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Hello, I'm Mike.

I’ve spent over 25 years backing founders and helping them navigate growth.

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[01] Mission   ___

My Mission

I help founders scale ambitious, world-changing companies.

Growth can feel chaotic. Funding, hiring, and proving the tech can even overwhelm great teams. I partner early to help founders navigate scaling their company.

I’m drawn to big, meaningful problems — wildfire prevention, quantum innovation, fusion energy... With over 25 years of experience and hundreds of millions raised, I help founders move from the first cheque to a successful exit.

Investing

My Journey

My Investments

I invest early in founders and tech that can reshape industries. I’ve sat on both sides of the table, which means I bring real operational insight, investor perspective, and a hands-on approach.  Here’s a look at the companies I’ve backed and led.

[02] Investments   ___

2007-2011

Epyon

Epyon developed Europe’s first DC fast-charging technology for electric vehicles, cutting charging time from hours to minutes. I led the investment at Chrysalix, working closely with René Savelsberg of SET Ventures (our European partner fund) who sourced the deal and recruited Hans Streng to lead the company. Hans brought exceptional leadership, assembling a world-class team and forging partnerships that positioned Epyon as a foundational player in the emerging EV ecosystem.

Outcome

Acquired by ABB in 2011, forming the basis of their global fast-charging network that powers over 40,000 chargers worldwide.

ABB Acquisition

2011-2017

GaN Systems

GaN Systems developed breakthrough semiconductors improving power efficiency in EVs, data centers, renewables, and industrial systems. I wrote the first institutional cheque and built the investor syndicate. I made a commitment to the co-founders, Girvan Patterson and John Roberts, to find a leader who could take their vision global — a promise realized with the hiring of Jim Witham as CEO and an executive team. Together we secured strategic partners like TSMC, BMW i Ventures and Delta Electronics, taking GaN from the research stage to a global, unicorn-scale business.

Outcome

Acquired by Infineon for CAD $1.1B, returning $100M+ to the fund and becoming one of Canada’s largest tech exits.

The GaN Story
Infineon Acquisition

2012-Present

1QBit

1QBit was the world’s first dedicated quantum computing software company, focused on applying quantum algorithms to real-world problems in finance, chemistry, and materials science. I invested early alongside the founding team, Andrew Fursman and Landon Downs, having co-invested with them on prior ventures like D-Wave and General Fusion. I supported the vision to bridge quantum research and commercial applications, which they realized through key partnerships with Microsoft, IBM, and Fujitsu.

Outcome

Spun out Good Chemistry, acquired by SandboxAQ in 2024, and established 1QBit as a global leader in practical quantum software.

About 1Qbit

2014-2020

Kindred AI

Kindred AI developed intelligent robotic systems powered by proprietary reinforcement learning that could see, grasp, and manipulate items with human-level adaptability. I wrote the first cheque to founder Geordie Rose, helping launch the company before the tech or business model was proven, believing in his vision as a founder and the potential of their unique approach to reinforcement learning driven AI.  

Outcome

Acquired by Ocado Group for $262M USD, becoming a cornerstone of their global intelligent automation platform.

Acquisition Video

2001-2017

Chrysalix

Chrysalix is a venture capital firm that invests in breakthrough industrial and climate tech. I was one of the first employees and later became Managing Partner, helping grow the firm to over $200M. Over 16 years, I led investments in high-impact companies such as GaN Systems, General Fusion, and Epyon, built global partnerships with SET Ventures and TU Delft, and helped create the Chrysalix RoboValley Fund to accelerate intelligent systems for resource intensive industries.

Outcome

Delivered industry-leading exits and returns, driving innovation and commercial impact in energy and industrial transformation.

About
Fund Announcement

2009-2017

General Fusion

I joined the board of General Fusion in its early years. Our goal was to develop fusion power plants that could be scaled easily, placed anywhere, and that are powered only by hydrogen and water, emitting no C02. As an early investor and director, I led the company through it's formative years, building the team, securing early global partners, and putting the foundations in place for the tech to scale.

Outcome

Raised over $463M USD and developed a scaleable solution that can deliver a net-zero future by 2050.

