TechTO x StandUp Ventures: Together With Women @ TechTO HQ at Espace CDPQ
TechTO x StandUp Ventures: Together With Women - A Morning of Connection & Conversations
*Version française ci-après
Join TechTO and StandUp Ventures for a special morning dedicated to women in tech and entrepreneurship. Over breakfast, connect with founders, operators, and investors who are shaping the future of innovation in Canada.
This event will feature candid panel discussions with women leaders sharing their journeys: the highs, the challenges, and the lessons learned along the way. You’ll gain insights into building companies, raising capital, and driving change in the ecosystem, all while networking with peers who believe in the power of community and representation.
Whether you’re an early-stage founder, an aspiring entrepreneur, or a supporter of women-led innovation, this is your chance to be part of authentic conversations and connections that matter.
Agenda:
9:00–10.00 AM | Networking Breakfast
10:00–10:10 AM | Welcome & Opening Remarks
10:10 –10:40 AM | VC Partner Panel: How Venture is Evolving in Real Time
Hear from 4 founding partners at VC funds on how AI is reshaping venture capital—new theses, founder expectations, and portfolio strategy shifts.
10:40 –11:10 AM | The Unfiltered Journey – Later-Stage Founders Fireside
Join Marie Chevrier Schwartz (TechTO) and Lisa Israelovitch (AssistIQ) for a raw, real conversation beyond the glossy headlines- highlighting success, failures, pivots, and leadership lessons including leading through these recent times as a leader who has reached an impressive level of scale.
11:10–11:20 AM | Closing Remark
11:20 –12 PM | Continue Networking and End of the Event
TechTO x StandUp Ventures : Ensemble avec les femmes - Une matinée d’échanges et de rencontres
Rejoignez TechTO et StandUp Ventures pour une matinée spéciale dédiée aux femmes en technologie et en entrepreneuriat.
Autour d’un déjeuner, connectez-vous avec des fondatrices, des opératrices et des investisseur(e)s qui façonnent l’avenir de l’innovation au Canada et à Montréal.
Cet événement mettra en vedette des panels francs avec des leaders féminines partageant leurs parcours : les réussites, les défis et les leçons apprises en chemin. Vous obtiendrez des perspectives sur la création d’entreprises, la levée de capitaux et la transformation de l’écosystème - tout en réseautant avec des collègues qui croient au pouvoir de la communauté et de la représentation.
Que vous soyez une fondatrice en démarrage, une entrepreneure en devenir ou un(e) alli(é)e de l’innovation dirigée par des femmes, c’est votre occasion de participer à des conversations et des connexions authentiques qui comptent.
Agenda
9h00 – 10h00 : Déjeuner réseautage
10h00 – 10h10 : Mot de bienvenue et ouverture
10h10 – 10h40 : Panel de partenaires VC : Comment le capital de risque évolue en temps réel
Écoutez quatre partenaires fondatrices de fonds de capital de risque expliquer comment l’IA redéfinit le VC : nouvelles thèses, attentes des fondateurs et changements de stratégie de portefeuille.10h40 – 11h10 : Parcours sans filtre – Discussion au coin du feu avec des fondatrices en phase de croissance
Rejoignez Marie Chevrier Schwartz (TechTO) et Lisa Israelovitch (AssistIQ) pour une conversation franche, au-delà des gros titres, mettant en lumière les réussites, les échecs, les pivots et les leçons de leadership, y compris diriger en ces temps récents en tant que leader ayant atteint une échelle impressionnante.11h10 – 11h20 : Mot de clôture
11h20 – 12h00 : Réseautage & fin de l’événement
Veuillez noter que la majorité du contenu sera présenté en anglais.
Featured Speakers:
Michelle McBane is the Founder and Managing Director of StandUp Ventures, a pre-seed and seed stage fund investing in women-led and co-led B2B SaaS, digital health, and marketplace startups across Canada and the US. A recognized leader in early-stage venture, Michelle was named the 2025 Woman of Achievement in Venture Capital. Under her leadership, StandUp Ventures has raised two funds and backed some of Canada’s most promising early-stage companies (including all of those featured today!) Beyond investing, Michelle is a champion for inclusive innovation, serving on the CVCA Diversity & Inclusion Committee and shaping national conversations around equity in tech and VC.
