Rising Stars Q&A – Jay Crone & Jon Wolkin, Telus Ventures

Jay Crone, director, Telus Ventures

Rich Osborn said when he was leading Telus Ventures, the corporate venturing unit of Canada-headquartered telecommunications conglomerate Telus, on Jay Crone, a director at the unit: “Jay joined Telus Ventures in 2018, bringing with him 15 years of experience as a venture investor, investment banker, economist and entrepreneur.

“His penchant for identifying investment opportunities that align with Telus Ventures’ strategic objectives has made Jay an integral member of our team, playing a lead role in many of our healthtech and agtech investments.

“Jay works closely with our portfolio companies to ensure that they continue to grow and succeed, acting as a board observer for Hummingbird Technologies, Acorn Biolabs, Taulia and GenXys.

“The covid-19 pandemic has had a devastating toll on people from coast to coast, and Telus Ventures is committed to finding ways to improve the lives and livelihoods of Canadians as we continue to navigate through this time of uncertainty.

“At the height of the first wave, Jay was called up to lead the Telus Ventures covid-19 task force, focused on identifying and executing on investments that can build off our Telus Health suite of products to keep our families and communities safe and kickstart the economy.

“Since joining Telus Ventures, Jay has honed his skills and knowledge to advance the growth of our health and agriculture business units, source investments in best-in-class innovations and provide strategic guidance to our portfolio companies. He is a talented venture capitalist and a passionate leader, and I am proud to have him on the Telus Ventures team.”

1. First, just give us a quick overview of who you work for, what you do, and how long you have been doing it.

I work for Telus Ventures,  the strategic investment arm of Telus Corporation and one of Canada’s most active and longest-standing corporate venture capital (CVC) funds. Since 2001, Telus Ventures has invested in and advised more than 75 companies that address some of the biggest opportunities and challenges in digital health, internet-of-things, digital security and connected consumer sectors.

I help Telus Ventures invest in best-in-class startup companies with a strategic angle to Telus business lines, leading our team’s pursuit of investments in agtech and healthtech. I am involved in investment in our portfolio companies from the cradle to the alter – from initial thesis-building, industry research and company outreach to deal execution and post-investment support. As a board observer, I support companies’ growth towards an exit.

I have led over 10 investments in my three years at Telus Ventures, including GenXys Healthcare Systems, Vital Biosciences, Acorn Biolabs and Hummingbird Technologies.

2. What attracted you to CVC?

I was attracted by the opportunity to be part of a disruptive and innovative force within a large, successful corporation. I am excited to be able to plant seeds in nascent markets that have the potential for exponential growth and to leverage next-gen technologies and partnerships to drive competitive advantages for Telus.

I am privileged to learn from a wide range of talented subject matter experts from across Telus’ business lines to gain insight into new technologies and market opportunities.

3. What have been your greatest successes at your unit?

One of my proudest accomplishments at Telus Ventures is leading the Telus Ventures covid-19 task force to help identify how Telus Health and Telus Ventures can work to keep Canadians safe and kickstart the economy during the pandemic. We are looking forward to sharing more about our investment in an exciting company offering an innovative technology that will accelerate the return to work and normal activities for tens or even hundreds of millions of people. And, we continue to look for new investment opportunities that will improve the lives and livelihoods of people across the country and globally as we adjust to the new normal.

I also led a cohort of three investments in precision health and diagnostics, paving the way to new commercial partnerships and businesses opportunities with Telus Health.

And, as we look at new opportunities to change the way people live, work and play, I was proud to lead our first investment in agtech, Hummingbird Technologies, a leading imagery analytics company, that we have since build a successful commercial relationship with.

4. What have been your biggest challenges?

Navigating a large organisation is always complex. I have found that taking the time to build relationships with key business unit leaders and understanding their strategic objectives is key to successful collaboration and growth.

