TechTO Together (TechTO.org)

This session of TechTOgether features Wayne Pommen, SVP Canada (PayBright) at Affirm, Inc., where he discusses his career journey and discovering a need for a job change that ultimately led to the right opportunity. He discusses how he deciphered what the best choice/opportunity idea could be - through investing, remaining interested and passionate, building connections to eventually partnering and running a business.

Are you thinking about or in the early days of starting a business? TechTO wants to help! We have compiled experts from a multitude of industries, to shed light on the most relevant topics. Whether you want to know how to incorporate, or just how to keep track of finances, we can help. 

This segment features Shane Murphy, Director at RBC Ventures and COO at Ownr, Andrea Bartlett, Director of People Operations at Humi and Kieran Knock, Team Lead at APOLLO Insurance. 

Ownr

Get 20% off* Business Registration or Incorporation

Ownr makes it easy to start, manage, and grow your business. Register, incorporate, create legal agreements, manage employees, and more. From registering your first business to hiring employees and bringing on new partners, Ownr helps you succeed. Use code TECHTO20 at checkout to redeem! https://www.ownr.co/?utm_source=techto

Humi

Get a free 3-month trial period with Humi using code TECHTO21. Simply share it with your Humi sales contact when you're ready to ditch your spreadsheets and get on a flexible, all-in-one HR, payroll, and benefits platform. Offer limited to new clients with 20 or less employees.

Apollo

At Faculty of Change, a consultancy I run, our Professional Liability policy was up for renewal. We went to APOLLO for a second quote. Their team helped us better tailor our coverage to our needs and was able to get us coverage at ⅓ the cost of our current provider! You can get the same service at https://info.apollocover.com/techto

This episode originally aired on: June 15, 2020.

Joey Zwillinger, Co-founder at Allbirds joins TechTO in a discussion about the alternative and unconventional ways of creating the right consumer experience. 

TechTO Firesides feature deep chats with some of the most prominent names in Canadian Tech.

Today's episode features a conversation with CEO and Co-Founder of Pine, Justin Herlick.

Here's what you can expect:

• His journey from Canada to Silicon Valley
• Lessons learned in the US
• Returning to Canada
• How he built Pine
• The current market, and how that has challenged the business 

To hear more insights, Founder stories and get more content like this right to your inbox, subscribe to TechTO newsletter: www.techto.org/newsletter

Follow us on Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Podcasts

On March 8th, 2022, TechTO hosted another segment of International Women's Day with DevTO.  Maria Hristova has close to 20 years of software development experience ranging from quality assurance to operations and development.  In her current role as the VP of Engineering, Maria leads the Firmex development team and is responsible for the technical deliverables of the organization.  Prior to Firmex, she worked at Microsoft, Blue Yonder and a number of startups. Maria focuses on building diverse organizations and works on attracting and retaining talent from groups that are under-represented in the tech world.  Maria holds degrees in Computer Science and Math from Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, USA.

This episode originally aired on: September 21, 2020.

Ian Wong, Co-Founder and CTO at Opendoor, offers his personal insights about tackling the real estate industry and scaling the company to unicorn status.

Founded in 2014, Opendoor is an online platform that provides a radically simple way to buy, sell, or trade-in a home. Opendoor has raised $1.35 billion (USD) in total funding, with an estimated valuation of $3.8 billion (USD).

This episode originally aired on: August 10, 2020.

M.G. Thibaut, CFO at DroneDeploy shares practical tips from current and future Tech innovators who will and have dreamed, struggled, and persevered throughout all walks of careers.

This episode originally aired on: November 20, 2020.

After building and selling a custom software development company in the early 1990s, Brad Feld turned to angel investing, with a focus on early-stage startups. Some of his notable investments include Fitbit, Zynga, and MakerBot. Brad is a co-founder of the global accelerator program Techstars, as well as Foundry Group, a venture capital firm based in Boulder, Colorado. An innovative voice in the tech community, Brad has authored more than a dozen books and regularly shares his insights in the Feld Thoughts blog.

This episode originally aired on: October 26, 2020.

Speaking from London, Andrew Robb (former COO of Farfetch) shared his perspectives about scaling an e-commerce startup into a global leader. Founded in 2007 as an e-commerce marketplace for luxury fashion, Farfetch currently allows customers to make purchases from more than 1300 high-end brands. A 2018 IPO generated a valuation of approximately $6 billion USD.

This session of TechTO Together features Cherif Habib, CEO at Dialogue, hosted by the founders of TechTO, Alex Norman and Jason Goldlist. We discuss the in's and out's of the entrepreneur journey that eventually led to the establishment of Dialogue Technologies - your one-stop platform to manage your health benefits freely and efficiently.

