We are scaling our investment team
We are sure about one thing when it comes to venture capital. People make all the difference. To maintain our position as a leading investor in the Digital Industrial, we have added two exceptional individuals to our team. Mike Dawson joins as a Vice President and Fasih Kareem joins as an Associate.
Mike Dawson is a lifelong entrepreneur. He understands life as a founder and has an obsession for building and scaling businesses. He spent the first part of his career on the tools as an engineer before pivoting to tech and consulting. He brings all of that experience to team McRock and the world of VC
Engineering work took Mike all over Canada and Texas in several industrial settings (e.g., renewable energy, oil & gas, utilities, etc.). He commissioned and redesigned the world’s first electric oil fracking fleet–innovative and rewarding work–but the repetitive nature of P&C engineering left him needing an outlet for his innovation. He scratched the entrepreneurial itch by launching his first business, independently growing a product to retail shelf space in more than 200 stores across five countries.
Mike pivoted into the tech world where he grew a SaaS start-up five-fold while overseeing revenue. He closed the necessary funding and founded a subsidiary business leveraging existing data and hardware. These catalysts made the business appealing for acquisition–which it quickly was–creating the largest fitness technology company in the world. From here Mike moved into digital consulting to establish relationships, negotiate large multi-year contracts and grow business with some of the largest corporations across North America.
Mike earned his Bachelors degree from McMaster University in both Electrical Engineering and Finance, all while captaining the lacrosse team to a National Championship–because why not make your post-secondary school years even more challenging. He also received his Professional Engineers designation from APEGA.
Fasih Kareem has a passion for helping businesses grow through data-driven decision making. He believes that with the right guidance and support most start-ups can become great companies that will scale and create more opportunity for others. It’s a winning formula but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. Each start-up journey is challenging, with many bumps along the way, but he also knows that stepping up to bat every single day is ultimately the key to success. He is inspired by working in a community of like-minded builders and creators on a shared mission to find technology solutions that can unlock new opportunities for growth.
Curiosity and constant learning drive Fasih. He’s built a knowledge base that helps him deliver insights on business strategies, financial management and data analytics all at once. It all began with a career in auditing where he developed a deep understanding of big business operations; this led to his career in investments, first in the healthcare technology sector and then venture capital investments focusing on early-stage technology start-ups. He has more than nine years of experience and specializes in advanced financial modelling, valuation transactions, mergers and acquisitions and business analysis.
Fasih has previously worked in real estate, venture capital, healthcare IT solutions, and education services sectors in Canada, USA, Singapore, UAE and Pakistan, where he focused on financial planning and executing growth strategies. Fasih is a member of CPA Canada and ACCA and holds a BSc Honors in Applied Accounting from Oxford Brookes University. He has provided in-depth analysis and solutions to technology start-ups in South and Central Asia.
Fasih is an avid traveller, enjoys photography and swimming, and likes to learn new languages. He’s presently trying to master French. Très bien!