Vancouver entrepreneur and angel investor Marlon Thompson has launched Opening Round, a consultancy that funds, advises, and partners with founders and funders.

To date, the firm has backed consumer tech and consumer packaged goods across North America through syndicated investments — where a group of individual backers pool their resources to collectively fund early-stage ventures. It provides a range of services for pre-seed and seed-stage startups and investors, including assistance with strategic positioning, mergers and acquisitions, and financial literacy and modelling. It also helps with inclusive approaches to developing investment theses and pursuing limited partners. Opening Round’s core focus is to “support and elevate outsiders in a notoriously inaccessible space.”

“I think being an outsider can be a real advantage in the world of innovation if you're properly attuned to the rhythms and frameworks that exist in this space,” Thompson told the Vancouver Tech Journal. “Like any industry, there are new ways of seeing things and fresh approaches that I think sometimes get undervalued. So, we really look for progressive thinkers who are building things differently, and I'm intentionally keeping that definition open [...] — whether it’s taking a different application of a business model, blending your culture into a brand or story, or speaking to a different customer.”

In 2020, Thompson started Future Capital as a venture capital and entrepreneurship training ground for underrepresented individuals. Its goal was to foster a more diverse cohort of funders and provide them with greater pathways to success within the investment ecosystem. Two years later, Thompson became a venture partner at League of Innovators Venture, co-founded by Hootsuite’s Ryan Holmes and angel investor Manny Padda. Then, in 2023, Future Capital was acquired by Spring Activator, a venture capital firm with its own platform for education and networking in impact investing.

“I’ve had the fortunate experience of being exposed to processes that give me a fuller understanding of the fundamentals of venture building,” shared Thompson. “Raising capital and exiting a business, [both] as a founder and as an angel investor, have left me with insights that I believe can be powerful for new and emerging founders and investors. I believe this kind of knowledge holds high value in a venture market that continues to evolve. The days of high-velocity rounds have passed, and capital is being allocated with a lot of care and consideration, which makes this era of venture funding unique.”

Opening Round’s approach involves working with clients as fractional executives, enabling the team to embed itself within the business and provide hands-on guidance to drive results. Success is defined differently for each company but is ultimately about building a sustainable, profitable business over time.

“There are different roadmaps to get to that point for different companies,” Thompson highlighted. “It really depends on the space and the moment they’re in. [...] So, success for some companies, frankly, means keeping the doors open and fulfilling orders to their customers, achieving a better EBITDA this year than last, or exiting through an acquisition, merger, or IPO. [...] But I will add that, from a founder’s perspective on an individual level, that question is deeply personal. [...] For some we’re seeing this year, there’s a reinterpretation of what success means for them based on the factors they’re operating within.”

Along with backing consumer tech and consumer packaged goods, Opening Round places bets on products that offer safer alternatives in terms of ingredients or packaging. As for the team itself, it typically invests in individuals who have a clear vision of what they want to achieve and a determination to create change within their industry. For those on a similar path, Thompson emphasized that building a company is best done through community and collaboration.

“I have never seen a founder build something completely on their own,” said Thompson. “Every founder needs support [and] outside expertise that can help them see around corners. They're answering a million questions and making a hundred decisions a day, and I think founders today, particularly in this market, can really benefit from bringing on smart advisors who see the world the same way they do and want to back their vision.”

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