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Pop Life panel on groundbreaking comedians. In Pictures. By , Mr. Wekerle was ready to get back to work. When word started spreading that he and Paul Sparkes, a former senior executive with CTVglobemedia now Bell Media , were teaming up to start a technology-focused merchant bank, investors wanted in.

The business plan of Difference Capital from the outset was to take significant minority stakes in late-stage, privately held companies, help them grow, and see them through to a sale, or an initial public offering.

To ensure that Difference had revenue coming in while they waited for their investments to pay off, the firm also set up an advisory business. Wekerle himself is heavily exposed to Difference.

The executive team was stacked with industry veterans. Henry Kneis, a hedge fund manager and an old buddy of Mr. Former Canaccord Genuity Corp. Wekerle himself assumed the role of executive chairman. The company went public through a reverse takeover in June, , and over the summer announced a flurry of investments. A few were much bigger. Johnson was bullish on junior alternative energy company Lignol Energy Corp. It had an ambitious plan to generate revenue by purchasing and revamping distressed biodiesel assets.

Wekerle was a believer in fledgling Internet company WG Ltd. Difference did very nicely during its first year or so of operation. The company generated gains on its investments. Its advisory business was humming along. And its stock was up about 50 per cent. By all indications, Wek was back. April 5, TriNorth Capital Inc. Name changes to Difference Capital Financial Inc. April 25, July 16, July 17, August 12, In the fall of , the firm had to deal with a nasty piece of unwanted publicity.

Media reports surfaced that, according to court filings, Mr. Wekerle had allegedly engaged in drunken horseplay in an Arkansas hotel in October, , when he was still with GMP. The allegations included throwing around cash from a fanny pack full of money, blowing an air horn in the lobby and exposing himself to onlookers. He allegedly picked up a woman, carried her off, removed her shoe and licked her foot. Wekerle told the Toronto Star when the news surfaced.

Legal proceedings against Mr. Wekerle are still ongoing. According to sources within Difference, there was also deep concern about Mr. The bad press over the Arkansas incident coincided with Difference losing its first big name. In late October, Jim Shaw stepped down as director. As wound down, it was becoming clear within the company, if not in public, that the sizable early bets that Difference had made into World Gaming and Lignol Energy were not working out as planned.

Because Mr. Johnson was the Lignol man, he came under fire. Wekerle took over as CEO in February, Wekerle said. In hindsight, I should have been tougher. Multiple sources within Difference dispute Mr. Wekerle take on the title of CEO, in order to make him more accountable to shareholders.

As CEO, Mr. Wekerle now had much greater responsibilities, and with Difference floundering, the pressure was on him to put all his energy into the company. Instead, his focus was about to shift dramatically away from it. Wekerle had projects outside the firm that competed for his attention. Holland to invest in tens of millions of dollars of U.

Sources within Difference said that, at one point, Mr. Wekerle started advocating for the firm to start investing money into early-stage ventures.