The Upside Foundation

The Upside Foundation of Canada is a charitable foundation that enables high-growth startups and their founders to commit a portion of their eventual exit proceeds to charity through a legally binding pledge — an equity pledge model used internationally since the early 2000s. Beyond running the pledge process, it hosts networking events and connects founders with investors and other ecosystem opportunities, then facilitates the donations when an exit happens. It was founded by Robert Antoniades, general partner at Information Venture Partners, Mark Skapinker, managing partner at Brightspark Ventures, and consultant Janie Goldstein, on the view that this generation of entrepreneurs wants to make an impact. Jennifer Couldrey joined as its first-ever employee when roughly 50 companies had signed on, served as executive director, and departed in September 2022. She spoke at TechTO in May 2019 on building a culture employees love — specifically, on social responsibility as a way to attract and keep talent.