Pender Technology Inflection Fund

The Pender Technology Inflection Fund I Limited Partnership (“Pender Technology Inflection Fund”) invests in private and public inflection-stage technology companies that create solutions for organizations, either enterprises or healthcare organizations, to drive operational efficiencies and data-driven decision-making. The Fund will leverage Pender’s existing knowledge and expertise of investing in disruptive technology businesses with a distinct competitive edge. By extending our investing universe to private companies, we believe we will increase the potential to generate long term capital appreciation for investors.

  • Sector: Fundamental Technology

    At Pender, we take a broad sector approach while focusing on some very relevant themes. Our overall sector is what we call “fundamental technology”. We define fundamental technology as technologies, and/or the application of those technologies, that provide solutions that allow organizations to make better decisions to increase revenue, decrease costs or both. While tech trends come and go, to be investable, the technology has to fundamentally lead to a solution that provides value to an organization. Themes that focus our investment strategy are:

    Data is Still the New Bacon:

    The Big Data revolution is not over, just in another phase. There are plenty of challenges and opportunities for enterprises to not only realize the value of their own data and other datasets, but to also automate and transform entire areas of their business as a result of being able to make predictive data-driven decisions. The Pender Technology Inflection Fund is seeking to support companies that are solving data infrastructure challenges and building data centric application for the enterprise.

    Convergence of Health and Tech:

    Mounting costs within the healthcare industry means we have reached a tipping point: there is no choice but to turn to technology to resolve various challenges. Health-tech companies are generally comprised of interdisciplinary teams of medical and software engineers and innovative solutions often emerge when scientists and engineers come together to tackle complex problems. While one can view health-tech as a sub-sector or specific vertical of B2B, we specifically focus on this as a unique category because it is one of the largest, fastest growing and highest potential for disruption verticals.

    Industrial Digital Transformation:

    Advanced technologies such as clouding and edge computing, IIoT, artificial intelligence, AR/VR are rapidly becoming tools to address the broad set of challenges facing traditional industries such as transportation, energy, manufacturing, etc. Digital technologies will enable enterprises to design, manufacture, deliver, support and maintain products faster, more efficiently and at lower costs. Large opportunities are emerging for systems of insight, paradigm shifts in manufacturing process and digital empowerment of the workforce.

    Stage: Inflection Stage

    Inflection‐stage companies have commercialized a product that is generating enough early revenues from customers and/or partners to indicate a high probability of product‐market fit. However, an inflection‐stage company has not yet achieved significant enough revenue or scalability of revenue to be profitable and therefore still requires capital to grow.

    Structure: Private/Public/Secondaries

    Today while most technology companies remain private until they are acquired, a small subset of micro-cap technology companies do go public. However, there is simply not enough volume and research coverage for large mutual funds or program traders to invest in this part of the market. As a result, many small companies in both Canada and the US are overlooked and misunderstood by the market.  At Pender, we invest in great businesses run by great teams, regardless of being private or public. Similarly, we are open to purchasing positions from other investors that require liquidity.

  • Checkfront Inc, Victoria, BC

    Checkfront is a booking management platform trusted by thousands of tourism operators worldwide. Their cloud based platform empowers businesses to sell tours, activities and accommodation on any website by providing live inventory management, dynamic pricing, customer notifications, and channel distribution. Checkfront makes it easy for tourism operators to grow their business by automating administration and housing a comprehensive suite of business tools in one place.

     

    Clarius Mobile Health Corp, Burnaby, BC

    Clarius’ vision is to see a portable ultrasound device in the hands of every medical practitioner – aiming to be the pioneering force in the developing market for the “visual stethoscope”. Their products are wireless, high-performance ultrasound scanners that connect to off-the-shelf smartphones and tablets. Existing point-of-care ultrasound systems are bulky, expensive and require significant training. Instead of bringing the patient to the machine, Clarius’ goal is to disrupt these traditional systems and bring the machine to the patient, however remote. Its proprietary “ultrasound system-on-chip” technology  takes ultrasound imaging to the next level of miniaturization by integrating a complete, high-performance, ultrasound imaging system on a single chip.

