Associate, Venture Creation (Fintech)

Diagram; Toronto, Montreal (administrative region); On-site; CAD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Telemedicine benefits

Office locations in Montreal & Toronto

Competitive compensation with upside

Job summary

Diagram is seeking an Associate, Venture Creation to help launch new ventures, reporting to Diagram’s FinTech Venture Creation Principal. The role focuses on turning ideas into companies by leading development, evaluation, de-risking, and building of Fintech/InsureTech ventures.

You will work with Diagram Partners, founders, and advisors to generate theses, build prototypes, and shape the portfolio.

Qualifications

• Proven entrepreneurial mindset with strong ownership.
• Intellectual curiosity and rigor.
• Excellent verbal and written communication.
• Experience using AI technologies to inform day-to-day work.
• 1–3 years in early-stage VC, product, design, or venture building.
• Analytical skills and ability to build financial models.
• Technical or business degree as listed above.
• Knowledge or network in FinTech or InsureTech is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Identify opportunities for new ventures and develop theses and perspectives on opportunity areas.
• Conduct user and market research, assess business models and unit economics, evaluate defensibility.
• Generate and pitch new venture ideas, including decks and investment memos.
• Build MVP prototypes leveraging AI tools in collaboration with engineers.
• Own the work plan and lead the venture during pre-seed, including partnerships with early design partners and pilots.
• Pitch ideas to potential founders and support the vetting and team matching process.
• Contribute to Diagram's culture and brand within the startup community.

Skills

Entrepreneurial mindset

Strong communication

Analytical skills

Financial modeling

AI literacy

Venture creation / startup experience

Networking & partnerships

Education

Engineering, Computer Science, or Economics degree

Tools

AI tools

Job description

Job Location:

Toronto, ON or Montreal, QC

Who we are:

Diagram is a venture builder and early-stage investor that conceives, launches, and invests in transformative companies in the Fintech and ClimateTech sectors. Since 2016, we’ve raised over $480M and launched or invested in around 50 companies.

We work hand-in-hand with experienced founders, combining access to capital, hands‑on support, and a deep ecosystem of partners to launch and scale businesses. Our ecosystem includes 200+ investors, including 60+ entrepreneurs with exits exceeding $15B, as well as a global network of corporate partners.

Diagram is part of Sagard, a global multi‑strategy alternative investment platform with over US$46B in AUM

What we are looking for:

We are looking for an Associate, Venture Creation to help launch new Diagram ventures, reporting to Diagram’s Fintech Venture Creation Principal.

The successful candidate will bring a highly entrepreneurial mindset and strong desire to build the next generation of technology companies.

This person will work directly with Diagram Partners, potential founders and expert advisors to lead the development, evaluation, de‑risking and building of new Fintech/Insuretech ventures. The Associate will play a key role in turning ideas into companies, and shaping Diagram’s portfolio.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Identifying opportunities for new ventures to build and developing in‑depth theses and perspectives on opportunity areas;
• Conducting user and market research, assessing business models and unit economics, assessing moat/defensibility to evaluate potential ideas;
• Generating and pitching new venture ideas, including developing pitch decks and investment memos
• Building prototype leveraging AI tools, leading build of MVP in collaboration with engineering, AI experts and other technical expert;
• Owning the work plan and leading the venture during pre‑seed (E.g., leading partnerships with early design partners, securing pilot customers);
• Pitching ideas to potential founders, participating in the vetting and team x idea matching process, and building close relationships with founders
• Contributing to building Diagram's culture and brand in the community (e.g. attending startup community events, conferences, etc)

You should have:

• A track record of outstanding performance
• A proven entrepreneurial mindset, high degree of ownership and a self‑starter mentality
• Intellectual curiosity and rigor
• Strong communication skills (verbal and written) - be comfortable pitching ideas, and be able to produce high‑quality deliverables
• Demonstrated ability to use AI technologies to create/build and leverage to assist in day to day work/activities
• 1-3 years of work experience in relevant fields such as:
  • Early stage venture capital investing (Seed or Series A)
  • Early‑stage tech incl. product management, design‑thinking / human‑centered design, engineering, or other experience within tech startups
  • Consulting or advisory focused on tech products / businesses
  • Venture building at a venture studio
• Analytical skills and the ability to build financial models
• A technical (Engineering, Computer Science, Economics) or business degree
• Knowledge, experience or network in FinTech or InsureTech are a plus

What we offer:

• A unique opportunity to learn how to build a VC‑backed company 0-1;
• An essential role in something big, meaningful and different;
• The opportunity to push yourself, have ownership and impact;
• A team of accomplished, ambitious and supportive individuals that will help you grow;
• An ecosystem with many stretch opportunities including the potential to join a Diagram portfolio company;
• Competitive compensation, including upside in the companies Diagram creates;
• Beautiful offices in great locations (Montreal, Toronto);
• Generous benefits including a telemedicine service for you and your family.

Note: we will select the top applicants to present their thematic analysis to us. Interviews will start following the close of applications.

We encourage you to focus on a clearly defined theme within Fintech or Insurtech rather than covering the sector broadly. For example, instead of writing about “AI in Fintech,” you might explore a focused theme such as agentic payments infrastructure. Depth within a well‑defined wedge is stronger than a high‑level overview of an entire category.