MaRS Mornings - Funding the future

Canadian startups are facing a serious funding shortfall.

Recent research from NACO and Startup Genome estimates Canadian startups are missing U.S.$141 million annually at pre-seed/seed and U.S.$181 million at Series A compared to similar startups in comparable U.S. cities.

This gap isn’t experienced equally. In Canada, women founders receive only a small share of venture capital—about 4 percent according to recent national reporting—despite growing entrepreneurship and performance.

Conversely, wealth ownership is shifting dramatically. By 2030, women are projected to control two-thirds of global private wealth. In Canada, this figure will surge to $4.7 trillion by 2028—more than double the $2.2 trillion held in 2023. Mobilizing this capital toward entrepreneurship has the power to fuel Canadian startup growth and bridge critical early-stage funding gaps.

Join us for a discussion with two investing ecosystem builders focused on angel networks and a successful startup founder to explore what it takes to unlock early-stage funding, spark more investment and help more companies grow from bold ideas into real economic success stories.

Agenda:

9:00 a.m.: Registration, Coffee & Networking

9:10 a.m.: Welcome

9:15 a.m.: Panel discussion

9:45 a.m.: Audience Q&A

10:00 a.m.: Networking

Speakers:

Lisa Graston, Director of Operations, National Angel Capital Organization

Lisa Graston is an innovation ecosystem strategist with a global perspective on emerging tech and the mobilization of capital for entrepreneurs. As Director of Operations at the National Angel Capital Organization (NACO), Lisa contributes to national initiatives that strengthen Canada’s early-stage capital networks and innovation economy. NACO is Canada's national industry association representing angel investors, incubators, and early-stage capital networks - through policy advocacy, research, and convening initiatives, NACO mobilizes capital, strengthens regional ecosystems, and supports the growth of high-potential startups across Canada. Since its inception, NACO members have invested over $1.8 billion into more than 2,000 early-stage companies, fueling innovation from coast to coast.

Ariel Siller, Managing Director, Women's Equity Lab

Ariel Siller is a strategic executive and lawyer working at the intersection of innovation, capital, and systems change. She is Managing Director of Women’s Equity Lab (WEL), a national network of early-stage investment funds that activates hundreds of women angel investors and backs some of Canada’s most promising startups, leading national strategy, fund expansion, and partnerships to advance women’s economic participation and strengthen Canada’s innovation ecosystem. Previously, she was CEO of the Canadian Children’s Literacy Foundation, raising over $25M and launching multi-sector programs reaching 80,000+ children, and she began her career in corporate and renewable-energy law at Torys LLP and O’Melveny & Myers LLP. Ariel serves on the boards of Women’s College Hospital Foundation and The Pine Project, and holds a J.D. from Stanford Law School and a B.A. from Columbia University.

Vishar Yaghoubian, Founder and CEO, Toothpod

Vishar is the founder of Toothpod, a dental smart gum designed to clean teeth when there’s no access to a toothbrush. With $1M+ in funding, they partnered with Harvard Dentistry and a leading dental group serving 400+ clinics. Vishar served on the UofT Governing Council, was Mental Health Director and Assistant Coach for the Women’s Basketball D-League. She was named Entrepreneur of the Year by Next Canada, with Toothpod featured in national news and one of the Most Ambitious startups (BetaKit).

Moderator:

Stephanie Hughes, Equities Reporter, Bloomberg News

Stephanie Hughes is an equities reporter at Bloomberg News in Toronto, covering stocks and Canadian business in articles and on television as a BNN Bloomberg regular. She also worked at publications like the Financial Post as a finance reporter, BNN Bloomberg, and Yahoo! Finance Canada covering topics like Canada's biggest banks, the Bank of Canada, fintech, mortgage and housing policy, cryptocurrencies, economic news — as well as any other interesting news that crosses her desk.

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