Scott McKay: Seed and Early Staged Limited Partnership Fund Which Is Currently Raising Capital To Invest Primarily in Canadian Tech Start-UPS

You always hear of these great venture investments…. but how does one actually access them? We created this product to bridge the gap.

Nex Gen VC Partners is a seed and early staged limited partnership fund which is currently raising capital to invest primarily in Canadian tech start-ups, unique businesses and opportunistic ventures.

The fund focuses on the underserved Canadian venture capital market that is rapidly growing and is hard to access for groups and individuals.

The fund takes an active approach to working with founders and offers them capital, fundraising networks, and if appropriate, a partnership approach to business and financial advice. We take the time to understand the companies to ensure we can add value to management teams and founders.

Tell us about yourself?

My name is Scott McKay and I am the founder & managing partner of Nex Gen VC Partners.
I currently manage and co-founded KJSM Ventures, a private boutique investment firm that focuses on private, public, venture capital and alternative asset investment.

The company has a 10-year track record of investment in early staged private ventures within the AI, cybersecurity, health tech, fintech, SaaS and consumer app product space. I lead the early staged tech investments at the firm.

Our mission at Nex Gen VC Partners is to provide opportunity for individuals and groups to access unique, innovative tech and ventures startups in which they may not regularly have the opportunity to invest in or source themselves.

Investing in startups is becoming mainstream and a very attractive alternative asset class for all investors, however there is still a gap in which how access them.

If you could go back in time a year or two, what piece of advice would you give yourself?

Always take the meeting. Be open to listening and learning about new ideas. Everyone has a unique story and it takes time to create synergies and partnership, so give yourself the best opportunity to do so. The only thing to loose by not taking a meeting, is missing out on the next best idea.

What problem does your business solve?

The Canadian market is currently undeserved for its innovation in tech and venture to prosper. Investors of all sizes can find it difficult to invest in early staged startups, or how to seek & identify early staged opportunities.

Our fund looks to bridge the gap between exceptional early staged ventures and investors who desire investment opportunities within Canada’s growing sector.

What is the inspiration behind your business?

I have been an investor in early staged tech for 10 years and the most common question I get asked during explaining my occupation and business activity, is how did you come across this exceptional startup?

It’s clear that investing in venture is fragmented towards those who work directly in the space and those who do not, and there is a lack of investment portals to bridge investors to access unique and lucrative opportunities.

I believe there is a desire and need for more venture partnership funds that allow co-investment opportunities for investors in certain regions of Canada’s market.

What is your magic sauce?

We have eliminated the ‘spray and pray’ investment approach. Rather than invest in a copious number of startups, we focus on a smaller amount of venture partnerships and investments, and invest in a meaningful way by taking the time to understand the businesses that we are working with.

This ensures that we understand management objectives and visions, as if they were our own, and focus on our efforts to help the business radically outperform the median.

What is the plan for the next 5 years? What do you want to achieve?

I want to see our fund investments over achieve their goals, and I want our company to be a part of their success stories. My vision specifically for our fund and successor funds business is to create a larger scale limited partnership platform for investors of all sizes to seize opportunity in venture investing opportunities.

Our business will evolve through our limited partnership outreach and our ability to provide a fund setting that not only aligns our limited partners with founders, but creates a structure for our co-investors to feel that they are investing in the next wave of technological advancements in Canada.

What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far?

Filtering down the deal flow we see. There are so many fantastic innovations and business opportunities out there, we are taking a sector agnostic approach with a focus on understanding management & team, technical capability, business & sector and the attractiveness for follow on investment.

How do people get involved/buy into your vision?

We’d love to hear from anyone that believes their business can fit into our venture funds strategy and vision. Please reach out through our website.