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About Me
Hi! I'm Liam. I was born and raised in Toronto. While I've had the chance to live in NYC, San Francisco, the UK and Vancouver for extended periods, I am extremely happy to live in Toronto. I genuinely believe that no city can match Toronto's potential.
I have a passion for early-stage startups, fundraising, and housing, as well as a strong interest in infrastructure, public transit, and climate policy. I love my work, but value most the time I spend with my partner. We love going to Leafs and Jays games, walking along Toronto's waterfront and beaches, watching live theatre and finding hidden gem restaurants in Toronto's many diverse neighbourhoods.
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I grew up playing hockey. It created a great sense of loyalty, teamwork and community in my life. I continue to value these to this day. While I played AAA at a young age, by the time I started high school, I knew it wouldn't be a career. My initial reaction to that realization was to contact the NHLPA while still in high school and ask for a copy of the NHL's Collective Bargaining Agreement and an application to become a player agent. While that also didn't work out, it did ignite an interest in law. This interest would eventually lead me to law school.
Education
I attended Durham University, where I completed my Law Degree and Master of Science in Management. The best parts of my time at Durham University, however, were not the courses but the friendships and opportunities to be exposed to a new culture and new points of view. It not only had a significant impact on my own perspectives but also taught me the value of listening to others. Everyone has a unique lived experience; they all have something to teach you. Years later, I returned to school at the University of Toronto, where I earned my Master of Laws.
Startup Founder
During my final year of Law School, I started Fumarii Technologies (then known as Ichor Technologies). After struggling to raise funds during my final year of Law School, I decided to pursue my Masters while learning how to run a company. It turned out to be the right decision. Less than a month after finishing my Masters, I would raise my first round of capital. At Fumarii Technologies, I went on to raise three rounds of capital, manage over 20 people, write and file for numerous patents, and thoroughly understand the challenges of building an early-stage tech startup.
The company started because I was obsessed with this problem: The biggest challenge for datacenters is cooling computers, and the largest household maintenance cost is heating. Why are tech companies paying billions to cool datacenters while homeowners pay billions to heat homes? There had to be a way to solve this inefficiency. After working towards a solution for three years, I left the company which would eventually close a year later.
Advisor, Investor and Lawyer
After leaving Fumarii Technologies, I worked at Inside.com, where I wrote market analysis for public newsletters read by industry leaders such as Mark Cuban and Satya Nadella, as well as private reports for Fortune 500 companies. I worked closely with my boss, Jason Calacanis, learning how he built his media empire and getting unique insights into the early-stage venture capital industry. During this time, I would also complete my Master of Laws at the University of Toronto.
With the knowledge I gained from Jason, I started launching newsletters that shared my insights with startup founders, and this effort grew to include four newsletters with over 120,000 subscribers. To this day, I continue to write these newsletters for founders, providing insights into market trends, legal trends and general fundraising advice. These newsletters consistently receive over 200,000 opens per week.
I would then move to Vancouver to work for a small law firm helping Canadian startups and small businesses. After a year at the firm, I started my own legal and business consulting firm, helping early-stage startups. The best part of moving to Vancouver, however, would be meeting my partner.
After a few years of investing in and supporting early-stage startups, I achieved my first $1M+ exit. This would be the catalyst for my decision to move back to Toronto, where I could focus on work with less financial incentives but stronger social outcomes. This is not just a change in my choice of work but in my life's perspective. My goal is to leave my home, Toronto, Canada, in a better place. I owe my success to this city and this country; I want to ensure others have the same opportunities.
Eventually, I would take the position managing the Capital Program at MaRS Discovery District. MaRS is North America's largest innovation hub. Since 2008, MaRS has supported over 1,200 ventures that have raised $6.2 billion in capital, contributing $11.7 billion to Canada's GDP. As Manager of the Capital Program at MaRS, my goal is to rebuild Toronto's early-stage capital ecosystem, enabling more homegrown technology companies to sell their innovations globally, attract capital into the country, and employ Canadians.
Housing Development and Advocacy
The housing crisis is Canada's biggest challenge. In Toronto, if we don't solve our housing crisis, we will price out teachers, nurses, tradespeople and other individuals that form the backbone of our economy. I see my friends (and others from my generation) who are working 60+ hours a week after completing multiple degrees and still can barely afford rent. This is not fair.
Upon moving back to Toronto, I had the opportunity to convert a single-family home into a 10-unit apartment building. This led me to dedicate a year to studying Toronto's city bylaws, housing policy, the Ontario Land Tribunal and more. I decided to move forward with the project. I now personally convert and consult with others looking to convert under-densified properties (typically single-family homes) into 5-10 unit houseplexes or apartment buildings in Toronto.
I am also working on writing a guide in partnership with More Neighbours Toronto to share the information and experiences that I have gained. This information will also be shared through my newsletter: Building the Missing Middle.
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