5. What is your main professional ambition for the future?

Eventually, I would like to lead a venture fund investing in disruptive technologies that offer not only financial returns, but also deliver environmental, health and social benefits for society. I am pleased to say that I already work in such an environment at Telus Ventures.

I want to be in a position to help the next generation of Canadian unicorns and to contribute to the development of new anchor tenants in the Canadian tech ecosystem.

6. What do you think all CVCs could do better to make it a stronger industry?

There are a number of opportunities for CVCs to strengthen relationships with each other. CVCs understand better than anyone the potential of strategic partnerships to add value to growing, early-stage companies. I think we have a long way to go to optimise collaboration between CVCs building investment syndicates.

There are often non-competitive strategic CVCs that could add value to a syndicate. By increasing the quantum and strength of CVC-to-CVC relationships, we can help companies grow more quickly and realise better outcomes, turning entrepreneurs into portfolio companies and into advocates for CVC investment.

7. What are some of your corporate parent’s technology needs and corporate strategy amid the pandemic, as well as your CVC unit’s pain points?

The technology needs of Telus include enabling new applications built off of 5G connectivity; connecting patients, clinicians and family members who are living and working in isolation; and ensuring the safety and security of our food supply.

8. And, finally, for colour, what did you do prior to CVC or in your spare time?

Prior to joining Telus, I had been an economist, investment bank, entrepreneur and full-time ski bum. I have led business and corporate development roles at a leading tech company.

I have a master’s in financial economics from Rotman School of Management and an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Ottawa.

Outside the office, I like to stay active with skiing, cycling, running, hiking, stand-up paddleboarding and playing hockey. I enjoy incubating startup ideas with friends and have two young sons that I chase around Vancouver.

Jon Wolkin, director, Telus Ventures

Regarding Jon Wokin, another director at Telus Ventures, Osborn added: “Jon joined Telus Ventures in 2016, after working closely with teams at Telus to identify and evaluate strategic partnerships that would advance the company’s objectives. His in-depth understanding of Telus’ business units and strategic plans and his ability to source unique investment opportunities makes Jon a valuable member of our team.

“With nine years of experience in investment and corporate finance, Jon’s skills and experience are clear not only in his ability to identify investments, but in the support that he brings to our portfolio companies on a day-to-day basis, including as an active board observer for League, Beacon and SecureKey. He is regularly called on to provide guidance on everything from product-market fit to business plans and strategic outlooks and continues to work closely with entrepreneurs to help them build sustainable, successful businesses.

“Jon was also responsible for leading the Living Labs project for Telus, where the company invested in and acquired a chain of corporate and employee health clinics across Canada. His relationship skills and strategic outlook were key to developing an investment strategy and leading cross-functional teams involved in our acquisition of Medisys and Right Health-Akira.

“Jon has played a lead role with some of our most exciting portfolio companies. He is intelligent, dedicated and insightful and possesses the skills to have a long and successful career in corporate venture capital.”

1. First, just give us a quick overview of who you work for, what you do, and how long you have been doing it.

I work for Telus Ventures, the strategic investment arm of Telus Corporation and one of Canada’s most active and longest-standing CVC funds. Since 2001, Telus Ventures has invested in and advised more than 75 companies that address some of the biggest opportunities and challenges in digital health, IoT, digital security and connected consumer sectors.

I have been at Telus Ventures since 2016 and am responsible for identifying, evaluating and executing on strategic opportunities for the firm. I assess the viability of potential investments and work closely with existing portfolio companies on a day-to-day basis to enhance their financial and operational performance. I am also a board observer for Telus Ventures portfolio companies League, Beacon, TechSee and SecureKey.

Telus Ventures is my first position in CVC. Previously, I was a Senior Strategy Manager at Telus. Prior to that, I worked at the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan as part of Teachers’ Private Capital – private equity arm – and was an investment banker at Scotia Capital focusing on the technology, media and telecommunications sectors.

2. What attracted you to CVC?

Corporate venture capital presented a unique opportunity to support entrepreneurs in building their businesses by leveraging relationships, market knowledge and commercial capabilities. In Canada, this is a differentiated approach and one in which Telus has established a solid foundation.

