support to the Spring team.

Sophie Bujold

Community Manager

Sophie is an entrepreneur and consultant with more than 18 years of experience in community building, customer experience and digital strategy. At Spring, Sophie acts as a key contact for entrepreneurs, alumni, mentors, investors, and partners to ensure we provide an exceptional and value-added experience.

Mari Mathews

Program Director, Impact Investing

Mari began her career working internationally for 10+ years in the ski & tourism industry. In Oslo, Norway she co-founded Outtt raising over 4 million NOK and driving the company to over seventy thousand monthly active users and 40+ paying customers. Now back in her hometown of Vancouver, Mari devotes her time to helping entrepreneurs navigate raising capital for early stage growth.

Luan Tolosa

Program Manager

Luan Tolosa is an entrepreneur, advisor, and passionate believer that anything is possible. She started her career in commercial real estate and after completing her MBA and Certificate in Social Impact, she started her own entrepreneurial journey with her first company SEWT, and as a consultant helping other entrepreneurs realize their vision. At Spring, Luan helps impact-driven entrepreneurs succeed through the leadership of Spring projects and programs from design to delivery to evaluation.

Tiffany Shen

Program Manager

Tiffany Shen is an entrepreneur, consultant and creative strategist. Tiffany uses creative strategy and solutions to start and grow businesses. At Spring, she helps entrepreneurs start and grow their social impact businesses. She loves roaming in the mountains and diving into projects around wellness, AI and outdoors lifestyle.

Sarah Applebaum

Funding Facilitator

Committed to life-long learning, technology & innovation, and hopefully doing things a bit differently. I work with entrepreneurs and help them realize their vision of the future.

Sana Kapadia

Advisor

Sana Kapadia is a world changer, champion of diversity and systems change. A Top 40 under 40 winner, she drives strategy and impact at Spring with her rich global background in impact Investing, equity research, and social entrepreneurship. Currently living in Germany, Sana is a mum of two adventurous trailblazers (under 4!), reads voraciously, loves traveling and wants to scuba dive with her beach-loving husband.

Mike Winterfield