VICTORIA – Tectoria Venture Partners has commissioned and released the findings of a detailed survey on the current state of Victoria’s tech ecosystem. The report, Victoria Angel / Micro-VC Fund Analysis, was the result of interviewing 41 key stakeholders in the tech community, with the purpose of gathering both the qualitative and quantitative data needed to determine whether a sizeable angel fund could be sustained in Victoria, BC. The conclusion was that the city’s buzzing tech sector could easily sustain a $20-30 million angel fund, spurring the intent to launch Tectoria Venture Partners.
Tectoria Venture Partners aims to fill the gap between high potential startups and the lack of early stage funding available to them. Victoria is home to many passionate entrepreneurs who are innovating, improving, and making an impact on the world. In many cases, all they need is backing to do so.
By quantifying the past 5 years, the report accounts for over $31.5 million of direct angel investment into local Victoria tech startups, and over $217 million in exit values from tech companies in Victoria. The tech ecosystem is large and growing and there is strong opportunity.
75 percent of entrepreneurs reported that raising capital in Victoria was a challenging process. The top challenges faced are the inability to find the right connections, and wasting time chasing uninterested investors.
70 percent of angel investors reported that they lack the time to do proper due diligence on potential companies, proving to be a major deterrent from investing more.
The goals for Tectoria Venture Partners will be to provide strong leadership, support, and investment into Victoria’s tech community to help further galvanize the startup ecosystem, and to provide superior returns to its investors.
Victoria is fast becoming a major tech hub in Canada. For over a decade tech has been the city’s largest private industry with over 880 tech companies, directly employing close to 20,000 people and an economic impact of over $4.03 Billion.
The concept of a formalized angel fund in Victoria is receiving strong interest from local angels, entrepreneurs, and the community. A fund will fuel the tech sector by backing Victoria’s most promising startups, attracting more talent and money, building the Tectoria brand, and strengthening the city’s reputation for founding solid tech companies.
