Sandpiper Ventures Research
Investment Thesis
Sandpiper Ventures is a Halifax, Nova Scotia-based early-stage venture capital fund built around what the firm calls "the arbitrage opportunity": strong, high-performing companies that traditional VC systematically overlooks, not because they are risky but because they sit outside legacy investor networks. The firm cites independent research from First Round Capital, BCG, MassChallenge, and the Kauffman Foundation showing these overlooked companies deliver 1.5-2.4x higher MOIC and 15-20 percentage point IRR premiums versus traditional portfolios. Sandpiper was founded in 2020 by three women investors and operators — Cathy Bennett, Rhiannon Davies, and Sarah Young — who bring a combined track record of over $10 billion in global transactions, company scaling to IPO, and exits across four continents. The firm's explicit focus is backing women in C-level roles with meaningful equity at tech-enabled, scalable companies solving real problems.
Sector Focus
The firm states a core focus in Health, Energy and Infrastructure, and the Future of Work, but its realized portfolio is broader and reflects a generalist early-stage mandate: digital health and healthtech (Gotcare, SiftMed, Swiftsure Innovations, Future Fertility), biotech/AI drug development (Simmunome), climatetech and industrial decarbonization (CURA, Denova), cybersecurity (Protexxa), insurtech (QuickFacts), edtech (Shoelace Learning), enterprise SaaS/knowledge management (Procedure Flow), hardware/optical materials (Coloursmith), AI/data personalization (Begin AI), sustainable packaging/logistics (Reusables), and D2C/ecommerce home goods (Fable Home, Callia).
Stage Focus
Sandpiper consistently describes itself as a "seed stage venture capital fund," and the Founders page states the firm invests in Canadian companies "at the earliest stages, from Seed to Series A." The bulk of disclosed investments are seed-stage first checks, with selective follow-on participation as portfolio companies raise larger rounds (e.g., Protexxa's later $10M Series A).
Check Size
Third-party fund-profile data (WaveUp) puts typical check size in the $100,000-$1,000,000 range across Fund I and Fund II. The firm does not publish check-size figures directly on its own site, so this should be treated as directionally reliable rather than confirmed.
Lead Tendency
Sandpiper frequently leads or co-leads rounds at the seed stage — its own press releases describe a "lead investment" in Shoelace Learning and "lead investor" status in Coloursmith's seed round — so the firm is classified as a lead investor.
Recent Activity
Fund II is actively deploying. The most recent disclosed investment is CURA Climate (September 2026), a Canadian cleantech company developing electrochemical technology to decarbonize cement production; Sandpiper also announced the addition of Fiorella Schiffino as CFO and Head of Operations the same week (September 2026). Earlier, in 2025, the firm invested in Reusables (reusable packaging), and portfolio company Protexxa was featured on Forbes for its AI cybersecurity platform. Sandpiper closed its first ($20M CAD) fund in August 2022 and has since raised and is deploying from Fund II.
Portfolio Highlights
Sixteen portfolio companies are listed on the firm's site: Callia, Begin AI, Coloursmith, Denova, Fable Home, Gotcare, Procedure Flow, QuickFacts, Shoelace Learning, SiftMed, Swiftsure Innovations, Simmunome, Protexxa, Reusables, Future Fertility, and CURA. Notable outcomes include Protexxa's $10M Series A (2024), described as the largest round raised by a Black woman founder in Canada at the time, and Reusables' $2.6M raise to scale reusable packaging (2025).
Team
- Cathy Bennett — Founding and General Partner; former Minister of Finance, energy/capital markets/public policy background
- Rhiannon Davies — Founding and Managing Partner; has built, acquired, and led companies across Europe, Asia, South America, and North America
- Sarah Young — Founding and General Partner; venture capitalist and system builder
- Lauren Ledwell — Venture Partner; tech leader and angel investor
- Andrea Barrios — Investment Principal; sources and supports early-stage women-led investments across Canada
- Tara Wickwire — Brand and Network Lead
- Tope Salawudeen — Senior Analyst
- Mark Fraser — CSO
- Fiorella Schiffino — CFO and Head of Operations (joined September 2026)
- Matt Waraich — Investment Associate
Decision Process
With three founding/managing partners plus a broader investment team (principal, associate, senior analyst), decisions appear to run through a partnership structure rather than a solo GP or formal investment committee process.
Founder Preferences
Sandpiper's Founders page states a clear bar: a tech-enabled, scalable business solving real problems, with a woman in a C-level role holding meaningful equity. Companies apply directly through an open intake form, and the firm emphasizes operator insight, board leadership, access to syndicates and follow-on capital, and strategic guidance toward scale and exit.
Geographic Focus
Sandpiper is Halifax, Nova Scotia-based and invests specifically in Canadian companies, per its own Founders page language ("We invest in Canadian companies at the earliest stages").