StarForge Fund

The StarForge fund is an actively managed portfolio that invests in innovative, early-stage B2B Canadian companies with disruptive technologies, significant scale-up potential, and valuation advantages over the U.S. market.

The fund aims to drive returns for investors through actively sourcing deals mostly within the Toronto-Waterloo start-up ecosystem and growing portfolio businesses by leveraging the power of alliance networks in North America.

Our investments focus on Technology, Sustainability, Health Sciences, and Smart Manufacturing.

StarForge applies an active and disciplined approach to drive returns for angel investment:

  • Active and enhanced deal sourcing backed by the Canadian startup ecosystem
  • Rigorous selection and due diligence process along with negotiation of fair and equitable investor rights
  • Active portfolio monitoring and access to global channels to help portfolio companies achieve superior growth
  • Disciplined rules for exit and liquidity decisions to balance early returns and minimize downside risk against maximizing long-term returns

Our Mission

To unlock capital and accelerate Canada’s transition into an innovation economy through:

  • Making angel investment more accessible to investors
  • Helping entrepreneurs innovate faster
  • Scaling Canadian startups to the U.S. and global markets
  • Supporting the angel ecosystem

Our Focus

Technology
Sustainability
Health Tech
Industry 4.0

Portfolio

The StarForge Team

Jacky Chen
General Partner

Jacky is dedicated to angel investment and has built up a portfolio of tens of startup companies in Canada and the US. Further to his role with Archangel, Jacky also serves as a Managing Director of Wharton Alumni Angels. Prior to angel investing, he acquired concrete business

experiences as a successful founder in the startup ecosystem and as an executive of Fortune 500 companies over the last two decades. His remarkable accomplishments range from building startups from scratch to leading a billion-dollar business with the leverage of 14,000 enterprise channel partners. The unique journey has shaped Jacky’s outstanding investment in early startups.

Jacky holds an MBA from CEIBS and The Wharton Business School, and a masters of Electrical Engineering.

Ellen Fang
General Partner

Ellen is an angel investor and a former executive at L.E.K. Consulting and Deloitte. Ellen has accumulated rich experience in evaluating and investing in opportunities across a wide range of sectors. She has helped many Fortune 500 corporations expand business in Asia through

equity/asset acquisition, partnership, licensing, and joint ventures. She has also worked with leading growth capitals and buyout funds evaluating deals, and developing growth strategies and value activation plans for their portfolio companies. Ellen’s current focus is investing in innovations in technology, healthcare, and renewable energy in Canada, the US and China.

Ellen holds an MBA from CEIBS with an exchange program at London Business School and a bachelor’s degree in Material Sciences. Ellen sits on the Association Council of Upper Canada College.

David Rich
General Partner

Prior to angel investing, David had a 30 year career in the food industry. He was country manager for one of the world’s leading flavour and ingredient companies. He brings a strong record of corporate governance, financial and risk management.

David was the 2018 GTAN Angel of the Year. He sits on the Board of Directors at Hospice Wellington.

David holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a B.Eng. from McGill University.