With a full house at the Ontario Centre of Innovation, Lessons Learned: Investors & Funders became an important conversation around investor readiness for startups and what founders need to raise capital in today’s market.
We also want to thank Dentons for supporting the event and Sean Del Giallo for moderating the conversation. Sean guided the discussion in a very practical way, helping founders dive deeper into the realities of fundraising, investor expectations, and the decisions startups need to make much earlier in their journey.
What Investors Are Looking For
One of the most talked-about moments came from Tammer Kamel from Antler, who gave a very straightforward message to founders:
“Don’t come to me to pitch your company. Come with metrics and statistics.”
Instead of discouraging the audience, the comment opened the eyes of many founders in the room. It created the type of honest discussion that early-stage startups are often looking for but do not always hear publicly. The conversation quickly shifted toward what actually matters today when approaching investors: traction, customer behaviour, growth indicators, and the ability to clearly understand the numbers behind the business.
Theresa Evanoff reinforced how much the fundraising environment has evolved. The expectations for startups, even at pre-seed, are significantly higher than just a few years ago. Founders are increasingly being asked to demonstrate traction earlier, show stronger execution, and prove there is real market demand before fundraising conversations even begin.
Alternative Funding for Early-Stage Startups
At the same time, Angelo Casanas shared another important perspective based on his experience at Elevate. Funding is not the same for every startup, and equity investment is not always the first or best option. Depending on the company’s stage, grants, debt financing, and non-dilutive funding can sometimes provide founders with a stronger path forward while they continue building traction.
What made the session valuable was not only the experience of the panelists, but the practicality of the discussion. There was very little theory and a lot of reality. Founders were able to hear directly how investors and funders are currently evaluating opportunities, where startups commonly misalign expectations, and how preparation can dramatically improve fundraising conversations.
Investor Readiness Starts Before Fundraising
One of the clearest takeaways from the evening was that startups need to prepare much earlier than before. Having an investment strategy, understanding what type of capital fits the business, and being ready to speak confidently about metrics can help founders avoid many headaches later in the process.
For founders planning to raise capital in the next 3 to 6 months, the Investor Readiness Bootcamp during Toronto Tech Week was designed around exactly these challenges. The upcoming session is already close to full capacity.
