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    Danielle Graham from The Firehood
    Who Are These Startups

    Danielle Graham from The Firehood

    Who Are These Startups Podcast featuring Danielle Graham from The Firehood Welcome to another episode of Who Are These Startups?, the podcast that shines a spotlight on Canadian startup founders. In this episode, our host, the Startup Coach, takes you to the heart of Collision, one of the biggest…

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    Who Are These Startups Podcast featuring Danielle Graham from The Firehood

    Welcome to another episode of Who Are These Startups?, the podcast that shines a spotlight on Canadian startup founders. In this episode, our host, the Startup Coach, takes you to the heart of Collision, one of the biggest tech conferences in North America, where he sits down with Danielle Graham, a prominent figure in the Canadian startup ecosystem and the driving force behind The Firehood and the Archangel Network of Funds.

    A National Impact: The Firehood and Archangel Network of Funds

    Danielle Graham, a powerhouse in the Canadian venture capital scene, shares insights into her work with The Firehood and the Archangel Network of Funds. The Archangel Network, based in Waterloo, is a crucial backend system supporting multiple emerging managers and their respective funds, including Adrenaline, Starforge, Axion, and Phoenix Fire. The Phoenix Fire fund is particularly noteworthy as it focuses on supporting women-led startups, demonstrating a strong commitment to fostering diversity and inclusion within the Canadian tech industry.

    The Firehood, on the other hand, is more than just a fund—it’s a dynamic network of women angels dedicated to empowering female entrepreneurs across Canada. With a broad focus on industries such as MedTech, CleanTech, Cybersecurity, AI, and digital transformation, The Firehood ensures that women-led startups have the resources, support, and investment opportunities they need to thrive.

    The Role of Collision and Local Canadian Conferences

    Danielle is no stranger to the Collision conference, a hub where global investors and startups converge. However, her primary focus remains on Canadian initiatives like SAS North, Startup Fast, Elevate, and Uniting the Prairies. These events provide a platform for Canadian women entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas and secure significant investments, often culminating in on-the-spot funding decisions that can transform their business trajectories.

    One highlight of Danielle’s year is her involvement in Startup Fast, where she oversees the Women in Tech Prize. Now in its third year, this prize brings together angel investors from across Canada to support female founders in a unique and impactful way. With a VIP space on the docks, this event offers a prestigious and supportive environment for women entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas and secure vital funding.

    Investment Readiness and Supporting Women Entrepreneurs

    A key aspect of Danielle’s mission is preparing women entrepreneurs for the investment world. Through a specialized program called Elevate Women Plus, which operates in partnership with Elevate, Danielle and her team provide crucial support to women raising their first rounds of funding. The success of this program is evident, with over 50% of participating companies in each cohort successfully closing their pre-seed rounds—a remarkable achievement that underscores the effectiveness of the program.

    For female entrepreneurs looking to break into the startup world, The Firehood offers more than just funding. It provides a community, a support system, and a pathway to success in a challenging and competitive industry.

    Get Involved with The Firehood

    If you’re a woman entrepreneur interested in learning more about The Firehood, or if you’re an investor looking to support female-led startups, Danielle Graham invites you to connect. You can find her on LinkedIn or visit thefirehood.net to fill out their intake form and become part of this growing community.

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    Join us as we continue to highlight the stories of Canadian startups and the people behind them. Whether you’re a founder, investor, or someone passionate about innovation, Who Are These Startups? is your go-to podcast for inspiration and insight. Stay tuned for more episodes, and don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review!

    Download original transcript (.txt)

    Welcome to Who Are These Startups?

    podcast shorts featuring founder interviews of Canadian startups.

    So, Startup Coach here and I'm down at collision.

    I'm talking to Daniel Graham from the Firehood.

    How are things at the Firehood?

    Amazing.

    We just came back from a national tour in Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Atlantic Venture Forum in Halifax.

    So, tell us a little bit about the Archangel Network and the Firehood.

    So, we have a fund in Waterloo called Archangel Network of Funds.

    It's leveraged as a back-end system to support multiple emerging managers who have their own funds.

    So, we have four currently, Adrenaline, Starforge, Axion and Phoenix Fire.

    The one that focuses on women is Phoenix Fire, so we have an LPGP structure for that fund.

    But with the Firehood, it's a broader network of women angels and we're able to actively connect with and build programs within the community.

    And what types of startups do you invest in?

    So, women-led startups don't have a sector-specific focus, although we do tend to invest in MedTech, CleanTech, Cybersecurity, AI machine learning and digital transformation.

    Mainly because of the focus of a lot of our angels who have that subject matter expertise.

    And normally you're partaking in collision, doing running competitions, speaking that kind of stuff.

    What brings you to collision this year?

    So, usually we work with local, Canadian-based initiatives like SAS North, Startup Fast, Elevate and Uniting the Prairies.

    So, we'll see all women entrepreneurs pitching us for a 100k check that will write on the spot as part of the announcements at the end of the conference.

    For collision, it's been great just to circle around, meet other investors from around the world and sometimes participate in their startup showcases.

    Although, because we're very Canadian-focused, we find that a lot of the companies we need to meet are at our local conferences.

    And you're a big part of Startup Fast.

    You want to tell us what's going on with Startup Fast this year?

    Yes, well, we're thrilled to offer the Women in Tech Prize again for the third time this year.

    So, we'll have a whole host of angel investors from around the country join us in a VIP space on the docks and we'll be able to see any female founders who want to pitch us on the spot.

    And if people, who should reach out to talk to you?

    Obviously, women entrepreneurs, even if you're raising your first round and you haven't had a lot of experience, we do have a program focused on investment readiness with Elevate called Elevate Women Plus.

    And applications are currently open until close to the end of July.

    And that program has seen two cohorts with multiple, multiple closes.

    Over 50% of the companies in each cohort have closed their pre-seed rounds.

    That's fantastic.

    And if people want to find out more about you or the fire hood, where do they go?

    Feel free to add me on LinkedIn, Danielle Bruin-Grim, and we also have an intake form through the firehood.net website.

    I really appreciate you taking the time out of your busy day at Collision to talk to us today.

    Great to see you again.

    Thank you.

    This has been Who Are These Startups?

    Find out more at WhoAreTheStartups.com and check out our live events at TorontoStartups.com/Events. (upbeat music)

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