What The Tech?

On this episode of What The Tech from Boast AI, we're thrilled to welcome onto the show entrepreneur-extraordinaire David Brennan!  David is the CEO and Co-Founder of Arkeo AI, which is a SaaS Copilot that enables sales teams to achieve faster win rates and ultimately close more deals. More than just a sales tool, Arkeo AI is designed specifically for SaaS founders and their teams to make informed decisions and drive growth. As customers integrate their systems, Arkeo offers AI Agents tailored to specific departments that continuously analyze data and deliver actionable insights while also alerting to opportunities and threats.  As powerful as the Arkeo AI solution is, this is hardly David's first go-round in the entrepreneurship space. He holds an Executive MBA with a specialization in Innovative Leadership, co-founded Safety Evolution in 2016, and helped execute the strategic acquisition of SafetyTrek in 2022 before embarking on the Arkeo Ai journey.  It's an impressive career to date, and David shares some of his expertise for building a successful AI business in 2024, and what's on deck for the future. Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

On this latest episode of What The Tech, we welcome the Founder & CEO of Tuktu Care, Rustam Sengupta!  Rustam is a passionate serial entrepreneur with a focus on senior care technology, climate change, and renewable energy. As the founder and CEO of Tuktu Care, an on-demand marketplace that connects aging adults with local providers and companions, he leads the creation of innovative solutions for better aging in place.  Before Tuktu Care, Rustam worked with SDTC, one of Canada's leading sustainable energy funding organizations, and taught at the University of British Columbia. He also managed research projects for the Initiative for Sustainable Energy Policy (ISEP) at Johns Hopkins University.  If that wasn't enough, Rustam also serves on the boards of several impactful organizations and nonprofits, while also serving as Executive in Residence at the Foresight Cleantech Accelerator in Vancouver—a group that we're big fans of here at Boast!  It's an impressive CV and I cannot wait to pick Rustam's brain on what it takes to achieve success and drive such positive change as an entrepreneur. Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

Welcome to What The Tech from Boast AI, where we talk with some of the brilliant minds behind new and exciting tech initiatives to learn what it takes to tackle “technological uncertainty” and, eventually, change the world.  Today we welcome VentureX Principal Sydney Wong onto the show! Sydney is an exited tech founder turned early-stage investor with 10+ years of experience in venture capital, startups, and management consulting. She currently leads investments at VentureX Capital and built their venture studio from the ground up as a first hire. Her expertise spans deal sourcing, due diligence, and portfolio support, with a track record in PreSeed to Series A.  On top of all that, Sydney is passionate about building high-impact startups and fostering a strong VC community as Chapter Lead for Women in VC. It's an incredible mission, and we pick her brain on her experiences to date in the startup space, what's on deck for the rest of 2024, and her take on the tech and startup ecosystem heading into 2025. Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

On the latest What The Tech podcast we welcome CTO and Co-Founder of Adauris Ve Sharma. Adauris is a B2B SaaS narration tool for publishers that enables written content to be instantly transformed into rich audio experiences. As an audiophile himself, Ve is passionate about Ad Auris's mission to help publishers & content creators create greater value from each piece of their writing, increasing accessibility and driving content engagement throughout the day through audio. Their platform combines synthetic narration with a suite of features designed to drive engagement, deliver the best audio experience, and provide rich insights into listeners' behavior. It's some very cool tech with a great mission behind it, and I'm excited to pick Ve's brain on Ad Auris's success to date, working with partners throughout the North American tech and startup ecosystem, and what's on deck for the future. Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

On this latest episode of What The Tech, we welcome seasoned product executive and award-winning founder of Lodestone, Dennis Chow!  At Lodestone, Dennis and his team have built a product management software platform that helps busy product teams move faster and get more of their product work done. Ultimately, Lodestone helps teams drive towards comprehensive discovery and successful delivery of the right thing, for the right customers, at the right time.  Recently, Lodestone's bona fides were on display when they took home the Judge's Choice award at the 2024 CodeLaunch Accelerator event in Toronto, where our team was absolutely pumped to cheer on Dennis from the front row!  But this is hardly Dennis's first go-round as an entrepreneur or lending support to the Canadian tech ecosystem. He's currently on his fifth year as a Volunteer Advisor for the MaRS Discovery District out of Toronto, and has played a part in numerous successful startups over the course of his career to date.   I can't wait to pick Dennis's brain on his path into entrepreneurship, his philosophy as a product developer and creator, and what's in store for 2025.Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

