Sacha Mann

Sacha Mann has packed a lot into her young career. After an undergraduate degree in chemistry from The University of British Columbia, she headed to London where she landed a job as a research scientist with ICI Chemicals. She left that post to join the then-booming IT sector as a management consultant for a British software firm where she managed a team of technology consultants and advised blue chip clients. But when the technology market crashed, she returned home to Vancouver.

"Up to that point I had been working with large companies and wanted to get some experience with start-ups," says Mann. So she worked part-time on her MBA (with a focus on technology management) while overseeing global projects within the corporate finance department of a large multinational.

She then signed onto the WestLink Internship Program. Her first posting was at Allon Therapeutics, a Canadian biotechnology company that develops drugs for neurodegenerative conditions. While there, the company went through the significant milestone of graduating from the Venture Exchange to the TSX. "The company got invited to ring the bell at the TSX. It was very exciting," she says.

At the Simon Fraser University Industry Liaison Office, Mann learned about technology transfer, licensing and patent management and was directly involved in the spin-off of two companies that were formed during her time there.

Her final placement at BDC Venture Capital saw Mann involved in all stages of the venture capital process. While she focused on BDC's $100 million seed fund, she made sure she exposed herself to all aspects of the industry—attending board meetings and strategy sessions, pitching events, investigating investment opportunities, working with entrepreneurs and gaining as much exposure as possible. "I was pretty clear about what I wanted to accomplish with this internship program," she says. "I was interested in a career in venture capital and thought this was the best fit for me."

While at the BDC, Mann learned she had been awarded a prestigious Kauffman Fellowship, a program established to help accelerate the growth of the entrepreneurial economy through greater capital investment by developing the next generation of leaders in venture capital. Mann's appointment with Scotland's Archangel Informal Investment marks that country's first involvement with the fellowship program.

Part of the fellowship involves working in the executive team and reviewing processes and management techniques with Edinburgh University's management school. The goal is to improve investments into emerging technologies in areas including medical devices, bioscience, informatics, engineering and energy.

"It's phenomenal that a group of angel investors are helping address the funding gap for early stage companies," says Mann. "I enjoy being involved with companies and working with them strategically. We're seeing a company go from the ground up and moving it ahead. It takes a lot of time - we're usually dealing with pre-product and pre-revenue early stage companies and it's very rewarding to see them succeed."

Mann is focused on building her career in venture capital after her two-year Kauffman appointment with Archangel as an investment manager. "And it helps that in Scotland, the industry is active and driven by world-class research," says Mann. "It's great to be in a spot where people are committed to growing entrepreneurship and improving the business birth rate."

WestLink certainly helped Mann get where she is today. "Everybody brought such a diverse background to the program, but WestLink fits everybody's needs and mandate," she says. "Even though I moved overseas, I'm bringing the brand with me. It's been a great experience."