Written by Shawn Chance, Partner, OMERS Ventures.
Rarely do people follow a direct path into a venture career. Rather than plotting a course and following a map to get here, most of us have stumbled upon it and decided to stay. And once here, we recognize what a privileged position we are in — to be able to invest in some of the greatest companies of tomorrow and to work closely with founders that have the potential to change how we live and work.
Opportunities to get into venture are few and far between, so when the opportunity arises to bring on a new team member, it’s not something we take lightly. Today, we are looking for someone with a unique blend of character traits, experience and attitude to join the Canadian OMERS Ventures team as an associate.
We’re a global, early-stage tech investor helping our founders succeed so their businesses profit and in turn, help real people prosper. Today’s founders know that tomorrow’s customers care about how businesses are funded. Where their money comes from matters. And as the venture arm of one Canada’s largest pension plans (and the only pension plan in the world that does direct early-stage investing), when we invest money, we also infuse meaning. It’s a pretty unique position to be in, in the world of venture investing.
Our global investment team is a mix of finance professionals and operators from various industries that bring diverse perspectives as we evaluate investment opportunities and enable us to be of greater service to the companies we back. In looking to add to this mix with a new associate in Toronto, we are determined to increase that diversity further. We care more about the grit, personality and attitude you bring to the table than your relevant work experience. We believe that the skills required to be a great venture practitioner can be trained.
To be a successful associate at OV, you’ll need to be a quick study, require a natural ability to network, an innate and insatiable curiosity to learn and above all else, a sense of teamwork and belief that the sum can be greater than the parts.
Maybe you are currently at a startup, or you’re a journalist, or a consultant or a lawyer. Whether or not you have previous venture investing experience doesn’t matter. What does matter is that you have a genuine passion for working with startups and will stop at nothing to help us identify founders and companies destined to change the world.
This role is a critical one for us on the Canadian team, representing 1 of 5 investment team members. If you are interested, please reach out. And we’d love the support of the tech community to help us get the word out to anyone who may not have plotted a course into venture but just might be a great fit.
More info about the role and a link to apply are here. Please reach out directly at schance@omersventures.com if you have any questions.
