Investor documents
Market research, funding landscape, and return structures for prospective investors.
Prepared October 16, 2026 — revised October 17, 2026 — for Brandon
Buy Alberta land that already has a house on it, add ~5 tiny homes as accommodation. Fishing nearby (summer, maybe winter ice fishing), hunting in the fall. Investor capital funds most of the land purchase (possibly plus a mortgage if obtainable).
Startup TNT (startuptnt.com) — the Prairies' largest angel community (250+ angels), quarterly pitch summits in Calgary and Edmonton. Winners get $150K+ (2024 average $210K); typical rounds $500K–$2.5M. Process: application → 8-week diligence → pitch nights → summit finale. Catch: everything they fund is tech. A land-based venture would be a real outlier.
Valhalla Private Capital (valhallaprivatecap.com) — Western Canada's largest angel network (founded 2003), chapters in Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver. $70M+ raised for companies to date. Focus: tech, energy, health, consumer. Real-estate-adjacent at best.
NACO (nacocanada.com) — the national industry association (4,000+ angels), not a direct funder. You don't "pitch NACO"; you use it to find Alberta angel groups. Its summit is invitation-only.
The organized networks above are built for scalable tech startups chasing 10x returns. A haven is asset-heavy: yield + land appreciation — a different return profile. Keep them as a secondary channel. Better-fit money, in order:
The investable story: the existing house = revenue from day one (no build delay). Five tiny homes = scalable capacity, added in phases. The land = an appreciating hard asset that gives investors downside protection no tech startup can offer.
Revenue streams: (a) nightly/weekly tiny-home stays — the core engine; (b) main house as premium whole-house rental; (c) guided fishing/hunting packages as high-margin add-ons; (d) annual memberships (priority booking, member rates); (e) private events and corporate retreats in shoulder seasons; (f) trip videography — an optional add-on where guests' hunting/fishing adventures are filmed and they receive an edited copy as a souvenir. Premium add-on revenue that doubles as marketing when guests share their videos; (g) farm-to-table experiences — Alberta farm partnerships (or a small on-site farm/garden) for chef-led farm dinners, harvest events, and local food. Premium add-on that deepens the authentic haven brand.
Staffing (lean model): Phase 1 — Brandon as owner-operator (bookings, hosting, marketing) + 1–2 casual cleaners for turnover cleans + 1 on-call handyman + 1 part-time/seasonal chef for guest dinners (peak season and farm-dinner events); guides and videographer contracted per trip, not employed. Full build (6 units) — chef hours scale with occupancy, plus an optional part-time property manager, 2–3 casual cleaners, and 1–2 seasonal guides during hunting/fishing peaks. Total: ~4–5 people at opening, ~6–8 at full build, nearly all part-time, casual, or seasonal — a lean payroll investors like to see. Note: the chef needs a proper kitchen — budget a commercial-grade build-out in the main house or a dedicated cookhouse if the existing kitchen isn't up to it.
Use of funds: land acquisition (majority) → tiny homes + site servicing → boat, electric truck, solar + propane → operating runway to first full season. Phase the tiny homes — 2–3 first, rest from cash flow. This shrinks the initial ask and proves demand: one of the strongest points in the deck.
Returns framing: angels typically take 10–25% equity. Since investors fund most of the purchase, expect them to want a larger stake and/or downside protection. Three structures to offer: - Equity with preferred return: investor funds the purchase for ~40% equity; paid first (e.g., 8%/yr on invested capital) before owner distributions, plus profit share and land appreciation. - Secured loan + equity kicker: investor loans the purchase amount secured against the land at ~8–10% interest, plus a small equity slice (5–10%) for upside. Lower risk for them, you keep more equity. - Profit split with buyout: investor takes ~50% of net operating profits until 1.5–2x their money back, then you buy them out at a pre-agreed formula. Clean exit path. Run any structure past a lawyer before pitching. The honest pitch: this is an asset-backed hospitality investment (yield + appreciation), not a 10x tech bet. Target yield-comfortable investors.
Key risks to address head-on: - Seasonality — winter is the hole; ice fishing + properly winterized units mitigate it. - Outfitter licensing — guiding hunters for pay in Alberta requires an Outfitter Permit (APOS), a $10K deposit bond, and $5M liability insurance. If you guide personally, you need the designation path. - Tiny-home placement rules — the sleeper risk. Tiny homes on wheels count as RVs in most Alberta municipalities (no full-time dwelling use); 5 commercial dwellings on one rural parcel will need development permits and possibly rezoning. Confirm with the specific county before buying land — make this a due-diligence milestone in the pitch. - Servicing costs — well/septic/power: budget roughly $5K–$15K+ per unit for site prep. - Financing risk — recreational-land mortgages are harder to get than residential; don't assume the mortgage leg.
