Who We Are

inventureLab was formed in 2006 as a business structure to bring ongoing laboratory research to market. Our mission is to grow the most effective and lean platform for addressing industry wide problems through commercializing and monetizing intellectual property, at the intersection of ideas, expertise, funding and opportunities.

inventureLab channels investments in its portfolio companies through inventureLab LP, using the tax benefits of the LP structure. To help us access IP and innovators, inventureLab has strong relationships with leading universities and research centres.

inventureLab has investment in 10 early stage technology companies, with  2 exits to date. See our portfolio of companies.

 

Our Team

Colin Graham

Colin is founder and a managing partner of inventureLab. Colin is both a practicing architect and an experienced entrepreneur. In his 30 years experience in the Architecture, Engineering, Construction (AEC) industry, he has founded and acted as Managing Partner for a series of architectural practices. This culminated in the creation of Arcade Architecture and Design in 2005, which combined 3 architecture and interior design practices to provide a comprehensive approach to clients’ planning and design challenges.

It became clear to Colin early in his career that the processes used in traditional architectural practice were inefficient and didn’t effectively lever advances in information and visualization technology. This led to his second professional focus, the founding of new IP-based technology ventures. The first of these was Vizible Corporation, which developed IP around the aggregation and display of information in compelling three-dimensional environments. Vizible was sold to AT&T in 2008. Sketch2 Corporation (now Arcestra) was founded in 2006 to commercialize innovative gesture recognition technology. It has evolved to become an open marketplace and decision platform for commercial real estate.

Colin has advised university-based inventors within institutions such as University of Toronto and University of Waterloo on innovative methods to develop and commercialize IP. He founded inventureLab in 2006 to bring a systematic approach to the commercialization of university-based IP, based on this experience.

Colin has a Bachelor of Environmental Studies and a Bachelor of Architecture, both from the University of Waterloo.

Edward G. (Ted) Anderson

Ted is the Managing General Partner of Ventures West Management Inc. a Canadian venture capital management firm. Founded in 1968, and having offices in Vancouver and Toronto, Ventures West is Canada’s largest institutional venture fund management company with approximately C$500 million of capital under management. Ted joined Ventures West in 1995 and is responsible for the overall leadership and management of the firm. He is also involved with the firm's investment activities, with a focus on IT, communications and semiconductors. The focus of Ventures West’s business is the management and investment of venture funds which are targeted at early stage technology companies.

Ted is well known in the venture capital and investment communities in Canada and internationally. He is a past President and is currently a Director of the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association and has served on the Board of Directors of a number of public and private companies in Canada and the United States.

Ted has worked with the International Finance Corporation on initiatives relating to the establishment of venture capital funds in Africa and has participated in projects in east Africa, Ethiopia and Morocco.  He was also an advisor to the Government of Canada on the establishment of the Canada Investment Fund for Africa (CIFA) and currently sits on the Advisory Boards of the Aureos Southern Africa Fund and the Aureos Western Africa Fund, two investment funds focusing on small and medium sized business investments. Ted is also a member of the Investment Committee of Bank of Montreal Capital Corporation, a division of the Bank of Montreal.

Ted earned a BA (Economics) from Victoria College at the University of Toronto and a MBA from the Schulich School of Business at York University.

Alfonso Licata

Alfonso is Managing Partner of inventureLab
 
Alfonso has over 20 years of experience as an entrepreneur and senior executive in the ITC and merchant banking sectors. He began his professional career as a senior consultant at a global professional services firm, specializing in telecom and media assignments and leading the development of new value added services for global telecom firms. He has also worked as a senior executive in three publicly-listed companies. In these capacities, Alfonso led corporate reorganizations, strategic plans and partnerships, identified and executed 12 mergers, acquisitions and divestitures and negotiated numerous IPOs and MBOs.
 
Alfonso put his broad base of business expertise to bear as one of the founders and Executive Vice President of Echoworx, a world leader of managed security and Data Loss Prevention services.
 
At inventureLab, Alfonso is responsible for the leadership, management and corporate development of the group and is involved with the firm's investment activities, with a focus on ITC. He is also Chief Strategy Officer for Arcestra, one of inventureLab’s portfolio companies.
 
Alfonso has a BA and MA in Economics from York University. He is a published author and documentary film maker. Alfonso also serves as an advisor to a number of Private Equity funds in Canada, the USA and Europe.

Mazyar Mortazavi

Mazyar is a Managing Partner of inventureLab. Mazyar received his Undergraduate Degree in Environmental Studies and his Masters Degree in Architecture from the University of Waterloo. He has been actively involved in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) sector for over 10 years, operating in the capacity of a designer, builder and developer.  Today he remains actively involved in those areas while applying his depth of sector experience in managing invetureLab.  Mazyar has also played an instrumental role in pushing the sustainability agenda in development and is recognized as a leading developer of sustainable projects.  His international reach also brings a global perspective to the team.

Mazyar’s passion for community-based initiatives and his understanding of the socio-cultural underpinnings of design and development have played a guiding role in his work.  He is actively involved with a variety of different not-for-profit and community groups; Mazyar Chairs the Artscape Foundation.