This Panel Discussion should orient startups that will need Venture Capital Funding towards what is needed to successfully achieve their Capital Investment Goals. Hesse Jones moderates. Hessie joined Matr Ventures in 2020 to build deal flow, establish alliances, and scale the advisor network. She is a true digital strategist who currently advocates for fair and responsible digital practices and AI readiness. In addition to extensive startup experience, Hessie has written about the digital evolution and the need for positive social change in Huffington Post, Forbes and Grit daily. Marlon Thompson is an angel investor, startup founder and spent the past five years creating pathways to success for underrepresented leaders in the startup ecosystem. He founded Future Capital to support ambitious, driven diverse leaders who are ready to play a bigger role in their industry. Giselle Melo is a globally focused Tech Founder + Finance Entrepreneur with more than 15 years of success growing, buying, and selling businesses. As Founder and General Partner @ Matr Ventures, Giselle is doing Venture Capital – DIFFERENTLY – investing in Founders who are Black, Indigenous, LatinX, Persons of Colour, Women, and other minorities. Vim Thasan is Vice President and Portfolio Manager, Canadian Equities at Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. – a privately owned, independent Canadian investment manager. As a value manager, BG’s primary objective is to deliver superior risk-adjusted portfolio performance to its clients over the long term. BG pursues this through the ownership of debt and equity positions in high-quality companies.