Re-Charging Battery Ventures

Another VC who came, saw and then left Canada is Battery Ventures. Its charge to Canada was led largely by Jim Orlando, a former member of Nortel's business development group. Jim spent time with my old fund BCE Capital before being lured to California to be a principal with Battery. As an Ottawa native, Jim was able to help source some great local deal flow for Battery, notably Akara (storage transport over fibre)and OpenCola in Toronto. But somewhere along the line Battery decided to move towards content related investments. Once California and Boston stop trying to posture as the new media centers of North America, I think they'll be back; Toronto is no slouch in the digital content and media area, either. We're one of the best centres for new animation and digital content there is. Jim has moved on to OMERS - if you're looking for someone with a passion for telecom infrastructure, try him there.