$100K Best of the Fest Investment Prize

Josh is the founder and managing partner at BoxOne Ventures, an asset management firm whose VC activities are focussed on early stage companies across several sectors including fintech, applied ML/AI, synthetic biology/biotech, crypto/decentralized finance.Prior to BoxOne, Josh Felker was the co-founder of the Montreal based proprietary trading firm Vigilant Global. A leader in the most latency sensitive and technology driven areas of trading, Vigilant was an early pioneer in the use of FPGAs and wireless communication technologies in financial markets. Vigilant was acquired by proprietary trading firm DRW Trading in 2012. As partner at DRW, Josh helped oversee a highly diversified global trading firm spanning liquidity provision operations, risking-taking/directional trading, real-estate, venture investing as well as cryptocurrency trading. Josh has a degree in Genetics from Western University and is a father of three.

Gary A. Pudles is a “serial entrepreneur” who focuses on helping organizations execute better and become more profitable all while having fun. He is the Founder and CEO of AnswerNet, and the co-founder of TextGen, SA Billing, Splendtastic, and Subout. He is a winner of the SmartCEO Best-Run Companies award and the prestigious “Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year” for business service providers and has led AnswerNet to the 21st spot on the Inc. 500.

He also teaches Entrepreneurship at the University Of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School Of Business and is a regular participant in Startup Camp and the Intl’ Startup Festival. Pudles’ philosophy is that every project he is involved in must be with the intent of helping companies run their businesses more efficiently and profitably. However, it must be according to their unique style – not by forcing them into a predetermined template, but by replicating proven processes and adding that custom twist unique to their needs.

Ms. Adelson has been investing in growing companies for the past 30 years. With over 15 angel investments over the past 8 years, as well as investments in numerous funds and funds of funds, Ms. Adelson’s contributions to the startup community have touched nearly every industry in the Quebec startup ecosystem. With a degree in Commerce from McGill, Ms. Adelson brings her skills in finance, strategy and behavioural elements of business into every deal she explores. Her ability to identify critical success factors and obstacles have led her to a career of interesting investment opportunities and ongoing business relationships.

A consummate “student of investing”, she keeps current with the latest business and technological developments, hones her analytical skills and polishes her professional skepticism through attendance of trade conferences, reviewing business plans and communication with various professional advisors. She is an active member on several boards of both for profit businesses and non-for profit organizations.

Ms Adelson is extensively involved in philanthropic ventures, an area close to her heart. She always seeks opportunities to use her skillset and relationships to amplify the efforts of socially minded organizations. Ms. Adelson has been recognized for these efforts as the recipient of several awards highlighting her invaluable contributions to society.

Anne Martel is a serial entrepreneur, most recently Co-Founder and CAO of Element AI, a Montreal-based AI company acquired by ServiceNow. There, she was responsible for the vision, design, implementation and continuous improvement of operations groups, namely finance, human resources, brand and marketing, government relations and public affairs, and legal functions. 

Anne previously had a successful exit in the medical sector in 2014, where her focus was on manufacturing and distribution of medical devices. She holds an MBA from Kellogg School of Management (Northwestern University), and bachelor’s degrees in Finance and in Fine Arts from Concordia University.

A passionate art enthusiast and philanthropist, she is involved in Montreal’s thriving community of entrepreneurs as a spokesperson, an angel investor, and a board member of OSMO Foundation, a non-profit established in 2009 to help grow the local startup community. She also sits on the boards of the Université de Montréal and of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Foundation.

Entrepreneur ayant plus de 20 ans d’expérience dans le lancement et l’expansion d’entreprises à Montréal et dans la Silicon Valley, Ian a grandi en observant son père, conseiller en assurances, et a compris très tôt le pouvoir que ces produits pouvaient avoir sur la vie des gens. Il n’a jamais pensé qu’il se lancerait en assurances, mais aujourd’hui, père de deux jeunes garçons, il est motivé par la volonté d’avoir un impact positif sur la vie des gens.

Ian était auparavant vice-président du marketing produit chez PasswordBox et a assumé le rôle de directeur général après l’acquisition par Intel. Il a joué un rôle clé dans le lancement de plusieurs startups et a cofondé FounderFuel, le principal accélérateur de startups au Canada, ainsi que MTLinTech, la voix de la communauté de startups de Montréal.

Now a veteran Judge at the festival, Cary has been working for over 25-years to bring companies to the next level as a hands-on Angel Investor, seasoned C-Level Executive, active Board Member and a very outspoken accelerator program Mentor.

After co-founding and successfully bringing Web APM company Coradiant to exit, he’s managed several prosperous ventures and exits, currently he is helping bring bleeding edge AI and cloud camera technology to the world as COO of IONODES. He has over 300 million dollars in exits under his belt and is a strong proponent of boosting Canada’s tech scene on the world scale.