Your PRIVATE EQUITY Gateway
About Us
Our Story
Investing in private businesses is lucrative. Working in private equity has made us realize that only institutions and the super rich can access this asset class due to its high minimum investment (+$1M) and long hold periods (7-10 years). Many investors are excluded; we are on a mission to change that.
We created this marketplace so:
accredited investors who cannot access PE can now become a fractional business owner. We want them to have full transparency and performance tracking capabilities with the flexibility to easily sell shares when it suits their needs.
aspiring operators and / or acquisition partners can achieve their acquisition goals.
current business owners have flexible exit options, whether they are looking to partially- or fully-retire.
Filling such a gap in the market is important us; but so is transparency and investor protection. This is why we became an Exempt Market Dealer, registered under Ontario Securities Commission.
Mission
Empower business ownership so more people can improve their quality of life through financial freedom.
Democratize Private Equity
Liquidity for all
Support Acquisition Partners
Access & Autonomy
Fractional Business Ownership
OSC Registered
Flexible Exit Options for Business Owners
Exempt Market Dealer
Meet the Team
We are private equity professionals with extensive operational experience. We enjoy investing in and growing small businesses. We are supported by associates who take active roles in businesses and an advisory board comprising of PE specialists and industry leaders.
Ara Sahakian CPA, CA Managing Partner
Ara Sahakian has more than 20 years experience in the Private Equity space. Formerly a Director at HSBC Private Equity and a Transaction Services leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ara’s extensive investment and operational experience provides him with robust deal experience. Ara is a CPA, CA with a Masters in Accounting from the University of Waterloo. Ara was a Board Member and the Executive Director of The Terry Fox Foundation, during the foundation’s 40th anniversary.
Sarmen Boyajian Partner
Sarmen brings over 10 years of international business and investing experience. Prior to PE Gate, Sarmen was with RBC Capital Markets for three years as a Vice President. He spent the first six years of his career in Capital Markets at J.P. Morgan across Europe and Asia, and two years at Triovest Capital, a real estate-focused private equity firm. He earned an MBA from the Ivey Business School at Western University. He is a snowboarding (former instructor and competitor) and squash enthusiast, and has traveled to 47 countries.
Michael Smith Corporate Development
Michael is passionate about helping businesses grow and thrive. For the past 30 years, he has been a leader in branding, strategic planning and sales development, helping organizations carve out a unique position in the marketplace and build a sustainable future. His clients have included Pepsi, TD Bank, and Molson, and Gillette. Today, Michael is dedicated to small and medium-sized businesses. He’s especially proud of his long-term relationships and achievements with the support of more than 50 SME partner/clients.
Terry Scott CPA, CMA Operations
Terry has strategic and operational experience in growing privately held industrial services firms. He is an investor, a CPA and an experienced business leader with a relentless desire for continuous improvement. Terry served with the Canadian Army as Officer for 11 years and has an MBA.
John Cleveland-Iliffe Audit
John has been a chartered accountant since 1999. Since then, he has added several other professional accreditations including an in-depth Brokers and Investment Dealers course (2004), Practitioners Tax Course (2015) and the Canadian Securities Course (2001). He is also a member of the CPA Canada, and CPA Ontario.
Fina Scroppo Communications
Over the past 25 years, Fina has worked in many media platforms, along with a host of clients, including many consumer magazines and special-interest publications for Microsoft, The Globe and Mail, Air Canada, Shoppers Drug Mart and Food Network. She’s also worked behind the scenes as an award-winning book editor for more than 35 titles, including the highly successful bestseller The Wealthy Barber Returns by David Chilton.
Caroline Wang Legal
Caroline was called to the bar in Ontario in 2002. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the Schulich School of Business at York University, and obtained her law degree from the University of Western Ontario. Caroline is the principal and founder of Wang Legal, a boutique business law firm located in downtown Toronto, Canada, and often works closely with Meretsky Law Firm as an agent for the firm.
Jack McCay Analyst
Jack joined PE Gate in 2023 after graduating with a dual degree from Western University. He excelled in both Mechanical Engineering and the HBA program offered through the Ivey Business School, ranking amongst the top of his class in both disciplines. Jack brings valuable experience in corporate finance from his internships at CIBC and General Mills. He has also led various consulting projects for non-profit organizations during his time with the Global Research and Consulting Group.
Advisory Board
Jean Desgagne, CPA, CA Marketplace
Board Director, Advisor, Leader. Leveraging deep C-suite and Board experience— in Change and Transformational Leadership, Risk Management, Innovation, Platforms, Technology, Operations, Finance and Data & Analytics with an emphasis on managing for tomorrow — within large multinational financial institutions, exchanges & market infrastructures. Leads change by building, fixing and growing future-focused businesses and organizations. Current and past Board Member for regulated financial companies, government agencies, industry associations, universities and not-for-profit organizations. Advisor to several startups.
Wojciech Gryc Artificial Intelligence
CEO, advisor, investor. Working with startups, scaleups, and large corporations to take data- and AI-driven products to market
Address
390 Bay St., Suite 1706
Toronto, Ontario
M5H 2Y2
Canada