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About

AoM is an investment club focused on helping early-stage companies.

The transition from idea incubation to VC-backed funding is both challenging and crucial. This is why our group of “super angels” invests in tech-savvy companies to help them bridge this vital step by providing capital, support and industry connections. At this stage, we believe that founders need a swift, simple and supportive approach to maximize their potential. We exist to provide just that.

We are based in Montreal and New York City, but invest all over North America.

We get most deals done in less than 60 days. Investment decisions are made by the people you speak to and nobody else.

We use standardized legal agreements whenever possible. Our members are grouped in a single SPV to keep things manageable for founders.

We offer mentorship and we open our networks to founders. But only when our help is needed and wanted.

We get most deals done in less than 60 days. Investment decisions are made by the people you speak to and nobody else.

We use standardized legal agreements whenever possible. Our members are grouped in a single SPV to keep things manageable for founders.

We offer mentorship and we open our networks to founders. But only when our help is needed and wanted.

We get most deals done in less than 60 days. Investment decisions are made by the people you speak to and nobody else.

We use standardized legal agreements whenever possible. Our members are grouped in a single SPV to keep things manageable for founders.

We offer mentorship and we open our networks to founders. But only when our help is needed and wanted.

Criteria

We are looking for tech-savvy startups with concrete early results.

AoM invests in companies that match the following criteria :

1

Minimal existing activities that show great promise.

2

Founders uniquely qualified in their field and playing the long game.

3

We look for tech-driven companies that create new offerings 
or challenge traditional players.

No deep tech, biotech, energy or pharma.

Team

We are entrepreneurs and investors with solid backgrounds.

The Club was founded by entrepreneurs and “super angels” François Arbour and Jean-François Bouchard. They gathered a group of about 15 additional seasoned entrepreneurs and mentors. Their collective experience and global connections are powerful assets for startup founders.

François Arbour

François Arbour started coding at the age of 6 and launched his first business when he was 19 years old. With over 10 years of experience in advertising, he collaborated with brands like Cirque Du Soleil, Adidas and Red Bull to name a few.

He is the founder of Premiumbeat, a company he ran for over 10 years before it was sold to Shutterstock in 2015 and for whom he worked as a VP Products for two years.

He is now an investor for 60+ companies and multiple VC funds. François is also an active advisor to multiple founders. More recently, he co-founded Nolk (e-commerce/DTC aggregator) and he is the founder/CEO of DesignStripe (Design Assets & Tools).

Jean-François Bouchard

Co-founder of the award-winning creative agency Sid Lee, Jean-François led the company for more than 20 years. An entrepreneur at heart, Jean-François oversaw the global growth of the company to close to 1000 professionals based in Montréal, Paris, New York, Seattle, Los Angeles, and Toronto.

He is also the founder of C2 Montréal, a global event he imagined with his colleagues and launched in 2012 in close collaboration with Cirque du Soleil. Since 2017, he is the Executive Chairman of Beside, a successful media and real estate company. He is an investor in many startups and VC funds. He was recently selected as one of the “Most Influential People in Quebec, Canada”.

Jean-François is also a visual artist whose work has been exhibited in Montreal, New York, Paris, Toronto and Miami. He has been featured in the Washington Post, Artnet, Wired and Stern Magazine among others.

Marin Savignac

Marin Savignac studied in finance in Montreal and Singapore before joining PNR, a management consulting firm focused on strategy design and M&A, where he lead projects in multiple industries.

He then joined Coveo, a Montreal-based search company and unicorn, to support top line growth with an ROI-first approach.

After consulting in the SMB market and on the entreprise side with Deloitte’s M&A practice, Marin now supports Angels of Many’s club members and founders, as well as other organizations and startups as an advisor and board member.

Featured investments

Great companies led by great founders.

AoM  was formed in early 2021 but its founders have been active as entrepreneurs and investors for two decades. We founded, invested or co-invested in the following ventures.

François founded PremiumBeat to reinvent the music licensing industry. He made PremiumBeat the leading service provider in its category before selling the company to ShutterStock (NYSE:SSTK) in 2015.

Founder
Lead Investor
Seed Investor

JF co-founded Sid Lee and oversaw its growth into a global award-winning creative marketing firm with close to 1000 professionals. With his partners, he successfully sold the company to kyu (Hakuhodo DY of Japan).

Founder
Lead Investor
Seed Investor

Lufa built the world’s first commercial rooftop greenhouse to offer subscription-based delivery of fresh, local produce. Lufa has been selected as one of the “11 tech companies to watch in 2021”.

