Information Venture Partners

Fueling world-class B2B financial technology leaders.

Our team of experienced venture capital investors is exclusively focused on investing in B2B technology companies innovating financial services and finance.

Our founding team invested together while at RBC Venture Partners for over a decade. In 2014, they purchased the remaining companies in that portfolio, with the support of leading institutional investors, to create our first independent fund. We have subsequently raised a second fund in 2016 and a third fund in 2019.

We have a deep sector literacy from operating and investing in financial services for over 20 years. Through various economic cycles, we have invested in and supported ambitious founders transforming financial services. Today, we are still excited to invest in the next generation of entrepreneurs.

OUR APPROACH

Building a world class software company is a marathon, not a sprint.

We have a long track record of working successfully and respectfully with entrepreneurs and the reputation of having one of the largest networks in FinTech and the financial services industry.

We work with our portfolio companies to navigate through each journey from start to finish to ensure you hit key milestones on route to a successful exit together. We’re more than just a source of capital, we’re a reliable partner who is not afraid to work with you to tackle the tough decisions (and also celebrate your wins).

OUR VISION

What We Invest In

We have a strong investment bias towards entrepreneurs pushing the boundaries on developing solutions based on new and innovative technologies and harnessing data to generate better information at scale.

WHO WE ARE

The Team

Dave Unsworth, General Partner and Co-Founder

David is a Co-Founder and General Partner of Information Venture Partners. Over the past 20 years David has led direct investments in a broad range of successful enterprise, FinTech, security and mobile ventures.

David currently serves on the boards of Cinchy, Coconut Software, Lydia.ai, and Sensibill, and is an observer at BigID Inc. , Empyrean and Lendingfront. David managed the investment and served as Chair of the Board for Verafin (acquired by Nasdaq), eSentire (acquired by PE firm Warburg Pincus), Igloo Software Inc. (acquired by private equity firm Frontier Capital), Viigo Inc. (acquired by Blackberry).

Prior to his career in venture capital David had a career in operational roles at Royal Bank of Canada (“RBC”) focused on e-commerce strategy development, technology enabled financial services product development, technology project management and retail/commercial financial services. David also was an investor with RBC Venture Partners from 2001 through 2014 before forming Information Venture Partners.

David is active in the start-up communities in Toronto and Waterloo and has served as a mentor to participants in the Kauffman Fellowship, JOLT and Holt accelerator programs, and serves on the Board of the CVCA.

David earned an MBA from Queen’s University, holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Wilfrid Laurier University. He is also a graduate of the NVCA’s Venture Capital Institute and the Rotman SME Board Effectiveness Program. David is a graduate of Business Development Bank’s GP Academy program, affiliated with kauffmann.org.

Robert Antoniades, General Partner And Co-Founder

Robert is a Co-founder and General Partner of Information Venture Partners. Robert has spent his career in numerous progressive roles in capital markets and the past 24 years leading investments in enterprise software and FinTech.

Robert currently serves on the boards of the following Information Venture Partners companies: Flybits, Jirav, Procurify, ThoughtExchange, Arteria.ai, and is a board observer for Helcim. Prior board positions include those with Adaptive Insights (acquired by Workday, Inc.), PostBeyond (acquired by Influitive), Igloo Software (acquired by Frontier Capital), Varicent Software (acquired by IBM), Verafin Software (acquired by Nasdaq), YayPay (acquired by Quadient) and Q4 (TSX:QFOR).

Prior to Information Venture Partners, Robert worked at Royal Bank of Canada (“RBC”) Venture Partners as a Managing Director and led investments in software and technology companies. Robert was previously Vice President at BMO Nesbitt Burns Equity Partners and Executive Director of CIBC Capital Partners’ Silicon Valley office in Menlo Park.

Robert is a Co-Founder and Director of the Upside Foundation of Canada (www.upsidefoundation.ca), a role for which he was awarded the Ted Anderson award for community service by the Canada’s Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (CVCA). He is the past chair of several non-profits including Distress Centres of Toronto and Flemingdon Neighbourhood Services.

Robert has broad industry experience, including roles in equity research, institutional sales and trading, mergers and acquisitions, and private equity. Robert is a frequent speaker and panelist on topics related to innovation and entrepreneurship. Robert has a Bachelor of Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst, a Fellow of the Canadian Securities Institute and a Certified Investment Manager.

Sara Defina, Vice President, Finance

Sara joined Information VP in 2020 as Director, Finance and was recently promoted to Vice President, Finance. Her focus includes all legal and financial related activities involved in due diligence and post investment support of portfolio investments. She also oversees fund operations, fund raising activities and helping the Co-founders manage LP relationships.

Before joining Information VP, Sara worked at SurePath Capital Partners, an investment bank advising growth-stage B2B software companies. In this role, Sara was responsible for supporting clients through all technical aspects of mergers and acquisitions and growth equity financings. Prior to joining SurePath, Sara worked at KPMG in the Valuations Deal Advisory group focusing on providing valuation assistance and strategic recommendations for the purposes of financial reporting, taxation, and mergers and acquisitions, for various private and public entities. Sara started off her career in the KPMG Audit and Assurance Practice, performing financial statement audits and reviews for both public and private clients in the financial services industry, including the Bank of Nova Scotia and TMX Group.

