On this episode of Investor Connect, Hall welcomes Brenda Hogan, CIO at Venture Ontario, to discuss how Venture Ontario operates like a sovereign-wealth-style investor focused exclusively on backing venture capital funds across general technology, life sciences/medical devices, cleantech, and climate tech. Brenda explains how fund-of-funds and co-investment models help develop Canada’s venture ecosystem over multiple fund cycles by bringing together institutional capital, governments, universities, corporates, and other partners to help companies move from product-market fit to true global scale. She shares what she looks for in consistently outperforming venture funds—strength and resilience of the team, clear thesis, disciplined decision-making, governance and board value-add, and the reality that due diligence begins long before a formal process. The conversation also covers trends such as continued life sciences momentum, the shift toward deeper tech, common fundraising mistakes founders make, the importance of stage fit and risk management, how governance supports faster scaling rather than bureaucracy, the value of diversity for broader deal flow and talent access, and a life-sciences partnership model that brings universities, family offices, institutions, and a professional VC manager together; Brenda closes with advice on transparency, “skin in the game,” and fit when raising from LPs, and notes she can be reached on LinkedIn. Visit Venture Ontario at http://www.ventureontario.ca/ Reach out to at http://www.linkedin.com/in/brendamhogan/ , and on brenda.hogan@ontario.ca ________________________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https:/_/tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

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Hall T Martin is the director of Investor Connect, which is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to the education of investors for early-stage funding. All opinions expressed by Hall and podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of Investor Connect. This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon for the basis of investment decisions.