Michele Romanow (born 1985) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

tech

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

television personality Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group due to the attention given to them by mass media. The word is also used to refer to famous individuals. A person may attain celebrity status by having great w ...

, board director and

venture capitalist Venture capital (VC) is a form of private equity financing provided by firms or funds to startup, early-stage, and emerging companies, that have been deemed to have high growth potential or that have demonstrated high growth in terms of number ...

. She co-founded Clearbanc, a Toronto based provider of revenue sharing solutions to fund new online businesses, and other e-businesses, and made the list of 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada in 2015. She was named as one of the Forbes Top 20 Most Disruptive "Millennials on a Mission" in 2013 and Canadian Innovation Awards’ Angel Investor of the Year in 2018. Romanow joined the cast of

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

’s ''

Dragons' Den ''Dragons' Den'' is a reality television program format in which entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to a panel of venture capitalists in the hope of securing investment finance from them. The program originated in 2001 in Japan, where it ...

'' in Season 10.

Early life

Romanow was born and raised in

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina ( ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 Canadian census, ...

. She is of Ukrainian and Slovak descent. She attended Queen's University in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...

and graduated with Civil Engineering and MBA degrees. She was the sole winner of the highest tribute at Queen's, the Agnes Benidickson Tricolour Award, in 2007. Michele is the daughter of Marvin Romanow, the former President & CEO of

Nexen Nexen may refer to: * Nexen Energy, now CNOOC Petroleum North America, a Canadian oil and gas company * Nexen Tire, a Korean tire manufacturer *NEXEN, an online platform used by BNY {{disambiguation ...

Business

While at Queen's University in 2006, Romanow co-founded 'Tea Room,' a zero-consumer-waste coffee shop. Post-graduation, she co-founded ventures including Evandale Caviar, Buytopia.ca, and SnapSaves. In 2014, Groupon acquired SnapSaves and relaunched it in the U.S. as Snap by Groupon." She co-founded Clearbanc in 2015, a venture capital firm, alongside Andrew D'Souza. In June 2017, Ruma Bose, the former president of Chobani Ventures LLC, founded th
Canadian Entrepreneurship Initiative
with support from Michele Romanow and Entrepreneur in Residence,

Richard Branson Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is an English business magnate who co-founded the Virgin Group in 1970, and controlled 5 companies remaining of once more than 400. Branson expressed his desire to become an entrepreneu ...

. According to the Globe and Mail, the not-for-profit is meant to help small-business owners get inexpensive financing, and Romanow promised female entrepreneurs applying through the initiative a 10 percent discount on loans obtained through her financial services platform, clearbanc.com. Clearbanc rebranded itself to Clearco in 2021, and in June 2022, launched in Germany with a pledge of €500 million to local online businesses. Romanow is currently a director for

Vail Resorts Vail Resorts, Inc. is an American mountain resort company headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado. The company is divided among divisions that own and operate 42 mountain resorts in four countries, along with hotels, lodging, condominiums, and gol ...

(NYSE: MTN),

Freshii Freshii is a Canadian fast casual restaurant franchise that serves burritos, wraps, soups, salads, and frozen yogurt. Founded in 2005 by former CEO Matthew Corrin, it has expanded to over 100 locations in countries such as Canada, the United St ...

(TSX: FRII),

Shad The Alosidae, or the shads, are a family (biology), family of clupeiform fishes. The family currently comprises four genera worldwide, and about 32 species. The shads are Pelagic fish, pelagic (open water) schooling fish, of which many are anadr ...

, Queen’s School of Business and League of Innovators. She is a former director for

Whistler Blackcomb Whistler Blackcomb is a ski resort located in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada. By many measures, it is the largest ski resort in North America and has the greatest uphill lift capacity. It features the Peak 2 Peak Gondola for moving between ...

(TSX: WB). Romanow was also an investor (minority shareholder) of Goldie nightclub in Toronto, which lost its liquor license after violating social distancing orders during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Canada The COVID-19 pandemic in Canada is part of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (). It is caused by SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Most cases over the course o ...

. Following the events that led to the suspension of the liquor license Romanow publicly denounced the management of Goldie, stating that she had no involvement in the day-to-day operation, and that she would exercise her option to sell her shares.

Television

Romanow is the youngest cast member of the Canadian reality television series ''Dragons' Den''. She joined the cast on Season 10 in 2015, alongside

Joe Fresh Joe Fresh is a Canadian fashion brand and retail chain created by designer Joe Mimran for Canadian food distributor Loblaw Companies, Loblaw Companies Limited. It was formed in 2006. The label includes adult and children's wear, shoes, handbags, ...

founder Joe Mimran and

Manjit Minhas Manjit Minhas is a Canadian entrepreneur, television personality and venture capital, angel investor. She is co-owner of Minhas Craft Brewery, Minhas Breweries & Distillery, manufacturer of beer brands such as Mountain Crest Classic Lager, Boxer L ...

of Minhas Breweries after the departure of Arlene Dickinson, David Chilton, and

Vikram Vij Vikram Vij (born 1964)Vikram Vij of Vij's - Biography Vancouver, BC
s ...

, and continues to appear in 2018 alongside new Dragons

Lane Merrifield ''Club Penguin'' was a massively multiplayer online game (MMO) that ran from 2005 to 2017. The game featured a virtual world that included a wide range of online games and activities. It was created by New Horizon Interactive (now known as Di ...

and Vincenzo Guzzo.

Awards

Romanow has been recognized with several honors and awards, including: * Canadian Innovation Award Angel Investor of the Year *#31 Fastest Growing Company on Profit Magazines Profit Hot 50 Ranking * #21 Fastest Growing Company on the W100 (3,163% 3 year revenue growth) * EY Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist * WXN 100 Most Powerful Women * RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Award Finalist * Toronto Board of Trade Business Excellence Award *Forbes only Canadian, "Millennial on a Mission" *Michele Romanow Wins The PWI Next Gen Woman Entrepreneur Of The Year Award 2020-21

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Romanow, Michele 1985 births Businesspeople from Calgary Businesspeople from Saskatchewan Canadian Jews Living people People from Regina, Saskatchewan Queen's University at Kingston alumni Canadian people of Ukrainian descent Dragons' Den