🔎 Spotlight #1: Inside Venn — Canada’s Business Banking Upstart
A better way to run a business and bank in Canada 🏦🇨🇦
A gap spotted by the founders
When Ahmed Shafik and Saud Aziz left the Revolut North American team, they saw an opportunity hiding in plain sight. Canadian business banking was slow, expensive, and disjointed. High fees, clunky FX, and endless reconciliation headaches made SMB operations painful. In 2020, they decided to fix it. What began as Vault has since evolved into Venn — a modern, all‑in‑one financial platform designed for Canadian businesses.
Funding & team at a glance
Series A: $21.5M raised in early 2025
Lead investor: Left Lane Capital
Other investors: XYZ Venture Capital, Intact Ventures, Gradient Ventures
Team size: ~30 employees
Customer base: Over 4,000 businesses onboarded
Website: venn.ca
Revolut alumni: the next-gen fintech builders
Revolut has become a surprising launchpad for fintech innovation. Over the past couple of years, dozens of new fintech startups have been founded by former Revoluters — many by folks who experienced operational pain firsthand and decided to fix it themselves. Companies like:
Sardine – Fraud, compliance, and payments infrastructure built by ex-Revolut crypto lead Soups Ranjan
Shares – Social investing platform co-founded by former Revoluter Harjas Singh
LiveFlow – Real-time financial reporting software started by ex-Revolut finance leads
Deblock – Digital asset management for institutions founded by multiple Revolut alum
Apron – Accounts payable automation for SMEs, founded by former Revolut PMs
Venn’s co-founders are part of that same wave. Their time at Revolut didn’t just expose them to high-velocity product development; it helped them see the cracks in legacy financial infrastructure. That experience gave them a clear edge when it came time to build something faster, simpler, and more customer-focused for the Canadian market. There’s a pretty great article on Medium that goes in depth for those who exited the “Revolut Mafia” which you can find here.
The competitive landscape and how Venn stands apart
Venn isn’t the only company trying to modernize business banking in Canada. Traditional financial institutions like RBC and TD are slowly rolling out digital-first SMB offerings, while newer players like Relay, Float, and Loop have gained traction with specific features like multi-user controls, virtual cards, or cross-border payments.
You can check out their platforms here:
Relay – relayfi.com
Float – floatcard.com
Loop – getloop.ca
Where Venn tries to differentiate is by being end-to-end and deeply Canadian. Rather than just offering a better interface or a few clever tools, Venn is aiming to own the full financial stack—from account setup to card issuance, FX, spend controls, and reporting. They’ve built everything from the ground up to reflect how Canadian businesses actually operate, including bilingual support and native integrations with tools like QuickBooks and Wagepoint.
They also seem to win on service and support. While some fintechs try to compete on pure speed or automation, Venn goes the other way—staying close to customers, offering real-time human support, and treating financial infrastructure like a relationship, not just a transaction. In a market where trust matters and word-of-mouth spreads fast, that high-touch model could be their real edge. You’ll see that first hand in the next section.
Building for customers — and building with them
What truly sets Venn apart is how close they stay to their customers. A great example: when Canada Post delays started interfering with card deliveries, Saud and the team personally drove across the city to hand-deliver cards to new users, along with some goodies. Not only did this keep onboarding seamless, it showed a level of ownership and hustle that builds real trust.
This isn’t just good optics. It’s a big reason Venn retains customers early and grows through referrals. They don’t just build for operators, they act like one.
My experience with the team
Last year, I actually had the chance to interview with Venn, and it left a lasting impression. From the very first conversation, it was clear that this wasn’t just another fintech company trying to scale fast. The team came across as incredibly sharp and strategic, but what stood out most was how genuine, thoughtful, and down-to-earth Saud was in particular. He took the time to understand my experience, asked smart but human questions, and made what could have been a high-pressure process feel like a real conversation.
Although I ultimately didn’t land the role, I walked away from the experience with a ton of respect for the team, and I genuinely learned a lot. The case study they assigned was well-designed, practical, and reflective of real work they’d expect in the role. It challenged me in the best way, and made it clear that Venn holds a high bar for performance while still treating candidates with kindness and transparency. That kind of balance isn’t easy to find, and it speaks volumes about the culture they’re building internally.
Why this company and these roles stand out
Venn is building exactly where it matters, directly at the intersection of financial operations, user experience, and trust. For anyone in Strategy, Ops, or GTM roles, this is the kind of company where your work has real impact. You’re not buried under red tape or optimizing vanity metrics. You’re helping real businesses run more smoothly, ship faster, and worry less about the financial back office.
It’s also a place where sharp thinking and high standards live alongside humility. The founders know what great looks like, but they also know how to treat people with respect. For anyone looking to grow in an early-stage environment where you’re expected to contribute meaningfully from day one, Venn is absolutely a company to keep on your radar.
🧭 Venn Roles — Now Hiring
This was the very first edition of LaunchPad Spotlight, and I’m so glad you made it to the end. These deep dives are so fun for me; I genuinely love learning about cool companies, sharing what I find, and hopefully helping a few people discover a role or org that clicks with them.
If you read this far, thank you. Seriously. I really appreciate you giving this a few minutes of your day. If Venn’s story resonated with you, check out their open roles, or just keep following along for more inside looks at the startups shaping Canada’s tech ecosystem.
Until next week, go build something cool, or better yet, go join something cool 🚀
