Hedgewood is the personal investment vehicle of long time internet entrepreneur Jesse Rasch. It invests using proprietary capital, allowing for longer investment horizons and a broad range of asset classes. Further, as a globally minded investor, Hedgewood actively pursues and engages in a wide variety of investment opportunities in Canada, the United States, and internationally.

Hedgewood

We help startups get from prototype to ramen profitable

Ramen Ventures

Hustle Fund is a seed fund that invests in early-stage startups operating in software, business-to-business, fintech, and digital health sectors.

Hustle Fund

Panache Ventures is a venture capital firm specializing in pre-seed and seed-stage startup investments. It seeks to invest in sectors that play to Canada’s strengths: artificial intelligence (AI), fintech, digital health, enterprise software, and blockchain.

Panache Ventures

Clearco is an online financial platform that provides growth capital to e-commerce and B2B companies. It utilizes proprietary software and data science models to identify high-growth funding opportunities and also offers funding in exchange for a steady revenue share of earnings. It also allows startups to avail an alternative source of funding for their fast-growing businesses without diluting equity.

Clearco

Y Combinator is a startup accelerator that provides funding and mentorship to early-stage companies. It offers a program where startups receive guidance from experienced entrepreneurs and investors. The organization helps founders in their business models and develop their products. Y Combinator serves industries such as technology, healthcare, and finance.

Y Combinator

Garage Capital is a venture capital firm focused on Canadian companies.

Garage Capital

N49P is a venture capital firm focused on ideas to seed-stage Canadian technology startups.

N49P

The51 is a Financial Feminist platform that aims to build mutual wealth and social/environmental impact. By uniting Canada’s untapped female wealth, The51 is creating a new critical mass of female investors, making Canada the center for female-powered capital. With 30% of Alberta’s tech start-ups founded or co-founded by women, The51’s home province is well on its way to achieving this goal; however, with female-founded startups only receiving 3% of venture capital available worldwide, The51’s vision spans globally.

The 51 Ventures

NEXT Canada accelerates the growth trajectory of aspiring and scaling entrepreneurs with education, mentorship, funding and access to Canada's strongest entrepreneurial network.

NEXT Canada

Lilia

Lilia is a home fertility startup that serves as an egg securing concierge for busy people who want the option of having kids later. The company was founded in 2019 and is based in San Francisco, California.

Lilia is an egg freezing concierge service, which gives users advice on whether egg freezing is recommended and provides a custom plan with costs, timelines, and appointment options. The company facilitates priority booking at select clinics.

Long-term demographic changes are finally bringing fertility technologies into focus.

Fertility Tech

Lilia is an egg freezing concierge service, which gives users advice on whether egg freezing is recommended and provides a custom plan with costs, timelines, and appointment options. The company facilitates priority booking at select clinics.Through a one-time USD 500 subscription, users can access scientific information about egg freezing, fertility clinic referrals, support, and booking. Lilia’s service has been live since January 2020, and is available in Canada and the US. In April 2020, the company raised USD 1.4 million in seed funding.

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 Glow offers apps that track data related to women’s fertility including ovulation cycle and pregnancy tracking. In addition to apps, the company also offers individualized fertility coaching, clinic identification and community support, and links patients with clinics for procedures such as egg freezing. 
 
 
 Glow generated around USD 0.3 million monthly revenue in October 2020, and as of February 2019 it had around 15 million users, and claims to have helped about 950,000 women get pregnant (from May 2013 to February 2019). In February 2019 Glow partnered with US Match Group (provider of dating products such as Match.com and Tinder), to provide Match’s employees with egg freezing benefits at reputed fertility clinics. In May 2017 it partnered with the National Institute of Health (NIH) to update a prediction model for couples trying to conceive.  
 
 
 In 2020, the company faced investigations into privacy and security failures involving its app. Glow agreed to pay a USD 0.25 million settlement in September 2020.
 
 
 
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Glow

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 Inne, based in Germany, offers an at-home mini lab kit for women. Hormone analysis is conducted based on saliva samples. The lab device connects to smartphones for storage and access to the analysis results.
 
 
 Unlike peer offerings, Inne does not attempt to predict future cycles and fertility dates, and instead educates users about their bodies, with information on what changes they should feel in response to the hormonal levels on the day.
 
 
 In May 2022, Inne 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/10667?industryIds=40">
 raised USD 10 million
 </a>
 in an extension to its Series A round led by DSM Venturing. The company utilized the funds to continue the development of its mini lab and platform, grow its team, and support its expansion across the US, where it aims to enter with its perimenopause feature, followed by an expanded product launch in late 2022.
 
 
 
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Inne

Proov (formerly known as MFB Fertility) offers the at-home “Proov'' ovulation and progesterone test. Proov tracks hormone levels in urine over multiple days, after suspected ovulation, and estimates whether the progesterone levels are sufficient for implantation, during the 7-10 day implantation window.As of May 2021, it was the only FDA-cleared urine PdG (urine metabolite of the progesterone hormone) test, and its method of determining the fertile window was patented. Moreover, it received the CE marking and expanded its sales footprint to Europe in June 2021.In June 2020, the company received a USD 1.3 million deal from the US Air Force, to provide Proov kits to enrolled individuals. The Proov test was distributed through leading US retailers such as Target and Amazon, and was also used by doctors across the country.Proov raised USD 9.7 million in Series A funding in December 2021, in a round led by Hambrecht Ducera Growth Ventures, with participation from other venture capital firms such as SteelSky Ventures, WCC Partners, and Lightship Capital, among others. The company expects to use the funding to grow its “Complete” product, which includes follicle-stimulating hormone tests and other multi-hormone tests that measure estrone glucuronide, LH and PdG.

Proov

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 Progyny works with employers (primarily large enterprises in the US) to optimize the fertility benefits they offer for their employees. It connects employees to fertility specialists and clinics, and also offers extensive support to patients through their Progyny Patient Care Advocates, who provide clinical guidance, education, and emotional support.
 
 
 The company was founded as a fertility education platform and eventually included in vitro fertilization (IVF) referral network Fertility Authority and reproductive health company Auxogyn, into its network. The company pivoted into offering fertility benefit solutions in 2016, and launched Progyny Rx (fertility medication benefit) in 2018.
 
 
 Progyny connects patients to a network of 800 fertility specialists and nearly 600 clinic locations.&nbsp;
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 As of March 2022, the company served 264 enterprise customers (including Facebook, Microsoft, Google, and Nasdaq), and had 3.9 million active members.
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 In October 2019, Progyny raised USD 130 million through its IPO, where it was listed on the Nasdaq.
 
 
 In FY2021, the company reported a revenue of USD 500.6 million reflecting a 45% YoY growth and a net income of USD 65.8 million. The company&rsquo;s revenue for 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/14396">
 Q3 FY2022
 </a>
 amounted to USD 205.4 million, representing 68% YoY growth. The management&rsquo;s revenue guidance for FY2022 ranges between USD 775 million and USD 785 million, which implies an YoY growth of 55% to 57%.
 
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Progyny

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 Prima Temp offers the artificial intelligence (AI) assisted “Priya” intarvaginal ring sensor and accompanying app to continuously measure a woman’s core body temperature, predicting fertility windows. The app uses big data to improve its predictions, and the app notifies the user of fertile windows. The company also offers the “Kindara” fertility tracking app, which provides fertility related education and links users to a community of over 140,000 members.  
 
 
 The company raised USD 5 million in funding in May 2019 from Gedeon Richter, a Hungarian pharmaceutical company. Although the company primarily focuses on fertility monitoring, it intends to expand its offerings to include other areas of fertility management such as contraception and menopause.  
 
 
 
 
 
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Prima Temp

Test kits which use saliva, blood, or temperature to determine hormone levels and form conclusions on fertility and fertility cycles.


Apps which use data science to identify fertility windows.

Organizations that freeze eggs or embryos for usage at a future date.


Services that analyze sperm samples (via test kit) and/or offer storage facilities for future use.

Companies specializing in supporting patient decision making, financing, clinical visits, physician referrals, and at-home treatments

Offers digital platforms and apps to provide fertility-related support

Uses AI/ML to improve cycle predictions and track symptoms

Some startups use genetic screening to tailor treatment or identify underlying issues

Lilia

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