    Press Release:  Pender Technology Inflection Fund makes first investment 

     

    Copperleaf Technologies Inc, Vancouver, BC

    Copperleaf provides decision analytics to companies managing critical infrastructure. Its enterprise software solutions leverage operational and financial data to help clients make investment decisions that deliver the highest business value. In 2018, Canadian Business magazine named Copperleaf one of Canada’s Fastest-Growing Companies for the fourth consecutive year. Copperleaf is a member of The Institute of Asset Management (IAM) and actively participates in shaping the future of asset management standards, including ISO 55000. Headquartered in Vancouver, its solutions are distributed and supported by regional staff and partners worldwide. The company is committed to building a better world, one decision at a time.

    Podcast: Listen to Maria Pacella interviewing Judi Hess, CEO of Copperleaf, here.

     

    Jane Software Inc, North Vancouver, BC

    Jane Software Inc is a leading allied health clinic management solution. The company’s cloud based practice management solution facilitates online booking, charting and scheduling in one comprehensive and secure platform. By integrating multiple siloed systems within a user-friendly white labeled interface, the Jane app helps clinics operate efficiently while preserving brand integrity. Integrated health clinics of all types and sizes, from chiropractors to speech therapists, rely upon the flexible solution globally to power their businesses.

     

    Librestream Technologies Inc, Winnipeg, MB

    Librestream is the developer of the Onsight Augmented Reality Service Platform. Deployed in over 120 countries, Onsight is built for workers to collaborate virtually and access content from the world’s toughest environments and for the most demanding enterprises. Onsight delivers measurable business outcomes including worker safety and productivity, cost savings, reduced emissions, asset uptime gains, and improved customer service delivery.

  • Asset Class:  Venture Capital
    Inception Date: February 28, 2018
    Eligibility: Accredited Investors 
    Hold Period: 10 Years 
    Portfolio Managers: Maria Pacella, CFA, SVP Private Equity.  David Barr, CFA, President and Portfolio Manager, PenderFund Capital Management
  • Maria Pacella

    Senior VP, Private Equity and Portfolio Manager 

    Maria has been investing in emerging growth companies, with a focus on technology businesses since 2001. She spent 11 years with one of Canada’s largest venture capital firms where she invested in multiple early‐stage ventures and served on a variety of boards, mostly in the areas of enterprise software, e‐commerce and medtech. Prior to that, she worked at a digital media firm assisting the company in operational activities and strategic initiatives. She also worked in financial and technology M & A for the Canadian subsidiary of an international investment firm.

    Maria’s experience includes operational roles at early‐stage companies, serving on boards, facilitating M & A’s and leading financings. She has built an extensive technology network across North America, notably in Silicon Valley, and has been a member of C100. She is currently a director on the board of Clarius Mobile Health and BasicGov and an observer on the board of Tantalus Systems. She is also on the SFU Beedie School of Business Advisory Board. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Simon Fraser University, is a CFA charterholder and an active member and a past president of CFA Society Vancouver.

    Read full biography

    David BarrDavid Barr

    CEO & Portfolio Manager

    David is the CEO of Pender. He is also the Portfolio Manager of several of Pender’s funds having begun his investing career in 2000. The Pender Small Cap Opportunities Fund, which he manages, has won a Lipper Fund Award in 2015, 2016 and 2017 for Best Canadian Small/Mid Cap Equity Fund over both three‐ and five‐year performance periods. The Fund has also received a Fundata FundGrade A+ Award in each of the last six years, with the Pender Value Fund winning in 2016 and 2017.

    David holds a Bachelor of Science degree from UBC and an MBA from York University’s Schulich School of Business. He earned his CFA designation in 2003 and is a past president of CFA Society Vancouver, having also served on its Board of Directors for four years. He remains an active member. David is a regular guest on BNN and has been interviewed for his opinions by the Financial Post, the Globe and Mail and other media. In December 2012, David was recognized as one of British Columbia’s “Top Forty Under 40” business leaders by Business in Vancouver.

