WEBVTT

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We looked at does one try to buy
a company to accelerate it's

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entry.

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We didn't really see anything in
the market that could do that.

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We could have hired our own team
and started essentially de Novo.

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And then through the value
creation team we were introduced

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to Koru.

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And then what we quickly
realized was that, oh wait a

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minute, there's a company that
could help us potentially

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accelerate our entry and
accelerate essentially building

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of a new company.

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Koru was created to surface
value from within our global

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portfolio. In 2023, it helped
Fairstone,

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a bricks and mortar lender, to
launch a digital lending

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company, Fig.

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We're designed to unlock
innovation, find new

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capabilities, new opportunities,
new value sources for the

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portfolio companies of the
Teachers' ecosystem.

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We do it by bringing together
strong entrepreneurs who

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understand how to innovate, but
do so within a corporate

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environment.

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The Koru team includes
entrepreneurs, engineers, and

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people with diverse experience
in the startup world.

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These are individuals that have
gone zero to one and taking

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companies from an idea to
something real in the market.

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It's that knowledge, that
ability to have created that you

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can't fake.

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And I think bringing that kind
of a resource together with all

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of the corporate assets that we
see within Ontario Teachers',

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all of the assets that the
portfolio companies bring to the

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table is an extremely powerful
combination.

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We realize that our portfolio
companies are amazing in terms

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of what they do, but there is
always a risk of being disrupted

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or there's an opportunity to
build additional value because

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we're just living in a fast
changing world.

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I think innovation requires an
element of trust and I think by

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having Koru within the OTPP
family, you overcome that trust

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hurdle and it makes it easier
for management teams to work

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with Koru and address
innovation.

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I think one of the things Koru
has done incredibly well is

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figure out how do you bring the
two types together, how do you

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bring the ability to innovate to
go from zero to one.

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But Koru has, together with all
the assets and the

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infrastructure and the existing
culture of a portfolio company

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and we've seen that work
incredibly well.

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Koru helps our companies develop
bold new capabilities that

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enable them to stay resilient
and thrive in a rapidly changing

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world.

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What we do at Koru is team up
with portfolio companies to

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leverage all the wealth of
knowledge, industry expertise

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and advantages that the
portfolio company already has,

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but take a startup methodology
and approach that is very

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hypothesis driven and validation
focused to build net new

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opportunities and revenues.

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I think it's really important
for large companies to continue

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to innovate whether it is
looking for new growth

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opportunities, whether it's
finding efficiencies.

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It really should be core to what
most large businesses do, not

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only from a culture perspective
but also to drive both top line

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and bottom line results.

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We actually launched on time and
pretty much way under what we

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thought we would spend as well.

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So that always makes the
boards happy and we like what

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we're seeing.

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So we're on a, I'd
say like a great start.

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We're at the final stages of our
transition away from Koru.

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The new team is here and really
ready to take it to to the next

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phase of Fig.

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What Teachers' and what Koru can
bring to the table is just a new

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way of thinking about innovation
in a systematic way and help

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companies on their growth curve.