Warren Bergen

Warren Bergen is President of AVAC Ltd. — an Alberta early-stage investment firm founded in 1997 that has since rebranded as Verdex Capital — and Entrepreneur in Residence at Verdex Capital Inc., its AgTech investment arm. He joined AVAC in January 2011 as Vice President of Corporate Development before stepping into the President's role. He brings more than 15 years in the technology industry, with experience spanning start-up and growth-stage sales and marketing, finance, IT operations, channel development, and venture capital investment across angel, venture, and public markets. By his own and partners' accounts, he has managed over $100 million in assets across venture capital, fund-of-funds, and direct investments.

Bergen holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing and General Business from the University of Saskatchewan and a Certificate in Private Capital Markets from Pepperdine University's Graziadio School of Business and Management. He is also a Certified Merger & Acquisitions Advisor and a Certified Exit Planning Advisor, and works as an independent M&A advisor in addition to his fund role. He was a finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

Under Bergen, AVAC/Verdex has narrowed its mandate to "Advance Canadian Agriculture." The firm invests directly through Carrot Ventures, an AgTech venture studio launched in 2021 that sources and vets new technologies, recruits leadership, and forms new companies — leading their first round of financing — rather than buying into existing businesses. AVAC has historically been a direct investor in more than 115 early-stage companies, supported over 50 agricultural research projects, and acted as a limited partner in five national venture capital funds, deploying more than $118 million since inception.

Bergen is a published author — "Swagger & Sweat – A Startup Capital Boot Camp" (swaggerandsweat.com) — and a frequent speaker and educator on startup capital, including at the Banff Venture Forum, the Agricultural Biotechnology International Conference, and Ernst & Young entrepreneur boot camps. He also serves on the board of the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii) and on multiple limited partner advisory committees.

• Stage: Seed and company-formation stage; via Carrot Ventures the firm creates companies and "leads the first round of company financing."
• Sector: Concentrated on AgTech and the Canadian food & agriculture value chain; legacy AVAC portfolio also covered ICT, life sciences, and industrial technology.
• Geography: Canadian agriculture; Alberta-anchored.
• Model: A purpose-driven, evergreen fund "seeking strong financial returns with measurable environmental and social impact," co-investing in high-impact ventures alongside other industry leaders.
• What makes him say yes: In his own words, the Carrot company-formation model "provides a way to accelerate from start-up to market leadership very quickly," giving inventors "a third option as they consider commercializing their technologies." He favors strong technology paired with experienced operating leadership the studio can recruit in.