Victory Square Technologies, a publicly listed venture capital firm and accelerator, is doubling down on investments in healthcare tech. 

Founded in 2015, Victory Square began with a focus on backing early-stage startups shaping today’s fourth industrial revolution — particularly those working with AI, blockchain, AR, and VR across a variety of use cases beyond the mainstream. Healthcare emerged as a priority as the firm recognized that early foundational investments were performing better than those in other sectors, identified opportunities to address the U.S.’s fragmented system, and anticipated a booming need to make the industry better.

Notably, Victory Square's portfolio includes Hydreight, a mobile health and wellness app where professionals meet patients wherever they are. It offers a range of services including telehealth, IV therapy, aesthetics, and weight loss management, and also helps providers with a suite of tools to manage the administrative side of healthcare, from accounting and sales to inventory and more. In November, Deloitte ranked the outfit as this year’s ninth-fastest growing company in Canada, and 56th in North America, based on revenue growth from the last three years.

Victory Square attributes Hydreight and its portfolio companies’ growth to its business model. The organizations it acquires and invests in typically undergo a 36-month incubation phase. During this time, they gain access to sector-specific advisors, existing customer bases, and support in development, marketing, accounting, and legal matters. Victory Square will also assist in follow-on financing in addition to venture capital — such as non-dilutive tax credits, grants, and micro cap listings — allowing founders to concentrate on other areas. With some transitioning their product, creating spin-offs, and generating successful exits, Victory Square’s Q3 net income rose this year to over $10.6 million, compared to $4.9 million in the same period last year.

“If you look back, 2017, 2018, and 2019 were build-years with this portfolio,” Shafin Diamond Tejani, founder and CEO of Victory Square, explained to Vancouver Tech Journal. “Then 2020 was a really good year where you're reaping the benefits [...] 2021, 2022, and 2023 were, again, build and restructure years [...] Now, in 2024 and onwards, we're starting to see those companies emerge from the previous cycle."

Victory Square plans to delve deeper into healthcare across several categories: climate-related innovations, specialized and preventative care, biohacking and longevity, and next-generation wearables.

Among its investments is Insu Therapeutics, a UBC research spinoff that created a tablet form of insulin that is as effective as traditional injections. It has made treatment more accessible and environmentally friendly as it does not require refrigeration and reduces plastic waste, said Tejani. Another is VSDHOne, a platform developed with Hydreight that helps launch direct-to-consumer healthcare brands in all 50 U.S. states within days instead of months, and at a fraction of the cost. The company allows providers to tailor and offer remote services to specific communities, like minority groups, while providing patients with more options to receive care they might not otherwise be able to access. Launched in June, it has already sold over 200 licenses.

“In 2015, 2016, and 2017, we looked wider,” said Tejani. “We wanted to make sure we had anchors in different themes that we thought were going to be big. Now, we’ve really built a huge advantage in healthcare, and that’s where we’re making more investments. Specifically because we can offer customers, doctors, logistics — everything around that category.”

When evaluating investments, Victory Square considers whether it can contribute more than funding to a company, to reduce their risk and improve outcomes. 

The firm also seeks founders with subject matter expertise with whom they can work hand-in-hand with over the long term. Equally important are the individual's values, goals, personality, and character.

“The logic for the success wasn't that they had better tech or a better team; it was just that they stayed in the game and were able to capitalize on their moment,” Tejani said of the founders who’ve experienced breakthroughs so far. “The last four years have been interesting because we've seen certain companies that had lots of promise that didn't achieve their goals because of maybe personal, relationship, or co-founder challenges.”

He added: “And then we've seen ones, like in the case of Hydreight, where nothing was going to stop them. There was this relentless pursuit and conviction to make it work. In reality, we're making bets and not all of them will work out [the way] we expect them to. Our hope is that we’re going to get that outlier, and we’re going to do decently well. Fortunately, we've done well for the most part. I would say Hydreight is one of the outliers in our portfolio.”

Aside from possessing grit, the ability to be flexible and adapt to market changes is crucial, Tejani said. These traits formed the foundation for Victory Square nearly three decades ago.

In the ‘90s, Tejani co-founded his first business from a dorm room while studying at Western University. As a member of the student council, he helped organize a Valentine’s activity. The event involved participants filling out surveys with personality tests to find others who were compatible. With a friend, Tejani created a mail-in matchmaking company and eventually developed software to create an online version, bringing in under $2 million in revenue within 18 months. As the company grew, mistakes were made, and costs increased. Fortunately, the founders researched case studies of businesses with similar processes that helped them devise a plan to scale. 

Amid the aftermath of the dot-com bust, the two quickly pivoted by spinning off other ventures, leading to an eventual sale in 2006. A year later, Tejani launched Victory Square Labs to provide funding, mentorship, and resources to startups in web, mobile, gaming, and film — prioritizing those that were socially responsible and led by minority entrepreneurs. This became the genesis of Victory Square Technologies, co-founded with fellow serial entrepreneur and investor behind Launch Ventures, Ray Walia. To date, Victory Square Technologies has employed more than 350 people, launched over 40 companies across 21 countries, and generated over $1 billion in value.

Along with his own hard work and opportunities, Tejani attributes Victory Square’s achievements to the people around him — his partners, and especially his family.

In the early ‘70s, his family was forced to leave their home in Uganda during a military coup. They were granted asylum in Canada and settled in Vancouver. His father, a pharmacist, couldn’t transfer his education credits, so he re-did his certification before opening a pharmacy. Growing up, Tejani helped out at his father’s practice as well as his uncle’s electronics store. These experiences not only made him realize he wanted to be an entrepreneur but would also inevitably play a part in his decision to invest heavily in healthcare, particularly online pharmacies, as early as the 2000s.

Tejani’s upbringing also shaped his approach to work and his expectations for his team. He often emphasizes the importance of providing value to others through what he calls “TKM” — time, knowledge, and money. While he’s received many accolades — including the Canadian Startup Awards’ angel investor of the year, Business in Vancouver’s top 40 under 40, and BC Tech’s person of the year — what he is most proud of are Victory Square’s philanthropic contributions. The firm has volunteered over 10,000 hours, raised more than $88 million for organizations, and donated upwards of $10 million to charities.

“I was very fortunate,” said Tejani about his early years. “I had the ability to actually shoot for the moon. I think that I had huge advantages, so this pay-it-forward through time, knowledge, and money is important [...] Hopefully, the impact of our team on the community has been great too. But I would say that's probably the biggest thing we're proud of.”

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