Our Expert Network

Prashant is a former banker and strategist turned venture builder, developer, and investor. He built his first business at 17. Curiosity and commercialization are his superpowers. Helping people make money and empowering founders with access to capital is his gift.

Shannon Bard, PhD, specializes in accelerating deep science ventures. She’s supported 80+ startups in climate/environment, health, and social impact. She launched the Climate Venture Studio at entrepreneurship@UBC, winning both the BC Cleantech Award and Clean50 Award. Her portfolio teams have won a £1M EarthshotPrize and two $1M X-Prizes for carbon sequestration.

Lise is a clean tech advisor with nearly 20 years of experience. She has led $100M+ investor diligence, secured $30M+ in non-dilutive funding, and overseen $180M in projects. Formerly Director of Corporate Development at Valent and Investment Lead at SDTC, she specializes in funding strategy, investor relations, and project management.

Zahra is the founder of Crunch TimeZ, where she helps startups and growth-stage companies build CFO-level financial systems for scale and cash flow discipline. She specializes in turning messy numbers into clear, decision-ready insights. Zahra also hosts The CFO Edge podcast for founders navigating real-world growth challenges.

As President & CEO of Carveira Group Consulting, Chris has supported 50+ IT system implementations, market entry strategies, and commercialization initiatives for health tech companies in Canada and abroad. He also serves as President & Board Chair of Digital Health Canada, where he champions community building and innovation.

As Founder & Principal Advisor at Couët Strategic Advisors, Nathalie works with early-stage and growth-stage companies to build high-performing commercial and marketing functions from the ground up. With 15+ years of experience across software, hardware, and financial services, she brings a practical, systems-driven approach to brand-building, demand generation, and sales enablement.

As the Surefire Growth Accelerator™ behind BIG BOLD BRAND, Karley Cunningham helps businesses break free from overcrowded markets so they can stand out and thrive. She specializes in guiding companies through the messy middle, transforming uncertainty into clarity, and equips founders with proven strategies that deliver acceleration, profit, and stability.

Chin is the Principal Consultant at ClassyNarwhal. He is an active EIR for SwissEP and mentors startups through BCIT, The Forum, and Futurpreneur. He is also the author of “Selling Ethically: The C.A.R.E. Methodology” and “UnReasonable Transformation: The actionable roadmap for leaders and entrepreneurs to create meaningful personal and professional change.”

Mina is an innovation leader and Entrepreneur-in-Residence supporting founders through capital-critical stages. He has helped 300+ startups across Canada strengthen grant strategy, fundraising readiness, and business models. Known for practical, founder-first coaching, AI-enabled tools, and clear decision frameworks that move companies from uncertainty to traction.

Robert Eisses is a senior corporate development executive focused on sustainable HW and SW solutions. He has held various roles including CEO/Co-founder of Orbitless Drives Inc, CEO of Icron Technologies and interim COO, Polar Battery. He currently works with early-stage technology companies to develop GTM strategies aimed at international markets.

Kareena Fagwani is a growth and partnerships leader helping mission-driven startups turn purpose into scalable revenue. As a founding commercial team member at rePurpose Global, she helped scale the company to a $15M Series A through enterprise GTM, partnerships, and customer success leadership. Kareena brings deep experience in complex ecosystems.

With over 25 years of hands-on experience bringing innovative solutions to market, Chris helps greentech founders build repeatable sales systems and secure strategic partnerships that drive real revenue growth. His approach combines deep market diagnostics with systems thinking to identify constraints and navigate complex stakeholder landscapes.

Jason is a Kelowna-based founder, CTO, mentor, and impact investor. He helps shape the next generation of startups as an EIR at Foresight CAC and Business Mentor at Futurpreneur Canada. In 2006, Jason launched Vertical Motion Inc., which has since grown into one of Canada’s top software and application developers.

Nadia Ladak is the Co-Founder and CEO of Marlow, a fast-growing FemTech and women’s health startup. She has raised $3.5M in funding, plus an additional $700K in non-dilutive grants. She’s been recognized by Forbes 30 Under 30 and Canada’s Top 25 Women of Influence.

As the founding CEO of flextrapower and co-founder of Buyo Plastics, Linh brings international business expertise and an Intellectual Property perspective for deep tech startups in BC. Linh is an EIR at the UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, where he’s supported dozens of UBC spin-offs in the last 3 years.

Dean is a five-time startup go-to-market operator who recently led innovation consulting and customer development at Fujitsu Intelligence, focused on quantum-inspired computing, annealer-based optimization, and AI. He’s studying LLMs, new forms of retrieval-augmented generation, and emerging AI paradigms, and is passionate about validating problems, solutions, customers, markets, and positioning.

Matthew is an accomplished executive with a diverse background in entrepreneurial, advisory, and director roles. A successful Founder of multiple businesses, he’s also acted as a fractional CFO and strategic growth advisor to a wide variety of Founders. He has served on and advised multiple for-profit and non-profit boards.

Sarah is a corporate and venture capital lawyer with a practice focused on supporting early-stage and impact-driven companies. She advises founders, investors, and funds on financings, commercial agreements, and strategic growth. In addition to her legal practice, she leads initiatives to support mentorship, professional development, and inclusive workplace culture.

Sonali is an award-winning entrepreneur and strategy leader with 20 years of global experience across impact, startups, and public innovation. She is passionate about bridging policy, technology, and capital, has mentored founders, and has led province-wide grant programs to help impact-first ventures scale with purpose and measurable outcomes.

