Generalist · Montreal, QC
Front Row Ventures
Built by students, for students. Canada's first student-run VC.
- Cheque
- $50k and up
- Role
- Follows a lead
- Pace
- Actively deploying
- Kind
- Generalist
- Based in
- Montreal, QC
- Vehicle size
- $6M
- Founded
- 2017
- Works in
- EN + FR
- Stages
- Pre-seed
- Sectors
- Generalist
Their thesis, in full
First Canadian student-run VC, founded in 2017 in Montreal and backed by Real Ventures. A $5.5M pan-Canadian fund (FRV-CAN-22, closed 2023) writes $50K founder-friendly SAFE cheques to student-led startups across 20+ campuses in Quebec, Ontario, BC and Alberta. A founding member of the Canadian Startup Capital Association (CSCA).
What they bring past the cheque
- Student founder access
- Pan-Canadian campus reach
- First SAFE check
- CSCA founding member
- Early conviction
Questions they usually ask
Have an answer ready for each one before the first call.
- How will you balance studies and full-time founder commitment?
- What does the first 12 months of building look like with a $50K SAFE?
- Who are your first 10 design-partner customers and how do you reach them on campus?
Follow-on
Front Row's $50K SAFE is the first cheque, and the fund does follow on: since its FRV-CAN-22 fund, Front Row has follow-on capabilities. Beyond capital, the team's value is in warm intros to seed leads once the company has signal beyond campus.
Who to talk to
- Emmanuelle CoppingerManaging PartnerLinkedIn ↗
- Marc DikranianChief of StaffLinkedIn ↗
- Saif Ali JavedInvestment LeadLinkedIn ↗
Portfolio
Names they back, most notable first.
- Valence DiscoveryExit · 2023
- AWL-ElectricityPre-seed · 2021
- Nomic BioPre-seed · 2019
Similar investors
Overlapping sectors and stages. Useful to build a list of 10 to 20 names for one round.
See how they fit your round
Set your stage, sector and amount once. Fractal App tells you if Front Row Ventures can lead it, tracks every follow-up, and counts the days of silence. Free, no card.
Open in the app →