Staircase Ventures is a Toronto-based seed-stage venture capital firm founded in 2023 by Janet Bannister, one of Canada's most recognized startup investors. The firm was built around a single premise: that by investing in the development of founders as people, not just their companies, you can meaningfully change the trajectory of those businesses. Two funds in, the firm has established itself as the most founder-development-focused VC in the Canadian ecosystem.
Staircase invests primarily in Canadian B2B software companies that use technology to deliver measurably better efficiency or effectiveness to their customers. The firm looks for companies with a product already in market and early signs of product-market fit. Approximately half the current portfolio has LLMs at the core of the product; the other half leverages AI to enhance an existing offering.
Staircase closed Fund II at $50 million CAD in March 2026, exceeding its original $40 million target in an oversubscribed round. More than 80% of Fund I LPs returned, alongside new investors including BDC Capital, the University of Alberta endowment, and InBC Investment Corp. (British Columbia). Other LPs include Royal Bank of Canada, Northleaf Capital Partners, PointClickCare co-founder Mike Wessinger, and former Shopify CPO Craig Miller. Fund II plans to invest in approximately 12 companies with initial checks of $1M to $2.5M, reserving 40% of capital for follow-on. The first investment from Fund II has already been made in MedEssist, a Toronto healthtech startup helping independent pharmacies modernize operations.
Canada