    Read full biography

    Kenndal McArdle

    Investment Analyst 

    Kenndal McArdle has over 6 years of investing experience, with a predominate focus on early stage technology companies. In 2018 he joined Maria Pacella as an Investment Associate in the Private Equity Team.

    Kenndal joined Pender in 2014 and has been an instrumental part of the investment team and process. His work as an analyst was primarily attributable to the Pender Small Cap Opportunities Fund and Pender Value Fund where he was responsible for sourcing, evaluating, monitoring and providing recommendations on prospective and existing investments. In addition, he has aided Pender’s operational department with an objective to drive increased efficiency throughout the firm. 

    Kenndal is currently a board observer for Clarius Mobile Health and is a strategic advisor to numerous start-up companies providing guidance on capital raising and governance. Previously, he was a professional athlete and enjoyed a successful career in the NHL, most notably on the left wing for the Jets and Panthers. He earned his CFA Charter in 2018 and is actively involved with the CFA Vancouver Society as a Program’s Committee volunteer.

    Read full biography

    The Portfolio Managers will be supported by the entire Pender investment team.

  • The investment team will also draw on the expertise of an advisory group of experienced individuals, our “Venture Partners”, who have worked closely with Maria and/or Dave in the past. The Venture Partners are expected to make significant contributions to the Tech Fund in areas that included deal flow, due diligence, portfolio company operations, business development, management and other areas crucial to the Tech Fund’s continued success.

    Gord Breese

    Gord is an executive with more than 20 years of sales and marketing leadership at high growth tech firms including ServiceMax, SAP, Business Objects, Apple and Oracle. He was on the leadership team that took Pivotal Software public and played a key role in expanding Crystal Decisions / Business Objects’ global footprint, prior to its acquisition by SAP. Gord co-founded SignalHill, an industrial SaaS start-up serving the North American telecom industry. He currently serves on the board at BasicGov and is an active, hands-on adviser for Charli AI, ScopeMedia and FinCAD. He holds a B. Comm Honours Degree from the University of Manitoba and successfully completed the Kellogg School of Business “Expert Negotiation” program.

    Expertise: Building go-to-market teams and partner ecosystems in emerging, high growth markets.

    Bart Copeland

    Bart has been the CEO and President of ActiveState Software, the Open Source Languages Company, since 2006, and has a passion for building and delivering enterprise solutions that just work. He has been involved in numerous M & A transactions over the years – the most recent being the sale of the ActiveState Stackato Business Unit to Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Bart is also an angel investor who loves the intersection of technology, business and the enterprise, as well as working with individuals and teams who have great ideas but need a business mindset and perspective to help them get to the next level. Bart holds an MBA in technology management from the University of Phoenix and a mechanical engineering degree from UBC.

    Expertise: Strong operator, technology expert, experience in M & A.

    Kelly Edmison

    Kelly is Chair of PenderFund Capital Management, which he founded in 2003. Kelly spent over 20 years practicing as a commercial lawyer, in Calgary, Hong Kong and Vancouver. For much of that time he was focused on representing private and public BC-based technology companies. For the last 17 years he has been a director or officer of a number of public and private companies in a variety of sectors, including technology, products and services, and healthcare with a particular focus on software. The public companies included eDistpatch.com (telematics), ALI Technolgies (medical software), Carmanah Technologies (solar powered lighting) and QHR Technologies (electronic medical records) and private companies included Icron Technolgies (communication hardware), ActiveState Software (open source software) and Monexa Technolgies (payment services). Kelly is currently on the board of Pender Growth Fund and BSM Techologies. Kelly holds a BA in Economics from the University of Toronto and a law degree from Queen’s University.

    Expertise: Legal, governance, mentoring.

