Unlocking Financial Opportunities For Founders Through Guidance
For the ventureLAB community, this is a great opportunity to hear from investors, government funders, and successful entrepreneurs about navigating the fast shifting financial landscape.
Highlights from the day include a keynote from Allen Lau, founder of Wattpad, who successfully led the company's $754M CAD acquisition, and insider walkthroughs of key government funding opportunities to support business growth by representatives from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), Intellectual Property Ontario (IPON), and Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) Program. In response to the shifting international trade and investment situation, these organizations have substantial new offerings for businesses - so even if you’ve used these resources before, new funding may be available for your business.
Networking sessions in-between speakers and panels will allow ample time to connect with fellow entrepreneurs, financers, and business support organizations.
ventureLAB at the Conference
ventureLAB has been a strong supporter of the Finance and Entrepreneurship Conference since its inception. In 2025, ventureLAB Regional Advisor, Diem Le led a session on blended financing, helping founders understand how grants, equity, loans and other forms of capital can be strategically combined throughout a company’s growth journey. The conference also featured ventureLAB advisors Ana Misra, Dejana Dua and Gaurav Bansal as part of a panel examining what investors look for when evaluating emerging companies.
This year, Dejana Dua and Garry Chan from the ventureLAB team will round out the conference panel
AI in 2026: What VCs are Funding and Whether Your Business Needs an AI Angle. Dejana is the Head of Hardtech Investor Network (HIN) & Capital Services at ventureLAB, with 25+ years of experience guiding technology ventures from concept to commercialization. Garry Chan is a technology entrepreneur, investor, and AI advisor at ventureLAB.
The panel will help founders learn which AI businesses are receiving funding in 2026 in an overcrowded field, and whether your business truly benefits from an AI angle. Attendees will leave with clarity on where investment is available as they plan their business strategy for the coming year.
Investment Growth Starts Here
The Richmond Hill Entrepreneurship and Finance Conference grows every year because entrepreneurs find it a valuable forum in which to learn, make deals and connections, and hear directly from people that can help grow their business. We hope to see you there!
About ventureLAB
ventureLAB is a leading global founder community for hardware technology and deep tech companies in Canada. Located at the heart of Ontario’s innovation corridor in York Region, ventureLAB is part of one of the biggest and most diverse tech communities in the country. Its initiatives in capital raising, talent retention, technology and IP commercialization, and customer acquisition have helped thousands of companies create over 7,800 jobs and raise more than $530 million in investment capital. ventureLAB powers hardtech founders to build and scale globally competitive ventures that advance Canada’s knowledge-based economy.
