In 2014, Pique Fund launched with 7 pioneering women who believed in creating a diverse community of investors to invest in women-founded technology ventures in BC. One of those pioneers is Jill Earthy. Jill is no stranger to entrepreneurship and supporting others grow their businesses – especially women entrepreneurs. She founded and sold two businesses, she’s the former CEO of the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs, former Director at Futurpreneur, providing mentorship and funding to young entrepreneurs, she’s the Chair of the Board of the Women’s Enterprise Centre of BC and the list of her leadership roles and entrepreneurial achievements goes on. Yet, investing in Pique Fund was her first private investment in venture – and it wouldn’t be her last.
Jill deepened her leadership in the venture community and joined FrontFundr in 2015 as the young company’s first Chief Growth Officer. FrontFundr is a financial technology company – known for its equity crowdfunding platform. In FrontFundr’s own words, they “bridge the gap between investors and early-stage companies.”
By the end of 2015, Pique Fund had grown to 12 investors, a quarter of a million dollars in capital, and we had four investments in women-led ventures in our portfolio. We had our sights on growing the investor community and our portfolio and so in early 2016, we partnered with FrontFundr to do so.
But let me give you some context. In Canada, certain laws restrict how funds and companies can market and sell shares (known as securities). Lots of people might talk of connecting funds and companies to investors, but at the end of the day, only people who are registered as exempt market dealers are able to do so legally. The company powering FrontFundr is an exempt market dealer. Jill and I saw value in teaming up and bringing our networks together with the aligned goal of investing in promising women entrepreneurs in tech. We could legally do so, now that she is part of the FrontFundr team!
Pique Fund is a small fund doing big things. We’re a lean team and working with FrontFundr enables us to extend our capacity and serve more investors. Let me introduce you to the rest of FrontFundr team working with Pique Fund – think of them as an extension of Pique’s team:
- Kara Zucker, Marketing Director – Kara is managing the Pique Fund campaign. Kara can answer any questions about Pique Fund or provide information about events where you’ll get to meet me and the FrontFundr team.
- Aaron Stuart, Investment Analyst – Aaron manages the investment process and can walk you through the eligibility requirements and documents involved with investing.
Pique Fund is currently open to new investors and we’re in the process of welcoming at least ten more people to our investor community. I am available to answer any of your questions, but you’ll also have the FrontFundr team to help you through the investment process.
CONTACT US FOR MORE INFORMATION ON HOW YOU CAN JOIN OUR COMMUNITY OF 29 INVESTORS AND TO FIND OUT WHETHER YOU ARE ELIGIBLE TO INVEST.
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