Founder
Lead Investor
Seed Investor

Symend generates deep customer insights and data to empower customer engagement. The company has enjoyed hyper-growth and raised a total of $100M in funding.

Founder
Lead Investor
Seed Investor

FightCamp offers interactive at-home boxing workouts and equipment. The company has become the global leader in its market.

Founder
Lead Investor
Seed Investor

Nolk is a house of brands empowering e-commerce through operational synergies and data. The company acquires unique DTC brands and accelerates their growth.

Founder
Lead Investor
Seed Investor

Beside is a real estate/hospitality company leveraging its media unit to build an engaged community. The company is developing cottage resorts and is publishing award-winning contents.

Founder
Lead Investor
Seed Investor

C2 is the creator of C2 Montreal and produces large events for global clients. The company is a convener of year-long business communities through events, content and networking platforms.

Founder

Lead Investor

Seed Investor

Designstripe makes licensing and customizing Illustrations, animations, templates, photos & other super easy.

Founder
Lead Investor
Seed Investor

Rachel is a subscription-based apparel e-commerce retailer. The company has grown by more than 500% in the past 3 years.

Founder
Lead Investor
Seed Investor

Coinmiles is a rapidly growing reward program offering bitcoins for purchases with affiliated partners.

Founder
Lead Investor
Seed Investor

Skillful offers online training to accelerate the careers 
of tech industry professionals.

Founder
Lead Investor
Seed Investor

François founded PremiumBeat to reinvent the music licensing industry. He made PremiumBeat the leading service provider in its category before selling the company to ShutterStock (NYSE:SSTK) in 2015.

Founder
Lead
Investor

JF co-founded Sid Lee and oversaw its growth into a global award-winning creative marketing firm with close to 1000 professionals. With his partners, he successfully sold the company to kyu (Hakuhodo DY of Japan).

Founder
Lead
Investor

Lufa built the world’s first commercial rooftop greenhouse to offer subscription-based delivery of fresh, local produce. Lufa has been selected as one of the “11 tech companies to watch in 2021”.

Founder
Lead
Investor

Hoodeck manages and monitors webhooks at scale. It is building the future of developer tools and is backed by Matrix Partners.

Founder
Lead
Investor

Haloo democratizes access to trademark

Founder
Lead
Investor

Vercel

Founder
Lead
Investor

Symend generates deep customer insights and data to empower customer engagement. The company has enjoyed hyper-growth and raised a total of $100M in funding.

Founder
Lead
Investor

FightCamp offers interactive at-home boxing workouts and equipment. The company has become the global leader in its market.

Founder
Lead
Investor

Nolk is a house of brands empowering e-commerce through operational synergies and data. The company acquires unique DTC brands and accelerates their growth.

Founder
Lead
Investor

Browse AI provides no-code bot training to extract data from any website. The company has reached profitability and is growing rapidly in the data processing space.

Founder
Lead
Investor

C2 is the creator of C2 Montreal and produces large events for global clients. The company is a convener of year-long business communities through events, content and networking platforms.

Founder

Lead

Investor

Designstripe is a one-stop shop for creating social media designs for any business, leveraging advanced scraping and AI technologies.

Founder
Lead
Investor

Rachel is a subscription-based apparel e-commerce retailer. The company has grown by more than 500% in the past 3 years.

Founder
Lead
Investor

Coinmiles is a rapidly growing reward program offering bitcoins for purchases with affiliated partners.

Founder
Lead
Investor

Started by life-long insurance entrepreneurs, soNomad offers the lowest-cost travel insurance by combining a unique international insurer platform and online solutions.

Founder
Lead
Investor

François or Jean-François also have investments in numerous other companies such as Placeholder, Eocycle, HumanFirst, HookDeck, Classcraft and many more. They are also LPs in funds such as iNovia, Panache, XPND, Brightspark and a few others.

Testimonials

"Having François’ support from talent development to strategy has been a huge value driver for us. As an experienced entrepreneur, he is well positioned to understand what an early stage startup needs!"

Vino Jeyapalan
Co-founder & CEO at Kabo

"JF and Francois believed in the vision of what I was building from the early days and have been incredible supporters of Symend. I am honored to call them my business partners and friends."

Hanif Joshaghani
Co-founder & CEO at Symend

"Not every dollar is worth the same. AōM brought so much more than capital, they helped us to unlock the full potential of our venture and along the way, we did grow as human, entrepreneur and as a business."

Jean-Daniel Petit
Co-founder & CEO at BESIDE

"AōM are more than investors.They get it. And they provide something money can't buy: relationships and years of experience in high-growth companies."