Driving innovation that truly revolutionizes sectors is a team effort. That's exactly what Acto Co-Founder and CTO Kumar Erramilli is looking to do in the realm of biopharma, and he's working with the team here at Boast to maximize his innovation potential and build one of the fastest-growing startups in all of Canada in the process. ACTO is an AI-powered Intelligent Field Excellence (IFE) platform built for Life Sciences that helps Sales, Marketing, and Medical teams improve customer engagement and brand performance by turning field professionals into “Masters of the Message” who engage HCPs and their support teams with authority and impact.With ACTO, biopharma companies can ensure field professionals are always competent, confident, and credible, delivering the right message to HCPs in face-to-face interactions, while providing senior leaders and frontline managers with the insight they need to drive continuous field force effectiveness.While all of this is impressive on its own, Kumar has a wealth of experience across the North American tech ecosystem, having played a role in numerous startups and tech-centric organizations in his career to date. He's a passionate inventor of AI and software technologies that are looking to change the way Life Sciences industry consumes technology, and I can't wait to pick his brain on what's in store for Acto and his take on the state of startups in 2024. Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

Today's guest on What The Tech is Styx Intelligence Co-Founder Santosh Nair! Styx Intelligence is a next-generation platform helping organizations manage Digital Risk. In his role at Styx Intelligence , Santosh leads the overall product vision and long-term strategy and development of its StyxView platform. Their Mission is to protect organizations' digital assets and data with a platform that provides visibility while actually supporting remediation against threats. Their platform is also key to helping businesses manage risk associated with digital transformations across various areas including cyber, privacy, regulatory compliance, third party, and brand.Along with founding Styx Intelligence, however, Santosh has a lengthy background in the Cyber Risk space, as well as a founder building new solutions in Canada and beyond. We at Boast first met Santosh through our friends at GetFresh Ventures, and I can't wait to hear from Santosh the role that community connections can play in building great products and achieving growth. Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

Building a purpose-driven business isn't easy. But when you start developing new technology that tackles a specific, pressing problem with a focus on the customers who most acutely need your solution, a wealth of support systems will open up to help your product take flight. To share their journey through Canada's innovation ecosystem, we welcome onto the podcast Climative CEO Winston Morton. Climative is a clean tech company using AI-assisted digital energy assessments and blockchain to accelerate the decarbonization of the built environment. They create low-carbon plans for every building, which can be securely shared and updated by homeowners and those who support them to make better, faster decisions to reduce the carbon footprint of the built environment.Winston started as Climative's CTO before taking on the CEO mantle almost 2 years back, but his experience and expertise in the tech space is extensive. He's an active member of the Futurpreneur and Volta communities, for instance, serving as a mentor for founders out of Halifax and beyond, while helping steer the tech trajectory of many innovative businesses over the past two decades.It's an impressive track record, and we pick Winston's brain on what it takes to build a successful cleantech business in 2024 and what's on deck as Climative grows!Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

At FMRK, Faisal and his team are developing a Rapid Urinary Tract Infection Antibiotic Susceptibility Test for the elderly and people with spinal cord injuries. Their technology is rooted in decentralized diagnostic testing solutions, making medical diagnostics easy to use, quick, and reliable. Their first-of-a-kind, near-patient Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing Device was designed exclusively for community healthcare settings—deriving results in 6 hours or less—making the entire process easy, simple and faster than the traditional methods. Along with driving this incredible diagnostic innovation, Faisal is also a member of the GetFresh Ventures community and has been making his mark in the BC tech and startup ecosystem. I'm excited to pick his brains on what's next for FMRK, hear about his path as an entrepreneur, and learn about what's in store for the rest of 2024.Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

On the latest episode of What The Tech we welcome Hudhaifah Zahid, Co-Founder and CEO of econommi. At econommi, Hudhaifah and his team are  building a new generation of interest-free models that revolutionize private markets by digitizing real-world assets. Their unique technology can tokenize almost any asset — that includes cars today, and maybe rockets tomorrow. With over a decade of experience in economics, finance, and blockchain technology, Hudhaifah has a proven track record of developing cutting-edge risk scoring algorithms and creating efficient, debt-free financial systems, with expertise in enhancing liquidity, transparency, and returns for investors.He is passionate about transitioning to an asset-based economy, addressing wealth inequality, and leveraging technology to create sustainable financial solutions.It's quite the mission, and I'm excited to pick his brain on what it takes to build a successful business in 2024! Without further ado, welcome to the show!Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

