Legal & privacy
Effective November 11, 2026
Browse sections
Funding and selection
Mocha Ventures is an independent investment initiative for teams building in Canada. This site invites founders to introduce their companies. We do not solicit capital from the public, offer securities to visitors, or hold ourselves out through this site as a registered investment fund, dealer or adviser.
The CA$2,000 product grant, CA$10,000–25,000 investment with resources, and CA$50,000–100,000 investment are separate opportunities. Apply for the one that fits your company. A grant carries no equity and does not need to be repaid when used as agreed. Any permitted uses, milestones and other conditions will be set out in the grant agreement.
We consider fit, available resources, and what a team has learned. We may ask for more information, decline an application, pause intake or end discussions. A receipt confirms delivery. An invitation, a meeting or a discussion of an amount does not reserve funds, set a decision deadline or promise individual feedback.
A funding commitment takes effect only under a separate written agreement signed by the parties, on the conditions stated there. Investments generally use a SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity). The actual instrument governs the amount, conversion terms and closing conditions. A grant or investment does not entitle a team to another round.
Pitch decks, confidentiality and ownership
Send a non-confidential introduction. A summary of the problem, the people you serve and what you have tested is enough. Leave out trade secrets, source code, unpublished patent details, customer or patient records, passwords and material you have promised someone else to keep confidential.
We restrict access to submissions. Sending a pitch, uploading a PDF or marking a document “confidential” does not create a non-disclosure agreement. If a later discussion needs one, agree on it in writing before sharing the details. A separate confidentiality agreement already in force continues to govern the material it covers.
Submitting a pitch does not transfer ownership. You and any third-party rights holders keep your existing rights. By submitting them, you give us permission to receive, store, copy and read them as needed to assess your request, communicate with you and administer it. An application does not give us ownership of your business or permission to publish your deck. Send accurate information that you have authority to share on behalf of the people and company involved.
We may review, support or invest in other teams working on similar products. Submitting an idea does not give either party exclusivity or prevent independent work in the same field. If you share a link instead of uploading a file, you control its permissions at the service where you host it.
Mentorship and investor introductions
You can ask for help with customers, pricing, pilots or intellectual property before you raise money. Mentors can help you explore a question or prepare for a conversation with a professional. You decide which advice to act on. We do not provide legal, tax or personal investment advice through this site.
We reserve invitations to fundraising opportunities we arrange for teams in our program. Particular invitations depend on fit and availability. An invitation does not secure a meeting, investment allocation, follow-on cheque or endorsement. We make introductions when both sides want to connect. We ask before sharing your pitch materials with a prospective investor.
Founders and investors make their own decisions, conduct their own diligence and agree on any transaction separately. An introduction gives neither party authority to speak for Mocha Ventures or bind us to a deal.
Students and startup roles
Joining the interest list lets us contact you about a possible match. Before introducing you to a specific startup, we share the role’s duties, supervisor, hours, location and pay. You choose whether we share your details with that team. You can decline an introduction or ask to leave the list.
The startup chooses whom to interview. The student and the startup decide whether to work together and should agree on duties, compensation, supervision and any IP or confidentiality terms before work begins. Registration or an introduction does not guarantee an interview, a job, school credit or a placement.
A host startup is responsible for its working conditions and for checking the employment, pay and safety requirements that apply where the work will be done. Work that makes someone an employee must be paid as the law requires. Selecting a volunteer preference does not waive wage rights. For a school placement, confirm the arrangement with the school and check the applicable rules before starting.
Information we collect and why
Founders provide contact details, company name, location, stage and an overview so we can assess the introduction and reply. You can also share a funding preference, a proposed student role, a link or a PDF deck. A deck is optional.
Students provide contact details, school or program, location, areas of interest and an introduction. They can add role preferences, availability and a portfolio link. We record the registration time and consent details to administer the list and ask about individual matches.
For a privacy question we collect your reply email and message. For a request about an existing record, we also collect the type of request and any reference you choose to include. We use these details to respond, verify requests when needed and track their resolution.
Our forms use temporary hashed connection identifiers and submission references to limit abuse and handle retries. Our hosting provider may process technical access data to deliver and protect the site. Mocha Ventures does not add advertising or analytics trackers to these pages.
Access, storage and disclosure
Contact details and application answers are stored in a hosted Cloudflare D1 database. Uploaded pitch decks are stored in private Cloudflare R2 storage. The site restricts application review and deck downloads to the authorized reviewer. Startups cannot browse a directory of students, and investors cannot browse submitted decks.
Hosting providers process information to run the site. Processing and storage may take place outside Canada, where local laws may permit access by authorities. We may disclose information where the law requires it. We use access controls and encrypted connections, but no online service can guarantee absolute security.
If you think you sent sensitive information by mistake, contact Mocha Ventures Privacy with your submission reference if available. Describe the issue without sending the sensitive material again.
Retention and your privacy choices
We review applications at 12 months after submission. At review, we remove inactive introductions and their uploaded decks, and student registrations no longer in use. We may keep a record longer for an active discussion or where the law requires it, including to allow someone to access information used to make a decision about them.
You can ask what information we hold about you, request a copy or correction, withdraw from future introductions, or ask us to remove your information. Use the email address you submitted with. A reference helps us find your record. We verify your identity before sharing, changing or deleting personal information and explain any legal limits that affect your request.
Mocha Ventures Privacy handles questions and complaints, including from people who have never applied. We keep privacy requests while addressing them and can remove resolved requests when no longer needed. You may also contact the privacy regulator with jurisdiction over your concern.
Using the website
Use the forms for your own enquiry or for a team you are authorized to represent. Do not impersonate others, submit malicious files, send spam, interfere with the service or try to access another person’s records. We may restrict misuse to protect applicants and the site.
Mocha Ventures and its licensors retain their rights in the website, branding, images and other original material. You may share links to the site. Get permission before using our logo or presenting Mocha Ventures as an investor, partner or endorser. Links to other sites are provided for convenience. Those providers control their content, terms and privacy practices.
Reliance, liability and updates
We aim to keep these pages accurate. Programs, availability and information can change, and the website may be interrupted. Keep a copy of your submission and use the written terms of any offer when deciding whether to spend money, hire someone or start work.
To the extent permitted by applicable law, Mocha Ventures excludes liability for indirect or consequential losses, including lost profits or lost business opportunities, arising from use of the website or reliance on its general information. This limit does not displace obligations in a signed agreement or limit any liability or statutory right that the law does not allow us to exclude.
The date on this notice identifies the current version. Changes to the website notice do not amend an existing signed agreement. If we propose a materially different use of personal information, we will give notice and obtain fresh consent where required.
Photography credit
The botanical photograph on the homepage is by JOGphotos, via Unsplash.