About the brand
Simple Ventures is building the next generation of great Canadian companies — literally. The Toronto venture studio, co-founded by CEO Rachel Zimmer and Michael Katchen in 2023, identifies important problems and market gaps, then assembles founders, capital and an experienced operating team to build companies from the ground up. It has launched and funded four ventures to date with more in stealth (businesses now employing over 200 people across Canada) backed by a roster of the country's most accomplished builders, including leaders behind Shopify and Wealthsimple. The studio model concentrates firepower on problems worth solving rather than waiting for them to be pitched. It's company-building as a repeatable discipline, made in Canada. Simple Ventures is a bet that the country's entrepreneurial bench is deeper than its startup pipeline suggests.