On this bonus episode we welcome a return guest onto the What The Tech podcast: Our pal Ilya Brotzky, CEO of VanHack. Ilya's team just celebrated 9 years of success helping to create a borderless world for tech talent, with more than more than 450,000 members having joined the VanHack community from over 100 countries since VanHack's inception. Ilya and his team are taking their on-demand staffing solution to the next level with the launch of VanHack's SR&ED Unlocked program. In partnership with Boast, this new program is a boon for CCPCs—specifically, dev shops—throughout Canada by giving them an opportunity to unlock higher annual SR&ED claims while supporting some of the world's top software engineering, design, and digital marketing talent in relocation. It's an exciting program and opportunity, and we pick Ilya's brain on how teams can take advantage and play a role in driving global innovation. Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

On this special episode, we welcome a member of the Boast team onto the show, Mr. Shahed Khalili! Shahed is Boast's Chief Product and Technical Officer, where he's leading the team that's building our award-winning, data-driven R&D intelligence platform, using the latest in AI and ML to help our clients accelerate their innovation and extend their product runways. At his core, Shahed is a dreamer, builder, and a seasoned operator who has made strides in the B2B SaaS space before joining Boast. Most recently, he helped grow Galvanize to unicorn status on its April 2021 sale to Diligent for $1B USD. He's also been a two-time co-founder, an engineer, and a product manager throughout his career, and has gained a lot of insights about building powerful solutions that I can't wait for him to share. In this conversation, we dive in and understand where Boast has been and what's in store as we continue to grow and help even more innovative businesses maximize their investments into critical R&D. Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

Today we welcome onto the show Developa Founder Beth Nevins. Developa is a people and talent consultancy with deep expertise and experience operating in and supporting start-ups backed by Tiger Global, Sequoia, Target Global, Balderton, and Atomico. As experts in People & Talent, Beth and her team work as advisors, coaches, and consultants to help startups accelerate and realize their vision.Outside of Developa, Beth has extensive experience at tech-driven startups helping steer people ops and strategy at business from seed stage to commercial growth, international expansion, and following investment rounds.In this interview, we pick Beth's brain on what skills and strategies founders can leverage as they navigate the various stages of startup life (and eventually march toward the CEO mantle), how teams should build their C-Suite in the first place, and common challenges facing startups when it comes to People and Talent in 2024.Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

We welcome to the show product development mastermind and tech guru Mathew Mozaffari of Speer. At Speer, Matthew and his team help startups and institutions build tools with proprietary tech, while assisting with end-to-end product development. At the same time, they're also building apps and tools aimed to help improve our day-to-day lives, working beyond the technological nitty-gritty with a team of artists, designers, engineers and developers who strive to impact the world with their work.Along with establishing a standardized practice for software development  for accreditation standards in North America and Europe, Mathew has led the expansion of Speer's technical practice and business markets to bring in over $5 million in revenue.But beyond his business credentials, Mathew has been a major voice in Canada's tech ecosystem, having traveled to 6 different countries for various competitions while being selected as a Top 30 Developer Under 30 in Canada already in his career. We're thrilled to learn more about the work Mathew is doing in the space, his strategies for success to date, and what's in store for 2024. Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

Today we welcome TravelAI Co-Founder and CEO John Lyotier onto the show. TravelAI is an applied AI company that connects high-intent travelers to the largest travel websites in the world and over 10 million properties through a network of interconnected brands. The company was an early spin-out of Canadian-based Left Technologies (which John also co-founded) and built upon years of experience in online marketplaces and e-commerce. By partnering with the world's largest travel retailers, TravelAI matches millions of travelers with their dream destinations each year, facilitating more than $1.5B in gross booking value and 6M nights booked since 2016But as we alluded to earlier, this is hardly John's first go-round as a Founder and entrepreneur. Today and in his past roles, John strives to lead by example, making even the most difficult business decisions based upon what is ‘right' for all stakeholders, while advocating for responsible growth and championing Sustainable Commerce.It's a fantastic mission, and we pick John's brain on his journey into the startup space, experience as a leading entrepreneur, and what's on deck for the rest of 2024.Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

