Published inOMERS Ventures·Sep 6The challenges of legal vertical SaaSOK, maybe it’s a bit weird to write a post about why we are NOT likely to invest in a sector, but I think it could be useful — so hear me out. First, we have done a ton of analysis to come to this conclusion. And if someone building…Legal12 min readLegal12 min read
Published inOMERS Ventures·Aug 30Finding the right fit in vertical SaaSThe VC world is often criticized for being shrouded in secrecy. Well, consider this our attempt to reveal the magic that happens in the black box…or part of it anyway. The way we at OMERS Ventures tackle markets is to go deep on a couple verticals at a time. We’ve…Vertical Saas6 min readVertical Saas6 min read
Published inOMERS Ventures·Jun 15Bean counters no more: Strategic finance for the modern enterpriseOur investment in Mosaic As a former operator in charge of strategic finance teams, I was tasked with driving company direction via metrics insights, storytelling from historical business performance, and leading indicators. It is a job that grew increasingly difficult as data source after data source was added and more…Fintech4 min readFintech4 min read
Published inOMERS Ventures·Jun 13Follow the money: how one technology startup is ushering in a new era for wealth management.In the developed world there are relatively few areas of our lives that technology doesn’t touch. And for good reason, heavily regulated industries have been slower than others to adapt — which is certainly true of the financial world. When our team began exploring opportunities in fintech several years ago…Fintech4 min readFintech4 min read
Published inOMERS Ventures·Apr 12Cerbos raises US$7.5M to usher in a new era in access management.When you’ve seen a major problem come up time and again, and nobody has solved it, a true entrepreneur doesn’t just accept it — they want to fix it. That might be the defining feature that differentiates entrepreneurs from ordinary mortals. In Emre Baran, Charith Ellawala, and Cerbos we’ve found…Open Source3 min readOpen Source3 min read
Published inOMERS Ventures·Jan 17Founders, your teams need to hear from youWe know it’s a stressful time, but don’t forget your team. It’s a tough time. We know this. Founders are heads down, laser-focused on retaining business, staying lean, avoiding layoffs and appeasing needy investors. As a consequence, I’m starting to hear a common theme among early-stage teams — founders are…Leadership6 min readLeadership6 min read
Dec 20, 2022OV in the US: a very different type of fourth yearIn a couple of weeks, it will be four years since we began our operations in the US. The 2019–2022 era will go down as one of the most topsy-turvy periods ever in the venture business. …3 min read3 min read
Dec 15, 2022Not your usual predictions blog postAs much as we love predicting things, even we’re finding ourselves up to our ears in anticipatory ruminations on what lies ahead in 2023. So instead of another annual review and prediction post, we’re opting to share a few key insights and recommendations that helped us this year, and/or are…4 min read4 min read
Aug 4, 2022Do you own your identity?by Charlie Renzoni 2021 was a milestone year for the crypto and blockchain ecosystem. The number of unique users in the ecosystem is expected to pass 1 billion in 2022. …3 min read3 min read
Published inOMERS Ventures·Aug 2, 20222022 is marching to the beat of a new drumWritten by Laura Lenz, Partner, OMERS Ventures As public market valuations plummeted, no new venture-backed tech IPOs were priced nor were the typically cash-flush public technology companies completing acquisitions during Q2, 2022. It is notable that, while not recently backed by VC capital, BlueCat Group was sold (again) by Invictus…Venture Capital5 min readVenture Capital5 min read
