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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'm passionate about early-stage startups, fundraising, and housing, and I'm also deeply interested in infrastructure, public transit, and climate policy. I love my work, but I value the time I spend with my partner most. 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 gave me a strong sense of loyalty, teamwork, and community. I still value these today. 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 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. Although that didn't work out, it did spark an interest in law. That interest eventually led 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 incentive but stronger social outcomes. This is not just a change in my work; it's a shift in my life's perspective. My goal is to leave my home, Toronto, Canada, better than I found it. I owe my success to this city and this country; I want to ensure others have the same opportunities.
Supporting Canada's Innovators
Upon returning to Toronto, I would take a position leading the Capital Program at MaRS Discovery District. MaRS is North America's largest innovation hub. Since 2020, MaRS has supported over 1,200 ventures that have raised $14.7 billion in capital. My work at MaRS is to ensure that Toronto's best innovators can access the capital and support they need to grow and scale anchor companies for our economy right here in Canada. These companies can help us create new jobs and generate the tax revenues needed to fund healthcare, education, and infrastructure in our province.
I also helped found the MaRS Investor Network. This network aims to support investors worldwide in finding opportunities to invest in Canada and grow our economy. MaRS ventures have already contributed $11.7 billion to Canada's GDP; our hope is to grow that number as much as possible.
In addition to the direct support I provide to founders, I have also been a fierce advocate for government policy that supports entrepreneurs. I have written and contributed to the Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, Betakit and more.
Increasing Toronto's Housing Supply
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 others who form the backbone of our economy. I see my friends (and others from my generation) working 60+ hours a week after completing multiple degrees and still barely affording rent. This is not fair.
When I moved back to Toronto, I had the opportunity to convert a single-family home into a 10-unit apartment building. This led me to spend a year studying Toronto's city bylaws, housing policy, the Ontario Land Tribunal, and more. I decided to move forward with the project. I personally went through the process of getting one of the first Major Streets projects in Toronto approved by the city, then wrote a guide to help others do the same. You can read that guide here.
Championing Condo Reform
As I gained more prominence as a housing advocate, I realized few people were discussing the issues affecting condo residents. 65% of residents in downtown Toronto live in a condo. Whether they are tenants, owners, or landlords, they deal with rising condo fees, poor maintenance (slow elevators), and unlivable neighbourhoods (lack of greenspace, noise pollution, etc.). I now focus my housing advocacy on improving condo affordability and liveability by keeping condo fees low, ensuring reliable elevators, and supporting liveable neighbourhoods.
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