Staircase Ventures: A New Approach to Supporting Founders
Janet Bannister, founder of Staircase Ventures, talks to Disruption about how Staircase’s innovative VC model is supporting founders and forging a new path in the investment world.
Q: Can you tell us a bit about your business background?
A: After completing my degree at the Ivey Business School, I began my career at Procter & Gamble as a brand manager. Later, I joined McKinsey as a management consultant. In the late 1990s, I realized that technology was going to transform every industry and I needed to get into the tech industry. I therefore decided to move to Silicon Valley and join a fast growing tech company. In 2000, I joined eBay, with responsibility for the “non-collectibles” categories, and was tasked with transforming the company from a collectibles marketplace to a more mainstream shopping platform. I loved working at eBay in California, and while there, I led the non-collectibles categories, such as Clothing, Jewelry, Home & Garden, and Sporting Goods, growing these businesses 3x to 4x, year-over-year for four years.
After several years in the US, my husband and I decided to return to Canada. I wanted to raise our family in Canada and make an impact in this country. Shortly after moving back to Canada in 2004, I launched Kijiji.ca, which went on to become one of the most visited websites in the country. Several years later, I moved into the venture capital world, and have been investing in early-stage, Canadian-based companies for the past ten years. A year ago, I decided to launch my own fund, Staircase Ventures, focusing on investing in early-stage, Canadian, B2B software companies.
Q: Your journey is quite impressive, from eBay to launching one of Canada’s most recognized websites, Kijiji, and now venture capital. What led you to where you are today, specifically in supporting founders?
A: Throughout my career, I've learned that business success is very much tied to the success of the people on the team. I love the expression, “Take care of people and they will take care of the business”. I have found that the best way to make a business successful is to hire outstanding people; train, motivate and empower them; care deeply about them as people; and then they will help to make the business successful. I have carried this philosophy into my venture capital career, and focus on creating trusted, caring, respect-based relationships with others. I love creating close connections with ambitious founders and working alongside them to make them and their companies successful. This was the foundation upon which I built Staircase Ventures, which provides unparalleled support for founders’ growth and development.
Q: What differentiates Staircase Ventures from the rest of the crowd?
A: Staircase Ventures is unique in a few ways. Firstly, our 5-pillar Founder Development Platform is designed to accelerate founders’ personal development and improve their leadership skills. This Platform includes CEO coaching, peer support groups, and a health & wellness coach from Cleveland Clinic. In addition, each founder receives carry in the Fund, so they benefit financially when the portfolio does well. This creates a strong community, in which each founder is invested in the others’ successes. Finally, we have an incredible Advisory group, composed of eight entrepreneurs who have each launched and built $1B+ companies.
Q: How has the support system at Staircase Ventures impacted founders on a personal level?
A: Our holistic approach makes an incredible difference; founders appreciate the significant resources that we devote to their development and well-being, as well as the other unique benefits of working with Staircase Ventures. Founders are choosing to work with Staircase Ventures because of these benefits, but also because our values, as illustrated through our unique approach, demonstrate that we understand and care for founders, and are aligned with their values.
Q: The focus on founders' health and well-being is quite distinctive. How has this extra support played out in the broader entrepreneurial landscape?
A: The significant support that we provide to founders, particularly in the areas of their personal development, health, and well-being, is resonating in the market. It is very distinctive and reflects our values of deeply caring for founders as “whole people”.
This aspect of our Founder Development Platform is based on the belief that having a healthy mind and body is essential for founders to effectively navigate the mental, physical, and emotional demands of leading a tech start-up. Too many times, founders neglect their personal health as the demands on their time increase. As a result, we offer all founders a dedicated Cleveland Clinic Canada expert-trained health coach to help them optimize their physical and mental health.
Q: You're based in Canada. How important is having this kind of resource and support system in the Canadian tech ecosystem?
A: Staircase Ventures is committed to making a major difference in the Canadian tech ecosystem. Our goal is to increase the success rate of companies we invest in and contribute to building more successful Canadian tech companies. Our team of advisors, who themselves have launched billion-dollar businesses, work closely with our founders, sharing lessons they have learnt and fostering a culture of achieving massive success.