Group of women investors networking and gathered to learn more about The51 and Movement51
Financial Feminism Investing Lab logo

Early-Stage Investing Lab

Intimidated by investing? Not anymore

Learn how your dollars can power the next generation of future-fit, feminist businesses. This tailored program is a safe, non-judgemental space to introduce you to the ins and outs of early-stage investing, and get your journey started.

Virtual or live sessions, built around your group’s schedule.

Built by Women, for Everyone

Here’s what our community is saying

  • Nora Rudenko Headshot

    “I would recommend this course to anyone who not only works in the tech ecosystem, but is also curious in changing the world for the better by investing their own money in the companies they believe in.”

    Nora Rudenko
    Platform Calgary

  • Headshot of Feiran Zhou

    “FFIL has not only provided very comprehensive content of early-stage investments, but also a wonderful community to meet with other like-minded female investors, partners through the course to share our own experiences, and work on the real-world venture cases together!”

    Feiran Zhou
    Ontario Centre of Innovation

  • Kewen Wood

    “The hands-on interactive approach, real-world case studies, and focus on value-aligned investing make this program invaluable.”

    Kewen Wood
    ETCH Sourcing

  • Sylvia Louie

    “Although I may not be the next dragon on Dragons’ Den, the course is fully packed with interesting topics, presenters, and information about early-stage investing. I learned a lot and will be looking forward to being involved in my first venture start-up adventure soon.”

    Sylvia Louie
    Pembina

  • Lukasz Aleksandrowicz

    “For someone new in this space, the Investor Lab was a fantastic entry point for learning about early-stage investing. The content was a great balance of depth and comprehensiveness, and the instructors were incredibly engaging.”

    Lukasz Aleksandrowicz
    Weston Family Foundation

  • "FFIL provided more fluency and literacy with financial terms, allowed me to be vulnerable in a comfortable setting, and more importantly, I became more informed and confident on how to build my investment thesis that best reflects my values."

    Nannette Ho-Covernton
    Spartan Controls

  • “The most valuable thing was the way it made early stage investing seem really accessible”

    Sajna Massey
    Neo Financial

  • “If we look at wealth as an area of self-care, this program provided expert yoga sessions with prudent financial knowledge of early-stage investing.”

    Namendra Anand
    The Northpine Foundation

  • “If you have spent the past year or two wondering how in the world the investment world actually works - this course is for you. The Lab will connect you with like-minded and intelligent individuals and help you build your toolkit when it comes to financial management, diversifying your portfolio and understanding risk.”

    Hannah Castle
    Cultivator

  • “The FFIL provided an exceptional academic program to introduce early-stage investing and a platform to learn how to advocate for female founders.”

    Stephanie Bailey
    Clean Resource Innovation Network (CRIN)

  • “I can be a part of the change I want to see in the world through how I decide to deploy capital and my own investments”

    Meghan Vallance-Morin
    Mark’s

  • “What I appreciate the most about FFIL is the community they create. I met so many brilliant, values-aligned women who believe that we can change the world through our investments.”

    Devon Krainer
    Raven Indigenous Capital Partners

  • “FFIL takes such a deep look at the fundamentals of angel investing, through a variety of instructors, academic articles, and practical scenarios, and with the gender lens. I found the content to be new and very practical.”

    Carollynn Schafer
    OKGN Angel Investments Society

  • “....very satisfied with knowing what I can do when I activate my capital in a way that aligns with my values and benefits the community.”

    Jacquelyn DeGreeve
    BLG

Woman founder holding microphone, pitching to investors
Aspiring investors learning at a Financial Feminism Investing Lab Bootcamp
3 aspiring women investors learning at a Financial Feminism Investing Lab Bootcamp

What will you learn?

Everything you need to begin early-stage investing with confidence. What does it mean to make an investment in a startup? How do you find a worthy business? What are investment vehicles? From evaluating business models to negotiating term sheets and ownership on the cap table — we’re here to demystify your entire investment journey.

