Pre-Seed Stage Investing In Newfoundland & Labrador
We are a Venture Capital fund focused on Newfoundland and Labrador.
We invest in pre-seed innovation companies with founders who disrupt and develop their bold ideas.
Who We Are
We started Pelorus Venture Capital in 2015 because we believe in building the Atlantic Canadian ecosystem and saw unique potential in Newfoundland and Labrador.
We partner early and work closely with founders as an active advisor. We strive to be authentic and transparent in all our communication to create an aligned relationship between investor and entrepreneur.
We Manage Venture NL I & II
Venture Newfoundland and Labrador LP I and II are private venture capital funds created by Pelorus VC, the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, BDC Capital Inc. and a number of angel investors.
Our goal is to invest in and partner with talented entrepreneurs with innovative technologies to help them commercialize their product and services, while providing venture returns for the investors.
Created in
2021
Fund size
$30M
Initial investment
$250K-500K
Stage
Pre-seed & seed
Focus
Newfoundland & Labrador, Sector Agnostic
Teams we backed
Team
Chris Moyer | Managing Partner
MBA, Saint Mary’s University, CMA Designation, B.Comm Dalhousie University
Chris Moyer is a seasoned early-stage investor and the Founding Partner & President of Pelorus Venture Capital, leading strategy, deal sourcing, and execution. He has built a strong track record of scaling startup ecosystems across Atlantic Canada, including launching and managing the VNL I & II funds to back pre-seed companies in Newfoundland & Labrador.
With over a decade of finance and investment experience at GrowthWorks Atlantic, Chris combines deep financial expertise with hands-on support for founders, guiding startups from early validation through growth and exits.
Sarah Murphy | Partner
BBA, St. Francis Xavier University
Sarah Murphy has extensive experience working with early-stage technology startups, both as a founder and operator. She previously worked with Harbr.com and co-founded her own construction-tech company. Sarah also served as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence with Propel, an Atlantic Canadian startup accelerator, and continues to mentor founders through the Creative Destruction Lab.
Sarah is one of the co-authors of the Gender Diversity Playbook, a collection of best practices that startup companies can use to build more diverse and stronger performing organizations.
Ed Clarke | Venture Partner
MBA, University of Ottawa, B. Comm Memorial University
Ed Clarke is an experienced entrepreneur with a particular expertise in forming global networks with technology at their core. Ed founded three companies, most recently Global Ad Source, a global advertising intelligence company which was acquired by UK-listed firm GlobalData PLC in 2018.
Greg Smyth | Venture Partner
Mechanical Engineering, Memorial University
Greg Smyth is a proud Canadian and Newfoundlander who spent ten years in the oil and gas industry, most of that time with ExxonMobil, before moving to Silicon Valley in 2016. After four years with Tesla managing supply chain for Automotive Raw Materials, Body Structures, and AutoPilot hardware — and later helping scale operations at Rivian — he co-founded Diagon to reinvent how manufacturing equipment is bought and sold. Greg also angel invests and advises early-stage startups, supporting founders from his network who are ready to take bold swings, and he founded GlobalNL, a non-profit connecting Newfoundlanders and Labradorians around the world.
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