Toronto-based digital innovation firm TribalScale on Wednesday announced the launch of its first industry vertical Venture Studios programs for financial services, automotive and media.
It also named Peter Aceto, formerly president and CEO of Tangerine as executive-in-residence, and Farid Kassam, owner of Akeelee, as entrepreneur-in-residence to oversee the design and development of disruptive technology for the financial services program, and to advise both startups and corporate partners.
“These two key hires bring decades of experience leading successful corporations and startups,” said Kirstine Stewart, president and chief revenue officer, TribalScale. “We are excited to see what their guidance and expertise will bring to our financial services studio participants.”
Aceto brings over 20 years of experience to Venture Studios. He was a founding member of Tangerine (formerly ING Direct, ING Group’s direct banking business). Prior to his appointment as president and CEO of Tangerine, he held the posts of chief sales and marketing officer, chief risk officer, and chief lending officer at ING Direct in the U.S.
As a financial services entrepreneur-in-residence, Kassam will work with the Venture Studios team on due diligence of potential ideas and companies, and provide guidance on product commercialization, business strategy, financing, sales and marketing. He is a seasoned technology entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience building and scaling startups from inception to successful businesses in the financial services, telecommunications, media, and healthcare industries.
Additional executives- and entrepreneurs in-residence and will be named for the automotive, financial services and media programs in the coming weeks.
Venture Studios is accepting applications from entrepreneurs with idea-stage or seed-stage startups. Successfully accepted artificial intelligence, blockchain, and voice companies will be provided a target of $500,000 in cash and in-kind services, with potential additional follow-on capital available from TribalScale’s follow-on funding pool, and network of co-investors.