RECAP

Another one!! Commerce was back for more last week, and signalled the hunger the tech community has for more events focused on the commerce and tech intersection, where brands and products take centre stage.

Last week’s event was even bigger than the first, where we saw over 200 pack the room at Rotman to learn from the biggest innovators in retail, branding, and commerce.

We we’re fortunate the spend the evening with:

• Ran Goel, CEO & Board Member at Mama Earth Organics, who shared some of the biggest lessons to scaling in one of the hardest markets yet, and what you can do as a Founder to stay on top.
  

• Ghassan Halazon, Founder & CEO at EMERGE Commerce chatted during our Fireside portion of the evening and shared everything he has learned from scaling some of the most successful brands in Canada.
  

• Amanda Parker, Country Manager & GM of Canada at Constant Contact lead our Panel interview with Lindsay Moore, Founder & CEO at Elite Spa Group where we were brought along on the journey to building the Spa business, and insights on the brand journey.
  

• And finally, Jake Karls, Co-Founder at Mid-Day Squares shared his unique journey to entrepreneurship and the critical need for storytelling for your product/service.

The Biggest Takeaways from the night:

• There is no better way to gain traction than sharing your story in an authentic way — Jake Karls
  

• There is always going to be market shifts, but you just have to find your passion in the end goal — Ran Goel

Couldn’t make it? Check out a few highlights:

Stay locked into the TechTO calendar and all of our upcoming events here:

WHAT’S NEXT AT TECHTO? 👀

Our most popular event series returns next week!

Our Together event returns on Monday, May 5, at the MaRS Centre Auditorium and will once again, unite the tech ecosystem under one roof.

Our last 3 events have seen 500+ tech pro’s, leaders, investors and aspiring builders join us in real life to learn from the best in Canadian tech.

Featured Speakers

• Andrew D'Souza, Founder & CEO, Boardy
  Andrew brings a wealth of experience from his previous ventures, including Clearbanc (now Clearco). At Boardy, he's leveraging his expertise to innovate in the fintech space, making him a pivotal voice on startup scaling and investment strategies. Boardy themselves will also be answering questions from the crowd…
  

• Samit Khalsa, Founder, Penseum
  Samit is at the forefront of educational technology with Penseum, aiming to revolutionize how students and educators interact with learning materials. His insights are invaluable for understanding the intersection of technology and education.
  

• Keith Loo, Co-Founder & CEO, Skinopathy
  Keith leads Skinopathy, a company utilizing AI to enhance dermatological diagnostics. His work exemplifies the impactful integration of AI in healthcare, offering perspectives on innovation in medical technology.
  

• Andrew Graham, Co-founder & CEO, Borrowell
  Andrew has been instrumental in making credit information more accessible to Canadians through Borrowell. His experience provides a deep dive into fintech solutions aimed at financial empowerment.

NEW EPISODE: THE AUTHENTIC FOUNDER JOURNEY OF SIMON DE BAENE

Our Founder Journey series is bringing the stories of today’s most inspirational founders to the forefront. We sit down the biggest names in tech to learn the ins and outs of building a business, the unconventional methods for success, get advice for other future builders and learn how they navigated their journey’s despite many challenges and detours.

Today’s newest episode features the journey of Simon De Baene, Founder at Workleap.

In one of our more authentic interviews, Simon shared why he decided to take the (Work)leap to becoming an entrepreneur, what it took to generate revenue, and the tough initial conversations he had with his father about dropping out of University to start building. Spoiler alert, his dad is pretty happy now about his decision.

You’ll also be surprised to know the activity that continues to inspire him the most as a builder, and the significance it has had on him his entire life so far.

Subscribe to the entire series, as we drop new episodes every month!

Our next episode (dropping next month) features, Dan Park, CEO at Clutch.

Dan, who has helped grow Clutch to one of the leading used car sales products in North America, shared more on building back during tough times, takeaways from his many years spent growing Uber Eats in Canada, what it takes to disrupt an industry and what other Founders can learn for their own ventures today.

Thanks to our podcast partners at StartWell for the epic studio space

PARTNER CONTENT

We are proud to partner with StartWell to bring you Tech for Canada: Marketing / ‘Martech’ (Tools and Methods): CMOs & Agencies

​Expect honest perspectives, engaging conversation and the change to really connect with new people and form alliances which can help your business succeed.

*this is sponsored content

INTERESTING READS 📚

• What building a startup really looks like. An honest take on a 10-year journey
  

• 50 hard truths to know about venture capital and startups
  

• FundThrough makes acquisition in tandem with Series B raise
  

• Montreal-based Deck raises $12m 
  

• The important rule for Co-Founders, from the perspective of AirBNB Founder, Brian Chesky

MARK YOUR CALENDARS 📆

• TOMORROW Together Toronto, Monday, May 5, at 6:00pm — REGISTER HERE
  

• Sales Toronto, Tuesday, May 20 at 6:00pm — REGISTER HERE
  

• Travel Toronto, Wednesday, May 21 at 6:00pm — REGISTER HERE
  

• Health Toronto, Monday, June 9 at 6:00pm — REGISTER HERE
  

Explore all our Tech Week events including opportunities to apply to attend some of our more intimate curated content opportunities at TechTO HQ. Today, we’re spotlighting one Tech Week Event that you won’t want to miss if you’re in #PropTech.

Join us for a 2-hour deep dive into the rapidly evolving PropTech landscape. This session presented in partnership with Proptech Collective will unpack key trends shaping the future of construction, residential & commercial real estate.

Check out our full Tech Week Calendar here

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