TORONTO, Nov. 19 – Ryerson University President Sheldon Levy today announced the establishment of Canada’s first university-led angel investor network, the Ryerson Angel Network (RAN), to finance and mentor innovative student-and alumni-initiated companies.
Ryerson Angel Network receives an award of recognition as the first university-led Angel investor network in Canada.
Established in collaboration with the National Angel Capital Organization (NACO), which will provide funding, training, and best practice investment strategies, the Ryerson Angel Network will consist of approximately 20 angel investors and will be administered through the newly formed Ryerson
Entrepreneur Institute (REI).
Home to one of the country’s largest entrepreneurship degree programs with nearly 15 per cent of the student population actively engaged in entrepreneurial-focused degrees or courses, research, mentoring programs or workshops, Ryerson University is recognized for fostering entrepreneurship and innovation, producing entrepreneurial-minded students and is a leader in entrepreneurial finance research.
“The formation of Canada’s first university-based angel network marks an extraordinary time in the history of bringing the country’s research and innovation to market,” said Levy. “Ryerson is proud to lead the way in
initiating this new model of entrepreneurial financing.”
As part of the increasing growth of entrepreneurship research and studies at Ryerson, the Ryerson Entrepreneur Institute was recently established to oversee RAN and to provide research, education, resources and funding programs to students and alumni starting up or expanding new businesses, non-profit organizations or community programs. Steven Gedeon, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Strategy at Ryerson’s Ted Rogers School of Management, has been appointed Director of REI.
W. Daniel Mothersill, President of the National Angel Capital Organization, was recently named a Distinguished Visiting Professor at Ryerson. “There is a widening gap in the availability of capital for seed-and early-stage enterprises due to the retreat of venture capital investment,” said Mothersill. “The creation of university-led angel networks in Canada will increase the quantity, quality, and success of angel investments and provide angels with the opportunity to invest in high-quality early-stage companies,
while also supporting and mentoring the next generation of business leaders.”
Alan Shepard, Ryerson’s Provost and Vice President Academic, is today speaking to executives from the angel investment community at the NACO Co-Investment Summit in Toronto. Said Shepard: “The creation of RAN will make a dramatic difference in the lives of Ryerson University students and alumni by greatly expanding their access to management coaching, relationship capital and angel investment capital. This model can also be adopted by other Canadian universities to increase their innovation activity.”
SpeechBobble Inc., an Internet intelligence company that monitors, tracks, and analyzes consumer conversations about brands from over 150 million sources, is the first enterprise to qualify as a high-potential investment opportunity for the Ryerson Angel Network. SpeechBobble co-founder Ryan Chong is a recent alumnus of Ryerson’s Ted Rogers School of Information Technology Management. Since its inception 14 months ago, the enterprise has grown to employ seven employees and has received $550,000 in capital.
About Ryerson University:
Ryerson University is Canada’s leader in career-focused education, offering more than 95 PhD, master’s, and undergraduate programs in the Faculty of Arts; the Faculty of Communication & Design; the Faculty of Community Services; the Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Science; and the Ted Rogers School of Management. Ryerson University has graduate and undergraduate enrolment of 24,000 students. With more than 64,000 registrations annually, The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education is Canada’s leading provider of university-based adult education.
