FounderFuel

FounderFuel is a mentor-driven venture accelerator based in Montreal, Canada, founded in 2011 by Real Ventures. The organization offers a three-month intensive program designed to support new startups in advancing along the venture path. During this program, participants benefit from the guidance of a network comprising veteran entrepreneurs, operators, and executives, which helps them refine their business visions, expand their professional networks, and accelerate their development. FounderFuel primarily focuses on seed funding opportunities, particularly in the technology sector, with a keen interest in startups leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning.

John Stokes

Co-Founder, Investment Partner & Board Member

Past deals in Ontario

Willful

Seed Round in 2020
Willful is building a suite of estate planning products for Canadians, starting with online wills. Using Willful, Canadians can create a will online in less than 20 minutes, for a fraction of the price of a traditional estate lawyer. Our goal is to make it easier to help people prepare for and deal with death, and to give Canadians and their families peace of mind that they have a plan in place.

Gravy

Seed Round in 2019
Gravy develops a restaurant pricing application that allows restaurants to use customer purchasing data and trend analysis to find upsell opportunities for customers doing digital orders. Gravy is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. As of September 24, 2019, Gravy operates as a subsidiary of Hopper Inc.

Brisk Synergies

Seed Round in 2017
Brisk Synergies Inc. specializes in designing solutions that assist urban planners and engineers in collecting, monitoring, and analyzing traffic movement video data. The company offers two primary software platforms: BriskLUMINA, which tracks and classifies individual road users while detecting near-misses and potential collisions, and BriskVANTAGE, which employs artificial intelligence and computer vision algorithms to analyze real-time video data for traffic safety insights. These tools enable transportation engineers and automotive planners to proactively address road safety issues without waiting for incidents to occur. Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Waterloo, Canada, with an additional office in Montréal, Brisk Synergies operates as a subsidiary of Transoft Solutions, Inc. The company's technologies contribute to sustainable urban mobility by helping cities enhance traffic infrastructure and improve overall road safety.

BenchSci

Seed Round in 2016
BenchSci's vision is to bring medicine to patients 50% faster by 2025. The company empowers scientists with the world’s most advanced biomedical artificial intelligence to run more successful experiments. Backed by F-Prime, Gradient Ventures (Google’s AI fund), and Inovia Capital, BenchSci's proprietary technology accelerates science at 15 top 20 pharmaceutical companies and over 4,300 leading research centers worldwide. BenchSci is a CIX Top 10 Growth company, certified Great Place to Work®, and top-ranked company on Glassdoor.

Mosaic Manufacturing

Seed Round in 2016
Mosaic Manufacturing Ltd. produces hardware and software for combining multiple filaments into single filament strand to be fed into a printer to enable 3D printing. The company was founded in 2014 and is based in Toronto, Canada.

Vuru

Seed Round in 2015
Vuru Inc. is a Montreal-based company that provides financial reports aimed at self-directed investors. Established in 2010 and operated as a subsidiary of Wave Financial Inc. since 2012, Vuru compiles and analyzes a vast array of financial, historical, and real-time data to deliver insights into various stocks. Its primary offerings include detailed stock reports that focus on company fundamentals and valuations, a portfolio tool that enables investors to assess the strengths and weaknesses of their holdings, and a stock screener designed to help users discover stocks based on specific valuation and qualitative criteria. Vuru's automated analysis engine efficiently processes extensive stock data, making it accessible and comprehensible for investors of all skill levels. The company covers over 5,500 stocks across major exchanges, including NASDAQ, NYSE, AMEX, and TSX, and provides these services free of charge to its users.

Mejuri

Pre Seed Round in 2014
Mejuri Inc. manufactures and sells fine jewelry. The company offers products in various categories, including rings, necklaces, earrings, bracelets and anklets, and engagement. It offers products through its showrooms, as well as online to customers in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company was founded in 1953 and is based in Toronto, Canada. It has showrooms in New York, New York; Toronto, Canada; and Chicago, Illinois.

Redtree Robotics

Seed Round in 2014
Redtree Robotics Inc. designs and manufactures chipsets for robots. The company’s chipsets are used for communication between various robots, as well as provides data from various sensors for algorithms and programs running on the robot. It also provides chipsets for mobile robots. The company is based in Kitchener, Canada.

Guides

Seed Round in 2014
Guides.co (formerly Accel.io) aims to be the world's largest resource for free and premium interactive guides. It's easy to find answers online on how to tie a tie or stuff a turkey, but where do people go to learn how to start a business, build a marketing plan, or discover a whole health fitness plan? Guides.co aims to be the ultimate destination for online guides. Guides.co is a free, next generation content publishing & distribution platform for experts, businesses, and content marketers Guides.co Smart Guides are incredibly engaging interactive blueprints that contain text, video, file templates, pro tips, and interactive widgets that can be embedded on any website or blog. With amazing customer details, insight and analytics, Guides.co is the best way for authors to connect with their audience.

Kiwi.ai

Seed Round in 2014
Kiwi is the world leader in motion recognition technology. With Kiwi's dead simple motion recognition platform, you can get your products tracking motions in literally a matter of minutes. Capture, analyze and improve anything: any motion, on any device, with any sensor. Based in Toronto, Canada, Kiwi's team works diligently to solve the ambiguous motions that surround us. By categorizing and analyzing motions, you can do anything from a simple repetition count in the gym, to analyzing safety metrics in a factory. The options are endless, reach out to us to find out how your products could benefit from motion recognition.

Vanhawks

Seed Round in 2014
Vanhawks Inc. develops Vanhawks Valour, a connected commuter bicycle with sensor integration, GPS navigation, and wifi connectivity. The company allows users to connect to Valour through its mobile application. It serves customers worldwide. Vanhawks Inc. was founded in 2014 and is based in Toronto, Canada. As of April 20, 2017, Vanhawks Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Warren Industries Ltd.

Dashbook

Seed Round in 2013
Dashbook Inc. operates an information delivery platform that allows users to create a personalized view of the Internet. Founded in 2013 and based in Ottawa, Canada, Dashbook curates information tailored to individual preferences, ensuring that users receive only the content that matters to them. The platform's intelligent design enables users to customize their information sources, facilitating the timely delivery of relevant updates and insights.

Openera

Seed Round in 2012
Openera Inc. is a Canadian company based in Kanata, specializing in the development of mobile applications aimed at enhancing file management and organization. Founded in 2011, Openera offers several products, including FileFinder, which allows users to locate and share files from any location; AutoFile, which automatically saves, organizes, and backs up files and email attachments; and FileAnalytics, designed to monitor and manage file and cloud storage usage. The company's services integrate seamlessly with major cloud storage platforms such as Dropbox, Box, and Google Drive, enabling users to create customized rules for automatic organization and backup of their files. Openera operates under a freemium software-as-a-service (SaaS) model, catering primarily to professionals and small to medium-sized businesses. As of late 2013, Openera functions as a subsidiary of LiveQoS Incorporated.

Second Funnel

Seed Round in 2012
Ecommerce has been optimized for shoppers - people arriving from search engines with the intent to buy; however, consumer behavior has changed. People now spend 25% of their time online on social networks. When arriving at ecommerce sites, they don't have the intent to buy. These social browsers make purchases half as often as traffic arriving from other sources. We turn social browsers into shoppers.

Epilogger

Seed Round in 2012
Epilogger operates as an online aggregator of user-generated content. It collects stories, photos, videos, blogs, and conversations about online events from users and social networking sites, and presents them through a single interactive hub. Epilogger was launched in 2011 and is based in Ontario, Canada.

OneClass

Pre Seed Round in 2012
OneClass is an educational platform that facilitates the sharing of university course content among students. Founded in 2010 and based in Toronto, Canada, it operates in several countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. The platform connects students with high-achieving peers, granting them access to a wealth of study resources such as lecture notes and exam guides, all created by fellow students. Additionally, OneClass features high-quality video tutorials produced by subject experts, addressing key concepts and providing solutions to past exams. With over 600,000 users and resources spanning 30,000 courses, OneClass aims to be a comprehensive library of educational materials, equipping students with the tools necessary for academic success and future career opportunities.

OneClass

Pre Seed Round in 2011
OneClass is an educational platform that facilitates the sharing of university course content among students. Founded in 2010 and based in Toronto, Canada, it operates in several countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. The platform connects students with high-achieving peers, granting them access to a wealth of study resources such as lecture notes and exam guides, all created by fellow students. Additionally, OneClass features high-quality video tutorials produced by subject experts, addressing key concepts and providing solutions to past exams. With over 600,000 users and resources spanning 30,000 courses, OneClass aims to be a comprehensive library of educational materials, equipping students with the tools necessary for academic success and future career opportunities.