On the heels of our Fund II first close party in Vancouver, the Pender Ventures Montreal team hosted more than 100 members of the local ecosystem, along with our managing partner Maria Pacella, at Les Soeurs Grises in the Old Port to celebrate the first close of our second fund and our opening of operations in Quebec.
A wonderful cross section of folks attended the event, a testament to the tight knit Montreal startup community and the connections that Meryeme and I have built over the past decade. We loved seeing so many familiar faces and meeting some new ones as well. We appreciate everyone who made it out and look forward to more shared evenings together.
While the evening was held in honour of our first close, we were also there to celebrate the firm’s decision to build a second office in Montreal. By placing two of our four investment team members here, Pender Ventures has made a strong commitment to the city and the region as a fulcrum for our pan-Canadian strategy. As each month passes, we are more bullish on Quebec as a source of investment opportunities, limited partners and opportunities for community building.
When it comes to our involvement in the community, we plan to build on our existing mentoring commitments through organizations such as CDL-Montreal, Centech, FounderFuel, Front Row Ventures, APM Montreal, Founder Institute and Next AI. We also plan to start offering regular office hours in partnership with Notman House and to engage with the broader investment ecosystem via Réseau Capital. We have imminent plans to take a physical office as well, so stay tuned for updates on that.
As the snow melts and events season kicks into gear, we are excited to reconnect with many more folks in Montreal and beyond. In the meantime, we always love hearing about great companies and meeting great people, so if you want to connect, please don’t hesitate to drop us a line.
