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🗳️ Question of the Week

LOI Venture is looking to invest in early-stage Calgary startups

League of Innovators (LOI) Venture — a firm founded by Hootsuite’s Ryan Holmes and angel investor Manny Padda — is looking to put money into more pre-seed and seed-stage startups before the year ends, through its $20 million Fund I.

“We want to get the best-of-the-best in terms of companies,” Paddy told the Calgary Tech Journal, when asked about the firm’s recent callout for businesses to get in touch. “We have a lot of funds, angels, and just people we know in the market who are like, 'Hey, you should take a look at this company.' So we've been really big on doing that, but I think it was really to say that we want to see what's out there.”

LOI intends to write cheques between $100,000 and $300,000. It’s particularly interested in ventures that are alumni of accelerators or incubators, but the organization remains open with other criteria, such as industry, whether or not there are signs of product-market fit, and location within North America — especially in Calgary. 

“We have seen amazing companies come out of this market with our recent investments and want to continue that trend,” said Padda. “Calgary is growing their tech community with government support and angel investors and we want to assist in that growth.”

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