Women in Venture: Panel + Mentorship Mixer | Toronto Tech Week 2026
Venture can feel like a world with invisible gates.
So come rewire your network and your trajectory alongside powerhouse investors from top North American VCs: Inovia Capital, Drive Capital, Georgian, Panache Ventures, and Northside Ventures.
Celebrate where you've come from and where you're going next in a room where you'll actually save a number afterward, have a laugh over drinks, and ask the "embarrassing" question because we're women lifting each other up.
Whether you’re early in your career, making a pivot, or going all in on venture, you belong in this room.
Meet the panelists
Nazuk Thakkar | Canadian GM, Drive Capital
Nazuk (Naz) Thakkar is Drive Capital's Canadian general manager, a $3B AUM fund and the largest venture fund between the coasts.
She leads Drive's early-stage investing across Canada, backing founders building category-defining companies. She also spends much of her time building ecosystem initiatives to support founders and underrepresented communities in tech.
Katherine Hovdestad | Investor, Inovia Capital
Inovia Capital is a leading full-stack venture capital firm with $2.5B USD in assets under management, with operations in Canada, the Bay Area, London, and Abu Dhabi.
Prior to Inovia, Katherine's career brought her to McKinsey and EY. Katherine graduated from the University of Toronto, Victoria University in 2022 with a Bachelor of Commerce and a Minor in Economics.
Lauren Pineau | Head of Fund Ops, Georgian
Based in Toronto, Georgian is a growth equity firm investing in B2B tech, with $5.9B in assets under management and has invested in more than 80 companies.
Lauren Pineau is the Head of Fund Operations at Georgian, where she leads fund accounting, financial reporting, and other key operational processes that enable Georgian’s investment activities. She leads a team of three people and maintains strong financial oversight in a fast-paced technology environment.
Before joining Georgian, Lauren was a Senior Accountant at KPMG, where she advised clients on audit and financial reporting. Lauren is also a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), and holds a Graduate Diploma in Accounting and a BBA with Distinction from Wilfrid Laurier University.
By day, Lauren is a detail-driven finance professional; outside of work, she’s an avid traveler who has explored 13 countries in the past two years. Her sense of curiosity brings a unique energy to her work and informs her perspective on supporting the next generation of women in finance.
Naomi Walch | Investor, Northside Ventures
Northside Ventures is a pre-seed and seed stage venture capital firm founded in 2023 backing exceptional Canadian founders, often at ideation. Core investment categories include vertical AI, AI infrastructure and frontier tech with ~$500K checks.
Naomi works closely with founders from first meeting through diligence. She also leads the firm’s intern and scout programs and supports internal ops. Naomi graduated from the Ivey Business School at Western University in 2025.
Inshaal Qadir | Investor, Panache Ventures
Panache Ventures is a recognized as Canada's most active pre-seed venture capital firm, writing first cheques up to $1.5M from their $100M Fund II. Panache portfolio companies have collectively raised over $3.3B.
Inshaal brings a unique perspective shaped by experience across three venture capital firms, Panache Ventures, BDC Capital, and GreenSky Ventures, where she has been involved in deal sourcing, diligence, and portfolio support across the Canadian early-stage ecosystem.
Prior to her career in venture, Inshaal worked at CIBC Capital Markets, where she supported the rollout of a trading platform. She holds a BBA from the University of Toronto.
The evening
6:00 – 6:45 PM | Mingling + Food
Settle in, grab a drink, and start building relationships before we even hit the stage.
6:45 – 7:45 PM | Panel + Q&A
Hear from powerhouse women shaping Canadian VC.
How they got their start.
What they wish they knew.
What they're looking for in the next generation.
Bring ALL your questions! Yes, even the ones you think are "too basic" (they're not).
7:45 – 8:30 PM | Mentorship + Networking
Have a bite and sit down with some of the most incredible women in venture and tech. Swap numbers and ideas.
About Waterloo Venture Group
WVG is a student venture community and talent network based out of Waterloo, providing pro-bono consultancy for founders from ideation through Series A. Collectively, we’ve supported ventures in raising $8.8M+, hosted flagship programming on founder education, and curated the rooms where teams form and hires happen.
Ready to build or partner? Contact the WVG team.
About Toronto Tech Week
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.