Brightspark Ventures, a Toronto-based organization that funds startups, is expanding its network into Atlantic Canada and will launch its collaboration in the region with an investment in Halifax-based social media martketing company InNetwork.

The Toronto investment organization said Wednesday it is working with East Valley Ventures, the Saint John-based network of startup investors and mentors, to help it expand into the region.  It’s a reunion of sorts as Brightspark and the founders of East Valley were all investors in Radian6, the Fredericton social media analysis company that sold out for $326 million in 2011.

Brightspark is positioned somewhere between a venture capital fund and an angel network. It is overseen by a professional fund management team comprising veterans Mark Skapinker, Sophie Forest, Mark Lahn and Tony Davis. Each time they identify a company they want to invest in, they create a new fund to invest just in that company. All the Brightspark members are then invited to invest in the company through the new fund, which will be managed by Brightspark.  It’s a funding model that’s already been used successfully by such groups as FundersClub in California and Ourcrowd in Israel.

“Brightspark has a very successful track record of funding early stage companies across Canada, including Radian6, and we’re excited to introduce their investment model to Atlantic Canada,” said East Valley Co-Founder Gerry Pond in a statement. “The goal is to accelerate the ecosystem here, introduce new investors to this asset class and to release new capital.”

In a recent interview, he said the Brightspark would fill the gap in the region between the seed funding (typically worth up to $500,000) that is available to companies, and the venture capital funding that usually starts at $1 million or more. 

Though the Toronto group already made its first Atlantic Canadian deal years ago in Radian6, the announcement is significant because East Valley will introduce a regular rotation of IT companies from the region to Brightspark. It is also a chance for Atlantic Canadian investors to join the Brightspark network – now 300 strong -- and get in on funding deals across Canada.

Now Brightspark wants its members to back InNetwork, which amplifies its clients’ social media messaging by connecting them with “influencers.” These are people such as bloggers, editors or experts with tremendous reach and influence within an identifiable group.

“Because they are a top tier national fund manager, they bring us credibility for this round of money,” said InNetwork CEO Chris Keevill in an interview Tuesday. “Second, because of their relationships and position, they bring us access to VCs in the U.S. for our next round.”

He added that Brightspark’s familiarity with Radian6 will help InNetwork because there is so much similarity in the two companies’ businesses.  InNetwork is now hoping to raise between $1.5 million and $2 million, about half of which it hopes will come from Brightspark.

With offices in Halifax and Toronto, InNetwork vets and approves influencers to ensure that they are bona fide opinion leaders. It beta-tested the product with about six Canadian customers last year and has been working with about a dozen paying customers.

In 2013, the company received seed funding of $250,000 from Innovacorp and $240,000 from a group of angels led by Pond, who became the InNetwork’s Board Chair.

Entrevestor receives financial support from government agencies that support start-up companies in Atlantic Canada. The sponsoring agencies play no role in determining which companies are featured in this column nor do they have the right to review columns before they are published.