On the TechTO stage ×1
First seen on the TechTO stage in 2023. Every talk is searchable — ask the archive about Karamdeep ↗
In their words
I think it's just a rationalization that there's people that are better than us at doing this stage of investment. It's naive to think that you can be a great investor across all stages and all sectors and everything else.
If I look at the folks that we do Series A investing with in Canada, with the exception of Radical, it's the same subset of folks that were there 10 years ago. That to me means there's going to be a huge gap in a couple years as folks cycle out of this ecosystem.
I joined in 2010. My background, part of that was in software development, so I worked in the systems architecture group at RBC. I'm a UWaterloo comp sci grad, so really had no idea around anything related to venture capital or finance.
More from TechTO ×2
Around the web ×2
Quick answers
What does Karamdeep Nijjar invest in?
B2B software, from seed through Series B, at Inovia Capital. He joined the firm in 2010 with a software development background rather than a finance one, and told TechTO he expected to leave for a startup within a year and never did.
What is Inovia's Discovery Fund?
A fund that invests in other funds. Nijjar built it out of a program Inovia had run since 2013, backing small Canadian-connected managers under $50 million — Garage Capital was the first — on the view that seed investing is a different skill from what Inovia does.
Why back other managers instead of investing earlier itself?
Because the same people have been writing Canada's early cheques for a decade. He told TechTO that when those investors step back there will be a gap, and that adding capital without adding new decision-makers changes nothing about which companies get funded.