    Lynn Frazer

    Lynn is a Human Resources Executive with over 20 years of experience in human resource management across private, public and private-equity held organizations in the print and digital media, software and transportation sectors. Believing that success is achieved through high performing teams, aligned to deliver a clear organizational vision and mission, Lynn focuses on coaching leaders to create business strategies and plans that balance company, employee and profitability interests. Most recently, as the head of the Human Resources group at autoTRADER.ca, Lynn led the human resources strategy through periods of growth and downsizing, as the business evolved from its roots in traditional print media to one of Canada’s premier digital brands and software solutions providers to automotive dealerships. Through this transition autoTRADER.ca delivered double digit revenue and EBITDA growth, raising the company’s value to $1.58bn CAD realized in the sale from APAX to Thoma Bravo Equity Partners in 2016. Lynn holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from UBC, is a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator certified practitioner and is a Chartered Professional in Human Resources (CHRP).

    Expertise: Human resources management.

    Paul Geyer

    Paul has been a prolific medtech entrepreneur, board member and angel investor in the Vancouver area for over 25 years. In 1991, he founded Mitroflow, a tissue heart valve company, where he was CEO and CFO. Following the successful sale of Mitroflow, Paul started Medical Ventures (Neovasc). Paul held the position of CEO at Neovasc until June 2008 and is currently on the Board. He was responsible for raising over $40 million in equity financing and overseeing the acquisition of three other companies. In 2009 Paul joined Dr. Maurer, founder of LightIntegra Technology, as the company’s first CEO until March 2017 when he assumed the role of Executive Chair. Paul is currently the CEO of Discovery Parks and Nimbus Synergies, a unique investment program focused on Medical and Digital Health opportunities.

    Paul is engaged in the community as a philanthropist and active member of Social Venture Partners Vancouver, a board member of Entrepreneurship at UBC, a G7 fellow with Creative Destruction Lab and is an active investor and board member for a number of local technology companies. Paul holds a BASc. in Electrical Engineering along with various post graduate programs in Biomedical Engineering and Canadian Securities, as well as certification as a Certified Director from UCLA.

    Expertise: Medtech expert, strong financing and acquisition experience, extensive network, active board member.

    Colin Harris

    Colin co-founded PMC-Sierra (now Microchip), a NASDAQ listed semiconductor company, and was Chief Operating Officer from 2005 to 2015. Colin was an elected member of the Global Semiconductor Alliance (GSA) Board of Directors from 2005 to 2012. He currently serves on the advisory board of the Design for E-Beam (DFEB) initiative and Yaletown Partners. He is also a long-time member of the board at Redlen Technologies, a medical imaging company. Colin is an active angel investor in Vancouver and has been involved in several successful exits. He received a bachelor’s degree in engineering physics from UBC in 1980 and is the holder of five patents relating to semiconductors.

    Expertise: Operations expert; deep technology connections in Silicon Valley; start-up to large public company experience.

    Derek Hemmes

    Derek has over 15 years of entrepreneurial and management experience. He co-founded one45 Software in 2001 where he was CEO until it was acquired by Cytiva Software in 2008. From 2008, he worked on the executive team at Cytiva as VP Product Development until Cytiva was acquired by Taleo Corporation in 2011. In 2008, he co-founded eRezLife Software, where he has been COO since 2011. Derek holds a Bachelor of Science degree from UBC with a major in bio-psychology and minors in commerce and computer science. He also studied business at Curtin University, completing 7/8 of its MBA program.

    Expertise: Excellent innovator and operator; expert in building management teams.

    Wendy Porter

    Wendy is a payments industry expert and was the visionary behind the creation of Moneris Solutions Corporation, Canada’s largest credit card acquiring company. In 2000, she envisioned a combined MasterCard and Visa payment solutions company, and was responsible for spinning off Bank of Montreal’s acquiring division and merging it with Royal Bank’s division to create Moneris Solutions. She has experience in the US where she served as President of Vital Merchant Services (now TSYS Acquiring Solutions) and was responsible for the Harris Bank payment acquiring division in Chicago. Wendy spent most of her career with the Bank of Montreal in various executive roles in corporate marketing, information technology and electronic payments. As Senior Vice President, Merchant Acquiring, she managed the credit card and debit card acquiring business. She has served on a variety of business and not-for-profit boards, including payment industry boards and global committees for the Interac Association and MasterCard. Wendy holds a Bachelor of Arts from York University and an MBA degree from York University’s Schulich Business School. She also holds the ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors.