Michele Wallcraft is a senior commercial executive who has founded and scaled startups and contributed to the growth of Fortune 500 technology companies across the Americas, Europe, and Africa. She draws on her extensive commercial and international experience to help founders build the strategies required to scale world-changing technologies.

Entrepreneur, executive, and investor with a track record spanning five startups, two IPOs, and a turnaround. Eric empowers founders to de-risk and scale tech ventures by leveraging strategic industrial partnerships. He translates complex constraints into executable commercialization plans, building enduring assets with a dedicated, founder-first approach.

Vanessa is a senior executive with experience in business and partnership development, fundraising, technology transfer, and R&D and commercialization, primarily in the biotech and tech sectors. Her career has been dedicated to innovation and building a supportive ecosystem. She is also an active angel investor and Limited Partner.

Lee is the former COO and co-founder of ehsAI, an environmental AI start-up. Launched in 2018, the founders sold the company to a Fortune 500 firm in 2020.

Nat advises early-stage ventures, leveraging experience in scaling companies, impact investing, and high-growth markets. She co-founded and was COO of Finn AI, acquired by Glia Technologies Inc. Formerly managing a $250M health fund at the Global Fund, she’s also served on Canada’s AI Advisory Council and multiple academic and advisory boards.

Thi works at the intersection of innovation and social purpose, acting as the connective tissue to help organizations deepen their impact. She serves on the board of Purppl, supporting sustainable impact models. Thi brings deep expertise in partnership development and facilitation, dedicated to fostering new ways of showing up, thinking, and doing.

Giovanni is an experienced entrepreneur, engineer, and business executive. In 2019, he co-founded a medtech startup. Currently, he works with Accelerators (as EIR), VCs (as Venture Partner), and Startups (as Fractional COO). He helps B2B deep tech and hardware startup founders manage their time, money, and decision-making.

Suzanne is an entrepreneur, go-to-market strategist, and change leader. She’s conducted business in 17 countries, with CEO experience spanning early stage investment, MedTech startup, non-profit advocacy, and strategic communications. Today as Executive Director at Capital Angel Network, Suzanne connects emerging Canadian tech founders with investors and experts.

Matt is an expert in the startup and recruitment spaces and has been trusted by many startups to build and lead their talent acquisition strategy. Over the past 23 years, he’s been called on by companies like Certn, Loop, and ClinNEXUS to lead their scale.

Mike works at the crossroads of strategy and finance, helping teams truly understand their numbers and use them to make smarter strategic and operational decisions. He’s also helped founders raise capital, guided successful exits, invested as a VC, and supported over $1.6 billion in closed M&A deals.

As the former co-founder of a women’s health brand and COO of a high-growth wellness company across the UK and US, Nikki has experience building consumer brands from the ground up. She’s skilled in turning early-stage chaos into clarity, shaping go-to-market strategies, and designing operational systems that unlock scale.

Lucas helps organizations deliver CRM foundations which scale and ensure that team members are using industry standard best practices to maximize revenue.

Darius is a HardTech founder and fractional CTO with 15+ years of experience building first-of-its-kind technologies across wearables, IoT, healthtech, robotics, automation, and industrial solutions. Passionate about both technology and entrepreneurship, he loves supporting founders through the challenges of building. He is currently leading Cibotica and Combination Technologies.

Through his consultancy, Shapiro & Company, Alan Shapiro works with small business, non-profit, and government organizations to scale climate, nature, and water solutions. He teaches in the Sustainable Business Leadership program at BCIT and has mentored startups through Foresight Canada, Ocean Startup Project, and the Centre for Social Innovation.

Alex is Co-Founder of Lutra Talent Partners, a boutique search firm providing a talent edge to the innovators creating tomorrow’s possibilities. Since 2010, he has supported technology ventures through executive search and strategic recruiting, partnering with founders and operators to scale technical teams and hire key leaders.

Elizabeth Thorsen is an experienced tactical and strategic operator, investor, and serial founder with nearly 20 years supporting startups and scale ups across deep tech, cleantech, health and life sciences, and retail/CPG. Passionate about impact-driven work, she thrives on guiding founders and teams toward clarity, execution, and scale.

Richard is a Red River Métis serial entrepreneur and experienced executive. He is currently CEO of Wakopa Financial Workers Co-op, Canada’s sole Indigenous-owned social financial services and impact company, and co-founder of the Social Entrepreneurship Enclave and the Indigenous Venture Challenge.

Romina has helped founders access the resources, networks, and strategies they need to thrive as they bring their impact-driven ventures to life in Canada. Her passion lies in creating an environment where bold ideas can take root, grow, and contribute to Canada’s innovation economy.

Christine has spent her career leading impact not-for-profit organizations. She is a connector who is always thinking of people, organizations, or opportunities she can introduce her clients to. She has been involved with a number of investment circles and as a mentor to startup programs.

Dr. Mairi-Jane Fox teaches about alternatives to VC funding for startups at the Watson Institute. She was a finance and economics professor and director of the Sustainable Economics Enterprise Development Institute at the Regis University Anderson School of Business. She was also the first director of ESG at Techstars.

David is a fractional CFO who helps founders raise money and make it last. He’s worked with 30+ biotech, cleantech, agtech, and software startups to help raise $16M+. He’s currently building Frictionless Fundraising, a training company focused exclusively on helping founders raise early-stage capital confidently and quickly.