For me personally, CVC has allowed me to combine my knowledge and passions – my experience in evaluating investments and advising companies on corporate finance and M&A, my deeply held belief that entrepreneurship is a critical economic engine for innovation and growth, and my keen interest in determining paths to drive strategic and enterprise value.

3. What have been your greatest successes at your unit?

Despite the significant challenges that covid-19 has presented, it has accelerated the adoption of new technologies which deliver concrete value to consumers, including telemedicine and digital healthcare. We identified the broader trend of consumerisation of healthcare when I joined Telus Ventures, and we believe it will lead to material disruption to the traditional health IT and care delivery segments. I believe that we can leverage institutional knowledge to identify and support market-leading companies.

I have seen the value-add that a CVC can offer. Telus Ventures was an early investor and has been a critical commercial partner to Right Health-Akira in building the B2B virtual care business (Telus ultimately acquired the company last year). We also led the Series B financing for League, a health OS provider for businesses, which has leveraged the relationship of its CVC investors to materially drive its business forward – both commercially and strategically.

On a personal level delivering on our health-oriented business-to-business-to-employee investment thesis has been a critical achievement through my first few years in CVC. Our recent growth stage investment in Miovision, which I played a critical role, was also a highlight and represented an evolution of our fund towards enabling significant growth and scaling initiatives with our portfolio companies.

4. What have been your biggest challenges?

At Telus Ventures, we are continually evolving and applying current best practices to our investment and decision making process. As part of a larger organisation, we are naturally influenced by the objectives of our corporate, but we are diligent to ensure that the team is up-to-date on market trends. Demonstrating our independent viewpoint is critical to our success as a team and, in my opinion, maximises our value add to Telus.

On a personal level, I am always looking for ways that my background and experience can add value as we evaluate new investments and advise portfolio companies. Balancing that input with internal experts at Telus and external partners is a great approach as an investor and board member or observer.

5. What is your main professional ambition for the future?

Reflecting on my professional career to date, I think a consistent thread throughout is the ambition to more effectively evaluate and advise companies, specifically in regards to corporate finance and strategy. Taking that a step further, I want to focus on building long-lasting relationships with entrepreneurs, innovation networks and investors as I work towards the goal of leading a CVC firm as a managing partner.

6. What do you think all CVCs could do better to make it a stronger industry?

I believe CVCs are critical contributors to the broader innovation and venture ecosystem; however, there is often a meaningful difference between the value proposition that various CVCs offer. By better defining the different segments of CVCs and their contrasting value propositions, we could significantly expand the pool of investable opportunities. There is still some amount of scepticism around CVCs, and increasing transparency and education about the different types of CVCs will help improve understanding and interest.

In Canada specifically, I believe there is a lot of room for improvement. While some CVCs are active participants in the ecosystem, a more serious commitment and formal approach to their participation would provide more support to our growing innovation ecosystem.

7. What are some of your corporate parent’s technology needs and corporate strategy amid the pandemic, as well as your CVC unit’s pain points?

We continue to seek out new and exciting opportunities in healthtech that allow patients to access care during the covid-19 pandemic – safely and with peace of mind.

We are also doubling down on our belief that cities are on the precipice of major transformation. “Smart cities” has been a catch-all phrase, but covid-19 is now changing the needs and expectations of residents. As governments and companies look to rebuild, they will need to consider which innovations and investments will make cities safe, habitable and enjoyable places to live and work.

8. And, finally, for colour, what did you do prior to CVC or in your spare time?

I have an HBA (bachelor of arts in honours business administration) degree, with distinction, from the Richard Ivey School of Business.

In my spare time, I enjoy watching and playing sports, including basketball and baseball. I am also an avid runner – you can usually find me trying to beat my best run time or training for my next big run – I have completed three half-marathons. Outside of that, I spend my time exploring Toronto with my young and growing family.