On the TechTO stage ×1
First seen on the TechTO stage in 2022. Every talk is searchable — ask the archive about Nicole ↗
In their words
For startups to scale fast and to have the impact, we really need corporates to be able to take this leadership role — to get involved and to really shepherd the startups through. It's not just a matter of replying to an RFP, winning or losing it, and then implementing it. It can't be that simple.
As you're thinking about building your teams, bring people from different industries, from different backgrounds — because that's where real innovation is going to happen.
Our fund is an urban tech fund, but we are 100% focused on sustainability — every company that we invest in has a sustainability agenda. Every single company is going to have to have a sustainability agenda, even if you think your product has nothing to do with climate.
More from TechTO ×1
Around the web ×1
Quick answers
Who is Nicole LeBlanc?
A Canadian venture investor based in Tokyo, where she is a partner at Woven Capital, Toyota's growth fund. She invests in mobility, energy and sustainability, and previously ran urban-tech investing at 2150 and investments at Alphabet's Sidewalk Labs in Toronto.
What did she say at TechTO about corporate–startup collaboration?
That an accelerator cohort is what makes it work. Speaking in April 2022 alongside Aviva Canada and Highline Beta, she said startups need the safety of a cohort to iterate inside a corporate's decision-making, and that corporates have to shepherd startups through rather than run an RFP and walk away.
What is her Canadian track record?
Director of investments at Sidewalk Labs in Toronto, and director roles at BDC Capital and the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation, covering a portfolio of 150-plus seed-stage startups. She is a co-founder and investor in Sandpiper.vc, a women-led fund in Atlantic Canada, and has held board roles at Innovacorp, Propel and Brilliant Labs.