Canadians have deep expertise and a long history of global success as health innovators – from insulin to the pacemaker. There is a confidence that comes with commercial success that fuels and inspires entrepreneurs, activates policymakers, and promotes investment. However, as Canadians stare down the challenges that come with an unprecedented generational imbalance, we must ensure solutions are not stalled due to infrastructure, policy, or mindset.

Canadian entrepreneurs, funders, and policymakers need to prioritize solutions that support independent living at home, support the friends and families of seniors to fill in the gaps of care for our aging population with a national virtual care strategy, and assume that individuals with acute, chronic, and even complex care needs want to remain in their own homes with healthcare support.

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Lying on the wickedly cold pavement on January 14, listening to first responders assess how they were going to transfer my body to a spinal board—not yet knowing if I fractured my pelvis, I recall darting thoughts of “I have the tools to get through this.

I was angry at the driver who hit me right off my bike. I was in excruciating pain. And, I distinctly remember self-talk that the accident wasn’t going to break me. Perhaps it was my entrepreneurial mindset, having tons of practice managing uncertainty, but I knew that whatever the outcome, this wasn’t going to break me.

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But how is it possible to be a true venture capital fund that delivers venture-level returns as well as social good? It depends on how you measure social impact.

We believe the secret is with an evolving healthcare paradigm enabled by data usage; explosive growth in volumes of data created by individuals are now fueling sustainable digital health strategies. Incredibly, over 90% of the world’s data was generated in just the last two years. Stop and think about that.

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The Relentless mission is to invest in technology based businesses that contribute to active, healthy living at all ages. “We are pioneering a new approach to health care investing with our commitment to an individual’s entire lifecycle. By targeting preventative and proactive health strategies, we have found deep values alignment with investors from the social impact community,” highlighted Brenda Irwin, General Partner of Relentless and Co-Founder of Relentless Pursuit Partners. “Vancity’s early support has been an important catalyst for our recently launched health tech venture fund.”

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“Canary is the ideal first investment for our inaugural venture fund,” declared Brenda Irwin, General Partner of RVF and Co-Founder of Relentless Pursuit Partners. “Our mission with the Relentless Venture Fund is to invest in preventative and proactive health technology solutions that optimize health, activity and longevity. Canary’s platform delivers on all three of these mission based goals. Incorporating Canary’s sensor technology, and leveraging their robust data analytics, the benefit to patients’ health is poised to soar above existing orthopedic and wearable technology options.”

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1. On ACTIVE LIVING: Craft Beer tours by bike count as active, healthy living. Tip: A growler weighs approximately 5 pounds when full so a bike trailer can fit about 20 of them (100 pounds)!

2. On PITCHING: Dear Entrepreneurs … A UBC Spanish Banks hill climb by bike is perfect distance for pitching your company.  A second hill for investor questions …  A third for fun … just ask Rob. 

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