Forthlane Fridays Guest Bios Session 30: Innovation in Growth Investing

Ray Sharma

FOUNDING PARTNER & CEO,

EXTREME VENTURE PARTNERS

Ray is the founder and leader of the Extreme ecosystem of innovation, headquartered in downtown Toronto, including Extreme Venture Partners (I, II, III). EVP is Canada’s top seed stage venture fund.

Ray and Extreme Venture Partners has lead funded or founded 100+ startups with a World-class track record in seed investments including exits to Apple, Google, Electronic Arts, McKesson, Salesforce and others. In addition, Ray has founded Xtreme Labs (Canada’s largest mobile app developer at time of acquisition); Extreme Innovations, (acquired) a startup that created startups; Extreme Accelerator, a next-gen accelerator with a focus on bringing international startups to Toronto. Other notable startups that Ray has co-founded includes Thinkdata, Hackworks, XMG Studio, and Hackergal.

Previously Ray spent 10 years on Bay/Wall Street in investment banking research. During that period Ray was the top-ranked wireless technology analyst based on Greenwich and Brendan Woods International surveys of fund managers for 5 of 8 eligible years. The highly specific job title in 2001 at Credit Suisse First Boston of Vice President, Mobile Internet Devices and Applications, reflects a long term professional focus in mobile. Ray was uniquely able to remain top-ranked during both the mania of the bull market but also subsequently in the severe bear market correction of that era.

Community service: Ontario Judicial Council; Royal Ontario Museum Board of Trustees; Treasury Board of Canada Advisory Board; founder and leader of national hackathon competitions Great Canadian Appathon, Canadian Open Data Experience (CODE), and Hackergal. Hackergal is the organizer of the largest Hackathon ever held in Canada.