Built by experienced angel investors, venture capitalists and academics

We’ve hand-crafted programs with experienced professionals and educators from both corporate and academic worlds to create accessible, equitable education. And we’re growing, fast…

230+

GRADUATED

48

CITIES

$2.3M+

CAPITAL ACTIVATED

91

NPS 

70%

INCREASE IN INVESTMENT CONFIDENCE

Meet Your Instructors

  • Courtney is an innovative product manager, business strategist, and well-regarded leader who has extensive experience bringing diverse stakeholders together to solve complex problems. As one of the earliest team members at The51, she plays a key role in building and scaling a platform to activate women’s capital. As Chief Growth Officer of The51 and Movement51, Courtney leads strategic growth initiatives, shapes business models, and build partnerships to expand The51 and Movement51’s impact across Canada’s investment ecosystem.

    With advanced education in Strategy from UBC and Product Management from UC Berkeley, Courtney thrives at the intersection of community engagement, business development, and innovation. As an active early-stage investor and a passionate advocate for gender equity in venture capital, she spearheaded the pilot of The Financial Feminist Investing Lab alongside Haskayne School of Business and is actively engaged in driving investment and education initiatives that give women the knowledge and confidence to activate their capital.

George Damian

  • George Damian is a design strategist working at the intersection of creative and technical fields to help founders better understand, articulate and launch their ideas. Having worked on some of the world's largest industrial projects as an energy industry executive, George pivoted into the start-up world in 2017, first as a business coach and later as co-founder of a sports supplement brand.

    Today he serves as a strategic advisor to a host of deep tech founders and as an MBA instructor in the areas of entrepreneurship and innovation. Through his work with global tech incubator Creative Destruction Lab he has designed programming to help nurture promising start-ups. As an investor he seeks to champion under-represented founders, helping them scale their companies with confidence.

  • Arielle is the Swiss army knife of enablement, with a strategic marketing background, a knack for understanding people’s motivations, and a proven track record in building programs and systems to scale for greater impact in B2B tech, SaaS, and B2C environments.

    As a high-impact, innovative, and energetic community builder, Arielle leads influential experience programs at Movement51 that reflect business needs, enable internal teams, and unlock customer potential.

“Early-stage investing plays a critical part in the success of ventures that are accessing support through accelerators like Innovation Factory. 

As we work with hundreds of companies every year, many at this critical point in their capital raising journey, we maintain relationships with the investor community so we can make relevant introductions and facilitate connections that foster early stage investment in our client companies. We have a vested interest in the success of these efforts and knowing these individuals and also the next gen of investors are informed and equipped when it comes to early stage investing.

We have firsthand experience to see how M51’s investing bootcamp provides this education. Investors, aspiring early stage investors and companies alike will gain from participating in it.”

Karen Linesman

VP, Operations Innovation Factory

Women at The51 event introducing Movement51 laughing, networking, and talking

Tailored program, perfect for your community

Our immersive and welcoming courses are the only learning programs of their kind. All classes are led by accomplished instructors, and combine traditional lectures with hands-on learning to help you build your tool-kit.

Learn concepts and apply them directly in the same week

Our courses are built to meet the demands of your busy schedule! Courses run over a 5-week period with 1 hour virtual sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays. 

  • Participants will develop their knowledge of the capital landscape and explore the role of developing their investment thesis as an investor.

    • Current capital landscape Nationally and Internationally

    • The nature of venture finance and the role it plays for entrepreneurs and investors

    • Explore the types of investors. What are their roles, and what are they looking for?

