What Elite Sport Teaches About Startups | Angella Goran, TAPanGO Founder

What we talked about.

Sunny Ray sits down with Angella Goran, founder of TAPanGO, to trace her path from elite rowing and professional cycling to fintech entrepreneurship. Raised on Vancouver Island, Angella explains how injury redirected her from rowing to cycling, and how she later brought the elite women's UCI one hour record to Canada in 2023. She describes how research on student debt while working in government led her to found Sockjack, a social enterprise that taught financial literacy through school sock sales. From there she outlines TAPanGO, a banking as a service platform that rewards loyalty inside niche communities, which she compares to Starbucks rewards for many different markets. Its first product, Renter, serves Canadian renters with tenant screening and credit reporting through a partnership with Golden Horseshoe Capital, with a minimum viable product due within weeks. Angella also discusses Core Three Capital, a fund she co-founded to back women's sports, real estate and technology. The conversation closes with a practical adoption benchmark for early communities and advice on encouraging young athletes.

From Team Canada rowing to a UCI hour record to fintech: Angella Goran on building TAPanGO with an athlete's discipline.

The questions, and the answers.

What is TAPanGO about and what problem are you solving?

Think Starbucks rewards, but for many niche markets. TAPanGO is a banking as a service software built on a bank sponsored product. It lets a community's members link an existing payment method, transact within that marketplace and earn rewards for their loyalty. We built the technology so it can plug into any niche, not just coffee lovers.

How did you go from rowing to cycling?

I grew up on Vancouver Island and attended the University of Victoria. Rowing was my first elite sport, and I competed at the varsity and Team Canada level. Injury derailed my path toward the 2004 Olympics, and that is how I found cycling, which is still my passion today.

What was your cycling highlight?

I raced as a UCI professional in the early days, when women's sports were not really paid. I got to travel internationally and join some of the first major women's teams. In 2023 I put my bike shoes back on, went after the UCI one hour record, and brought the elite women's record to Canada.

How did you move from a sock company to a bank?

While working for a federal minister, I researched student debt and job creation. I saw young Canadians carrying debt without understanding the financial outcomes, so financial literacy was missing. I took an everyday item, socks, and created Sockjack. Students ran the sales, then voted on which causes received the money. That led me toward financial tools for communities.

What are you building right now with TAPanGO and Renter?

TAPanGO is the banking as a service platform, and Renter is our first product. It targets Canadian renters, building credit and accountability while rewarding loyalty to local businesses. We are launching tenant screening and credit reporting with Golden Horseshoe Capital. As a proud Canadian, I wanted to start here, and the US is next.

What number tells you a community has really adopted a platform?

If you get your first thousand users and see real reciprocation, you have adoption and can build traction. Anywhere from one thousand to five thousand makes a really good MVP, because you get authentic market feedback from real consumers who tell you the truth up front. After that, it gets harder to keep a personal relationship with users.

What is Core Three Capital and why did you help start it?

Canada has not had a female sport or women's sports fund. With my two co-founders, Kelly Burke and Larissa Holmes, I started Core Three Capital to help transform women's sports. We have three verticals: sport, real estate and technology. In Fund One we are looking for women led tech founders, from fan engagement to health data.

How did your parents encourage you toward athletics?

It was encouragement, never force. Sport was simply part of our family culture, and growing up in BC meant playing outside twelve months a year. I tried dance, soccer, cross country, field hockey and basketball. The message was to try everything, so I could later choose my own path as I grew.