Happy New Year, TechTO community 🎉

As we step into 2026, we want to start with gratitude. 2025 was a year of honest conversations, big lessons, and a community that kept showing up for each other and for the work of building.

We hope this new year brings you clarity, momentum, and the right people around you as you take on what is next.

We are glad you are here.

🔥 SPEAKER SPOTLIGHT

Alan is a conversion veteran with nearly two decades of experience building and scaling products on the internet. Before Superbar, he led product teams at NinjaCat and ran a $2B payments business at FreshBooks. His career started even earlier, with his first ecommerce business launched back in 2005.

The insight that sparked Superbar was simple, but powerful: improving website conversion is incredibly hard. After years of tinkering with funnels, copy, and UX, Alan set out to build something different; AI that works like a real sales rep, embedded directly on a website.

Superbar’s growth has been driven by one principle Alan comes back to again and again: simple beats better. Easy to deploy. Easy to use. Easy for customers to buy.

At Commerce Toronto, Alan will share:

• What actually drives conversion today (and what does not)

• How AI can replace complexity instead of adding more tools

• Why demand is outpacing Superbar’s ability to hire

• The emotional reality of building through uncertainty, stress, and momentum

If you build, sell, or scale online, this is a conversation you will want to hear.​

🛍️ Commerce Toronto: Where Builders of the Modern Economy Meet

Commerce Toronto is where Canada’s retail, e-commerce, CPG, and tech communities come together to connect, learn, and grow.

On Wednesday, January 21, 2026, more than 200 founders, operators, brand builders, and industry leaders will gather at the Rotman School of Management for an evening focused on how commerce is actually being built today.

This is not a sales-heavy conference or a glossy pitch fest. Commerce Toronto is designed for real conversations, practical lessons, and high-signal connections across the commerce ecosystem.

What to Expect

• Founder stories and fireside chats with leaders shaping the future of commerce

• Community open mic, where builders share what they are working on in real time

• An on-site CPG Marketplace featuring emerging brands and hands-on product discovery

• High-density networking with people who build, operate, and scale consumer businesses

• An off-site afterparty to keep the conversations going

Early-bird tickets are available until January 6 and always sell out quickly.

If you work in retail, ecommerce, CPG, SaaS, payments, or consumer tech - this is the room where strategy meets execution.

​

MARK YOUR CALENDARS 🚨

⏰ Last Tickets: Together Toronto | Jan 12

Toronto’s tech community is coming back together - and this one is almost sold out.

Together Toronto is TechTO’s signature night for real founder stories, high-signal networking, and the conversations you do not get online. No pitches. No fluff. Just builders learning from builders.

Speakers:

• Benjamin Alarie, Founder & CEO of Blue J, AI platform transforming tax law research

• Jason Ramsay, Founder of Nodalli, finance professional focused on valuation and capital markets

• Shirley Zhong, Co-Founder & COO of Xatoms, innovating at the intersection of water, sustainability, and tech

• Kristine Beese, Founder & CEO of Untangle Money, helping women gain clarity and confidence about their finances

Early Bird is gone. General Admission is the last chance.

If you want to start 2026 in the room where momentum is built - do not wait!

🎧 NEW EPISODE: FOUNDER JOURNEY FT. MARK JAINE

EPISODE HIGHLIGHT: He challenges the idea of “inflection points” and instead makes the case for compounding improvement - getting slightly better every day for 20 years - and why that mindset drove sustained 45% year-over-year growth.

MORE TAKEAWAYS FROM THE TALK

• Compounding beats breakthroughs

  Intelex scaled through daily improvement, not viral moments - proving consistency compounds faster than hype.

• Survival shapes great operators

  Early necessity forced discipline, focus, and a relentless bias toward execution.

• Brute-force sales works

  The company grew by being exceptional at selling and caring deeply about customer problems - even before the product was perfect.

• Customer-funded development is underrated

  For years, customers paid to accelerate features they needed, funding product development without outside capital.

• The third act is real

  Post-exit identity loss is rarely discussed - and this episode goes there.

Why it’s worth your time

This is not a glossy founder story. It is grounded, tactical, and deeply relevant for builders navigating long timelines, slow wins, and complex trade-offs.

If you are bootstrapping, scaling patiently, or questioning your next chapter, this episode will reframe how you think about progress, risk, and purpose.

Want to support the show?

If this episode resonates, here are three simple ways to help:

• Hit Subscribe in your podcast app

• Leave a rating or review

• Share this with a founder or teammate

Thanks for being part of the journey. You can leave us your feedback for 2026, and share who you think should join us in studio next year at [email protected] 

Love what you heard?

Listen on Apple Podcasts | Listen on Spotify 

🗓️ UPCOMING EVENTS

• Together Toronto: Monday, January 12 @ 6:00pm - LAST TICKETS

• Commerce Toronto: Wednesday, January 21 @ 5:30pm - EARLY-BIRD TICKETS HERE

• Together Toronto: Monday, February 2 @ 6:00pm - EARLY-BIRD

• Sales Toronto 2026: Wednesday, February 09 @ 6:00pm - EARLY-BIRD TICKETS HERE

• Health Toronto 2026: Wednesday, February 25 @ 6:00pm - EARLY-BIRD TICKETS HERE

Don’t forget to lock in your year of TechTO! Subscribe to our full events calendar

🎤 Know Someone Who Should Be on the TechTO Stage?

We’re always looking to spotlight founders, operators, and builders with powerful stories; the kind that inspire, teach, and move the Canadian tech community forward.

If you know someone whose journey deserves the mic - from early stumbles to breakout momentum - we want to hear from you.

Help us bring fresh voices and new perspectives to future TechTO events and podcasts.

👀 OPPORTUNITIES TO WATCH

🎉 Last Days: Get 20% Off TechTO Membership

TechTO membership unlocks the connections that fuel real breakthroughs in Canadian tech. Co-founders, funding leads, and career leaps happen here every day. These are the last days to claim 20% off annual plans with code RESOLUTION to get your TechTO membership.

Key Benefits

• Unlimited Events: Free entry to all Together Toronto and vertical events with top founders and investors.​

• VIP Perks: Priority seating, exclusive lounges, early invites to high-impact workshops.​

• Slack Network: Join private channel with operators, VCs, and builders for daily collaborations.​

• Newsletter Reach: Spotlight your story to 60K+ subscribers for leads and visibility.​

• Hiring Boost: Post jobs to attract elite talent directly.​

Secure it in these last days with RESOLUTION. Propel into 2026 with real momentum.

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