News & Events

Ryerson University has established Canada's first university-led angel investor network, the Ryerson Angel Network (RAN), to finance and mentor innovative student- and alumni-initiated companies.

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).

 "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 President Levy. "Ryerson is proud to lead the way in initiating this new model of entrepreneurial financing."

The province of Ontario supports and recognizes the importance of RAN.  "Ryerson's Angel Network represents a step forward in igniting the commercialization of research and innovation at the university level in Ontario," said Minister of Research and Innovation John Wilkinson. "Ryerson University has partnered with the National Angel Capital Organization to bring new discoveries to market faster in this province, which will result in more high-value jobs and, ultimately, a higher quality of life for all Ontarians. Our government is proud to support this initiative."

Provost and Vice President Academic Alan Shepard recently spoke to executives from the angel investment community at the NACO Co-Investment Summit in Toronto. "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," said Shepard. "This model can also be adopted by other Canadian universities to increase their innovation activity."

W. Daniel Mothersill, President of the National Angel Capital Organization, was named a Distinguished Visiting Professor at Ryerson earlier this year. "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."

Angel investors are accredited individuals who invest personal assets in exchange for equity in a start-up company. RAN investors are expected to be a mix of alumni, Ryerson supporters and angel investor executives connecting with Ryerson for the first time.

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.

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.

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.