We welcome Manmeet Maggu, Founder and CEO  at Trexo Robotics. His team are re-imagining pediatric rehabilitation, while also redefining mobility solutions for all people. Manmeet started the company when he found out that his nephew had Cerebral Palsy and was unable to walk. Instead of waiting for the future to happen, Manmeet and his team decided to build the future he wanted to see and made the first-ever exoskeleton that helps children walk at home every day, in many cases for the first time in their lives.Trexos are now being used by top hospitals and customers all over North America.At Trexo, they're out to create devices that are designed with the user in mind, building wearable robotic devices that can be used at home to help children with disabilities experience walking. It's a mission that's steeped in really cool R&D and innovation—and they're just getting started!I'm thrilled to pick Manmeet's brain on the incredible innovation his team is driving, his team's goals for the future, and what it takes to drive innovation in 2024. Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

We welcome Francis Beauchamp-Verdon, Co-Founder, VP and Business Development Director at AWL-E, to discuss his mission in the mobility space and the amazing vision his team share. At AWL-E, Francis and his team have developed  a revolutionary method to move electricity wirelessly that not only breaks all boundaries of innovation, but also has immense potential for exploitation. Their mission is to provide industries seeking innovation a way to optimize their processes and make wireless electricity commonplace, while meeting the growing consumer demand for novelty and spatial freedom.It's a big mission, and one that takes a lot of passion and entrepreneurial spirit to launch, which Francis has in spades. He's an alumnae of the Creative Destruction Lab, has been part of the Centech MTL incubator, and is part of the MaRS Discovery District Community, to name just a few of the networks Francis has leveraged to drive his world-changing ideas. We're thrilled to pick his brain on how he built AWL-E, his journey as an entrepreneur, and what the rest of 2024 and beyond has in store!Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

Today we welcome Shan Gu, Founder & CEO of Foci Solutions. At Foci Solutions, Shan's team helps organizations build strong software engineering teams and self-sustaining talent engines, with the belief that the best engineering teams are ones that invest in each individual's development and learning.Foci's development pods work with their clients' software teams to provide coaching and mentorship on solid engineering principles and practices, while helping customers accelerate their product delivery velocity. Part-in-parcel, Foci also helps clients develop internal training and learning frameworks to rapidly ramp up new staff, ensuring a more resilient and self-sustaining workforce.We can't emphasize enough how valuable this approach can be for innovative founders, especially those driving unique R&D to develop truly innovative products and services. We pick Shan's brain to understand how he got into this space, the successes he's seen since launching Foci Solutions, and what's on deck for the rest of 2024. Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

We welcome a member of the Boast team onto the show, Mr. Matt Funk! Matt is Boast's VP of Customer Delivery, and has been a critical member of the Boast team pretty much since the beginning! He joined Boast back in 2013 as a Technology Advisor and has been helping steer the ship ever since, today leading our Customer Delivery arm and ensuring that the hundreds of businesses who work with Boast enjoy maximized claims with minimal effort or stress.Along with picking his brain on what it's been like seeing Boast grow and evolve over the past decade, I'm excited to hear his take on how the funding and innovation landscape has changed throughout his tenure at Boast. From mastering the SR&ED claim process, to expanding into the United States, to understanding what our customers have been up against before, today, and in the future—Matt's seen a lot!We dive in and understand where we've been and what's in store as Boast continues to grow and help even more innovative businesses maximize their investments into critical R&D. Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

This episode we welcome Ian McCarter, the Director of Corporate Innovation at MaRS Discovery District. MaRS is the world's largest urban innovation hub. Based in Toronto and operating since 2015, Mars supports startups in the health, cleantech, fintech, and enterprise sectors that are reshaping cities around the world, standing at the forefront of a wave of change that extends from Melbourne to Amsterdam and across the entire globe. In Ian's role, he's focused on creating meaningful, economic relationships between Canadian ventures and globally significant early adopters of innovation. In particular, Ian has been helping energy, mobility, real estate, mining, construction, and heavy industry partners inject Canadian innovation into their net-zero journey.Currently, this mandate includes the Mobility Unlimited Hub, which helps early-stage personal mobility companies bring their products and services to the people who need them most. Through a cohort-based program, startups are connected to the resources, talent and know-how needed to commercialize their innovations so that they can help more people put their goals and dreams in motion.I'm excited to pick Ian's brain on what it takes to drive innovation in the current market, dig into what urban innovation looks like, and in particular how important community—in it's many definitions—is to building a successful, innovative business.Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

