The51 Ventures Fund 1 Investing in Alberta-based Women Entrepreneurs

Calgary, Alta, June 1, 2021—The51 Ventures Fund 1 is proudly advancing financial feminism in Alberta with two recent investments in Alberta-based women-led startups, Virtual Gurus and True Angle.

The51 Ventures Fund 1 continues to make notable investments in women-led startups, including those in its own backyard. This week, The51 Ventures Fund 1 announces investments in Edmonton-based True Angle and Calgary-based Virtual Gurus. Both companies, while operating in vastly different marketplaces, have seen significant early-stage success during the last year. 

True Angle is a health tech company that has developed a mobile device for individuals whose dysphagia is likely to respond to swallowing exercises for their throat muscles. What does it feel like to have dysphagia? To get an idea of the challenges facing those with the disorder, try looking up and swallowing at the same time. Through the virtually connected Mobili-T® solution, patients will experience improved convenience, treatment access, engagement with their medical practitioners, and compliance to an exercise program.  The Mobili-T® aims to dramatically impact patient care and health outcomes.

The51 Ventures Fund 1 is proud to be an investor in True Angle in an oversubscribed $1.64M funding round alongside lead investor Accelerate Fund, and investors WATCT, Startup TNT, Thin Air Labs, Aeonian and Birchcliff Partners. This capital injection will enable True Angle to grow and invest further in their mission to kick dysphagia

“This is an exciting opportunity to further advance the technology behind our dysphagia device, and it also positions us well for growth,” says Dr. Jana Rieger, Founder and CEO of True Angle. “We’re quite pleased with the response from investors and are eager to get to work on furthering our mission to support those experiencing dysphagia, and opportunistically capitalise on other applications for our technology.”

“True Angle is another great example of women-led innovation coming out of Alberta,” shares Judy Fairburn, Co-founder and Co-CEO of The51. “Not only is Jana and her team providing an exceptional direct-to-consumer technology product, but they’re also advancing Alberta’s tech ecosystem. We believe in True Angle’s technology and the possibility for multiple applications, their ability to commercialize the Mobili-T® product and the substantial possibility for impacting the quality of life for individuals who experience dysphagia.”

The51 Ventures Fund 1’s other Alberta-based investment this quarter, Virtual Gurus, is a name that’s become synonymous with Alberta’s tech ecosystem. Marketing themselves as a talent as a service (TaaS) solution, Virtual Gurus has seen widespread market success and financial performance over the past year and a half. A two-sided marketplace, including an intelligent Slack application ‘AskBetty’, Virtual Gurus connects trained and experienced virtual assistants (VAs eg. Assistants, Bookkeepers, Web Design, Graphic Design, and Marketing) to businesses of all sizes, and is well-positioned to take advantage of companies looking for remote, tech-enabled, on-demand services.

Founder and CEO, Bobbie Racette, is no stranger to The51 whose community of investors pooled their funds to make an investment in Virtual Gurus through a special purpose vehicle (SPV) back in 2019 before The51 Ventures’ Fund 1 was established. With a $700K investment from Raven Indigenous Capital Partners, The51 and a few other key investors, as well as $980K from Western Economic Diversification’s Business Scale-up and Productivity program, Virtual Gurus has secured an additional $1.7M in funding. This capital will help accelerate the growth of their technology solution and work in machine learning, and create additional opportunities for underrepresented individuals.

“This round of funding is important as it strengthens our ability to scale the business even more,” says Virtual Gurus Founder and CEO, Bobbie Racette. “Not only are we providing a much-needed and diverse service to companies, but we’re also providing employment for marginalized individuals, whether Indigenous, rural, single parents, who might otherwise have a hard time finding work.”

“The51 is proud to invest in Virtual Gurus,” shares The51 Co-founder and Co-CEO, Shelley Kuipers. “Bobbie is building a truly purpose-driven company that’s contributing to Alberta’s economy and helping people get back to work in a time when so many have lost employment, or have been traditionally underemployed. We know Bobbie is an inspiration to so many and we are honoured to continue to champion her business and those that she empowers.”

To learn more about The51 Ventures Fund 1, head here.