CAC -- BIO - Prerna Chandak

Prerna Chandak, Partner, Lemonade Venture Inc.

An entrepreneur, social advocate, youth leader and analyst – Prerna Chandak has held many hats in her life and has learned a thing or two about what it takes to overcome the hurdles young go-getters face. In 2008, Prerna was honoured as one of Chatelaine Magazine’s 80 Amazing Women to Watch in Canada and is also a past recipient of the National Top 20 Under 20 award. As an Institutional Analyst with the Canadian Institutional Portfolio Management Team at Phillips, Hager & North Investment Management/RBC Global Asset Management, Prerna manages close to $2 billion assets under management for defined contribution pension clients and corporations across Canada.

After seeing the struggles of young entrepreneurs around her as well as her own experiences in the start-up world, in early 2007 Prerna founded Lemonade Ventures, an early stage capital and business consulting firm, to increase the flow of capital and other essential business resources to innovative ventures launched by young Canadian entrepreneurs. In early 2012, Prerna founded Stilettos & Code, a non-profit group working to enhance an environment that encourages the promotion, growth and success of women in tech startups and to promote more funding to women-led tech startups in Toronto, Montreal and NY. The group’s first event is a hackathon being co-hosted by AT&T, at MaRS in June 2012, with 20% women hackers signed up.