How Canada’s startup and tech community gives back.

A charitable foundation that enables high-growth startups and founders to share their success for social good.

We support founders’ growth so they can support the causes they care about. Upside makes it seamless for founders to commit a portion of their exit proceeds to charity through a legally binding pledge process we manage.

We provide a robust network of events, investor connections, and ecosystem opportunities for founders who share values of Canadian prosperity, impactful venture building, and high-value relationships.

VISION

We envision a Canadian tech ecosystem that contributes its financial success with charitable causes to promote more innovation and long-term Canadian prosperity.

MISSION

We provide the infrastructure for founders of high-growth Canadian tech companies and VCs to allocate equity so that proceeds from a successful exit are donated to a charitable cause of choice while benefiting from a network of like-minded leaders.

VALUES

  • We remove any administrative burden on both sides of a transaction, at the time of pledge and at the time of exit, to make it super simple for founders and companies to be able to donate through the best model for startups.

  • We believe in the power of community and networks. We work with corporate partners and ecosystem supporters to connect our members to the right opportunities.

  • As a registered charity, we will always do the right thing, but it is not an easy thing. We are fair, honest and transparent in our interactions and transactions. We do not tolerate integrity breaches from our team, Members or Partners.

  • We to engage founders, team members, and leaders from across Canada to represent Canada’s intersectional diversity to inform our strategy, community engagement and offerings.

OUR ORIGINS

‍The Upside Foundation of Canada was co-founded by Robert Antoniades, General Partner of Information Venture Partners; Mark Skapinker, Managing Partner at Brightspark Ventures; and consultant Janie Goldstein. The founders were searching for a way to encourage their portfolio companies to give back, noting that this generation of entrepreneurs strives to make an impact. The equity pledge model was adopted worldwide in the early 2000s, launching billions of philanthropic dollars from tech leaders to community organizations.

“When you start a business, the only question is, 'Will this be successful?' Giving might not be the first thing that comes up. But it's so easy to set this up right at the start, and it's a great foundation to build a business on top of."

Mike Katchen, Co-Founder & CEO of Wealthsimple

Join our community of innovators committed to giving back.

Follow us on social media, subscribe to our mailing list, and take the pledge today.

Meet the Board of Directors

  • Rob Antoniades

    Co-Founder and General Partner Information Venture Partners

  • Amy Olah

    Managing Director CIBC Innovation Banking

  • Mark Skapinker

    Managing Partner at Brightspark Ventures

  • Eva Lau

    Co-Founder and General Partner at Two Small Fish Ventures

  • Steve Abrams

    Steve Abrams

    Partner, IT Venture, Thrive and Women in Tech Funds, BDC Venture Capital

  • Pelra Azondekon

    Managing Director at asterX

  • Janie Goldstein

    Treasurer & Non-Paid Officer & Co-Founder of Upside Foundation

“Representing our values with Upside is a really great way to say to potential employees, investors, and partners that we care about giving back, and we've baked that into our company from day one.”

Erin Bury, Co-founder & CEO of Willful