On April 7th, the Safe x Connected Accelerator Demo Day, in partnership with TechTO and various industry leaders, explored the redefined potential that our cities hold through new ways of connecting people, things and technology. We’ll also take a deeper look at some of the opportunities and challenges that we could be facing along the way and how technology is making a difference. 

 Speaker(s):  ‍

• Nicole LeBlanc is a partner with 2150, an urbantech & sustainability focused VC fund tackling  major unsolved problems across the ‘Urban Stack’, from the way our cities are designed, constructed and powered, to the way people live, work and are cared for. Prior to this Nicole was the Director of Investments and Partnerships for Alphabet’s Sidewalk Labs that works with developers and cities to build more sustainable, innovative, and equitable places. Before joining Sidewalk managed a portfolio of 150+ seed stage startups with Director roles at BDC Capital and NBIF. Nicole began her career as a CPA, including roles as a controller at Ganong Bros, an East Coast family-run confectionery manufacturer that invented the chocolate bar. She stays active in the community through board roles at Innovacorp, Propel and Brilliant Labs, as well as actively mentoring with Creative Destruction Lab and Next Canada.  
  
• Paul Fletcher joined Aviva Canada in 2001, having previously worked at Aviva in the UK. Paul serves as Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, leading Distribution Operations, Marketing, Sustainability, Communications and Government Relations. Prior to this role, Paul held many senior leadership positions including in Regional Training, Strategy and Business Transformation, Broker Distribution, and Commercial Lines. Paul has an Honors Bachelor of Arts degree in Politics from Warwick University, as well as a postgraduate diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing. He also holds an MBA from Cranfield University, and the designation of Chartered Insurer as a Fellow of the Chartered Insurance Institute.  
  
• Valerie Swatkow is Chief Development Officer at Highline Beta, a hybrid corporate venture studio and VC firm that works with global enterprises including RBC, Intuit and AB InBev, and invests in startups that pilot with corporations to drive growth innovation. Before joining Highline Beta Valerie launched a $5M corporate venture fund with the mission to invest in and accelerate early-stage technology companies in the martech/adtech space, brought NewCo to Toronto, a festival celebrating emerging purpose driven businesses and was also a co-founder of Elevate, Canada’s innovation festival. Valerie started her career in advertising in Toronto, but grew her skills outside of Canada working with global corporate clients like McDonald’s and Procter & Gamble. She is an active mentor for Next Canada.  ‍

This session of TechTO Together features Chris Best, Co-Founder and CEO at Substack Inc. Hosted by the founders of TechTO, Alex Norman and Jason Goldlist, we discuss Chris' journey alongside his co-founders, to building a highly successful company present day - one that seeks to build a better future for writers.

This episode originally aired on: June 15, 2020.

Fritz Lanman, CEO of ClassPass joins us to ponder the reality that for generations, companies have created retail environments that enhance the shopping experience and reflect the brand identity. 

The pulsating music from a hip clothing store. The well-coiffed salespeople in an upscale jeweller. The glossy minimalism of a high-tech showroom.  So what happens when staying at home means shopping on devices? 

Even if a company’s e-commerce platform delivers a seamless user experience, how can brands evoke a sense of comfort and familiarity for their customers?

This episode was originally aired on: August 10, 2020.

Kofi Gyekye, CPO at Lane discusses his career switches, and the transition journey that eventually led to the creation of Lane, and the practical tips in finding one's path. 

This session of TechTO Together features Michele Romanow (Co-Founder & President at Clearco), hosted by the founders of TechTO, Alex Norman and Jason Goldlist. We discuss the in's and out's of the entrepreneur journey, to co-founding the unicorn-status company, Clearco.

This session of TechTO Together features Andrew Arruda, CEO at Automate Medical, hosted by the founders of TechTO, Alex Norman and Jason Goldlist. We discuss the in's and out's of the entrepreneur journey that eventually led to the establishment of Automate Medical - a company that is helping medical professionals work smarter by digitizing and analyzing patient data.

This episode originally aired on: June 8, 2020.

Madison Butler, Founder & CEO of Blue Haired Unicorn, LLC, Cornell Verdeja-Woodson, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Headspace Inc., and Stefan Kollenberg, Director, Client Strategy at Volley, ponder the ways that injustice and white supremacy appears in the tech world, even in the start-up world, under the guise of "cultural fits." 

This episode originally aired on: May 11, 2020.