Dave Pouliot
Co-founder & CEO at Coinmiles

"Francois and JF are amazing. They make the most helpful introductions and understand the founder journey better than anyone. When you work with them, you’re gaining the perspective of entrepreneurs who have been in your shoes and who have succeeded."

Kris Lachance
Co-founder at Skillful

"This is probably the most anti-typical Angel group I've met throughout my experience. Francois moved fast, with conviction, backed the company multiple times when it needed it, and always stayed out of our way to operate but provided great value when asked."

Khalil Zahar
Co-founder & CEO at Fightcamp

"Having François’ support from talent development to strategy has been a huge value driver for us. As an experienced entrepreneur, he is well positioned to understand what an early stage startup needs!"

Vino Jeyapalan
Co-founder & CEO at Kabo

"JF and Francois believed in the vision of what I was building from the early days and have been incredible supporters of Symend. I am honored to call them my business partners and friends."

Hanif Joshaghani
Co-founder & CEO at Symend

"Not every dollar is worth the same. AōM brought so much more than capital, they helped us to unlock the full potential of our venture and along the way, we did grow as human, entrepreneur and as a business."

Jean-Daniel Petit
Co-founder & CEO at BESIDE

"AōM are more than investors.They get it. And they provide something money can't buy: relationships and years of experience in high-growth companies."

Dave Pouliot
Co-founder & CEO at Coinmiles

"Francois and JF are amazing. They make the most helpful introductions and understand the founder journey better than anyone. When you work with them, you’re gaining the perspective of entrepreneurs who have been in your shoes and who have succeeded."

Kris Lachance
Co-founder at Skillful

"This is probably the most anti-typical Angel group I've met throughout my experience. Francois moved fast, with conviction, backed the company multiple times when it needed it, and always stayed out of our way to operate but provided great value when asked."

Khalil Zahar
Co-founder & CEO at Fightcamp

"Having François’ support from talent development to strategy has been a huge value driver for us. As an experienced entrepreneur, he is well positioned to understand what an early stage startup needs!"

Vino Jeyapalan
Co-founder & CEO at Kabo

"JF and Francois believed in the vision of what I was building from the early days and have been incredible supporters of Symend. I am honored to call them my business partners and friends."

Hanif Joshaghani
Co-founder & CEO at Symend

"Not every dollar is worth the same. AōM brought so much more than capital, they helped us to unlock the full potential of our venture and along the way, we did grow as human, entrepreneur and as a business."

Jean-Daniel Petit
Co-founder & CEO at BESIDE

"AōM are more than investors.They get it. And they provide something money can't buy: relationships and years of experience in high-growth companies."

Dave Pouliot
Co-founder & CEO at Coinmiles

"Francois and JF are amazing. They make the most helpful introductions and understand the founder journey better than anyone. When you work with them, you’re gaining the perspective of entrepreneurs who have been in your shoes and who have succeeded."

Kris Lachance
Co-founder at Skillful

"This is probably the most anti-typical Angel group I've met throughout my experience. Francois moved fast, with conviction, backed the company multiple times when it needed it, and always stayed out of our way to operate but provided great value when asked."

Khalil Zahar
Co-founder & CEO at Fightcamp

"Having François’ support from talent development to strategy has been a huge value driver for us. As an experienced entrepreneur, he is well positioned to understand what an early stage startup needs!"

Vino Jeyapalan
Co-founder & CEO at Kabo

"JF and Francois believed in the vision of what I was building from the early days and have been incredible supporters of Symend. I am honored to call them my business partners and friends."

Hanif Joshaghani
Co-founder & CEO at Symend

"Not every dollar is worth the same. AōM brought so much more than capital, they helped us to unlock the full potential of our venture and along the way, we did grow as human, entrepreneur and as a business."

Jean-Daniel Petit
Co-founder & CEO at BESIDE

"AōM are more than investors.They get it. And they provide something money can't buy: relationships and years of experience in high-growth companies."

Dave Pouliot
Co-founder & CEO at Coinmiles

"Francois and JF are amazing. They make the most helpful introductions and understand the founder journey better than anyone. When you work with them, you’re gaining the perspective of entrepreneurs who have been in your shoes and who have succeeded."

Kris Lachance
Co-founder at Skillful

"This is probably the most anti-typical Angel group I've met throughout my experience. Francois moved fast, with conviction, backed the company multiple times when it needed it, and always stayed out of our way to operate but provided great value when asked."

Khalil Zahar
Co-founder & CEO at Fightcamp

Contact

Drop us a line for more information.