Raising capital is one of the most challenging aspects of building a business, no matter what stage you’re at. It’s time-consuming, mentally draining, and filled with critical decisions that can keep you up at night. Knowing who to trust with your business’s future and what terms to accept without being taken advantage of can feel isolating when you’re figuring it out alone.

Through this free, virtual program, you’ll learn directly from trusted advisors who’ve been in your shoes and connect with fellow entrepreneurs who understand the weight of what you’re carrying. You’ll walk away with not just practical insights and peer support, but also the clarity and confidence to approach investors as the leader of your business—equipped, prepared, and ready to secure the right opportunities on your terms.

For both Pathways, you’ll also get the opportunity to meet with peers and tap into a community of fiercely supportive women entrepreneurs along the way. 

The Forum Capital Roadmap has been funded in part through the Women's Entrepreneurship Strategy administered by Innovation, Science and Economic Development.

Hear about how The Forum has helped Alumnae prepare for pitching

Allison Gibson (she/her)

Founder & Principal Consultant, Allie G. Co
Capital Roadmap Live Host

Allison has 20 years of leadership experience across entrepreneurship, community development, and inclusive innovation. Her work focuses on supporting underrepresented founders, particularly women, Black, Indigenous, and equity-deserving entrepreneurs to build scalable businesses and access capital. She is also adept at developing national incubator and accelerator programs that have supported hundreds of founders, and advising organizations across sectors including social finance, investment readiness, and food entrepreneurship.

Grant Lawrence (he/him)

Co-Founder, Valhalla Private Capital

Grant is an active angel investor and a co-founder of Valhalla Angels, and he has a hands-on approach to supporting early-stage companies. Since 2015, Grant has been mentoring founders and providing advisory support for capital raises and operational growth as an Advisor, an Executive in Residence with Foresight Canada, a mentor for UBCO ventures and an Investor in Residence at Accelerate Okanagan. 

Grant's career spans multiple startups where he held junior and senior positions in enterprise software B2B ventures with a wide range of international customers.  

Justine Fisher (she/her)

Managing Director, Nasdaq Private Market

Justine Fisher has over 23 years of experience in capital markets, corporate finance and investor communications. She loves digging into numbers and helping companies tell their stories to the market. She was most recently CFO of Svante Technologies, a designer and manufacturer of carbon capture equipment, overseeing corporate finance, investor relations, financial reporting and human resources. Prior to that, she was VP/Treasurer at Teck Resources, a $20 billion mining company, where she raised more than $6 billion of capital in addition to leading capital allocation and financial risk management. Justine spent 18 years at Goldman Sachs covering capital structures across the credit spectrum in transportation, commodities and industrials. She graduated from Stanford University in 2002 with a BA/Honors in International Relations and currently serves on the Board of the Louis Brier Home and Hospital in Vancouver.

Laura Gabor (she/her)

Founder, What in the Tech

Laura is the founder of What in the Tech and an entrepreneur with a background in operations, strategy, and digital transformation. She’s passionate about community building and philanthropy, serving on committees for Save the Children, SickKids, and VFC. An angel investor in four women-founded companies, Laura was recognized as one of The Peak’s Emerging Leaders (2024) in tech and one of Canada’s Top Operators by TechTO.

Sarah Goodman (she/her)

Founder & CEO, Chiwis

Chiwis Founder and CEO Sarah Goodman is a serial entrepreneur, and a nutritionist with a sweet tooth.

Sarah had been making crispy kiwi chips in her home kitchen for years and continued to observe the same response from friends and family, “ These are so different from chewy dried fruit, where can I buy them”? At the time she was serving a 7-year stint as CEO for a wearable consumer health device start-up, and knew she wanted a change. She saw a clear opportunity with her kiwi chips.

In 2020, while Sarah continued her work in tech, she spent her evenings and weekends learning about the food industry and CPG space, to determine if Chiwis could be a success. After much research, Chiwis was born and launched onto store shelves February of 2021. In three years, Chiwis has grown from their first retail account, Whole Foods BC, to landing accounts across Canada and into the West Coast of the US. Sarah epitomizes scrappy yet brilliant entrepreneurship.

Since launching Chiwis into store shelves in 2021, she has extended her product line from two to eight flavors. She’s also hired on a team of 5 to help the company reach its sizable goals. Chiwis is proudly certified as a Certified Women-Owned business with over 60% of female investors.. As Chiwis catches on like wildfire across North America, mentorship opportunities for women has been crucial to Sarah’s vision. Her leadership, enthusiasm and trust in her team is sure to see Chiwis continue to grow and succeed.

Theodora Mladenova (she/her)

Consultant, Theodora Mladenova Consulting

As Fundraising & Strategy Consultant, Theodora supports early-stage startups in getting investor-ready by guiding the development of the data room and investor materials, and helping founders articulate growth strategies, market positioning, and compelling narratives for stakeholders.

Frequently asked questions