Today's guest is Jason Taylor, President and Founder of CodeLaunch, the FREE seed accelerator event that pairs tech startups with world class dev teams to help them raise. They do this by helping early stage tech startup founders get their digital products off the ground, increasing their likelihood to launch, raise funding, and succeed as a disruptive startup venture. Jason is an advocate for Conscious Capitalism and manages the Improving-CodeLaunch FUEL Fund which deploys investment capital into the growing community of CodeLaunch alumni.So needless to say, Jason knows his way around the startup and tech ecosystem, and is expanding his reach this year by bringing the CodeLaunch party up to Toronto for an event that shines a light on Canadian Innovation. It'll all culminate in a  North America-wide competition down in Texas this fall.We dive into the details of that gathering, pick Jason's brain on how he got into the startup space in the first place, and share some of the exciting innovation he's played a hand in driving throughout his incredible career to date. Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

On this episode of What The Tech we welcome FrontFundr Founder & CEO Peter-Paul Van Hoeken! At FrontFundr, Peter-Paul and his team have built the leading equity crowdfunding platform in Canada, empowering everyday Canadians to invest in companies they believe in, providing entrepreneurs with the essential funding to drive growth. To date, more than 40,000 users have joined the FrontFundr community to help businesses raise more than $200 million.But FrontFundr is just one of the many organizations that Peter-Paul has been a part of that are helping drive innovation across the Canadian and global tech landscape. I'm excited to pick his brain on the state of funding, building a business in Canada, and the nuances of crowdfunding versus other financing channels in our chat.Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

We welcome to the show Kristjan Sigurdson, Managing Director at Endeavor Canada. Founded in 1997, Endeavor is a global organization with a mission to unlock the transformational power of entrepreneurship by selecting, supporting, and investing in the world's top founders. Today, Endeavor's network spans 40+ locations and supports 2,300+ entrepreneurs, whose companies generate combined revenues of over $28 billion, have created more than 3.9 million jobs, and, in 2020, raised over $4 billion in capital. As Managing Director of Endeavor Canada, Kristjen connects growth-stage entrepreneurs with resources, mentorship, and networks to scale their businesses and transform their communities. But he's been working hard to drive Canadian innovation in numerous roles for more than a decade, including helping scale the Creative Destruction Lab into one of the world's largest startup support organizations, while also completing a PhD in Strategic Management from the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management. He's got an amazing background and has been a stellar resource to founders across Canada and beyond, and I can't wait to pick his brain on what it takes to drive innovation, achieve growth and scale in 2024. Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

Today we welcome to the show Neil Weitzman, CEO and Co-Founder of PORCH and Founder amd Fractional CRO of revenue•x. Neil is a go-to-market operator who understands that “revenue is everything.” He builds and scales teams within SaaS, DaaS and tech businesses, while helping CEO's,  founders and executive teams build and execute robust GTM strategies focused on revenue acceleration.But Neil is also an Entrepreneur who focuses on making an impact through the power of community. At PORCH, their mission is to help 1,000,000 immigrant entrepreneurs succeed in Canada through community, helping level the playing field for immigrants by providing a curated, engaging and safe place to build relationships, learn, and help each other grow.It's an amazing mission, and I'm thrilled to learn about his successes to date and what's in store for the future. Without further ado, welcome to the show, Neil!Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

On this episode of What The Tech, we welcome Quin Sandler, Plantiga's Co-founder and CEO. Quin's team is on a mission to optimize human performance, resilience and recovery through the monitoring and analysis of biomechanics—that is, a person's unique movement patterns. The Plantiga platform combines an advanced sensor insole that measures how a person moves so they can maximize their health, recovery and performance. Combining predictive analytics and applied sport science, Plantiga supports hundreds of teams, trainers and athletes - in sport and life. As impressive as that mission is at Plantiga, Quin's experience in the Canadian startup ecosystem is extensive and mighty as well. As the latest serial entrepreneur to join our show, Quin has founded companies in online learning, coaching and digital branding. He's most recently spent more than a decade in the wearable space, where he brings a wealth of experience in product design, development and branding that truly sets Plantiga apart.Quin has also been an amazing Boast customer and partner, and an incredible resource across the Vancouver tech ecosystem and beyond. We pick his brain on the work he's done to date, his path to success, and what's next for Plantiga. Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

