Laurence
Capital
Laurence Capital is a diversified private capital firm that passionately believes in entrepreneurial led business and the value and change they create.
ABOUT
US
Laurence Capital believes that entrepreneurs are at the centre of both economic and social change. As a result, we continually invest in later stage companies in which there is strong and talented leadership. Our Investing has not only been done passively, we have also developed businesses from the ground up, including creating business models that result in efficient and transparent markets where value is fairly and sustainably distributed.
Laurence Capital was founded in 2004 by Peter Schwartz and Mark Lee. It is managed by Schwartz and, since 2013, Managing Director Paul Laufert.
Under their leadership, the company has invested in 41 companies, including founding 4 of them, and it has exited 29 investments to date.
Laurence Capital is proudly based in Waterloo, Ontario.
OUR TEAM
Peter Schwartz
FOUNDER & CHAIRMAN
Peter Schwartz is the Founder and Chairman of Laurence Capital Corporation.
Peter has over 30 years of diversified business experience, leadership and success including with one of his most notable efforts - the build-out and growth of Descartes Systems Group Inc., where he was Chairman & CEO. He took Descartes public in 1997 and built up a network of customers in +160 countries using a then innovative SaaS model. He was part of an outstanding team of +1000 employees and a world-class executive team many of whom are still actively running the business. Peter oversaw $1 billion in M&A and financing transactions during his tenure at Descartes.
After leaving Descartes, Peter founded Laurence Capital, where he and his team have made investments and follow on investments in 41 companies, and founding or co-founding 4 of them. During this time Peter has the benefit of learning from some of Canada’s greatest entrepreneurs and sitting on many corporate and philanthropic boards.
The Financial Post named Peter in their annual Top 40 under 40 at the age of 31. Peter has been a member of YPO since 1997 and was one of the inaugural members of the Great Lakes Chapter. In 1997 Peter was one of the founders of Communitech which started with a handful of great local entrepreneurs who formed a small group to share their experiences and to help each as they grew their businesses and dealt with the many challenges and opportunities they faced. Communitech is now a powerful hub for commercializing innovative technologies in the Waterloo Region. It now encompasses an eco-system of more than $25B from over 1,000 companies.
Paul Laufert
MANAGING DIRECTOR
Paul Laufert is a seasoned executive with a track record in finance, operations and corporate development. In his 25 year career, he has undertaken a number of challenging assignments; including successfully turning around a distressed manufacturing business, growing a start up biotech firm to a leading provider of home-use light based devices ultimately sold to a Nasdaq listed medical device manufacturer and, in a decade in the software industry in senior corporate development roles, leading IPO’s in Canada and the United States for Waterloo firms MKS and The Descartes Systems Group Inc. He currently serves as the Managing Director of Laurence Capital Corp, a Waterloo based private capital firm and is a founding partner of Langhaus Financial Corporation, an alternative lender and capital provider to entrepreneurs.
At Descartes alone, Laufert’s financing, M&A and investor relations efforts raised over $450 Million and led the company’s acquisition of 13 businesses valued at over $400 Million. During his tenure, Descartes valuation rose from $12 million to over $5 billion, with cross-border listing on the TSX and NASDAQ, membership in the TSX 100 and coverage by over a dozen major software analysts, including Goldman Sachs, Salomon Smith Barney and Credit Suisse among others.
Mr. Laufert has both a bachelor of laws and a bachelor of arts degrees from Queen’s University in Kingston and is a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada. He lives with his family near Aberfoyle, Ontario.
ABOUT
US
OUR INVESTMENTS
Technology, Growth and Innovation
CURRENT
Cellwand Communications (Jul 2006)
Kognitiv Corporation (Dec 2009)
Onco-Screen Inc. (Jun 2010)
RNA Disease Diagnostics (Dec 2020)
EXITED
Achievers Corp. (Nov 2007 – Jul 2015)
Aware Inc. (Feb 2011 - Aug 2013)
BigRoad (Dec 2011 – Mar 2017)
Clearpath Robotics Inc. (Feb 2014 – Oct 2023)
Fiix Inc. (Dec 2011 - 2020)
GlassBox Media (Blue Ant Media) (Feb 2010 – Apr 2011)
Globalive Communications Corp. (Feb 2005 – Apr 2009)
JumpTV Inc. (Aug 2005 – Dec 2010)
MashUp Arts Inc. (Aug 2008 – Dec 2010)
N-Able Technologies (Solar Winds) (Jun 2005 – Sept 2011)
ParkVu Inc. (Jul 2009 - 2012)
Pharos Life Corp. (Apr 2006- May 2010)
Quickplay Media Co. (Jun 2009 – Aug 2012)
Shoplogix Inc. (Feb 2009 – Feb 2012)
StereoLOGIC (Jul 2010 – Feb 2011)
Symbility Solutions Inc. (Nov 2004 – Dec 2009)
Ventus Energy (Dec 2005 – Sept 2007)
Versa Systems Ltd. (Apr 2005 – May 2013)
Wellpoint Health Services (Oct 2013 - 2021)
XMG Studio Inc. (Jul 2010 - Oct 2020)
ZipLocal Inc. (Jan 2005)
Mid Market
CURRENT
Charcoal Group (Nov 2013)
EXITED
Williams Fresh Café (May 2004 – Dec 2016)
Waterloo Brewing Co. (BRB.TO) (Feb 2008 - Mar 2023)
Financial Services
CURRENT
Kensington Venture Fund II LP (Oct 2019)
Relay Ventures (Dec 2005)
EXITED
Langhaus Financial Corp (Nov 2014 - October 2022)
Laurence Financial Services Corp. (Apr 2005 – May 2014)
Maxium Financial ( Mar 2012 – Mar 2016)
Real Estate
CURRENT
Deer Ridge Centre (Feb 2009)
Key Living Corporation (April 2019)
La Bastide De Laurence (Sept 2012)
Oviinbyrd Golf Club (Dec 2003)
EXITED
Adara Villas & Resorts (Sept 2015 – May 2016)
Bauer Lofts (Jul 2006 – Apr 2014)
Bauer Marketplace (Jul 2006 - Jun 2023)
Oviinbyrd Forest (Dec 2003 - 2005)
CONTACT
OUR ADDRESS
Office Address
150 Caroline St. South, Suite 405, Waterloo, ON, Canada, N2L 0A5
Tel: 226-476-1374
Fax: 519-340-0325
For any general inquiries, please fill in the following contact form: