Beyond the Bubble: An Intimate Chat with Will Hsu and Alex Norman
The biggest seed-stage wins of the last decade didn't come from Sand Hill Road.
Honey - sold to PayPal for $4 billion - was built in LA. ServiceTitan - $9 billion Nasdaq IPO - was built in Glendale, CA. AuditBoard - acquired by Hg for $3 billion - was built in Cerritos, CA.
All three companies were backed in their first institutional rounds by William Hsu of Mucker Capital.
William and his co-founder, Erik Rannala, built Mucker on a clear thesis: great founders are everywhere, but most venture capital firms are only looking in one place. Today, Mucker operates from Los Angeles, Austin, Chicago, Toronto, and New York.
Before becoming an investor, he lived it. He founded BuildPoint (acquired by Roper Technologies) and ran product as CPO at AT&T Interactive. He's not a career VC. He's a founder who became one.
He also doesn't do the speaking circuit. When he sits down for a conversation, it's in rooms like this - curated and off the record.
Alex Norman, partner at N49P, leads the conversation on what Will looks for in founders, why geography is a feature not a limitation, and where he thinks the next breakout companies are coming from.
Who is this for:
This session is for high growth promising founders, operators and ecosystem innovators who are shaping what Toronto's tech community becomes.
Seats are limited to maintain the intimate feel of the event. Attendance is by application and approval only.
Thanks To Our Partners
Co-organized with the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus - U of T Ecosystem team, connecting innovators and leaders shaping the future of tech.
TechTO is Canada’s largest community of tech builders - connecting 60,000+ founders, operators, and investors through year-round meetups, curated dinners, peer tables, and media storytelling. Interested in learning more? techto.org. For sponsorship inquiries, reach out to partnerships@techto.org.
Toronto Tech Week is a citywide celebration of the people building what’s next. From May 25–29, 2026, founders, investors, and builders come together for hundreds of community-led events across Toronto, connecting tens of thousands of people around Canadian tech. Torontotechweek.com
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