Funding Recipient Spotlight:
Vivene Salmon Gagne (She/Her), Co-Founder & Chief Legal Officer of F8th Inc.
We had the privilege of interviewing Vivene (founder of F8th Inc.: In simple words, as every storefront has their own security camera, F8th acts as a security camera on any and all of your platforms by analyzing your customers and employee interactions in real time to ensure that only the right person can access the sensitive user and corporate information). We are impressed with the work Vivene and F8th are creating, and hope you enjoy learning about the innovative work their leading.
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What inspired you to start your business?
F8th Inc.’s product is so innovative and inspiring that I decided to first become an investor in F8th Inc. A few months later, I left my job at the bank to join as a Founder full-time.
What are some unique challenges you have felt as women founders along your entrepreneurial journey?
I think one of the big challenges as a woman is accessing funding. According to recent statistics by Crunchbase, in Canada, "women entrepreneurs receive 4% of VC funding while Black women-backed ventures receive 0.2% of VC funding."
How did it feel participating in our Pitch Event? What were some highlights?
The pitch event was super exciting! It required hard work preparing for the pitch, but thanks to mentorship from Makini Smith, I felt prepared. But, the competition was fierce, it was a true honour to place first amongst these incredible women.
What were your thoughts when your business was announced as a funding recipient?
I was shocked to be announced as the winner of the 2022 Founders Fund x BDC pitch competition, there were so many fantastic pitches and interesting businesses amongst the five finalists.
How will this funding impact your business?
This funding will allow F8th Inc. to build out and respond faster to our growing sales pipeline!
What advice do you have for other founders who are early in their entrepreneurial journey?
Being an entrepreneur is challenging, stressful, difficult and at times, just plain hard. BUT, at the same time it is fun and very rewarding to build something from scratch that develops into something phenomenal that has a positive impact on our communities.
