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Janet Bannister, managing partner at Real Ventures, at the MaRS building in Toronto on Jan. 25.Christopher Katsarov/The Globe and Mail
Janet Bannister, one of the few women leading a major Canadian venture capital fund, is leaving Real Ventures after the firm struggled to raise new funding.
Ms. Bannister joined Real in 2014 after overseeing the development and launch of eBay Inc.’s EBAY-Q classifieds service Kijiji when he was an executive at the pioneering e-commerce giant. He became a managing partner at Montreal-based Real in early 2020 amid a period of internal turmoil that saw two of its three founding partners, JS Cournoyer and Alan MacIntosh, return to part-time roles.
“It has been a pleasure to lead the Real Ventures team for the past several years,” said Ms. Bannister in a statement. “I look forward to continuing to work with the team, my portfolio companies, our investors, and the tech community” as he transitions into a part-time role before leaving the company.
He will be replaced by Real’s last remaining founding partner, John Stokes, who said in an interview that he was “disappointed and sad” to be leaving.
Ms. Bannister, a two-time winner of the Canadian national triathlon championship, has become one of the highest-profile names in the Canadian early-stage tech sector and a mentor to startups, including many run by business women. His departure leaves questions about Real’s future, because, without new funding, it lacks fresh capital to invest in startups.
said Mr. Stokes said Real’s focus now is to manage its 60 investments and continue the company’s community-building efforts. He said Real’s plan to try to raise another fund depends on various factors, including “making sure we have enough momentum,” adding that it could take months or quarters. “The message is definitely that Real Ventures is not stopping.”
Real emerged as an early force in Canada’s tech renaissance following the 2008-09 credit crisis, after setting up shop in Montreal in 2007 when Canada’s venture capital and startup scene was dying. Real has played an important role in reviving the sector, not only as a financier but also by creating accelerator and support programs in Montreal and Toronto.
The company raised $5-million and $50-million for its first two funds in 2007 and 2010, respectively, backing several successful startups including PasswordBox, which was sold in 2014 to Intel, and online merchants Frank & Oak and Beyond the Rack.
The firm raised an $89-million third fund in 2015 and a total of $180-million for two funds in 2017, drawing support from global investors Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Singapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings Private Ltd.
While Real has backed some of Canada’s most important tech startups, including Paper, Blockstream, Xanadu Quantum Technologies, Tenstorrent and League. It has $800-million worth of assets under administration.
But Real also had a setback when artificial-intelligence startup Element AI Inc., co-founded by Mr. Cournoyer, failed to live up to its early hype. It was sold in early 2021 to ServiceNow Inc. after the money runs out.
Behind the scenes, some Real backers are frustrated, said a source familiar with the situation. The source said its limited partners felt Real had spread itself too thin by investing in too many companies and not reserving enough capital to invest in follow-on financings. While Real’s on-paper returns were strong, some felt the firm did not trim its positions as well as it should have, which would have allowed it to lock in earnings and return money to backers.
Mr. Stokes said that “we are confident that over time the concerns that our limited partners have about making our funds perform well in cash” will be alleviated.
The above turnover also made it difficult for some Quebec investors, according to another source, as two Montreal-based founding partners and a third Montreal-based partner who later left were replaced by a Toronto-based partner. that they don’t know, tech executives. Hamzah Nassif. Although Ms. Bannister is respected by investors and praised for improving Real’s internal management, the transfer of leadership from Montreal to Toronto did not play well with even one of its backers, the Investissement Quebec agency of the Quebec government.
The Globe and Mail did not identify either source because they were not authorized to address the matter publicly.
Ms. Bannister took the summer off to ponder his future after more than a year of fundraising efforts. In a short interview, he said “I’m 100-percent committed to the Canadian tech ecosystem and I’ll stay involved” and work with founders.” I’m very passionate about these things, they bring me great joy and satisfaction , but I want to find another way to do that.
Asked if she plans to launch a new venture capital firm, Ms. Bannister: “As soon as I have something to share I’ll let you know.”
Canadian startup news website BetaKit first reported on Wednesday about Ms. Bannister.