Arlene Dickinson and Amber Mac Sever Ties with Gander Social
•January 30, 2026
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Why It Matters
The split underscores the risk of relying on celebrity endorsements in equity crowdfunding and highlights governance gaps that can erode investor confidence in Canadian tech startups.
Key Takeaways
- •Dickinson, Mac exit just before campaign closure.
- •No finalized investments or advisory contracts confirmed.
- •Gander raised $1.96M, exceeding 130% target.
- •Investor confidence shaken by advisor departure.
- •New advisor: former CBC CEO Catherine Tait joins.
Pulse Analysis
Gander Social entered the Canadian tech scene as a public‑benefit corporation promising a home‑grown, decentralized social network hosted on Canadian servers. The startup launched a crowdfunding round on FrontFundr in early 2026, targeting $200,000 but quickly surpassing that goal, ultimately closing with roughly $1.96 million from nearly 2,500 backers. High‑profile advisors Arlene Dickinson, a Dragons’ Den veteran, and Amber Mac, a media personality, were prominently featured in the campaign’s marketing, lending credibility and attracting retail investors who trusted their endorsement.
The abrupt departure of Dickinson and Mac a day before the campaign’s close sparked a credibility crisis. Both women posted on LinkedIn that they were no longer involved, while Gander’s CEO Ben Waldman asserted that neither advisor had finalized an investment or signed an advisory agreement. This disconnect exposed a common pitfall in equity‑crowdfunding: the reliance on celebrity advisors without clear contractual terms. For investors, the perceived endorsement turned into uncertainty, prompting questions about due diligence, governance standards, and the transparency required for benefit‑oriented startups seeking public capital.
To steady the ship, Gander announced former CBC president Catherine Tait as a new advisor, signaling a shift toward more institutional credibility. The company continues beta testing and plans to invite its 40,000‑person waitlist to the platform in March. While the advisor fallout may have dented short‑term sentiment, the broader market will watch how Gander balances its social‑impact mandate with the operational rigor demanded by investors. The episode serves as a cautionary tale for Canadian tech ventures that celebrity backing must be backed by solid agreements to protect both brand reputation and capital‑raising momentum.
Arlene Dickinson and Amber Mac sever ties with Gander Social
Two big-name advisors have severed ties with Gander Social just one day before the prospective Canadian social media company was set to close its crowdfunding campaign.
On Thursday, entrepreneur, investor, and Dragons’ Den star Arlene Dickinson and entrepreneur and media personality Amber Mac both posted on LinkedIn that they are no longer involved with Gander.
“We didn’t think this was going to happen…it’s unfortunate this has gone this way.”
Ben Waldman, Gander
In comments, Mac (whose full name is Amber MacArthur) said that she was “devastated” but that the “decision was made for us.”
“I want nothing more than a better option for Canadians online … but I won’t back something that isn’t capable of meeting this need with total integrity and excellence,” Mac wrote.
Dickinson added that she was “disappointed” in the situation.
“It became clear that my involvement was being treated as an endorsement more than a substantive advisory role. I’m no longer involved in any capacity,” she wrote.
Dickinson and Mac had supported the fledgling social media company since its early days. Both worked as advisors to the company, and publicly promoted the platform and their investment in it.
But in the wake of their public separation from the company, Gander Social CEO Ben Waldman claimed neither woman ever finalized their investments, and that there may have been confusion over their roles as advisors.
Waldman told BetaKit in an interview on Friday that he was surprised by Mac and Dickinson’s public posts and that he’s not sure how what he saw as an amicable separation became contentious. Waldman had appeared on Mac’s podcast just weeks earlier.
“We didn’t think this was going to happen…it’s unfortunate this has gone this way,” Waldman said.
Advisory role disconnect
Waldman said that the company first began discussions with Dickinson and Mac last May, when Gander was initially targeting $200,000 in investment, mostly from friends and family.
“We were excited to have Amber and Arlene, they’re pillars, stars in Canadian technology and business,” he told BetaKit.
However, Waldman alleged that the pair never reached out to discuss finalizing their investment or advisor agreement until a few weeks ago—after the company had raised more than $1.5 million—when they asked for the same terms as last year.
