New Year, New Deals
New Year, New Deal
Founder × Funder Networking Event
Kick off the new year by building the relationships that can shape your startup’s next chapter.
New Year, New Deal is a curated founder × funder networking event designed to connect tech founders with investors, funders, and ecosystem leaders through a mix of 1:1 curated meetings, open networking, and a relaxed happy hour.
Hosted in partnership with MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund, Boast AI, and RBCx this event creates a high-signal environment for meaningful conversations, whether you’re actively raising, preparing for a future round, or looking to build long-term investor relationships.
What to Expect
🤝 Curated 1:1 Founder–Funder Meetings
Pre-matched conversations with investors aligned to your stage and focus🌐 Open Networking
Connect with fellow founders, investors, and ecosystem supporters🍸 Happy Hour
Unwind and continue conversations in a relaxed, informal setting
Who Should Attend
Tech founders who are fundraising or planning to raise
Founders looking to build early relationships with investors
Investors and ecosystem supporters eager to meet emerging tech startups
Whether you’re closing a round or opening doors for the future, New Year, New Deal is your chance to start 2026 with the right conversations and connections.
📅 Date: January 28, 2026
🕓 Time: 4:00 – 7:00 PM
Admission Policy
Participation in the event is application-based. All founder must submit their forms by January 25th, 2026 at 8:00 PM EST to be considered.
👉 Please note:
Participating investors will review founder applications and select ventures based on interest and alignment. As this is a curated forum, not all applicants will be selected for 1-on-1 meetings.
Questions?
If you have additional questions, contact us at [email protected]
About the Hosts
YSpace is York University’s pan-university entrepreneurship and innovation hub supporting startups and entrepreneurs from a variety of sectors and communities. Our programming spans across scaling innovative technologies through customer and investor capital to scaling agri-food businesses into mass retail to diversity-focused initiatives like **ELLA powered by Desjardins** for women-led businesses and Black Entrepreneurship Alliance (BEA) for Black-led businesses. Additionally with our Start-Up Visa program, we are building a robust ecosystem, driving positive change and empowering entrepreneurs to shape the future. We are also home to two physical hubs in the City of Markham and the Town of Georgina.
MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund (IAF) is a leading seed stage fund investing in high-potential IT, health and cleantech companies in Ontario. IAF has over a 20-year history of successfully providing innovative firms with the capital, mentorship, and networks needed to validate ideas and bring products to market. Its mission is to keep Ontario’s talent and technology local while helping its companies go global.
Boast specializes in helping organizations claim and access eligible R&D tax credits, minimizing audit risks and time-consuming processes in Canada and the United States. Boast combines in-house technical and R&D tax expertise with the latest AI technology to help companies effortlessly navigate the complexities of tax credits, enabling them to focus on what they do best: Innovate.
RBCx
RBCx powers bold ideas, founders, and technology companies. We know building great businesses takes more than just finance, which is why our four pillars – Banking, Capital, Platform, and Ventures – combine to make us the go-to backer of Canadian innovation. We use our deep expertise to support businesses of all sizes and stages, and leverage RBC’s extensive experience, networks, and capital to solve tomorrow’s big problems.