We are a lean, passionate team that sits at the intersection of investor and operator.
Ray Sharma
Founding Partner, CEO
Ray is a respected leader in technology investing and is a serial entrepreneur. In 2007, Ray founded Extreme Venture Partners but has also established numerous companies, including Xtreme Labs - the largest app developer worldwide at the time of exit in 2016. He co-founded XMG Studios - the largest iOS video game developer during the early mobile era; ThinkData Works - an open data platform; Hackergal - a women’s STEM organization; and more.
After graduating from the Richard Ivey School of Business, Ray spent a decade working on Bay Street and Wall Street in investment banking research. He became the top-ranked technology analyst for five of eight eligible years, based on both Greenwich and Brendan Woods International surveys of fund managers. In 2001, he was Vice President, Mobile Internet Devices and Applications at Credit Suisse First Boston, reflecting a long-term professional focus on mobile and applications.
Ray is passionate about community service. “I believe strongly in business karma. And by leading by example. My hope is that others will follow a similar model of thought — we do not need to wait until the end of our career to give back, and it is possible to balance profit with social responsibility.” He served on the Ontario Judicial Council and was a member of the Board of Trustees with the Royal Ontario Museum. He’s been an advisor to the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario on open data strategy. Ray also authored a chapter with the CIO of the Government of Canada on the role of 5G on citizen services. He also serves on the Technical Advisory Committee of Duality Accelerator at the University of Chicago.
Ken Teslia
Founding Partner, CHAIRMAN
Ken is a seasoned veteran of the capital markets. He had a highly prolific career on Bay Street as a Vice President or Director of Institutional Equity Sales at GMP Securities, Credit Suite First Boston, RBC Dominion Securities and Walwyn Stodgell Cochrane Murray. Since the 1980s, he has worked on hundreds of transactions worth many billions.
Known for his steady hand and strong moral compass, he has helped our portfolio companies stay true to themselves and coached leaders on keeping a level head as the Director for Xtreme Labs, Kognitiv, and Mavencare. Ken holds both an Economics undergraduate degree and MBA from York University.
Imran Bashir
Founding Partner, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
Imran holds an illustrious career of over three decades in entrepreneurship and technology leadership. From 2013 to 2014, he served as the CEO of Jugnoo - a CRM platform. Before that, he was the founder and CEO of Envision Mobile - an enterprise mobility solutions provider. He was also the founder and COO of Octanewave Software - a mobile application platform - that was acquired by Dexterra. His other roles include being either a President, Managing Partner, or Director at Excendis, MarchFIRST, USWEB, Internetworking Systems Group and Unitel Communications.
Imran understands the operator perspective and holds a Master of Engineering in Computer Communications from the University of Toronto.
Ian Ainsworth
Founding Partner, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
Ian is one of Canada’s greatest asset managers in technology. He was previously the Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer of Altamira, managing over ten billion dollars, three billion of which were in public and private technology holdings. Under his management, technology funds outperformed all other funds in North America - resulting in him being awarded Fund Manager of the Year for two consecutive years. More recently, he led the growth investing team at Mackenzie Investments. He was a Director of the renowned Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences and lent a helping hand as a Director for Dot Health and d1g1t.
Aniket Patel
PARTNER
Aniket is a proud generalist. He first joined Extreme Venture Partners as a co-op student when pursuing his Accounting and Finance Degree at the University of Waterloo. He rejoined the firm full-time in 2018, and since then, he has worked for portfolio companies across domains such as sales and marketing, UI/UX design, fundraising, data science and more. He also spends his time speaking with entrepreneurs, conducting due diligence, and leading the creation of Founder Hub.
He is also a passionate indie hacker and enjoys building projects and brands from the ground up. He conceptualized and founded Sunday Drive - a consumer-facing app for automotive enthusiasts that later morphed into an events company - where he worked with brands such as Ferrari, Hagerty, and national car dealership groups.
Aniket’s community service is broad. He volunteered at Hackergal and helped them raise a million-dollar federal grant. He also acts as a pro-bono marketing and sponsorship consultant for young athletes in motorsports and helps them make the jump from amateur to professional racing.
Jasmeet Juneja
DIRECTOR OF FINANCE
Jasmeet is the Director of Finance at Extreme Venture Partners and is a CPA, CGA. He is a financial growth expert with over a decade of experience with private startups and public companies - primarily in healthcare, cannabis & technology. He has practical experience in managing rapid growth, financial planning & analysis, strategy, financial reporting, budgeting and cash management. Jasmeet graduated from the Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology with a Bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering.