Arlene Dickinson: what works in venture capital

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It can be a unique path for female founders and women leaders in Canada’s private businesses.

While investing in others as a dragon on CBC’s entrepreneur-pitch show Dragons’ Den, Arlene Dickinson found the inspiration to create her own venture capital fund.

Dickinson is a businesswoman, investor, author, and founder and managing general partner at Calgary-based District Ventures Capital, which invests in the food and beverage and health and wellness sectors.

She is also the chief executive of Venturepark Labs, an innovation hub offering product exploration, manufacturing support and growth mentorship. Dickinson is also the co-managing partner of Believeco:Partners, an independent Canadian-based owner, operator, and builder of marketing, communications, and engagement agencies in North America.

Dickinson did not pursue postsecondary education. She got her start in business after a a job loss, joining a new marketing firm, Venture Communications Ltd., as a partner in 1988. As a partner, she did not earn a salary and lived off her credit cards. By 1998, Dickinson was sole owner of the firm, buying out her two partners.

Dickinson’s awards include: The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee; WXN’s Canada’s Most Powerful Women Top 100; the Pinnacle Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence and PROFIT and Chatelaine’s Top 100 Women Business Owners Award.

Here, Dickinson shares her memories of her family’s often harrowing immigration experience from South Africa, how the heartbreaking sacrifices she witnessed her parents make shaped her own perspective as an entrepreneur, and what trends in venture capital excite her.

What are your memories of moving from South Africa to Canada?

“My family made the life changing move when I was 3 years old. We had nothing but three suitcases and a lot of hope.

My dad saw the move to this country as a chance to provide us with more opportunities and a better quality of life.

Our family has deep roots in South Africa that go back six generations, so for my mom, relocating to Canada meant leaving it all behind.

Being an immigrant means both sacrifice and opportunity and it’s a challenge families must navigate. Like many other immigrants, I am deeply appreciative for the chance to accomplish more.

My earliest recollections were of feeling like I didn’t belong because our cultural upbringing was different. However, I learned that what makes me unique is not something to be ashamed of but to honour. Throughout my life, it taught me to not squander opportunity, to respect the chance to work and to give back to a country that gave me and my family a chance.”

How did the sacrifices your parents made during the moving process impact you as a child?

“Immigrating is a stressful experience. When you find yourself in a new country that you have no history, familiarity, family or friends in, it makes it even more daunting.

I remember shortly after our move how our trusty old car broke down on us. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the money for a new one and it wasn’t worth anything as a trade-in. In that moment, the only item of good value was my mom’s wedding ring.

I’ll never be able to erase the image of tears rolling down my mom’s face as she reluctantly took off her wedding ring for a used car.

My parents sacrificed a lot to make life better for their children and I’m eternally grateful to them for that. They taught me that none of this life is about “us” in a selfish form. It’s a collective and we must do what we need to support others and improve our country’s future as well as our own.”

What inspired your entrepreneurial drive?

“When I was in my teens, my dad became an entrepreneur and invented the first self-paced learning software for post-secondary institutions. He went from being a teacher to building a business and I watched how hard he worked to make it happen.

It was always clear to me that his dream was driven by a desire to help educate others and not necessarily to make a lot of money. That’s when I first thought about anything being possible if we had a dream and a vision and that hard work and commitment was the way to accomplish it.

I don’t know if I would have been able to articulate it then, but when I look back, it was because I had a role model in my life who was an entrepreneur who lived his life with purpose and passion.”

How did your education choices inform your career trajectory, and who was your support system?

“As a teenager, I accelerated in elementary school and graduated early at the age of 16. My father, a teacher with a PhD in education, naturally urged me to go to university after that, but I decided to take a different path and get married instead.

At the time, those choices seemed like the most rational for the life I wanted to lead. Life happens, though, and after my divorce I needed to muster the strength and apply myself to providing for my family.

I have several honorary degrees now but always will wonder if I could have been successful as a student.

My dad, as an educator, was always finding real-time moments to teach me. His encouragement and support made me realize that life is about constant learning and growth and not being afraid to rely on ourselves.

It’s from him that I draw my strong advocacy for mentoring, whether formal or informal. My family is now my support system.

I firmly believe life’s greatest lessons are taught by those who have experience and by learning by experience ourselves. Many of my lessons were learned the hard way – not from books but from real life experience.”

What brought you to found District Ventures Capital, and what have been your proudest moments at its helm?

“After so many seasons on Dragons’ Den, you begin to see patterns in the sectors of our pitches. So many companies came on in the food and health CPG [consumer packaged goods] space who can’t raise capital.

What became unmistakably clear to me was that our nation had incredible natural ingredients and expertise in agriculture and health but that we did not support the commercialization of products in those sectors. There was a clear need to raise capital to support entrepreneurs in these spaces.

While all the VCs at that time were investing in tech, I believed that supporting the last mile of commercialization in the food and wellness CPG space would be huge economic drivers for the Canadian economy.

I launched the first fund of District Ventures Capital with a goal of $100 million. So far, my proudest moments were first raising that capital in a nascent space (not easy), and then being able to help the entrepreneurs and companies we invest in get through the challenges and build their own success stories.

We’re currently raising our second fund and our ecosystem in this space has had an economic impact of $1.6 billion. [I’m] super proud of that.”

How did you become a Dragon?

“I was approached by one of the producers who thought I would be a good candidate and encouraged me to audition.

I was apprehensive at first, and I didn’t really want to do it, but my kids were the encouragement I needed to try something new and exciting. They recognized the potential in me long before I did, and I am deeply grateful for their belief in my capabilities, even when I couldn’t see them myself. My kids will always see me as mom, though, and not as a Dragon.”

What have been some of the highlights or regrets about your time as a Dragon?

“Dragons’ Den has always been much more than a TV show for me. It’s serves as a reminder to all that if you have a good product, service or idea, the path to making it a reality exists. Persistence, tenacity, hard work, and a vision are critical. And, yes, capital.

I love it when young entrepreneurs enter the Den and say they’ve been watching the show for 15 years and it helped them become entrepreneurs.

A close second to that would be when an immigrant is pitching and shares their story of how they found success in Canada.

The people and their stories and passion are always the highlight, regardless of whether I invest or not. There have been those who got away and those I have partnered with.

I love it when someone we failed to see the deal in goes on with their business and makes it a huge success. We are Dragons, not magicians, and don’t always get it right. Being proven wrong is always a lesson we learn from, too.”

What are some of your favourite philanthropic initiatives?

“There are so many causes worth supporting and good reasons behind why.

I am focused on supporting charities and non-profits that ensure no one is left hungry or out in the cold. In Canada, there is a network of food banks, food rescue agencies and shelters that do amazing work to help feed and provide shelter. The real difference will be made when we can put a stop to the need with a living wage for all.

I’m proud to be an ambassador for Second Harvest, bringing awareness to the organization’s mission.

I want to stress that while I am fortunate to be able to give back financially, the meaning of philanthropy is ‘love of humanity’. It’s about providing money, time, compassion, commitment to community and protecting human rights.”

Are you seeing any trends in venture capital right now?

“We are seeing a significant number of emerging managers looking to raise funds. They are exploring new spaces and areas of investment, from AI to food (such as my fund).

Venture capital is in and of itself an investment space that has inherently a different risk attached to it.

There are trillions of dollars sitting on the sidelines right now from institutional investors and in family offices as the economy goes through a rough and unpredictable time.

Those dollars should be put into VC funds to help foster innovation, create jobs and support an entrepreneurial mindset to keep us globally competitive. The return profiles could be significant if we as Canadians were a little less risk adverse.”

Are there any sectors you are excited about?

“Food, beverage, health, wellness CPG sectors. I mean that’s where I am putting my money so for sure that’s where I am most excited!”

Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.

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