Watch the TED Talk
IPO Announcement

D-Wave

Angel Investor

2006-2025

D-Wave

D-Wave pioneered the world’s first commercial quantum computers and became a global leader in quantum systems, software, and processing. I invested at the earliest stage, backing Geordie Rose’s vision. My focus was on supporting a frontier tech team long before the market understood the scale of what quantum could unlock.

Outcome

Went public at a valuation of $1.6B USD on the NYSE and remains one of the top names in quantum computing.

Intro to Quantum
IPO Announcement

[03] My Journey   ___

Entrepreneurship Journey

My career has been shaped by building things from scratch. I’ve helped take ideas from paper to product, raised funding, shaped strategy, and built teams that could scale them.

Let's go back in time.

Today
2024-2025
Skyward Wildfire
Lightning is the leading cause of the world’s most destructive wildfires, releasing gigatonnes of CO₂ and costing billions every year.
The goal with Skyward was to prevent lightning-sparked wildfires. I joined at the idea-on-a-whiteboard stage and helped turn it into field-proven technology. We built early prototypes in my garage, recruited a world-class engineering team, raised over $5 Million equity and government funding, and secured committed wildfire service customers.
Skyward combines groundbreaking lightning suppression technology with proprietary AI weather modelling which identifies high-risk storms in advance, pinpointing lightning events likely to ignite fires. This enables Skyward to effectively target and prevent lightning ignited wildfires, protecting communities, industries, and forests at times of greatest catastrophic fire risk.
As co-founder and COO I was responsible for field and flight operations, prototyping, procurement, recruiting, finance, government grants, investor and partner pitches, and marketing.
Product testing with Skyward over Northern Alberta.
Skyward delivers something the wildfire community has never had: a way to prevent the most destructive fires before they ignite, avoiding billions in firefighting costs and economic losses, while providing the time needed to focus on active forest management.
About Skyward Wildfire
2023-2024
Rethink Climate
Rethink Climate’s mission is to create & commercialize transformative climate tech solutions that can reduce annual global CO2 emissions by 1% or more. I joined to lead a deep dive into negative emissions pathways, in partnership with NorthX culminating in the Catalyzing Carbon Removal at Scale report.
That year we had the most destructive fire season on record, burning 18M hectares, 5% of Canada’s forest, and emitting 2.4Gt of Co2, 3x the emissions of the Canadian economy. Over 90% of the area burned was ignited by lightning.
At Rethink, Mike Brown assembled a team of scientists and engineers to work out how to create ion paths within thunderclouds to prevent the build up of separate charged cells. The objective: eliminate lightning-caused fires, on demand. After recruiting entrepreneur Sam Goldman to lead the project, the team discovered a very safe and effective methodology.
I joined Skyward as co-founder and COO that spring with a mission of making this potential a commercial reality. We succeeded in taking Skyward from concept to field tested, funded startup with committed customers in less than 9 months.
Rethink is where the concept was inclubated, the founding team came together, and the idea for Skyward first took flight.
About Rethink Climate
2023-2024
NorthX
Climate targets depend on removing gigatonnes of CO₂ from the atmosphere, yet no one had mapped what it would take for Canada to get there.
I was brought in at NorthX to lead research on carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and define how Canada could scale both engineered and natural solutions to gigaton levels.
Infographic titled 'The 2022 Global Carbon Cycle' showing carbon emissions and absorption in gigatons of CO2, depicting emissions from industrial sources and land use, absorption by oceans, atmosphere, and land, stored carbon amounts, and a timeline of the remaining carbon budget to 2051 with temperature rise projections.Infographic showing Canada’s 2023 wildfires emitted 2340 million tCO2e, over three times the country’s total 2021 industry emissions, with a pie chart depicting forest loss of 18.4M hectares out of 361.7M total forest hectares.
Click to view a few of the infographics in the report.
Read the Report
With the team at Rethink Climate I led a techno-economic analysis evaluating the most efficient and effective innovation pathways to achieve gigatonne-scale CDR, considering variables such as cost, resources, land, and energy considerations.
The report we authored was a practical roadmap that innovators, investors, and policymakers could act on. The goal was to connect new tech with the funding and partnerships needed to move from research to real-world deployment.
Read the Report
2018-2023
Go Fetch
In 2018, my co-founder Adam Little and I launched GoFetch. Our goal was to make vet care more affordable and accessible for pet families.
The concept was simple. For less than $5/month people received 24/7 access to a vet. Users could earn rewards on all vet expenses. We also introduced the GoFetch Pay platform with one of North America’s largest pet insurance providers in 2022 which was used in over 200 vet clinics.
Phone showing the GoFetch app.
I built a talented team, secured pharmaceutical, fintech and insurance partners and managed investment as we grew the platform across Canada, and expanded to the US, helping thousands of owners get affordable, trusted care.
Celebrating with the GoFetch team.
By its end, our 5000+ members had earned $1M in rewards and our Angel Fund programs had provided $25K in life saving care for financially strapped clients and at-risk pets.
Photo of a brown dog.