    Expertise: Start-up to large financial institution experience; fintech expert; active board member.

    David Roberts

    David is President of Y Tara Capital, a private investment company. He has over 30 years of senior operational and investment experience in the venture capital, information technology, communications and life sciences sectors. David has held various directorships in public and private companies since 1983. He is currently Chairman of ActiveState Software Inc. and was Chief Investment Officer of Pender Financial Group Corporation from 2008 to 2016. Previously, David served as a Director of RDM Corporation, Chairman and President of BasicGov Systems, Inc., President and CEO and Director of Santa Rosa Resources Corp., a Director of Pender Growth Fund (VCC) Inc., Chairman of Icron Technologies Corporation, and President and CEO of PenderFund Capital Management Ltd. David is a graduate of University College London (B.Sc.).

    Expertise: Seasoned technology executive; experienced at exits and turnarounds; extensive executive and board level experience.

    Hamed Shahbazi

    Hamed founded TIO Networks as a kiosk solution provider in 1997 and transitioned it into a multi-channel payment solution provider specializing in bill payment and other financial services over the next 20 years. TIO Networks was acquired by PayPal for CAD$304 million in July 2017.

    Hamed has extensive strategic M&A and divestitures experience, both as an operator (TIO) and as a board member (BroadbandTV, WELL, etc) with more than a dozen successful transactions.

    He is a passionate advocate of impact entrepreneurship where new companies aim to make a difference, and in doing so grow. He regularly mentors founders and entrepreneurs of early stage companies.

    In 2003 Hamed was named to the Hall of Fame of PROFIT magazine as the youngest leader on the PROFIT 100. The Cantech Letter named him the TSX Venture Tech “Exec of the Year” (2014 – 2016) and TIO the TSX Venture Tech “Stock of the Year” (2014 – 2015). In 2017 he won both Business in Vancouver CEO of the Year, mid-market category and EY Entrepreneur of the year, financial service category.

    Hamed earned his Bachelor of Applied Science degree in civil engineering from UBC, specializing in fluid mechanics, environmental engineering and engineering economics. He has also completed Harvard Law’s program on Negotiation for Business Executives.

    Expertise: Technology focused operator; start-up to exit experience; fintech expert.

    Rich Simons

    Rich is a proven business leader with over 35 years of success and experience as a top-level business executive and entrepreneur. His background includes building companies in Vancouver, Toronto and Seattle. His diverse experience, with a full range of marketing and business building skills, provides a unique perspective, as well as strength and depth.

    He started his career in 1968 when he founded what is today DDB Advertising Canada. Rich spent 10 years in the US as a business builder and moved back to Vancouver in 2001 when he became President and CEO of a leading ASP for customer loyalty and reward programs.

    Rich is currently actively involved in early stage companies focused on tech, health sciences and natural food manufacturing. He is a Director of Science World, past Chairman of Daiya Foods Inc and Elastic Path Software Inc and a past Director of Arc Medical Devices Inc and Otono Networks Inc.

    Expertise: Advises on board composition, business structures and commercial transaction formulation; provides entrepreneurial guidance for new CEOs and plays an advisory role in business building across many sectors.

    Malcolm Steenburgh

    Malcolm has a background in software development. He was a co-founder of Point Grey Research – a company that focused on the development and manufacturing of industrial machine vision cameras.  The company grew to over 300 employees before being acquired by FLIR in 2016. Throughout the company’s 20 year history, Malcolm was a key contributor to a variety of different functions including engineering, manufacturing and business process, product management, IT and customer service. He played a key role in the sale and subsequent transition to FLIR before leaving the business in 2017 to pursue personal interests. 

