Lauren Epstein Joins the OV Team!
We are thrilled to welcome Lauren Epstein to the OMERS Ventures investment team.
Lauren is responsible for researching and executing on investment opportunities in growth-oriented, disruptive technology companies. She also provides assistance to portfolio companies post-investment and engages in relationship building and outreach in the community. Lauren is passionate about driving innovation and entrepreneurship to contribute to Canadian growth. She is an Associate at the Creative Destruction Lab — Toronto, a mentor with Next 36, and a member of the Advisory Committee with the U of T Hatchery Launch Lab.
Tell us a bit about yourself!
I was born in Toronto and other than four years of undergrad at Harvard in Boston, I have lived here all my life. I am a very proud Torontonian and Canadian! That patriotism led me into politics early in my career — interesting, exciting, and eye-opening experiences! I did a joint law degree and MBA at the University of Toronto and then practiced law as a corporate litigator for a few years before feeling the pull into the tech ecosystem, where I’ve been working for the past couple of years.
You were most recently the Director of Investments at Epstein Enterprises. Can you tell us about that role?
Epstein Enterprises is a Toronto-based single family office that invests in multiple asset classes. As the Director of Investments, I provided assistance and leadership across the portfolio, although my main focus was on growing the early-stage tech investment portfolio. I managed the full cycle of tech investing opportunities in origination, execution, and value creation — but by far the best part of my job was meeting with amazing founders creating innovative companies! That is such a big part of why I love working in the tech ecosystem.
What are your main investment areas of interest right now? Any particular sectors that excite you?!
I firmly believe that the increased deployment and capabilities of both AI and blockchain will fundamentally change how we live over the next few decades. While AI will have a more noticeable impact, affecting numerous aspects of our daily lives, it is blockchain that will rewire how our society’s “plumbing” works in the background. These two forces also have interesting divergent influences: AI, in part due to its feedback loop effect (more data → better AI → more usage → more data → better AI), has a tendency to consolidate power (actual power, market power, financial power, etc); on the other hand, blockchain, because of its decentralized and open-source nature, has a tendency to distribute power. I am interested in each of these areas individually as well as how they will interact and intersect.
What was the last book you read?
I recently finished A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking. I can’t believe it took me so long to cross it off my list. It was a phenomenal book by a giant of a man who did not let the obstacles he faced diminish either his intellect or sense of humour. The book is filled with mind-expanding science interspersed with bits of wit. It has the dual effect of reminding you how small you are (in the universe) as well as the enormous capability of the human mind.
Finish this sentence! The future will be…
…weirder than the present.
