From Data to Insight: Turning Angel Investment Activity into Ecosystem Influence

Reshaping national reports to meet the real needs of funders, policymakers, and innovation leaders.

Situation

Each year, the National Angel Capital Organization (NACO) publishes Canada’s definitive report on angel investing trends. These reports are used by innovation funders, policymakers, researchers, and ecosystem leaders to understand where early-stage capital is flowing — and where it’s missing.

But as important as the data was, the way it was structured wasn’t fully serving its purpose. The reports were rich in numbers, but lacked alignment with the audiences most capable of acting on the insights. In some cases, data was collected because it was available — not because it was useful. Funders couldn’t find what they needed. Policymakers weren’t getting the clarity required to support better decisions.

There was a gap between data and narrative — and that’s where I came in.

My Role

As co-author of the report, I led research strategy and stakeholder alignment. I wasn’t just collecting data — I was shaping how we defined what mattered.

My role included:

• Designing the survey framework

• Engaging with key ecosystem players and funders to understand what insights they needed

• Synthesizing and analyzing data

• Contributing directly to the written report with an emphasis on clarity, context, and actionability

Action

We restructured the reporting process around a key principle: What decisions are people trying to make — and how can this data help them make them better?

Here’s how that played out:

• Survey Redesign

  I worked with NACO and its partners to revise the survey questions to better reflect what funders and policymakers were actually trying to evaluate — such as regional disparities, underrepresented founder access, and the effectiveness of tax incentives.

• Stakeholder Mapping

  We identified our core insight users (e.g., federal innovation funders, provincial policymakers, startup support organizations) and ensured the report spoke directly to their priorities.

• Narrative Structure

  I co-developed a storytelling arc that framed the data in a way that made it actionable:

  • Where is investment growing — and why?

  • Where is it missing — and what’s at stake?

  • What patterns are emerging — and what interventions are needed?

• Design & Clarity Enhancements

  I collaborated with the design team to develop clearer data visualizations, more intuitive sectioning, and a stronger executive summary — making the report more usable without sacrificing detail.

Outcome / Impact

The revised NACO report helped ecosystem leaders, policymakers, and funders:

• Understand trends in Canadian angel investment with sharper regional, demographic, and industry breakdowns

• Make funding decisions backed by reliable and relevant insight

• Advocate for policy shifts, using language and data points that aligned with government and economic development goals

Internally, the project became a model for stakeholder-informed insight design — transforming a traditional research deliverable into a strategic tool for ecosystem-building.

Why It Matters

Data is only as powerful as the story it tells.

This project showed how better questions and sharper framing can turn a report into a lever for change.

If you want to build trust in an ecosystem — start by making the insight useful to the people shaping it.