"Knowing I have access to veterinary help at the touch of a screen on the GoFetch app, has been a huge relief to me with Tessa now in her senior years.  Thank you!"

Tessa's Mom

Rewards earned: $369.16

Unfortunately, the partner we had built our offerings alongside was acquired and we were left in a precarious position. Without our anchor customer we had no choice but to wind down the business.

Future Pet was acquired by GoFetch in 2018.

Saying Goodbye to Fetch 😢
2001-2017
Chrysalix
I spent a number of years at Chrysalix, first as one of the early team members and later as Managing Partner, investing in the next wave of industrial and climate technologies. During that time, I helped grow the firm to over $200M and led investments in high-impact companies such as GaN Systems, General Fusion, and Epyon.
Mike standing in front of General Fusion's plasma injector. The biggest and most powerful in the world.
I also built global partnerships with SET Ventures and TU Delft and helped launch the Chrysalix RoboValley Fund to accelerate intelligent systems for resource-intensive industries.
Learn about my investment journey
2000-2001
De Muider Compangie
While living in the Netherlands I had the opportunity of a lifetime, working on historic Dutch sailing ships with my cousin Menno Hoekstra.
As First Mate, I made sure everything (and everyone) stayed afloat. I lived aboard ship in our home port of Muiden, led voyages on the Egelantier (built in 1889) throughout the IJsselmeer and into the Waddenzee, managed deck operations, handled navigation, and tied more knots than I can remember.
In 2001 I helped finish construction of the Rederijker.
The Rederijker, a historic Dutch ship I sailed on.
Living on the sea taught me resilience, problem solving, and the ability to stay calm under pressure. It allowed me to embrace my dual Dutch Canadian citizenship, returning long after my Father’s family had emigrated to Canada. I built friendships that have lasted a lifetime, and return regularly with my family every chance we get.
See the Boats I sailed
1997-2000
Starbucks
After graduating university, I talked my way into an internship at Starbucks. A mission-first company with big plans. Later that summer I was hired into their Business Alliances team.
I helped Starbucks develop their growth strategy and during that time we opened an average of eight stores per day, launching partnerships in airlines, foodservice, hotels, and grocery growing 30% year over year.  It was my first exposure to what real scale looks like — where culture, strategy, and customer experience all move as one.

Today

Today I'm on the lookout for the next big thing. My goal is to help founders and teams turn ambitious ideas into solutions that create lasting change for people and the planet.

You've heard my story. Let's see where yours might instersect it!

Let’s Chat

[04] About Me   ___

Hiking in the mountains of British Columbia with my Dad.Fishing off of Vancouver Island.

About me

Outside of work, I’m usually outdoors. I love fishing off Vancouver Island, spending time in the mountains, and getting outside with my family. I’m a husband to Jordan, a dad to Henry and Stella, a home cook, a woodworker, and I’m slowly restoring our 110-year-old house. Being in nature and building things by hand keeps me grounded and reminds me of what matters most.

The drive to build, explore, and solve problems is at the core of what motivates me.

If you’re working on something ambitious and need someone to run it by, I’d love to hear from you.

Reach Out