Building Canada's Next Flagships - Amiral Ventures

Building Canada's Next Flagships - Amiral Ventures

From Flagship Podcast by Amiral Ventures

March 18, 2026 · 35 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the journey of Amiral Ventures in closing Fund 1 and the challenges of raising a fund from scratch.

Two years after first appearing on the Flagship Podcast, Nectar, Fred, and Dom reunite for a long-overdue conversation: Amiral Ventures has officially closed Fund 1. In this candid episode, the three partners trace the origins of the fund: how Fred's entrepreneurial journey (including co-developing LTE at Nortel and a successful Series A & B raise at Mnubo) first brought him together with Dom, a veteran M&A banker who went on to launch Xpnd Capital and deliver two IPOs. Nectar rounds out the team, coming off years of post-investment value creation work at PNR and crossing paths with Fred through this very podcast. The conversation gets real about what it actually takes to raise a fund from scratch: nearly three years in the trenches, no product to show, just a slide deck and conviction. They share what they've learned, the primacy of trust-building, the importance of giving candid feedback to founders (even on a "no"), and the gap they're filling in the Canadian ecosystem at the seed-to-Series A inflection point. The team also lifts the curtain on their Prosperity Decoded thesis, backing AI-native companies driving enterprise productivity, sustainability, and resilience; and…

People in this episode

Guests: Fred, Dom, Nectar

Topics covered

  • fundraising
  • entrepreneurship
  • venture capital
  • AI
  • Canadian ecosystem

Keywords

  • trust-building
  • feedback
  • seed-to-Series A
  • Prosperity Decoded
  • Maxa
  • Maket

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Maxa, Maket

Books & works: Prosperity Decoded

Places: Canada, Quebec

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