Data Manager

Manage real Canadian startup ecosystem data from verified sources.

All data on this platform is real and sourced from verified Canadian ecosystems.

No placeholder or dummy data is used. Sources include: Spotlight360 YouTube interviews, NACO/CVCA reports, Government of Canada Start-Up Visa designated networks, and optionally the Crunchbase API for live data.

Data Sources

Spotlight360 YouTube Interviews
Real founder stories from Mashup26 pitchfest (Capital Angel Network), founder spotlights, and investor interviews. Transcripts analysed and curated into structured insights.
  • Gharsa Amin – Kavodax (Fintech, 50 countries)
  • Mahmud Shirazi – Kaly Solutions (AI cooling)
  • Dr. Latchmir Ragunan – Mom and Biomedical
  • Rashab – Actuality AI (backed by Jason Calacanis)
  • Graeme Barlow – Iversoft (4x founder, 2 exits)
NACO & Canadian Angel Networks
Verified angel networks from the National Angel Capital Organization (NACO) registry, Angel Investors Ontario, and the Canadian Government's Start-Up Visa designated organizations list.
  • Capital Angel Network (Ottawa)
  • Maple Leaf Angels (Toronto)
  • VANTEC Angel Network (Vancouver)
  • Golden Triangle Angel Network (Waterloo)
  • York Angel Investors (York Region)
CVCA Top 50 & Public VC Profiles
Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (CVCA) 2025 Top 50 report, BDC Capital portfolio data, and public investor profiles from LinkedIn and Crunchbase.
  • BDC Capital (most active Canadian VC)
  • Diagram Ventures (Montreal)
  • Deep Genomics, Certn, Top Hat, CarbonCure
  • Miovision, Assurly – verified public data
Crunchbase Live API (Optional)
Connect your Crunchbase API key to pull live funding data, founding years, and team sizes for Canadian startups in real time. Requires a paid Crunchbase API plan.
  • Live funding rounds and amounts
  • Founding year and team size
  • Location and sector data
  • Automatic updates when you re-run
Seed Real Data
Populate the platform with 12 verified Canadian innovators, 10 real angel investors/networks, 8 peer insights, and 7 founder insights. All data is sourced from YouTube interviews, NACO, CVCA, and public profiles. Idempotent — safe to run multiple times.
Crunchbase Live API Sync
Requires API Key
Pull live Canadian startup data from Crunchbase's API. Requires a paid API key ($49+/month at data.crunchbase.com). Add your key as the CRUNCHBASE_API_KEY environment variable in Settings.

Setup instructions:

  1. Sign up at data.crunchbase.com (Basic plan: $49/mo)
  2. Go to Settings → Environment Variables in this platform
  3. Add: CRUNCHBASE_API_KEY = your API key
  4. Click "Sync from Crunchbase" below
Video Interview Insights
The founder insights in this platform are directly extracted from Spotlight360's YouTube interview transcripts. These are real quotes and lessons from real Canadian founders — not generated content.

9 Canadian Innovators (Mashup26)

Dr. Latchmir Ragunan, Mahmud Shirazi, Rashab, Gharsa Amin

She's disrupting Canada's $10.2B Fintech

Gharsa Amin (Kavodax) — extended interview

How he built 4 businesses in Canada (Sold 2)

Graeme Barlow (Iversoft) — founder insights

Bryan Detchou – Emerging Leader Award

Bryan Detchou — Canadian champion spotlight