Page 11 - Demo

Andrea Drager
azurecap.com
Flashback to 2016. Andrea Drager was running a Vancouver-based startup but looking for opportunities to return to her hometown of Calgary to be closer to family. She was also interested in building her career in Venture Capital, leveraging her dual experience as a founder and her decade working internationally as a strategic management consultant in Paris and London.
Azure Capital was seeking a Calgary-based VP, and Andrea jumped at the opportunity. Four years later she became a Partner. Alberta Enterprise sat down with Andrea to get her story, and that of Azure Capital’s Alberta expansion.
AEC: When did you become a Partner and how did your role change?
Andrea Drager: I became a partner in 2020. It provided me with more latitude to develop my own ‘practice’ of Venture. Azure’s approach was to provide me with an ‘apprenticeship’ in the craft of Venture capital for the first few years,
working closely and learning from Azure’s three Managing Partners, Paul Ferris, Mike Kwatinetz and Paul Weinstein. Once I developed my skills working with our portfolio companies, many across rapid growth trajectories, as well as spearheading several new investments, I was made Partner and the expectations shifted. I was tasked with leading my own investments – from sourcing to exit – and participating as a thought partner to our team in all aspects of the Venture Fund; fundraising, strategy, investments, portfolio management and fund lifecycle management.
AEC: What is it about the job that excites you?
AD: I believe there’s so much nuance in Venture. Each portfolio company faces its own challenges and requires its own support and creative solutions as it progresses. Not only is it critical to learn when to invest in a great opportunity, but also how to build and support that business—always with the view towards a successful exit. For a venture investor, the learning never stops.
AEC: How is Azure Capital moving Alberta’s tech sector forward?
AD: Azure brings capital, experience and a collaborative mindset to support Alberta founders and investors.
We have a strong perspective on early-stage venture capital activity across North America – with on-the- ground representation in Calgary, San Francisco, Miami and Boston. Our 23+ years of experience allows us to identify the intersection of unique technologies and business models that generate high-growth investment opportunities. This has provided us with a unique viewpoint on how to navigate cycles and excel in different market conditions. More significantly, we bring to the Alberta
ecosystem a wealth of best practices, pattern recognition, learnings over time and an expansive network of founders, executives, business development relationships and investors.
AEC: How has Alberta’s technology sector changed in recent years?
AD: When I graduated from McGill University, I didn’t see a path to returning to Alberta to find a career outside of the oil and gas sector. Now I can’t even count the number of incredible companies recruiting talent to build their careers and lives here. It’s inspiring and exciting.
AEC: What is driving this?
AD: The sector has grown and matured over the last 7 years. There are more founders, more active funds and a lot more collaboration. StartAlberta has been helpful at highlighting opportunities and creating more awareness about the activity in the province. There’s an active and engaged Angel and Family Office investing community
lit up by Creative Destruction Labs (CDL) Rockies and helpful accelerators for early-stage founders to get exposed to essential tools that help them build. Plus, the universities are more engaged in the commercialization of technologies and putting up capital to support it through the Uceed funds.
AEC: What stands out about Alberta?
AD: There’s a lot of investor collaboration, supported through organizations like the Venture Capital Association of Alberta, which is unique in Canada. Alberta’s entrepreneurial “get-it-done” mindset is also very aligned with the early-stage founder mentality.
AEC: What does the future have in store?
AD: I predict Alberta’s tech sector will continue to gain momentum as new technologies like AI are applied to the strong economic foundation in our province, which will continue to position Alberta as a fantastic place to start, grow and scale technology businesses, especially given all of the virtual aspects of startups in today’s world.
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