“We couldn’t do that…it wouldn’t be fair to give preferential treatment, and it’s not a good look for a benefit company,” Waldman said. “Part of the thing with coming on as an investor in those early rounds is to take risks and that didn’t happen.”
RELATED: Gander hits $1.5-million crowdfunding target as Canadians back homegrown social network
Both Dickinson and Mac had said in previous social media posts that they were investing in Gander. Waldman told BetaKit those investments never happened.
Waldman added that there may have been a disconnect over what Gander, and Dickinson and Mac, saw as the role of an advisor, explaining that he valued their input but that advisors were not given access to some internal discussions, like access to the earliest stage of beta testing the social app.
When reached for comment, Dickinson said she had no further comments to add beyond what she’s said publicly.
In an emailed statement that Mac requested be printed in full, she told BetaKit “as I mentioned in my departure email to the Gander team, I sincerely wish them the best. As an advisor, I always understood I would see a product at some point, especially since hundreds of beta testers had access, but that never happened. Too much time passed for me to confidently continue in the advisor role without the opportunity to advise. It’s as simple as that.”
On Friday, Gander sent an email to supporters stating that, “as part of our initial fundraising from May to September of last year, two prospective investors did not complete their advisor agreements or investments by the original deadline, or within an extended timeframe.” The email added that Gander “recently offered them the same terms that every other investor had received through the campaign. When an agreement couldn’t be reached, we parted ways.”
On social media, some investors expressed concerns about the departure, stating they had become investors due to Dickinson or Mac’s public statements that they were involved in the project.
“I don’t even understand what this means. You were a driving force in my decision to get involved in my very small way with this project. From all in to out in one short sentence is frustrating to say the least,” wrote one Facebook commenter.
Former CBC head joins advisors
Earlier in the week, Gander added former CBC president and CEO Catherine Tait to its advisors. Tait’s mandate at the public broadcaster ended in January 2025; during her tenure, she struck major international partnerships but also faced criticism, including for her public handling of issues like executive pay and layoffs.
Waldman said that he’s aware that Tait is “contentious,” but that she’s also “smart, super creative, and knows news.” He said that Tait has already made key connections for the platform and provided insights on how media publish their content to social platforms.
“We were excited to have Amber and Arlene, they’re pillars, stars in Canadian technology and business.”
Ben Waldman, Gander
For Waldman, the shakeup came at a time he was hoping to be focused on celebration—and next steps. As of Friday, the day the campaign was set to close, Gander had raised more than $1,964,000 (or more than 130 percent of its target fundraising goal) with nearly 2,500 investors. Around $455,000 in investments were still processing. The company’s fundraising was done through FrontFundr, a Toronto-based crowdfunding platform that allows members of the public to crowdsource investments into private companies.
Waldman said Gander began beta testing its app over the holidays, and it’s now continuing to be tested by hundreds of users. “I was in there this morning, chatting with people and commenting,” he said. “There’s still lots of gaps…but we’re fixing things as we go and people have been really helpful.” Later on Friday, Waldman shared a first-look video of the app’s feed on LinkedIn.
He said that, heading into March, the plan is to send invites to all 40,000 people on the early-access waitlist, and from there, consider timing for when a full launch might be possible.
Gander is registered as a public benefit company in BC, meaning its mandate is focused on social or environmental benefit, as well as profit. The company is aiming to create a social platform that will be designed, built, and hosted in Canada, on Canadian servers, via decentralized, open-source protocols.
In a recent social post, Waldman had described Gander as “a bit of an odd duck in tech,” which is not the right fit for traditional venture capital or government programs.
“We’re not willing to follow the usual paths if they mean enshittification,” he wrote on LinkedIn.
CLARIFICATION 01/30/2026: This story has been updated to clarify Dickinson and Mac’s advisory and investment relationship with Gander, as well as to indicate that Gander’s advisors were not part of a formal advisory board.
Feature photo courtesy of Amber Mac via YouTube and jnasr via Wikimedia.
The post Arlene Dickinson and Amber Mac sever ties with Gander Social first appeared on BetaKit.
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