    • Learn what an investment thesis, and how to develop your own

    • Finding deal flow and the art of sourcing

Module 1

  • Participants will examine various valuation methodologies to evaluate early-stage investment opportunities from end-to-end

    • Explore the end-to-end process of an individual deal and define the path of an investment

    • Discover the 2 different types of investment vehicles used by Angels (SAFEs and Convertible Notes)

    • Learn the pros and cons of each form of financing as well as what/why one should consider one type of structure over another

    • Explore how valuation occurs at different stages and why it is important

Module 2

  • Participants will take a look behind the curtain into the details of the business and learn different business models and how to develop their investor lens

    • Discover the due diligence process from the perspective of both an angel and venture capital from pre-meeting, to meet, to post-meeting

    • Examine mock data rooms and learn what to look for

    • Review fundraising decks and learn different evaluation methods for business models in B2B, B2C, and Services

Module 3

  • Participants will get a closer look at the technical side of venture investing

    • Explore term sheet economics: price, liquidation preference, pay-to-play, vesting, exercise period, employee pool, anti dilution, dividends, voting rights,

    • Learn the various controls terms of the term sheet from the Board of Directors to conversions

    • Understand the importance of the cap table, when to review, and what to look for

    • Learn common legal structures in early-stage investing

Module 4

  • Provide participants the opportunity to ‘practice’ evaluating early-stage funding pitches to synthesize learning.

    • Discover your investment thesis and determine the fit of different investment opportunities within your portfolio

    • Learn how to ask questions and hear feedback on investment opportunities

    • Reflect on the nature of investing and the role it plays for entrepreneurs and investors

Module 5

You’ve got questions?

We’ve got answers

  • This is a comprehensive course focuses on helping participants learn the fundamentals of early-stage investing, from venture math to evaluating pitches. The program emphasizes building confidence in investment decision-making.

  • The bootcamp is tailored for any and all individuals who are new to early-stage investing or want to gain the knowledge to make impactful investment choices, all with a gender-inclusive lens.

  • This course is tailored to your needs - so whatever works for you and your community!

    We can do one-day intensive bootcamps, every Thursday lunch hour for 5 weeks, etc, etc, etc!

  • No! Our course is open to everyone and anyone interested in early-stage investing. To learn more about being an accredited investor in Canada click here.

  • No prior investment experience is required, making it accessible for beginners. Participants should have an interest in investing in startups and supporting gender-diverse founders.

  • The program focuses on empowering women and gender-diverse founders, offering investors tailored education, mentorship, and a supportive community to support this community. It also addresses systemic barriers that women-led companies often face in the investment landscape.

  • Yes! In their pursuit of gaining advanced skills and knowledge, we find 25% of participants is sponsored by their employer. If you would like to approach your company with a sponsorship request form, we have a customizable template you can use. Email heythere@movement51.org for your template.

  • This is location-dependent, but for the most part, you can expect the following:

    8:00-8:30: Doors Open
    8:30-9:15 Welcome & Icebreaker
    9:15-10:30: Module 1: The Capital Landscape & Where Early-Stage Investing Fits in
    10:30-10:45: Coffee Break
    10:45-12:15: Module 2: Investment Thesis, Vehicles & Valuation
    12:15-12:45:     Lunch Break (lunch to be provided)
    12:50-2:00:     Module 3: Deal Sourcing & Due Diligence
    2:00-2:30:     Networking Break
    2:30-3:45:     Module 4: Live Application and Recap
    3:45-5:30     Post-Lab Networking: Sip and Connect (location-dependent)

  • Amazing! Please reach out to our Program Director, Arielle Land at arielle@the51.io

    We are looking for guest speakers, special vendors, and more.

  • We’d love to hear from you. Email us anytime, at: heythere@movement51.org

Ready to dive in?

Contact us to book your tailored investing lab!

The Financial Feminism Investing Lab wouldn’t be possible without our partners:

Haskayne School of Business
PrairiesCan
OCIF - Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund
Pembina

Be the first to know about the next bootcamp — join the mailing list for the Investor Lab!

Ready to dive into the world of early-stage investing now? We’ve got you covered.

Check out our collection of blog posts to help you get started on your investor journey: reasons to become an early-stage investor, exploring the venture investment cycle, factors to consider in startup valuations, and more.