Today we welcome onto the show founder-extraordinaire Diraj Perkash Goel, Managing Partner and Founder of Get Fresh Ventures. At Get Fresh, Diraj and his team have played a pivotal role in launching over 200 startups onto paths of significant growth and profitability. His tenure at technology giants such as Hootsuite and Vision Critical has given him invaluable insights into operational excellence and customer engagement strategies, making him a cornerstone in the realm of business growth acceleration.Before establishing GetFresh Ventures, Diraj's visionary leadership was instrumental in the revitalization of BC Tech's HyperGrowth Programme. His overhaul of the program structure led to a marked increase in the success rates of participating startups, many of which have since surpassed $100 million in revenue.Of course, these are just a few of the bona fides that have made Diraj such a distinguished figure in the tech industry both in Canada and globally. I can't wait to pick his brain on his startup journey, some of the great companies he's working with today, and what's on deck at Get Fresh Ventures for the rest of 2024.Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

We welcome Simon Knauber, Director of Finance and HR at Glass Canvas, which is a faith-tech and consulting company behind ministry products for the Church, including Tilma Parish and Tilma Diocese. Their software is more than just technology, but a way to create more ministry impact by helping dioceses and parishes serve their people better and create more meaningful encounters with their faith.This includes delivering Ministry, marketing and tech expertise for Dioceses, churches and ministries, while equipping teams with unified infrastructure, formation resources, and ongoing mission support.It's a lofty mission that's rooted in a lot of cool and innovative  tech—to say nothing of the unique value proposition that Glass Canvas delivers to the faith community. I'm excited to learn more about Simon, Glass Canvas, and the incredible tech behind empowering the Church to form resilient disciples in our modern age.Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

Today I am stoked to welcome to the show Chris Hobbs, President of TTT Studios. Through Chris' leadership, TTT Studios has grown to become a powerhouse in the Vancouver tech community, creating digital experiences for customers that innovate and leave a lasting, positive impact on every user's journey.What sets TTT Studios and Chris apart is their unwavering commitment to deeply understanding every client's' unique challenges and business needs. From concept to code, TTT assembles an expert team around each project to build user-centric solutions that upgrade their clients' business.As exciting as the work being done at TT Studios is, this is hardly Chris's first go-round driving innovation in the tech space, as he's been a Founder and Developer on some incredible projects over the past two decades. I'm thrilled to learn more about hwo got into the entrepreneurial space in the first place, his experiences building amazing solutions at TTT, and his sage wisdom for founders in Canada and beyond. Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

Today we welcome to the show Tim Sprinkle, Managing Director of Venture Capital Marketing, where Tim and his team have worked with almost 50 VC firms to help drive an average 20-30% increase in Assets Under Management (AUM) year-over-year. While this is impressive on its own, Tim has an expansive career in the tech and startup space, including more than 25 years as a writer and journalist, which has given him a unique and valuable perspective on what it takes to succeed in the world of tech and finance. He's shared many of these learnings in his 2015 book Screw the Valley: A Coast to Coast Tour of America's New Tech Startup Landscape where he outlined just how decentralized the footprint for innovation has become in the United States (and frankly, across the globe!). I'm excited to pick his brain on how things are looking for startups and VCs in 2024, sage wisdom for navigating the current market challenges, and what's in store for Tim and his team as the year rolls on!Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

Today we welcome to the show Hamoon Ekhtiari, Founder and CEO at FutureFit AI. At FutureFit AI, Hamoons's team uses over 350 Million global talent profiles, live labor market data and projections, and proprietary algorithms to help workers navigate career transitions. Their team works with Fortune 500 companies, governments, and workforce development organizations to provide an AI-powered tool that acts as a GPS to guide workers on their next step, from reskilling to job placement. Ultimately, they're using AI to support reskilling efforts and reimagine layoffs through outskilling–an awesome mission and one steeped in very cool tech. But FutureFit AI is just the latest chapter in Hamoon's personal mission to help others unlock opportunity through innovation. His career journey has taken him from Founding Director of a leadership academy at one of the world's largest urban innovation hubs, to Director of Strategy and Innovation for a $30B telecom and technology company.He's an active member of the Governor General's Canadian Leadership Conference, an AdR Fellow at The University of Cambridge, a recipient of University of Waterloo's Alumni Achievement Medal, and a Canada Millennium Scholar, to just name a few of the accolades. We pick his brains on his path through the startup and scale up world and driving innovation, and share his insights on how to succeed as a founder in today's tech ecosystem. Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