Sara is also an active member of the CVCA’s Diversity and Inclusion committee. She obtained a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from the University of Toronto and is a Chartered Professional Accountant and Chartered Business Valuator.

Aislinn Shoveller, Marketing & Community Manager

Aislinn joined Information Venture Partners in 2021 as Marketing & Community Manager in order to continue building the strengths of the fund. She works with the team to help develop new and existing relationships, manage Information VP’s growth and brand, and maintain the fund’s presence in the innovation and investment communities.

Prior to joining Information Venture Partners, Aislinn worked as an Associate for Archangel Network of Funds, where she managed LPs, worked with Angels from across Canada, and helped establish the foundations for a new angel network fund. While working with Archangel and for years prior, Aislinn worked on her own company, Overture Donor Forum. Overture was a non-profit SaaS company that brought donors closer to the causes that they support. In 2018, Aislinn went to the University of Waterloo to earn a Master of Business, Entrepreneurship, and Technology degree and became active in the KW startup community.

Before launching her own startup, Aislinn worked in the marketing departments of two digital agencies in both Canada and the UK. Within both companies, Aislinn managed editing and copywriting, brand and website redesigns, event planning, and online marketing. Both companies were later acquired.

Brendan Foster, Associate

​Brendan joined Information Venture Partners in 2020 as an Analyst and was promoted to Associate at the end of 2022. He is focused on investments in fintech, insurtech and enterprise software.

Prior to joining Information Venture Partners, Brendan worked at HarbourVest Partners where he was responsible for originating, assessing, monitoring, and reporting on direct co-investments and partnerships.

Brendan holds a Bachelor of Mathematics from the University of Waterloo and a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) from the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics at Wilfrid Laurier University

Jane Podbelskaya, Venture Partner

Jane is a Principal on the investment team. She is responsible for sourcing and executing new investments, and serves on the board of Helcim. She also provides board-level and operational support to portfolio companies Empyrean Solutions, Coconut Software, Thoughtexchange, and Flybits. Jane has considerable experience working with scaling SaaS companies as a consultant and investor and has led many post-investment value-add platform projects, including running Information VP’s portfolio community group focused on customer success.

Before joining Information VP, she most recently worked at Georgian Partners, a North American fund investing in growth-stage SaaS companies, where she held a number of roles over her six-year tenure. Focusing both on new investments and portfolio support, Jane was instrumental in designing the fund’s portfolio acceleration program; she optimized investment and due diligence processes, successfully closed numerous investments, and led projects within the portfolio.

Prior to Georgian Partners, Jane was a Consultant for Bain & Company, where she worked on several projects in the financial services industry, including strategy work for an international life insurance and wealth management company.

Earlier in her career, Jane was a Consultant and Solutions Architect for Xerox in both Toronto and Moscow. She was a chief architect for a major business process outsourcing engagement for CIBC, where she designed and implemented a document imaging and records management solution streamlining the bank’s lending processes.

Jane holds an MBA from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto as well as an M.Sc. in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science from Lomonosov Moscow State University.

Cristin Gray, Executive Assistant and Office Manager

Cristin Gray joined Information Venture Partners in 2019 as the Executive Assistant and Office Manager.

Prior to joining Information Venture Partners, Cristin worked as the Executive Assistant to the CEO of Karmic Labs; a leader in the convergence of payment cards and mobile software (acquired by Prepaid Technologies). Prior to her career supporting C-level executives, Cristin was a Social Worker in the mental health and addictions field.

Cristin holds multiple diplomas in Social Work and Emergency Services Communications, with a deep-rooted passion for improving the lives of others.

Kerri Golden, Venture Partner

Kerri Golden has over 30 years of diverse experience in the technology space, with time spent as an operator, technology executive and as a VC. She joined Information Venture Partners in 2014 and through 2021, served as the firm’s CFO and a Partner in Funds I through Fund III. She is currently a part-time Venture Partner, continuing to support the team and business.

Kerri is a member of the Investment Committee of StandUp Ventures, a seed-stage firm dedicated to backing women-led ventures. She serves on the Nicola Venture Capital Advisory Committee and acts as a volunteer General Partner at JOLT Fund, a micro investment fund, she co-founded at MaRS. Kerri received the inaugural Barry Gekiere Lifetime Legacy Award from the Canadian Venture Capital Association in 2021, as recognition for her community efforts. Prior to her work with InformationVP, Kerri was a General Partner at Primaxis Technology Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm investing in the IT, software and communications sectors. She had a successful corporate career with high growth technology companies like Rogers Wireless where she worked in finance at launch of the business and Bell Mobility where she held progressive leadership positions in Finance, IT and general management, as CEO, Paging Division. Kerri also served as a public company CFO at entertainment industry leader Alliance Atlantis Communications and biotech firm, Lorus Therapeutics. She co-owns a women-led small business Urban Flats Toronto and was an active member of the CVCA’s diversity and inclusion committee from inception through 2021.

Kerri obtained an HBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario and earned her CPA/CA designation while working with KPMG in Toronto.

Address: 49 Wellington Street East, Suite 301, Toronto, ON M5E 1C9, Canada