Professors | Students | Postdocs | Government Scientists
If you are interested in or even just curious about entrepreneurship, get in touch: SAIL Fund tries, whenever possible, to give first-time founders a chance to learn. It bridges the “valley of death” between publicly funded research and real-world application by providing risk-tolerant, patient capital alongside practical, non-financial support starting from the moment you decide to go ahead. While we support first time entrepreneurs, we also welcome serial entrepreneurs, especially founders who failed once and want to apply their hard-won lessons to another attempt.
We would love to hear about your research ambitions even before you have decided to take your research beyond the lab
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Maintaining Independence
Academic research and entrepreneurship need not be competing priorities: SAIL Fund strongly supports the academic entrepreneur. The patient capital deployed by the SAIL Fund does not direct scientific questions. Instead, it focuses on providing the capital you need for you to demonstrate the feasibility, technical readiness, and potential of your research to create value beyond the lab. We provide education and resources to guide your IP strategy that do not interfere with your ability to publish.
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Providing Support
The SAIL Fund adapts proven models of venture philanthropy to the pan-Canadian context. This approach has been used to responsibly deploy patient, risk-tolerant capital in support of research translation.
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Expanding your options
The SAIL Fund gives researchers, students, and postdocs access to mentorship, operational guidance, IP education, and tech transfer resources, delivered through a pan-Canadian network focused on supporting innovators. Commercial experience is not assumed. If a venture does not succeed (as most first time entrepreneurship attempts will not), the experience will contribute positively both to Canada’s innovation ecosystem and to your own career development.