CALGARY, Alberta--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Harvest Builders, a Calgary-based growth platform and venture studio, announced the addition of two new companies, One Wealth and Propra, to their studio’s growing financial technology portfolio. Building off of the momentum of Harvest’s first studio venture Neo Financial, who recently announced $50 million in Series A financing, Harvest’s new fintech companies are set to add over 300 new jobs in Calgary's downtown over the next three years.
“First with Neo Financial, and now with One Wealth and Propra, Harvest Builders has played a central role in developing these companies and creating hundreds of jobs in Alberta. This work is critical to the diversification of our economy and accelerating the growth of our emerging tech sector,” said Doug Schweitzer, Minister of Jobs, Economy and Innovation.
Led by Chris Simair, Cofounder and former CEO of SkipTheDishes, Harvest’s venture studio ideates new business opportunities and brings in top-tier talent to work together in building and launching globally competitive companies. Harvest’s studio strategy uses a synergetic approach that integrates companies and corporate partners in a specific industry to de-risk each venture and accelerate growth through shared infrastructure and resources. These companies, built internally within the studio, belong to a larger portfolio of startups Harvest supports across western Canada.
One Wealth
As a challenger in the Canadian wealth and investment management space, One Wealth will provide an end-to-end platform designed to create a personalized and transparent experience, including access to low-cost and alternative investment solutions. Co-Founders Jakob Pizzera and Nathan Di Lucca have extensive experience building, operating, and scaling innovative companies in North America including Shopify, Kudos, Element AI and Ritual. A third co-founder, a highly experienced financial services and fintech executive will be announced at a later date.*
Propra
The property technology platform, Propra, offers an end-to-end property management solution focused on improving the rental management process for both landlords and tenants. Propra creates a seamless experience that solves inefficiencies across property management, search, and transactions. The founding team is led by Craig Adam, former SkipTheDishes and experienced executive leader in technology and engineering, and Calgary local Al-Karim Khimji, who brings global management consulting experience from McKinsey & Company, and over a decade of experience in real estate, hospitality and development.
“Our Venture Studio narrows in on industries which exhibit significant inefficiencies. Within the studio’s fintech portfolio we look for opportunities to create shared value that leads to powerful network effects and accelerated growth. When entities work in synergy, their alignment and shared energy create value that goes beyond what they could have accomplished alone,” said Chris Simair, Managing Partner, Harvest Builders. “We also consider the network effect these businesses have on the broader tech ecosystem and community. By deploying private capital and attracting and developing world-class talent, we are creating an epicentre for future tech and innovation in Canada.”
Harvest belongs to a growing network of startups, tech accelerators, and entrepreneur support organizations in Calgary. Harvest and their studio’s fintech companies will continue to expand in Calgary’s East Village and downtown tech corridor, working towards cultivating an innovation campus that brings highly-skilled talent, resources and capital together to build new businesses and create opportunities for the province. In the past two years Harvest and their studio have grown into more than 30,000SF of office space in East Village with over 250 employees.
“East Village’s vibrant community is attracting diverse groups of people and talent that is critical to the community's long-term growth and development and is a great alignment with the mixed-use vision for EV,” says Kate Thompson, CMLC’s President and CEO. “We are thrilled to see companies like Harvest thrive in our community and are confident that this type of growth will continue to attract new businesses, talent and residents into our downtown.”
*One Wealth’s application for its registration will be submitted for, and is subject to regulatory approval prior to, commencing any registerable activity. For more information on One Wealth, visit www.onewealth.io
About Harvest Builders
Harvest Builders is an innovation platform for venture building and accelerated growth. Harvest’s platform includes growth programs to launch, grow and scale startups from any stage, and a venture studio that supports internal ventures from ideation and company formation through product development, commercialization and growth. For more information about Harvest Builders visit Harvest. Builders
