Staircase Ventures, a VC firm launched by Janet Bannister, secured $22M in capital commitments toward its debut fund.

 

Staircase Ventures, a VC firm launched by Janet Bannister, secured $22M in capital commitments toward its debut fund.  The firm is aiming for a final close of $30M and seeks to back 10 to 12 Canadian software startups.  Limited partners in the fund include the Royal Bank of Canada, PointClickCare co-founder Mike Wessinger, and former Shopify chief product officer Craig Miller.  Individual check sizes will range from $500,000 to $2M.  Staircase will back startups that have some early adopters and achieved a product-market fit.  Bannister, who is the firm's solo general partner, will re-invest one-fifth of the profits from the fund to founders and advisers.  She hopes that founders and advisers "are incentivized to support one another" with the move.  Typically, GPs rake in profits by charging a 2% management fee and 20% carried interest.