Hedgewood focuses on making value-oriented investments. We have a flexible philosophy to investing and, as such, we tend to be nimble and opportunistic in our approach to implementing our investment strategy. We invest using our proprietary capital, which permits for longer investment horizons.

While we typically make direct investments on an individual or syndicated basis, we also invest with specialized funds. Depending on the opportunity and asset class, Hedgewood is prepared to make relatively small investments as well as significant equity commitments in any one transaction.

As a globally minded investor, Hedgewood actively pursues and engages in a wide variety of investment opportunities in Canada, the United States, and internationally.

Entrepreneurial Capital

with an exceptional record of value creation

Venture Capital

  • Consumer Internet / SaaS / IoT / Fintech
  • DTC Food & Consumer Health Products
  • Idea Incubation

Healthcare Investments

  • Life Sciences / Rejuvenation Biotech
  • Wearable Tech / Digital Therapeutics
  • Synthetic Biology / Natural Products

Capital Markets

  • Hedge & Private Equity Funds
  • Commodities / Hard Assets
  • Direct Investing / Managed Accounts

Finance

  • Mortgage & Construction Lending
  • Mezzanine / Specialty Financing
  • Litigation Finance / Invoice Funding

Private Equity

  • Buyouts & Business Acquisitions
  • Secondaries & Co-investments
  • Minority Investments in SME's

Real Estate

  • Retail / Office / Multi-Family
  • Residential Development
  • Farmland / Timberland

Illustrative Investments

Hedgewood invests across a wide variety of asset classes, including startups.
The following are representative investments in our portfolio.
Preloader
Alert Labs
Acquired
AOBiome, LLC
Acquired
Assembly
Acquired
Autonomic
Acquired
CanadaStays
Acquired
Chili Technology
Exited
Conversio
Acquired
Darwin
Acquired
Figure 1
Acquired
Greatist
Acquired
Hint Health
Exited
KOHO Financial
Exited
Mama Earth Organics
Acquired
North
Acquired
OpenCare
Exited
Plooto
Exited
Sensibill
Acquired
Solink
Exited
Sortable
Acquired
Tickld
Acquired
Well.ca
Acquired
WOS Inc.
Acquired
Zoocasa
Acquired
4tell Solutions
Acquired

Senior Team

Founder & Managing Director

Jesse Rasch

Rasch founded WebHosting.com and InQuent Technologies. InQuent provided hosting solutions to telecommunications customers including AT&T, Comcast, Cox Communications, and Bell Canada. WebHosting.Com was one of the largest hosting companies in the world. Rasch sold the companies to AT&T. He later orchestrated a management team acquisition of InQuent from AT&T and successfully sold InQuent once more.

Rasch is a past recipient of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award. He is also the founding investor of VerticalScope (TSX:FORA), which develops and acquires commerce and social communities visited by over 100 million people per month.

Through his family foundation, he established NutritionFacts.org, the preeminent resource for consumers and physicians to learn about plant-based nutrition. It is one of the largest non-profit healthcare sites on the Internet.

Read archived essays on Venture Philanthropy, Angel Investing, & Entrepreneurship by Jesse Rasch.

VP Finance

Greg Leung

As VP Finance, Greg ensures that Hedgewood and its related entities are in compliance with accounting, tax, banking, and statutory reporting requirements.

Prior to Hedgewood, Greg garnered over a decade of experience in public accounting, most recently as Audit & Assurance Manager for private enterprises at Richter LLP in Toronto.  Greg is a Chartered Professional Accountant, having earned his Canadian CPA (CA) designation in 2012.

VP Investments

Vinay Vishwanath

As VP Investments, Vinay is primarily responsible for leading due diligence and the investment analysis process at Hedgewood. He works closely with the Chairman in managing investment responsibilities and supporting Hedgewood portfolio companies.

Prior to Hedgewood, Vinay was at Northern Impact Investing Network (FKA Impact Angel Alliance), a Toronto based non-profit alliance working to identify and co-invest in startups that blend profit and purpose.

Vinay was formerly a Corporate & Investment Banking Analyst at Citibank Canada. Vinay holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Finance (Joint Honours) from McGill University.

Contact Us

Please note:

We can not accept unsolicited phone calls or e-mails to other addresses regarding your business plan.

Do not send us cannabis, blockchain or "cryptocurrency" business proposals. We do not believe in these investments so do not bother to submit any such plans to us.

If you are submitting a business presentation, please send only in PDF deck form and ensure it is something worth sending.

A note on confidentiality