Wayne Bigby
President
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- Full Name
- Wayne Bigby
- Title
- President (Hedgewood); Lead Independent Director, VerticalScope Holdings Inc.
- Firm
- Hedgewood (the private investment vehicle / family office of Jesse Rasch)
- Firm Type
- Angel Investor / Family Office
- Investment Stage
- Seed and early stage
- Check Size
- Not disclosed
- Target Company Profile
- Founder-led startups and growth companies; Hedgewood invests its own proprietary capital, enabling long holding periods and flexibility across asset classes
- Sector Focus
- Consumer internet, SaaS, enterprise software, IoT, fintech, healthcare/life sciences, and consumer packaged goods (CPG), including direct-to-consumer food and consumer health products
- Geographic Focus
- North America (with a strong Toronto/Canada base)
- Location
- Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Background
Wayne Bigby is a senior executive and corporate lawyer with more than 25 years of business experience, best known as President of Hedgewood, the private investment firm and family office of long-time internet entrepreneur Jesse Rasch. At Hedgewood, Bigby has filled a multi-dimensional role: he acts as general counsel for the related group of companies, takes on investment-management responsibilities, and provides strategic consulting to the firm's portfolio companies. Hedgewood invests across venture capital, private equity, public markets, real estate, and specialty finance, using its own capital to pursue value-oriented investments with a flexible, long-term horizon.
Before Hedgewood, Bigby was Executive Vice-President of the private venture capital company Aprilis Ventures Ltd., where he also held executive roles within Aprilis portfolio companies including WebHosting.com, InQuent Technologies (2000–2003) and VerticalScope, serving as CEO of VerticalScope Inc. from 2002 to 2003 during the company's formative years. He also served as Executive Vice-President of Kingsdale Shareholder Services, a firm providing strategic consulting to companies involved in takeover bids and proxy contests. Earlier in his career, Bigby practiced corporate law at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, where he specialized in mergers and acquisitions.
Bigby holds a Juris Doctor (LLB) from the University of Toronto, along with an MBA and a Bachelor of Science degree from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. In 2023 he was appointed to the board of VerticalScope Holdings Inc. (TSX: FORA) as Lead Independent Director, reconnecting with the digital-media company he once led as CEO. VerticalScope develops and acquires commerce-oriented online communities that attract more than 100 million visitors per month.
Investment Thesis & Focus
- Invests through Hedgewood's proprietary (own-balance-sheet) capital, which allows for longer investment horizons and a broad range of asset classes rather than fixed fund timelines
- Pursues "value-oriented investments with a flexible, nimble, and opportunistic approach"
- Sector emphasis on consumer, enterprise, healthcare, and CPG — spanning consumer internet, SaaS, IoT, fintech, DTC food/consumer health, and life sciences
- Explicitly avoids certain sectors: cannabis, blockchain, and cryptocurrency
- Backs founder-led businesses and takes an active, hands-on role — providing legal, governance, and strategic-consulting support (Bigby personally serves as general counsel and strategic advisor to portfolio companies)
Notable Investments
- VerticalScope (TSX: FORA) — Digital media/online-community company; Bigby was CEO (2002–2003) and is now Lead Independent Director (appointed 2023); Hedgewood was a founding/early investor
- Flipp — Digital shopping/flyer and retail-marketing platform
- Well.ca — Canadian online retailer of health, beauty, and household products
- Vetster — Telehealth marketplace connecting pet owners with veterinarians
- Clearco (Clearbanc) — Fintech providing revenue-based financing to e-commerce founders
- Knix — Direct-to-consumer intimate apparel brand
- Clearpath Robotics — Industrial autonomous-vehicle and robotics company
- Aspect Biosystems — Bioprinting and regenerative-medicine biotech
- Magic Spoon, Daily Harvest, Kettle & Fire, Beekeeper's Naturals — Direct-to-consumer food/consumer-health brands
- Sunflower Labs, Solink, AlayaCare, Synex Medical, Clarify Health, L-Nutra/Prolon — Additional enterprise, security, healthcare, and life-science investments
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