    Malcolm brings energy to all of the projects that he is involved with.  He has been spending time understanding new business areas and trying to help groups refine, identify and expand their business.

    Expertise: Dynamic problem solver, management expertise, technology expertise.

    Vlad Tucakov

    Vlad is the co-founder of Point Grey Research (acquired by FLIR Systems, Inc. in 2016) which spun out of the UBC Computer Science department and has grown to an organization with over 300 employees worldwide with offices in Canada, USA, Germany, Japan, China, and Italy. Vlad worked across many departments and ultimately as CEO. He was instrumental in growing the company that was entirely bootstrapped for its entire 20-year existence. Upon acquisition, Vlad joined FLIR as the General Manager of the Integrated Imaging Solutions group, leaving in fall of 2017 to pursue personal goals. Vlad is passionate about new business ventures and has been actively advising start-up companies, especially in technology.

    Expertise: Versatile operator; start-up to exit experience; technology expertise.

  • June 4, 2020Pender Podcast – Episode 40 – Tech – What Scales is Simplicity
    December 5, 2019Pender Podcast – Episode 30 – Tech – Women in Tech – Exploring Leadership and Diversity of Thought
    November 7, 2019Pender Podcast – Episode 28 – Tech – Investing in China
    September 26, 2019Pender Podcast – Episode 25 – Tech – Women in Tech – Advice for the Next Generation of Women Leaders in Health Tech
    August 1, 2019Pender Podcast – Episode 22 – Tech – The Highs and Lows of Venture Capital
    May 16, 2019Pender Podcast – Episode 17 -Tech – Just What the Doctor Ordered
    April 25, 2019Just What the Doctor ordered – Blog Post
    April 2, 2019Pender Podcast – Episode 16 – Tech – Building an Enterprise from the Ground Up
    March 8, 2019Pender Podcast – Episode 15 – Tech – Leadership Lessons from Judi Hess
    January 31, 2019Pender Podcast – Episode 13 – Our Perspective on Private Equity in 2018 and 2019
    December 28, 2018Pender Podcast – Episode 10 – Disruptive Technology Part 4 – Edge Computing, IoT and Anomaly Detection
    December 17, 2018Pender Podcast – Episode 9 – Disruptive Technology Part 3 – Big Data
    December 10, 2018Pender Podcast – Episode 8 – Disruptive Technology Part 2 – Blockchain
    November 29, 2018Pender Podcast – Episode 7 – Disruptive Technology Part 1 – “A front row seat”
    May 28, 2018Pender Technology Inflection Fund makes first investment
    February 26, 2018Pender Announces the First Closing of the Pender Technology Inflection Fund I Limited Partnership

     

  • Investors

    Accredited investors may request additional information during normal business hours by writing to:

    Sarah Wildman,
    Director, Institutional & Family Office Wealth Services
    swildman@penderfund.com

    Entrepreneurs

    If you have a business idea that you would like to bring to our attention, please email us: ideas@penderfund.com

    PenderFund Capital Management
    1640 – 1066 West Hastings Street,
    Vancouver, BC V6E 3X1
    Toll Free: 1‐866‐377‐4743
    Front Desk: 1‐604‐688‐1511

Pender Technology Inflection Fund

By clicking “Accept” below, you acknowledge that securities of this fund are offered exclusively on a private placement basis to investors who qualify as “accredited investors” or who are otherwise eligible to purchase the securities pursuant to exemptions from the prospectus requirements under applicable securities laws, and agree that you will not transmit, reproduce or make available these materials to anyone other than your professional advisors.

Pender Technology Inflection Fund

By clicking “Accept” below, you acknowledge that securities of this fund are offered exclusively on a private placement basis to investors who qualify as “accredited investors” or who are otherwise eligible to purchase the securities pursuant to exemptions from the prospectus requirements under applicable securities laws, and agree that you will not transmit, reproduce or make available these materials to anyone other than your professional advisors.