Former JTF-2 officer, Shopify co-founder launch security-focused venture capital fund
BNN Bloomberg
When Glenn Cowan worked with Canada's elite special operations unit, Joint Task Force 2, he had a front-row seat to security threats and the wide range of technologies being developed to fight serious problems.
When Glenn Cowan worked with Canada's elite special operations unit, Joint Task Force 2, he had a front-row seat to security threats and the wide range of technologies being developed to fight serious problems.
But he quickly realized “there's no real motive or plan for commercializing or monetizing the technology.”
“It's just about building the technology to solve the problem,” said Cowan, who has since retired from his role as a squadron commander.
He and Daniel Weinand, one of Shopify Inc.’s co-founders, are looking to change that with a with the launch Tuesday of a new venture capital fund aimed at financing national security companies.
"It’s important that leadership within the national security environment really understand if they just maintain the pace of trying to go through government procurement channels and funding companies through federal grants that can take eight to nine months to approve, they're going to miss the window and miss the boat on capitalizing on the talent we have in Canada," Cowan said.
He and Weinand will serve as general partners and preside over a $10-million anchor commitment from Kensington Capital Partners, which has also backed travel startup Hopper, financial reward company Drop and credit education firm Borrowell.
