LOI Venture

What LOI Venture does

LOI Venture is a $20 million Canadian pre-seed venture capital fund headquartered in Vancouver, BC, founded in 2021 by Hootsuite co-founder Ryan Holmes and Managing Director Manny Padda. The fund exclusively backs founders aged 15-30, filling a demographic gap left by traditional Canadian VCs. It operates as the for-profit investment arm of the League of Innovators (LOI), a registered charity founded in 2017 that runs free accelerator programs (Boost, Labs) without taking equity or charging fees, generating deal flow that graduates into Fund I investments.

The firm's core product is Fund I, a $20M pre-seed/seed vehicle targeting companies led by young Canadian founders, with disclosed check sizes around $100K. Portfolio companies include WFHomie (first investment, December 2021), Spontivly (community dashboard, customers including Airbnb and Zoom, later backed by Mark Cuban), cocoNFT (Instagram-to-NFT platform), Reusables (zero-waste packaging), and MeepMeep (healthcare safety devices, 2026). Supporting the fund is an integrated programming stack: a 1,000+ member Slack community, 12,000+ engaged youth across Canada, 250+ alumni startups, and signature events including the annual Youth Entrepreneur of the Year (YEY) Awards (500+ founders in Toronto, 2023), Demo Days, and Fireside Chats with figures such as Mark Cuban and Brian Scudamore.

The revenue model rests on Fund I management fees (industry-standard ~1.5-2% of AUM) with upside from carried interest on exits. The fund's limited partner roster is unusually high-quality for a $20M pre-seed vehicle, including Michele Romanow (Clearco), Dapper Labs co-founders, Andrew Wilkinson (Tiny Capital), Bill Lee (Craft Ventures), and Tara Bosch (SmartSweets), reflecting the brand premium that the Holmes/Padda partnership commands. The League of Innovators charity and its programming are funded through donations and event sponsorships (Flair, Molson, SAP, RBC Future Launch, Osler, Fasken).

Name

LOI Venture

Legal name

LOI Venture

Website

https://loi.vc

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

LOI Venture is a Vancouver-based $20M Canadian pre-seed venture capital fund launched in 2021 that exclusively backs founders aged 15-30, operating alongside the League of Innovators charity to source, accelerate, and invest in young Canadian startups through Fund I and free accelerator programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital / Pre-Seed Investing

NAICS

Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259), Other Financial Vehicles (52599)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Early-Stage Venture Capital (Pre-Seed/Seed) (FSANAAAA)

Keywords

• Pre-seed venture capital
• Startup accelerator programs
• Early-stage equity investing
• Young founder funding
• Venture capital fund

Headquarters

HQ city

Vancouver

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Venture Fund Management: LOI Venture manages a $20M pre-seed fund (Fund I) that makes equity investments in early-stage startups. The fund generates returns through portfolio company exits, acquisitions, and IPOs. Returns accrue to Limited Partners (LPs) who provided capital.
2. Accelerator Programming: Free accelerator programs (Boost, Labs) that attract talent to the ecosystem and generate deal flow for the fund. Programs are funded by donations and do not charge participants.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Core offering

LOI Venture is a $20 million pre-seed venture capital fund that makes equity investments in early-stage Canadian startups whose founders are aged 15–30 and have come through LOI programming. The fund is paired with free, no-equity accelerator programs (Boost, LOI Labs), community events (YEY Awards, Demo Days, Fireside Chats), and a 1,000+ member Slack community that together function as a deal-sourcing, mentorship, and founder-development ecosystem.

Product overview

LOI Venture is a $20 million pre-seed VC fund focused on founders under 30, born from the League of Innovators charity accelerator. The company operates Fund I as its primary investment vehicle, deploying capital to pre-seed and seed-stage startups from the LOI ecosystem. Supporting the investment fund are accelerator programs including LOI Labs (Batch 11 featured 59 ventures) and the Boost Program (a 12-month virtual residency for startups with $100K+ revenue). The company also organizes signature events including the annual Youth Entrepreneur of the Year (YEY) Awards, Demo Days for portfolio pitch events, and Fireside Chat events featuring prominent founders. All programming is free and requires no equity, supported by donations and partnerships.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• LOI Labs: Accelerator program batch for early-stage startups
• YEY (Youth Entrepreneur of the Year)
• LOI Boost
• Demo Day

Products and services

• LOI Venture Fund I A $20 million pre-seed venture capital fund that makes equity investments in early-stage startups whose founders are aged 15–30 and have participated in LOI programming. Investments range from pre-seed to seed stage.
• Boost Program

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly $1B in enterprise value created across LOI alumni
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• League of InnovatorscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLOI Venture was born from the League of Innovators, a charity founded in 2017 by Ryan Holmes. The fund accelerates startups graduating from LOI programs. League of Innovators provides deal flow, programming, and alumni network to the fund.
• Flair AirlinesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFlair Airlines sponsored YEY 2023 event and gifted 62 vacation flights to attendees.
• Annex HotelminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAnnex Hotel hosted YEY 2023 after-party and provided accommodations for the Toronto event.
• MolsonminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMolson sponsored YEY 2023 event with custom coolers and hosted the after-party.
• RBC Future LaunchminorGTM or Marketing PartnerRBC Future Launch is a sponsor of LOI events, supporting young entrepreneurs in Canada with resources and funding.
• SAPminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSAP sponsored YEY 2023 event.
• FaskenminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFasken (law firm) sponsored YEY 2023 event.
• BFN (Black Founders Network)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerBFN is a sponsor and ecosystem partner supporting Black founders in the LOI community.
• OslerminorGTM or Marketing PartnerOsler (law firm) sponsored YEY 2023 event.
• Trufan (Swish Goswami)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwish Goswami, founder of Trufan, serves as a Venture Advisor to LOI Venture. He is a former LOI alumni.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Panache Ventures: Canadian pre-seed/seed VC fund that invests across Canada. Most directly comparable peer — same stage, same geography, similar generalist pre-seed mandate.
• Front Row Ventures: Canadian student-led VC fund backing student and young founders — closest peer by demographic thesis (young founders) and Canadian geography.
• Version One Ventures: Canadian seed-stage VC investing across Canada and the US. Comparable stage and geography with an early-stage thesis.
• Ripple Ventures: Canadian pre-seed/seed VC backing technical founders across Canada. Comparable check size and stage focus.
• Highline VC: Canadian pre-seed fund backing Canadian founders, with a community-driven model similar to LOI's accelerator-plus-fund structure.
• StandUp Ventures: Canadian seed VC investing in women-led technology companies. Comparable Canadian early-stage VC with a demographic-thesis approach.
• FounderFuel: Canadian seed accelerator and fund — closely comparable combination of structured programming and capital deployment.

Broad incumbents

• UCeed: University of Calgary-affiliated venture fund that co-invested with LOI in MeepMeep. Comparable Canadian early-stage investor with institutional backing.

Emerging players

• Dorm Room Fund: US student-led pre-seed fund backed by First Round Capital. Comparable demographic thesis (student founders) but operates primarily in the US.
• Contrary Capital: Student-led VC fund investing in founders from top universities globally. Comparable demographic thesis targeting young founders, US-based.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/loiventure
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/loiventure
• Instagraminstagram.com/loiaccelerator

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments27 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about LOI Venture