Canadian Opportunities Fund I
A $67.5M VC fund for pre-Series A to Series A Canadian tech companies, backed by institutions and private investors.
Venture Capital
Long-running Canadian early-stage VC that also lets accredited investors co-invest deal by deal through SPVs.
Brightspark is a Canadian early-stage technology investor whose roots go back to the 1999 Brightspark Labs incubator and fund, co-founded by Delrina co-founder Mark Skapinker; early wins include Radian6 and a 2007 pre-seed cheque into Hopper. It now runs institutional VC funds (Canadian Opportunities Fund I was C$67.5M) alongside a deal-by-deal SPV model for accredited investors, distributed through its exempt-market-dealer subsidiary, and reports more than $530M of assets under management. The firm lists offices in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver; its investment team is small (partners plus an investment associate), so roles open only occasionally.
0 open roles3 deals6 people18 sources
Institutional VC funds backing Canadian early-stage tech companies; the 2020 Canadian Opportunities Fund I targeted pre-Series A to Series A rounds.
Since 2012 Brightspark has opened individual investments to accredited investors through special purpose vehicles; the site shows 30 SPV funds to date.
A programme for secondary transactions in private company shares, launched as part of the investor-access model.
Wholly owned subsidiary of Brightspark Capital Inc., registered as an exempt market dealer in AB, BC, NB, NS, QC and ON, through which offerings are distributed.
| Montreal | QC | headquarters |
| Toronto | ON | office |
| Vancouver | BC | office |
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From the inside
Reasons that work in interviews
3 reasons for Brightspark Ventures
Venture interviews test sourcing and judgement rather than technicals. Bring a company they have not invested in and explain why you would back it, then name a portfolio company of theirs you find interesting and why. That does more than any structural reason.
Deal-by-deal syndication with individual investors rather than a traditional blind-pool fund, which is a genuinely different model and worth engaging with.
You see how capital is raised per investment, not just deployed.
Montreal and Toronto presence.
Coming soon
We’re collecting the real technical and behavioural questions candidates were asked at Brightspark Ventures, by role and office, and how each round runs.
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Interviewing there sooner than that? Get in touch and we’ll help you prepare.
How juniors get in
Hires an Investment Associate with prior investment banking or similar financial-modelling experience; the current team has no analyst roles and no student or MBA program is advertised.
Green: evidence it does. Struck through: evidence it doesn’t. Dashed: no public evidence either way.
Programs
CFO and Partner
Operations
Oversees Brightspark's finances, works with the firm's institutional investors and leads HR initiatives. She was previously an audit manager at KPMG.
Partner
Venture
Serial entrepreneur who co-founded Delrina (WinFax), sold to Symantec in 1995 for over US$400M, then founded Balisoft. He co-founded Brightspark in 2000 and is described in his bio as a Managing Partner. He also co-founded iStopOver, acquired by 9flats in 2012.
Partner
Venture
Joined Brightspark as a managing partner in 2003 after being a partner at CDP Capital Technology Ventures, part of the Caisse. She has led or overseen 50+ investments, including Radian6, and sits on boards including Hopper. She won NACO's Angel of the Year award in 2017.
Partner
Venture
Has spent about 20 years financing Canadian tech companies. He came to Brightspark from Desjardins Capital, where as AVP of technology investments he managed about $110M, and earlier was an SVP at venture lender MMV Financial and part of the Caisse's Sofinov tech unit.
Partner
Venture
Close to 10 years in VC, working on fundraising, deal flow, deal-making and portfolio management, with a significant role in the firm's succession planning. She co-founded Front Row Ventures, described as Canada's first student-led VC firm, and is a Kauffman Fellow (Class 28).
Partner
Venture
Brings 20+ years in Canadian VC, including founding-partner roles at Framework Venture Partners and Unbound Equity and earlier work at the BDC IT Venture Fund. He began in engineering at a telecom company and holds a McGill BSc in physics and computer science.
Professional information only, drawn from official biographies and published reporting. BSO never lists private contact details.
Jun 2, 2026
Pricepoint
Lead investor (reported) · Hotel revenue-management software
Buyer Brightspark Ventures (lead), with Boreal Ventures and AQC Capital
Seed round of about $6.6M (currency not confirmed) for Pricepoint, an automated hotel-pricing platform, reportedly led by Brightspark. Pricepoint is on Brightspark's official portfolio page; round size, lead role and date come from a search snippet only.
Dec 12, 2025
ShopVision
Investor · E-commerce software / AI
Buyer Brightspark Ventures (other participants not disclosed in the post)
Brightspark announced an investment in ShopVision, an AI competitive-intelligence platform that tracks data from over 100,000 online retailers for e-commerce teams. Round size was not disclosed in the post.
Dec 8, 2025
NectAir
Investor · Regional aviation / travel technology
Buyer Brightspark Ventures (other participants not disclosed in the post)
Brightspark announced an investment in NectAir, which is building a tech-enabled short-haul air-taxi service. Round size and terms were not disclosed in the post.
A $67.5M VC fund for pre-Series A to Series A Canadian tech companies, backed by institutions and private investors.
Brightspark begins offering deal-by-deal investments to accredited investors, later adding a secondaries programme.
Second fund, whose exits include Radian6 (sold to Salesforce in 2011) and Protecode.
First VC fund and one of Canada's first tech incubators, offering funding, mentorship and office space; early exits include Think Dynamics (to IBM) and Borderfree.
No sourced people moves for this firm. BSO publishes a fact only once it can attribute it to a named source, so these stay off the page rather than being filled in from inference. If you know something published that belongs here, it is the fastest way to get it added.
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Brightspark Ventures (Getro) · Date unavailable · careers.brightspark.com
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Bay Street Oracle · Oct 8, 2026 · intelligence.baystreetoracle.ca
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Get your planCo-op / Off-cycle intern · Canada
Seed funds take interns on a rolling basis rather than a cycle, and the work is sourcing and diligence rather than modelling. A company you would back, argued well, does more than a resume here. BSO has not confirmed a timetable for Brightspark Ventures on an official page: this records that the intake exists and what the category's cycle looks like, not a published date. Confirm with the firm before you plan around it.
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