Simon Sokol is a pre-seed and seed investor at Relay Ventures who focuses specifically on the intersection of culture and technology, investing in sports, gaming, entertainment, creator economy, and wellness companies rather than taking a generalist approach. His background includes cross-border M&A experience with major Canadian institutions like CPPIB and Brookfield before moving into venture capital, giving him uncommon exposure to complex international transactions for an early-stage investor.

• Dedicated focus on sports, entertainment, media, and live experience technologies. Actively leading seed investments through GameChangers and specifically calling for founders building in these sectors following a recent relocation to New York, heavily praising the competitive drive of the startup teams recently backed.
• Emphasizing long term founder and investor relationships built on sound guidance and low ego. Notes that these partnerships often outlast average marriages and warns that the penalty for taking bad investor advice is magnified in tough economic climates, specifically valuing people who drop their egos to ask foundational questions.
• Searching for outlier founders with non consensus thinking and intense intellectual curiosity. Views the core job of early stage investing as being contrarian and right, suggesting that founders who complain about standard valuation metrics should reflect on whether their ideas are truly outside the norm.
• Tracking the operational impacts of artificial intelligence across different industries. Points out that employee turnover is becoming more expensive because institutional knowledge is now deeply intertwined with artificial intelligence chat tools, and compares the current era of subsidized intelligence favorably against past venture trends like subsidized consumer ride sharing.
• Bridging the Canadian and New York technology ecosystems. Frequently reflects on the humbling but exciting experience of moving from Toronto, where a professional network was deeply established, to New York to start fresh and build a new fund, while continuing to champion Canadian startups and founders.