Katheleen Eva is a Senior Associate at StandUp Ventures based in Montreal. Before joining the firm five years ago, she founded a digital health startup, led product growth at a Series A marketplace, and attended YC on a team of two building a solution for fertility access. A Venture for Canada alum with a background in neuroscience, Katheleen is passionate about expanding access to entrepreneurship, and can often be found reading The New York Times on a patio with her standard poodle, Timothée.
Marie Chevrier is the CEO of TechTO, Canada's largest tech community, and Peerscale, a peer network for scale-up executives. As the founder and former CEO of Sampler, Marie led the company in revolutionizing the product sampling industry, helping brands like L’Oréal and Kroger digitize product sampling for millions of consumers. Her journey - marked by both successes and challenges - inspired her to dedicate the next part of her journey toward fostering Canada’s tech ecosystem with a deep focus on supporting the people behind the companies.
Lisa Israelovitch is the Co-Founder & CEO of AssistIQ, where she leads the company’s vision to transform customer experience through AI-powered automation. With deep experience across customer success, operations, and tech leadership, she’s driven growth by blending strategy with empathetic leadership. Lisa holds a background in scaling teams, optimizing support operations, and leveraging data to create seamless user journeys. Under her leadership, AssistIQ has introduced tools that help companies reduce manual workloads, improve response times, and deliver smarter, more human customer interactions.
Laviva Mazhar is a Principal at Luge Capital, a fintech-focused venture capital firm with $180M under management. Prior to that she was an Investor at Ferst Capital Partners, a fintech startup foundry and VC firm. She was selected as one of The Peak’s Emerging Leaders for 2024, featured on the Women in FinTech Powerlists by Innovate Finance for both 2020 and 2017, and named in Canada’s 2019 Top 50 Women in Fintech by the Digital Finance Institute. Laviva holds a BCom degree with majors in Economics and Finance from McGill University, and completed CFA Level 1.
Mona Minhas is Managing Partner, Venture Capital, Thrive Venture Fund and Women in Tech Venture Fund. The Thrive Venture Fund, valued at $300M, specifically invests in women-led technology companies.
Mona is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a former operator, having served as a fractional COO and CFO. She has worked with several venture-backed startups, including her role as CFO for Knix Wear. She is a passionate advocate for entrepreneurs and a board member of the Women's Equity Lab, a network that supports investing in early-stage companies.
Sophie Forest is a Partner at Brightspark Ventures, a venture capital firm where she has been a leading investor for over 20 years. With more than 25 years of experience in the Canadian venture capital industry, she is known for her ability to identify talented entrepreneurs and has been involved in several successful companies, including Touchtunes, Radian6, and Hopper.
More speakers to be announced soon! Stay tuned!
Thank You To Our Sponsors:
As investors, ecosystem partners, and business advisors, Deloitte supports over 1400 innovators in scaling their businesses – including helping them access over $1B in non-dilutive funding every year! Deloitte is committed to empowering founders across Canada, driving positive change through disruption, and making an impact in building a vibrant, productive, and resilient Canada where innovation and investments thrive!
CIBC Innovation Banking provides strategic, scalable funding, growth capital and recurring revenue financing to all stages of a technology startup company across North America.
Thank You To Our Venue Partner:
Thank You To Our Community Partner:
La base entrepreneuriale HEC Montréal
Interested in more events?
Envie de découvrir d’autres événements?
Check out TechTO's full Montreal event calendar here.
Découvrez le calendrier complet des événements TechTO à Montréal ici.
This event is part of OHMTL 2025 - Montreal’s tech week of builders.
Cet événement fait partie de OHMTL 2025 - La semaine tech montréalaise des bâtisseurs.