We welcome to the show Deskree Founder and CEO Dmytro Grechko. At Deskree, their mission is to make software development accessible to everyone by breaking down traditional barriers and empowering people to turn their ideas into reality. This can be a gamechanger for any entrepreneurs who may have the vision to build an amazing product, but lack that backend expertise. Deskree's proven 5-step process for building an effective and scalable cloud infrastructure offers visionaries a seamless route for bringing their ideas to life in minutes—not weeks, months or even years. The TL;DR? Their solution enables founders to focus on creating amazing products, letting Deskree do the heavy lifting when it comes to technical nitty gritty. It's an ethos that we mirror in our mission here at Boast as we strive to help  founders drive innovation without burdening them or expanding their already heavy workload. I'm thrilled to pick Dmytro's brain on some of the exciting projects he's executing at Deskree today, the unique R&D that goes into creating no-code solutions, and what's in store as Deskree grows.Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

We're thrilled to welcome VanHack CEO Ilya Brotzky on the show. At VanHack, Ilya and his team are on a mission to create a borderless world for tech talent by connecting the world's top software engineering, design, and digital marketing talent with some of the leading innovating businesses in North America. With more than 450,000 members from over 100 countries, VanHack is the largest workforce that is ready to relocate in the world, truly walking the walk when it comes to “connecting cultures through code.”Along with helping companies grow through on-demand staffing, Ilya is also a force in both the Vancouver, BC and broader Canadian innovation ecosystem. I know I caught up with Ilya at my first Collision Conference in Toronto this past summer, but he's been working with our team at Boast for years to help VanHack bring their game-changing solutions to reality. He's on an incredible mission, and has the network behind him to make it work. I couldn't be more excited to pick his brains about his journey through the startup space, what it takes to succeed in today's market, and tips for any founders launching tech in 2024.Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

We welcome welcome Serial Ideator, Brand Builder, Founder and Ocean Advocate Amanda Horn onto the show. Amanda is the founder of Loless Beauty, a sustainable shave and body care company that's reimagining beauty products and personal care routines to use less water, less plastic and less waste, creating the next wave of eco-conscious consumers.And while Amanda strives to protect both human and the planet's water resources with Loless, she also plays a big role in the larger Blue Economy, which is booming in Eastern Canada.She's a Mentor focused on Ocean Science Communication & Brand Storytelling for the Sustainable Ocean Alliance, a Blue Standard Consultant for Oceanic Global, Advisory Board Member for The Canada Node for the UN Ocean Decade Global Early Career Ocean Professionals Programme, and a consultant for the Canadian Ocean Literacy Coalition.And all of this in just the past couple of years! Needless to say, Amanda knows the Blue Economy well, and I can't wait to pick her brain on what it takes to build a business that supports and benefits from the Oceans in 2024. Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

Today we welcome ConnectionPoint Founder and CEO Daryl Hatton onto the show! At ConnectionPoint, Daryl and his team have built the next-generation technology powering a suite of digital fundraising platforms that help organizations, businesses, and individuals create a positive impact in the world. Their solutions ease the process of collaborative funding to be more engaging and socially integrated, offering a rare balance of powerful crowdfunding paired with affordability and effortless usability. With all that said, it should go without saying that these are amazing and timely solutions that can be a silver bullet for non-profits, creators, animal and pet care professionals, and even healthcare providers.But building this innovative solution has called on Daryl's impressive experience within the crowdfunding, tech and startup communities. He continues to be an active advisor and partner for an array of innovative social funding and commerce initiatives, and I can't wait to pick his brain on what it takes to succeed in today's tech economy.Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

Today I am thrilled to welcome onto the show Sophia Wennstedt, Co-Founder & CEO of Blip Energy. At Blip,  Sophia and her team are on a mission to redefine home batteries to increase energy resilience for both individuals and communities. By designing a product to work without typical installation constraints, Blip Energy is able to add millions of otherwise-inaccessible homes to the smart grid network. Sophia's team is set on finding new ways to manage energy demand, while ensuring that energy stability is an option for all of us, not just folks who can afford a luxury system. It's a lofty mission, but Sophia and her team have the  background to make it happen, drawing on experience working as a Mechanical Engineer and later as Program Manager at iRobot, before pivoting into the energy space with work at Exelon and Tesla. All of this is rooted in Sophia's passion for climate justice and energy equity, which she's demonstrated through active involvement driving STEM education outreach. It's a field that's rife with innovation and opportunity, and I can't wait to pick Sophia's brain on what's in store for her team and the industry in the new year. Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

