The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday edition that Toronto venture capital firm Georgian made its name with a bold bet on Shopify from its first fund 15 years ago. The Globe's Sean Silcoff writes that the deal generated huge returns and gave the firm bragging rights. Georgian expanded rapidly from 2013 through 2022, raising five growth funds that targeted private, revenue-generating start-ups plus two "alignment" funds that doubled down on portfolio companies. It is now Canada's largest independent VC firm, with $5.7-billion (U.S.) in assets under management. But the pullback in tech valuations hit Georgian hard. It shed staff and posted weak returns in funds that had invested when markets were hot. Some investors, or limited partners (LPs), worried Georgian had grown too big, too fast and were unhappy with its performance. Now, Georgian faces a test as it sets out to raise its first growth fund since 2023: Can it convince LPs those setbacks are behind it? Georgian is coming to market at a time of extreme uncertainty. Canadian VCs had one of their worst fundraising years in nearly a decade in 2025, according to a Royal Bank of Canada survey; 10-year VC returns have lagged the U.S. stock benchmark S&P 500 Index.