Satish Kanwar, VP of Product, Acceleration at Spotify, discusses deleting all initial product ideas and plans, and changing the product's direction in a limited amount of time. We also dive into discussion on business strategy, the impact of such abrupt changes and what to expect. 

This episode originally aired on: August 10, 2020.

Max Yoder, Co-founder & CEO at Lessonly discusses finding one's lane in a crowded industry; discovering on how to make effective improvements in society with one's company and vision.

This session of TechTO Together features Jordan Boesch, Co-Founder and CEO at 7shifts. Hosted by the founders of TechTO, Alex Norman and Jason Goldlist, we discuss Jordan's journey to building a company now known as the most intuitive employee scheduling and management software designed for the restaurant industry.

This session of TechTO Together features Neil Cawse, Founder and CEO at Geotab. Hosted by the founders of TechTO, Alex Norman and Jason Goldlist, we discuss Neil's journey to building a company now known as the world’s #1 telematics provider.

This episode originally aired on: August 24, 2020.

Michelle Zatlyn, Co-Founder and COO of Cloudflare, shares real stories about what it was like to get started, the challenges of finding product market fit, and how they scaled the business to its extraordinary size.

This session of Intuit Prosperity Accelerator: AI Demo Day features Michele Romanow, Co-Founder & CEO at Clearco, discusses the in's and out's of her entrepreneur journey and the trial and tribulations that sprouted growth, success, and many valuable lessons.  

TechTO Firesides feature deep chats with some of the most prominent names in Canadian Tech.

Today's episode features a conversation with CEO and Co-Founder of DealMaker, Rebecca Kacaba. 

Here's what you can expect:

• How they landed their first customer
• Advice for other Founders trying to raise on the platform 
• What sort of customer feedback should you care about
• Best takeaways and lessons learned

To hear more insights, Founder stories and get more content like this right to your inbox, subscribe to TechTO newsletter: www.techto.org/newsletter

Follow us on Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Podcasts

This episode originally aired on: August 10, 2020.

We look at practical tips from tech innovators to continue to build a tech community where we can all win, together. Arlan Hamilton, Founder & Managing Partner at Backstage Capital discusses her journey from Corporate life to forging her own path and taking risks. 

This episode originally aired on: December 7, 2020.

Rahul Vohra, Founder & CEO of Superhuman, shares the insights he learned from his previous startups and acquisitions, along with the unconventional strategies used to grow Superhuman’s user base.

In 2017, Superhuman launched an email platform that boasted faster speeds and innovative features like email unsend and artificial intelligence assistance. Despite a price tag of $30 a month for email — a traditionally free product — the waiting list of potential customers grew to 180,000 people. A $33 million USD Series B (led by Andreessen Horowitz) gives Superhuman a valuation in the range of $260 million USD. 

This episode originally aired on: May 11, 2020.

Eva Wong, Co-founder & COO of Borrowell, sits down with us alongside Andrew Graham at Borrowell and Mark Ang from Second Closet, to discuss trusting your team to execute collectively, and honouring those core beliefs as an organization and sustaining them in customer care, and as a brand.

This session of TechTOgether features Colin Toal, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Chisel AI, a company focused on AI solution for commercial insurance, discusses his career journey and contributions to the software servicing industry. Apart of starting initial projects that end up growing and influencing growth in already big companies to invoke change. He discusses building something from scratch in both Big corporate companies and start up companies and how similar, yet different those paths are to fill those gaps and how to forge ahead.

On March 8th, 2022, TechTO hosted another segment of International Women's Day with DevTO. Janice Liu, SVP & General Manager of Magnet Consultancy, a data and technology consulting firm based out of Toronto. Janice is an experienced data broker, investor and entrepreneur who, through her innate leadership qualities and passion projects, works to inspire a new generation of women and BIPOC individuals in technology. Her leadership of Magnet enables smarter, more impactful advertising and marketing decisions through market-leading consulting services and proprietary data solutions.

In this segment, RBC and TechTO present Takara Small: a Technology Journalist, Entrepreneur and Speaker. Small shares her perspective on hiring diverse talent, how to build trust with your customers, and why you shouldn't be afraid of self-promotion.

On March 8th, 2022, TechTO hosted another segment of International Women's Day with DevTO.  Director of Software Engineering, at Loblaws Digital, Lubna Khader, is overseeing the technical development on Loblaw's Retail Media Platform, working towards building a best-in-class advertising solution. She has spent her entire career in Adtech, after getting her master's degree in applied computing at UofT, she started as a data scientist working on a Demand-side platform for a startup. When that startup was acquired by The Weather Network, Lubna led Machine Learning and Big Data efforts to increase the platform’s optimization and intelligent targeting.