Venture capitalists and investors get a bad rap sometimes… as sharks, dragons, and Gordon Gekko (yeeps!) archetypes throughout popular culture.
But the truth is, it’s a lot less like a shark tank and much more about crunching numbers, serving on boards and helping founders and companies to grow and flourish; as well as reporting to limited partners and keeping track of due diligence.
Different backgrounds and skill sets are important aspects to bring to the (cap)table.
Learn more about how Metiquity Ventures’ co-founding directors amalgamate their talent and experience.
Jacques LaPointe
Jacques has more than 25 years of experience under his belt, including expertise as the president and co-founder of Calgary-based Attabotics, during which Jacques led Attabotics through its very first equity and grant funding and the significant investment and growth that followed during his three-year tenure.
Specifically within the Alberta technology ecosystem, Jacques boasts 13 years in operational roles in the industry and 12 years as an investment portfolio manager, angel investor, director and advisor.
“He’s had some great success that the founders like to hear about, but he’s humble,” Bryan says. ”There shouldn’t be any investor or venture capital fund sitting on a pedestal somewhere…”
According to Bryan, the pair make a conscious effort to let people see the authentic Bryan Slauko and Jacques LaPointe, and for this reason, they encourage other founders to do the same when meeting with and pitching Metiquity Ventures about their businesses as “no one’s hiding behind walls.”
On this topic, Jacques tends to think of himself and Bryan as an ‘iceberg’ – meaning “there’s this little piece on the top that people see,” he says, but simply interacting with investors or entrepreneurs via email will not allow any party to share “what’s below the waterline.”
Bryan Slauko
Jacques notes that Bryan Slauko, a CFA Charterholder, – boasts more than two decades of experience as an investment professional, advisor, entrepreneur and Board member, including current board roles with Metiquity Ventures portfolio companies including Arolytics, cash flow app Helm and TakeMeTuit Inc – puts “meticulous effort” into legal documents, due diligence and the overall structure of Metiquity Ventures; an aspect which Jacques believes Bryan is all too often not given credit for.
“Many investors go for the story, the sizzle, but they don’t do their homework on what’s underneath and that’s unfortunate because that’s what really gets results in the end,” Jacques adds.