Moien Giashi from GreenSky Ventures

Moien Giashi is a Principal at GreenSky Ventures.

GreenSky Capital is one of the top Canadian venture capital firms (according to CVCA 2021, 2022, 2023) with a focus on early-stage Canadian startups in B2B SaaS and deeptech.

Takeaways

• Transitioning from academia to venture.
• Deep tech investments require strong IP and moat.
• There is a perception of higher risk and longer wait times for returns in deeptech.
• Successful commercialization requires a combination of policy changes, university support, education, and funding.
• Common challenges that academic founders face when scaling their deeptech ventures.
• Showing ROI and educating LPs on deeptech.
• Education around venture capital as an asset class is needed to increase interest and understanding.

• The content strategy of GreenSky aims to educate and support founders.
• GreenSky's new fund

Chapters

00:00 From Academia to the Venture Space

08:13 The Focus on Deep Tech at GreenSky

11:44 The Importance of Intellectual Property in Deep Tech Investments

13:49 The Limited Number of Deep Tech Investors in Canada

22:46 Challenges Faced by Deep Tech Founders

26:13 Attracting Canadian LPs and Institutions to Deep Tech

30:04 The Importance of Education in Venture Capital

30:32 Adding Value to Startups through Expertise and Support

33:28 Sourcing Quality Deals through Referrals and Ecosystem Partnerships

35:52 Educating and Supporting Founders through Content Strategy

38:05 Investment Focus and Check Size of GreenSky

42:49 Supporting a Spouse's Startup Journey

44:27 Dealing with Hard Times: Journaling and Seeking Support

47:28 Rejections in Fundraising: It's Not a Reflection of the Company

Keywords

academia, venture space, commercialization, research projects, deep tech, intellectual property, IP, deep tech investors, funding, deep tech founders, business skills, deep tech, Canada, ROI, venture capital, education, value add, deal flow, content strategy, fund structure, rejection, support