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From Arriving in Canada at 18 With No Network to Running a $100M Pre-Seed Fund | Make it Click

Writer: Melissa Belec
Melissa Belec
May 1
1 min read

Prashant came to Canada at 18 with no network and no money. Today he runs Panache Ventures, Canada's only nationwide pre-seed fund. It has backed 100+ startups, including Tailscale, Clutch and Certn, and is usually the first money in. On this episode of Make It Click, Wilson Cross asks him what it takes to get funded at the idea stage. Prashant explains why he skips board seats and why making lots of bets is "a matter of math, not preference".


They also cover:

  • Where Panache invests in AI, where it stays away, and why most AI copilots are hard to defend

  • Why more than half of new Canadian startups are now AI-native

  • When a Canada-only business can grow big enough to matter

  • How a fund gets its investors returns when the IPO market is frozen

If you're a first-time founder, an aspiring VC, or still deciding which one you want to be, this one is for you.

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