Tiny-home costs (revised strategy): finished budget units $65K–$90K each from Alberta builders (e.g. aluminum-frame units) — turn-key, no interior finishing; used units from ~$115K CAD. Verify -40°C winterization on every unit — a 3-season unit is a false saving. Five units ≈ $325K–$450K, roughly half the cost of typical 2026 builds ($135K–$235K each).
Working assumptions (validate against live Airbnb/VRBO comps before investor meetings): tiny home $150/night, main house $350/night. Formula: units × rate × occupancy × 30 days. Figures are gross — cleaning, utilities, insurance, tax, mortgage, and maintenance come out first.
| Season | Tiny homes (5) | Main house | Monthly total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base case | |||
| Summer (Jun–Aug) | $14,625 | $6,300 | $20,925 |
| Fall (Sep–Nov) | $12,375 | $5,250 | $17,625 |
| Winter (Dec–Feb) | $4,500 | $1,575 | $6,075 |
| Spring (Mar–May) | $7,875 | $3,150 | $11,025 |
| Annual base | ≈ $167,000 | ||
| Conservative (rates −20%, lower occupancy) | ≈ $83,600/yr | ||
| Optimistic (rates +20%, higher occupancy) | ≈ $265,700/yr |
Guided-package upside (add-on): Alberta benchmarks run ~$500–$800 CAD/day for guided fishing and $3,500–$6,500 USD for multi-day hunts. Even modest volume adds thousands per month in peak season — but guiding for pay triggers the APOS licensing above.
| Line item | Low | Base | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| PHASE 1 — minimum viable opening | |||
| Land + house (+closing) | $384K | $474K | $559K |
| Tiny homes × 3 (finished, delivered) | $200K | $240K | $275K |
| Site servicing (clustered) | $25K | $45K | $80K |
| Permits & licensing | $10K | $18K | $30K |
| Business setup (incorp, insurance yr 1, website, furnishings, video gear, kitchen build-out) | $50K | $75K | $110K |
| 12-month operating runway | $40K | $60K | $85K |
| Boat + trailer (used 16–18ft aluminum fishing rig) | $15K | $22K | $30K |
| Electric truck (used F-150 Lightning) + Level 2 charger | $57K | $65K | $75K |
| Solar array (10–15 kW, installed) | $28K | $40K | $50K |
| Propane heat (tank + direct-vent heaters) | $8K | $12K | $16K |
| Contingency (10%) | $82K | $105K | $131K |
| PHASE 1 TOTAL (the ask) | ≈ $900K | ≈ $1.16M | ≈ $1.44M |
| PHASE 2 — scale to 5 units | |||
| Tiny homes × 2 + servicing + furnishings + permits + enhancements | $191K | $273K | $391K |
| Contingency (10%) | $19K | $27K | $39K |
| PHASE 2 TOTAL | ≈ $210K | ≈ $300K | ≈ $430K |
| FULL PROJECT | ≈ $1.11M | ≈ $1.46M | ≈ $1.87M |
Key benchmarks: Alberta land with house $380K–$555K (10–40 ac, cheap-land strategy); finished budget tiny homes $65K–$90K each (verify -40°C winterization); used 16–18ft aluminum fishing rig $15K–$30K; used F-150 Lightning ~$60–65K + Level 2 charger; 10–15 kW solar at $2.40–$3.20/W installed (Alberta); propane heat $8K–$16K (tank + direct-vent heaters); servicing $25K–$80K clustered; permits $10K–$30K; setup $50K–$110K; 12-month runway $40K–$85K.
Biggest cost driver: land — roughly half of Phase 1 at every level.
Top 3 ask-shrinkers: (1) cheaper/more remote parcel or vendor take-back financing — cuts $200–$400K; (2) open with 2 tiny homes instead of 3 — saves $65–$90K and still proves demand; (3) defer the APOS outfitter track to year 2 and partner with a licensed outfitter on commission.
Watch items: power line extension cost (solar shrinks this — verify grid distance before any land offer anyway); municipal tiny-home rules vary by county; budget-unit winterization (-40°C) must be verified before buying; electric truck loses ~half its range towing the boat — plan lake trips accordingly; big-game allocation cost still unknown.
Alberta offers no general small-business or startup grant — the realistic first government money is financing, not free money. Best fits for a rural haven:
The concept is fundable, but lead with affinity/HNW and real-estate-minded investors, not the tech angel networks. Phase the tiny homes (house day one, 2–3 units first, rest from cash flow). And clear municipal sign-off on multi-unit tiny-home placement before any land offer — that's the diligence item that protects everyone.
Nova Scotia is a strong second location: premium Atlantic salmon packages command $9,000–$10,400 CAD per angler for multi-night stays, and cottage country has fewer short-term rental regulatory hurdles than many markets — directly relevant to the tiny-home model. Land is also cheaper and less competitive: Atlantic Canada has the most affordable farmland in the country (NS productive land roughly $3,000–$7,000/acre), with slower price growth than Alberta — a lower capital bar for location two. Keep it as the vision slide in the deck (proves scalability); nail Alberta first.