Thursday, March 20, 2008

Haig Farris

Mr. Haig Farris LL.D


Haig Farris is one of Canada's best-known venture capitalists and experts in high-technology start-ups and turn-arounds, with a varied 30+-year history of involvement, commitment, and management. Since 1990, Haig Farris has been the President of Fractal Capital, a private venture capital company financing high technology start-ups and resource service technology companies. Previously Haig was the co-founder and partner of the Ventures West Management group; the largest venture capital pool in Western Canada. Since 1992, Mr. Farris has also been an Adjunct professor of the University of British Columbia, teaching a course on entrepreneurship and the financing and managing of high-technology companies to graduate engineering,




l 1960 Bachelor of Arts major on English and Economics (UBC)

l 1963 Law Degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School

l 1968 CO-founded the financial consulting firm Brown, Farris & Jefferson Ltd

l 1972- 1990 co-founder and partner of the Ventures West Management group of venture capital funds

l 1990 President of Fractal Capital

l 1992 Adjunct professor of the University of British Columbia

l 1996-1999 President of the Alumni Association (UBC)

l 1997 Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from UBC

l 1999 Board of director- D wave Quantum computing company

l 2001 British Columbia Technologies Industry Association's (BCTIA) Bill Thompson Award.

l 2004 Board of direct- Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences


Entrepreneur:


Fractal Capital Corp.

Fractal Capital Corp. is an angel and seed stage venture investment company managed by Haig Farris. Mr. Farris was co-founder and a former partner of Ventures West Management Group.

D-Wave Systems, Inc. develops and commercializes quantum supercomputing systems for commercial use in logistics, bioinformatics, life and physical sciences, quantitative finance, and electronic design automation. The company was founded in 1999 and is based in Burnaby, Canada.

The Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences (PIMS) was founded by the five main universities in Western Canada (Simon Fraser University, University of Alberta, University of British Columbia, University of Calgary, University of Victoria). Additional academic institutions that later became full members of PIMS include the University of Washington in 2005, and the University of Regina in 2007.


Pioneer of star-up tech firms:

Haig Farris relishes put time and money into start up tech firms with potential, but he knows there are few people who do.

Mr.Haig Farris is also a very famous classical angel investor. People often considered the dean of angel investors in Vancouver -- Mr. Farris is a technology/venture capital entrepreneur who helped build companies for 35 years and still relishes putting some of his money and time into promising early-stage ventures.

Some straight talk from Mr.Farris should bring confidence to Canadian technology and knowledge-based businesses:

  • Market opportunities and novel technologies come and go, so at the end of the day you rely on people to navigate change and create success," Mr. Farris observes. "If you back people of extraordinary intelligence and integrity, act as a mentor, and occasionally hold their feet to the fire, they go to the end of the Earth to create success for their company and its stakeholders."

  • Angels don't hang out a shingle looking for deals -- we find and co-operate on deals within a local network of trusted contacts that includes entrepreneurs, angels and early-stage venture funds that can together successfully take a company from concept to market leader,"

References:



1. “Angels are not tooth fairies, Much more than funding: A good investor will mentor- and hold your feet to the fire”. TonyWanless FPOct-2003.pdf. 19,March 20, 2008

2. “Tips from the top”. BC Business. 19, March 20, 2008

3. “Business in Physics. Pitp_asilomar_farris.pdf. 19, March 20, 2008

4. “Clearigo Solutions Inc. Appoints New Board Members”. Canada IT.com. 19, March 20, 2008

5. “Dick Hardt's angels: how Haig Farris and a host of other private investors bet on Hardt's ActiveState and won bigtime.”. BC Business. 19, March 2008.”

6. “UILO advisory Council-Board Members”. UBC UILO advisory Council. 19, March 20, 2008.”

7. “Dynamic Tools for Dynamic Languages”. Company News Room. ActiveState. 19, March 20, 2008.”


External Links:



  • Pims.maths.ca Pacific Institute for the mathematical Sciences official site
  • Bctia.org British Columbia Technology Industry Association official site











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