On January 20th, we hosted the Be Bold Challenge Brunch in partnership with Guardian Partners. This inaugural event brought together founders, funders, and ecosystem partners dedicated to fundamentally transforming the landscape for women-led ventures. We were honoured to host Marwa Abdou, Senior Research Director at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s Business Data Lab, who presented exclusive insights on “Women Entrepreneurs: Canada’s Biggest Missed Business Opportunity.” During the event, our CEO Sherry Vanstone introduced our 2026 Be Bold Challenge The Three C's to Drive Systemic Change."
Changing the Paradigm
When women back women, we don't just close the funding gap - we redefine who gets to build, lead and scale the next generation of companies. It is our time as women to step up, seize opportunities and lead boldly.
Creation of Wealth We must move away from the fear of risk and toward calculated risk-taking. Women often take more time to make investment decisions, but once we commit, we are persistent and thoughtful. That is a financial strength that we must leverage to fully participate in the prosperity that men have enjoyed for generations.
Collective Collaboration Change the narrative by widening our networks, normalizing women as both funders and founders, and creating spaces where women can pitch, invest, mentor and champion one another.
Join us as we continue to Be Bold, together.
New for this month is our next edition of The Spotlight,presented in partnership with The Scotiabank Women Initiative® featuring authentic stories from Canadian women shaping innovation and investment. This month we feature Angel Investor Gillian Riley.
Register now for our next WFW x Osler Legal Workshops "Clean IP, Strong Moat: The IP Hygiene Advantage." In this virtual session, we will learn from Osler's legal experts how to protect your company's most valuable asset, your intellectual property.
Complementing this, our past WFW x Osler Legal Workshopsare available on demand, offering high-level insights for founders building for scale and funders looking for due diligence resources.
WFW is thrilled to announce that our very own Dr. Sherry Shannon-Vanstone has been nominated for a Rockstar Rising Award. Sherry shared her gratitude:
“I’m honoured to have been nominated for a Rockstar Rising® Award by Dr. Deborah Rosati. This recognition reflects the work, resilience and purpose behind the journey - and the ecosystem that continues to support our Be Bold Challenge. I look forward to standing alongside and celebrating with so many visionary women at The Power of I Am® Summit in Toronto on Feb 27th.”
Below, you will find a curated list of programs, events, and resources for women founders and funders - let's keep the momentum going!
With gratitude,
Lara, Deborah & Sherry
Co-founders, Women Funding Women
PS: Our mission thrives on collective action. Is there someone in your network that would benefit from the events in this newsletter? Invite them!
Join us as we learn how to protect your company's biggest asset: intellectual property. You're invited to our first virtual legal workshop of 2026: Clean IP, Strong Moat: the IP Hygiene Advantage. Generously hosted by our National Founding Partner, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP.
When
Tuesday February 24th, 2026 @ 1:00-2:00pm EST / 10:00am-11:00am PST
Where
Virtual
What to Expect
Learn insights and advice from Osler experts, Faylene Lunn, a partner in Osler’s Intellectual Property group and Sara Couture, an associate in the Emerging and High Growth Companies group at Osler.
Together they will demystify core protection tools across patents, trademarks, copyrights, industrial designs, trade secrets and software-specific IP
Learn how to align your IP strategy to your specific business goals and resources with your business plan to create shareholder value, reduce risks and preserve enforcement and commercialization optionality
Gain essential legal expertise from top-tier experts.
Successful deals require a shared legal vocabulary. These webinar recordings with Osler offer high-level insights for founders building for scale and funders looking for due diligence excellence:
Startup Funding & Term Sheets
From Hiring to Firing: What Every Startup Needs to Know to be Investor Ready
Movement51 | The Founder's Evolution: Transitioning from Visionary to Effective CEO
February 11th, 2026, Virtual
As your company scales, your role must evolve. What started as a founder-led vision becomes a complex organization requiring structure, systems, and leadership at a new level.
Join us for a practical session designed to help founders navigate this critical shift with clarity and confidence.
This bold one-day experience unites trailblazers for unfiltered conversations on leadership, funding, and resilience. Witness the "Power Of The Pitch" finale and join a movement where one voice becomes a revolution.
Women Get on Board | Financing the Future: Collaboration & Co-Investing
March 10th, 2026, Virtual
Join sustainability leader Supriya Verma for a discussion on her new book "Bold Women, Sustainable Futures: Leadership Lessons in an Age of Resistance."
In this fireside chat with WGOB Founder & CEO Dr. Deborah Rosati, Supriya will explore what it means to lead boldly when the world pushes back and to stand firm in spaces not designed for women.
These documents reflect the standards commonly used across the Canadian market and are intended to help founders, investors, and advisors move early-stage deals forward with greater clarity and efficiency.
Spring | Financing the Future: Collaboration & Co-Investing
February 11th, 2026, Virtual
Dig into what it really means to leverage one another's work with intention, and what it takes to do that well, learning from the successes of the Catalytic Capital Consortium (C3) and beyond.
Join The51’s Road to the Summit series in Toronto, a gathering that brings together investors, founders, institutional leaders, and ecosystem builders shaping the future of capital and innovation in Canada. Building on the momentum from Vancouver and leading into the XX Summit 2026, this event focuses on how women are moving, structuring, and scaling capital.
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