Rewiring Prosperity - The Lighthouse Series: WIN-VC

In this episode of Rewiring Prosperity — The Lighthouse Series: WIN-VC, host Vanessa Paesani sits down with Shanti Shanmugam, a technical founder building in the AI agents space and the CEO and Co-founder of Urai AI, a platform focused on simplifying and scaling complex AI systems.Shanti shares an honest perspective on what it takes to step into the founder role, moving beyond engineering intosales, fundraising, and strategic decision-making. She breaks down how building Urai AI has required not only technical depth, but the ability to clearly communicate value to investors with very different expectations and levels of understanding. From refining her pitch and leveraging analogies to buildingtraction and practicing investor Q&A, Shanti highlights the real work behind becoming “fundable.”The conversation also explores the practical realities of early-stage fundraising, including managing runway, understanding legal and operational costs, navigating accelerator programs, and identifying the right investors. For technical founders especially, this episode offers a grounded look at how to translate product complexity into vision, build credibility through execution, and stay resilient through the challenges of raising capital.

In this episode of Rewiring Prosperity — The Lighthouse Series: WIN-VC, host Vanessa Paesani is joined by Cathy Bennett, co-founder and managing partner of Sandpiper Ventures, former finance minister of Newfoundland and Labrador, and seasoned entrepreneur and investor. Drawing on her experience across business, policy, and venture capital, Cathy offers a clear and practical perspective on how capital actually moves and what founders must understand to successfully raise funding.The conversation explores the realities behind venture capital decision-making, including the importance of execution, revenue traction, and scalable business models. Cathy also addresses the structural challenges facing women founders, emphasizing that the funding gap is not a pipeline issue but a systems issue rooted in networks, pattern recognition, and access to decision-making power. She provides candid advice on founder readiness, investor expectations, and the role of ambition in building venture-backed companies.This episode offers valuable insight for founders preparing to raise capital, particularly those navigating venture capital for the first time, and highlights the importance of both individual preparation and systemic change in shaping a more inclusive innovation economy.

In this episode of Rewiring Prosperity — The Lighthouse Series: WIN-VC, host Vanessa Paesani is joined by Dr. Ellen Farrell, professor at the Sobey School of Business at Saint Mary’sUniversity and creator of Investor Q&A, one of Canada’s mostrecognized training programs for women raising venture capital. Together, they explore the often-overlooked dynamics of investor questioning and discuss how bias can shape the way founders are evaluated in fundraising environments.

In this episode of Rewiring Prosperity — The Lighthouse Series: WIN-VC, host Vanessa Paesani is joined by Danielle Graham, venture capitalist, ecosystem builder, and co-founder of The Firehood, to examine how early-stage capital works and what founders need to understand before they begin fundraising. Drawing on her experience supporting underrepresented founders and building investment networks, Danielle offers an inside look at how investors evaluate opportunities, why community matters in the fundraising process, and how founders can position themselves more effectively for growth.

In the inaugural episode of Rewiring Prosperity — The Lighthouse Series: WIN-VC, host Vanessa Paesani, Executive Director of the Pond-Deshpande Centre at the University of New Brunswick, speaks with Dr. Bethany Wilkie, entrepreneur, scientist, and former CEO of a venture-backed deep-tech company. Bethany reflects on her journey from academic research to startup leadership, sharing how a highly technical idea evolved into a company capable of attracting venture capital and building partnerships with major global organizations.

Rewiring Prosperity — The Lighthouse Series: WIN-VC is hosted by Vanessa Paesani, Executive Director of the Pond-Deshpande Centre. This 10-part stream shines a light on women founders across Atlantic Canada who are raising venture capital and scaling ambitious ventures, sharing real-world insights on fundraising, growth, and what it takes to build a more inclusive innovation economy.