How are investors looking ahead to 2026?

A Few Lessons MAIN Learned from the NACO (National Angel Capital Organization) Summit for Entrepreneurs

The model you were sold on is changing: growth at any cost, quick flips, and being acquired by a major American conglomerate… That’s how we’ve long defined success in the world of venture capital. But perhaps it’s time to move on to something else. 

What this year's NACO Summit highlighted was the growing popularity of patient capital, true efficiency, and customer proximity as non-negotiable requirements.

Rather than a clear ideological shift, let’s talk instead about a recalibration of what investors consider to be “true value.”

Build to Last, Not to Panic

Mark Miller, president and chief operating officer of Constellation Software, didn’t mince words: the “quick-flip” model is out. Thirty years of acquiring vertical-market software companies—and never selling a single one—give him credibility that’s hard to dispute. His argument: operational autonomy, patience, and the discipline to hold onto what you build are competitive advantages, not barriers to growth.

Jessica Miller, founder of RocketBio, applies this same logic to biotech, a sector where a sale to a major U.S. pharmaceutical company is often seen as the only path to success! 

For founders, this is an important message: key investors seem to be increasingly looking for companies that can build a solid foundation, grow their teams, and maintain their autonomy.

– And if you're wondering what a " flip " is in the world of angel investors, it’s a quick resale of a stake in a startup, shortly after the initial investment.

Pushing the Limits to Innovate

Michael Matta, CEO of Solink, for his part, inspired the audience by asserting that true transformation through AI does not come from experimentation, but rather from those operations that we dare to rethink from scratch.

His message: starve the business. This means: deliberately reducing resources so that teams can no longer rely on their usual habits, increasing the ratio of “direct reports,” breaking down legacy structures, and forcing the emergence of people capable of merging design, product, and engineering into a single role.

"Necessity is the mother of invention. You have to starve the company a little to get something fundamentally different."

"This isn't about cutting the budget—it's about reinventing ourselves," says Michael Matta

Step away from your sales pitches. Go see your clients.

Mark Miller was unequivocal on the issue of customers: relying solely on virtual interactions to understand one’s customer base is “unacceptable.” Having a physical presence in the field among those we serve is not a competitive advantage. It is a basic requirement.

Jessica Miller echoes this sentiment with a pragmatic twist: spend less time at investor pitch competitions and more time at end-user conferences. She herself worked closely with oncologists to understand their clinical challenges so she could ground her product in real-world experience—not to validate a market hypothesis.

The question they asked entrepreneurs to consider: Do you know your presentation than your client’s problem?

Speed, precision, and alternative models

Daniel Eberhard, founder and CEO of KOHO, offered a useful framework for conversations with investors. We shouldn’t assume they’re looking for “precision” (the decimal places in your ten-year projections), but rather understand that what they’re seeking is “accuracy”—the alignment between your actual trajectory and your execution speed.

For founders exploring non-dilutive options, Bobbie Racette, founder of Virtual Gurus and Tapwi, has highlighted a collaborative model called SILE—a model that allows an investor to offer mentorship in exchange for a share of profits, without taking equity. It’s a way to preserve the founder’s autonomy while surrounding themselves with human and financial capital.

Note: MAIN has deliberately omitted from this article topics related to defense, the BSRD, sovereign contracts, and lessons from Quantropi. Since these raise specific challenges for Canadian startups, we will address them in depth in our next article.