On this episode we welcome CEO and Co-Founder of MyARC, Peter Monteza. At MyARC, their mission is to power fitness creators to get their fans fit and make a purposeful living while doing so. They've done this by creating a platform that enables fitness content creators to train their fans interactively at scale, from anywhere in the world. MyARC takes care of the boring stuff—progressions, daily stats and tracking—so that trainers can focus on the important part—content, advice and motivation—for their fans and community. It's an exciting mission and a powerful platform that's rooted in Peter's own experience training as a national-level athlete. But Peter's drive and determination go beyond physical health, as he's proven to be an adept entrepreneur, having taken part in accelerator and incubator programs—including being part of Techstars 2022 cohort—on his journey as a founder. We learn about what his experiences in the startup world have been like to date and what's in store for MyARC in 2024.Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

Mila Banerjee, CEO and Tech Lead at Pronti AI. At Pronti, Mila and her team are looking to help Apparel and Accessory retailers access their share of the nearly $1 trillion dollar personalization *opportunity* that's out there. They do this by giving retailers access to unique consumer purchase intent data that's historically been just out of reach. We The Pronti app leverages six machine learning algorithms in the background to allow consumers to experience easy closet uploads and outfit inspiration, while being the only place where users can shop with their existing closet items.Along with being an awesome tool for consumers and businesses alike, Pronti is impacting UN Sustainability Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production through individual closet utilization, and providing data for retailers to optimize production.It's an amazing solution that touches on a wealth of opportunities, but that's only part of Mila's journey, as she's been leading the tech charge across industries and the entire globe over the course of her career to date. I'm so excited to hear about her latest venture, what's in store for Pronti going forward, and her take on the current state of startups for fellow entrepreneurs in 2024.Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

Today I'm thrilled to welcome to the show self-proclaimed serial entrepreneur and Techstar Roy Pereira. Roy is currently the CEO of Unified, the integrations-as-a-Service platform for B2B SaaS companies. With their Unified APIs, developers can integrate just once to add multiple software systems to their products from categories like HR, ATS, CRM and Authentication. Their solution has transformed what used to take several months into an afternoon project, helping SaaS companies swiftly and securely scale their integrations.It should go without saying, but those time savings and value adds can be a gamechanger for emergent SaaS products as they look to make their mark, achieve new market potential and drive more revenue. But along with steering the innovation over at Unified, Roy has been a positive presence in the Toronto and broader Canadian tech scene for a while now, with more than a decade of pushing the envelope in the Advertising, Security, Networking, and of course Software industries.I'm thrilled to hear what's in store for Unified, how Roy got into the startup scene in the first place, and his take on the current state of the tech ecosystem.Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

Today I am thrilled to welcome to the show Steven Forth, Co-Founder and CEO of Ibbaka. At Ibbaka, their focus is on helping SaaS companies set pricing models that align with the true value they deliver, helping drive increased revenue, profitability and customer retention in the process. Through both the Ibbaka Valio Platform and through consulting that is informed by research and data, Steven and his team are helping SaaS companies “achieve greatness” in the subscription economy.And few people are more qualified than Steven to help steer this effort. His  journey as an entrepreneur has seen him lead innovative businesses in both the US and Canada, while he's consulted on go-to-market strategies, value management and pricing for a wide breadth of exciting products and services. He's even been identified as one of the leading experts in B2B pricing by Openview, combining design and decision making frameworks with value management and pricing strategy to help SaaS businesses grow.It's an impressive and exciting mission, and I couldn't be happier to have Steven join us to discuss his takes on the innovation economy, what it takes to succeed in today's market, and what's in store for Ibbaka in 2024.Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

Today I am thrilled to welcome to the show Lauren Thibodeau, who, along with being the Founder at saascan, is an adviser and all-around rock star within the Canadian startup ecosystem. At saascan, Lauren and her team provide mentoring, enablement and advisory services to Canadian SaaS startups at almost all stages of their growth journey. What sets saascan apart is that they help SaaS leaders be metrics-savvy and customer-centric, leveraging the latest research to inform all decisions. This ultimately helps businesses achieve higher Annual Recurring Revenue, Net Dollar Retention, and SaaS company valuation.On the topic of research, Lauren and her team recently published The SaaS Metrics That Matter Most for Startups in 2024 report, which highlighted the key success factors that burgeoning SaaS businesses need to prioritize to navigate all that 2024 has in store. From the expected impacts of generative AI to the rise of “hashtag growficiency,” I'm excited to get Lauren's take on how these metrics are starting to bear as 2024 rolls out. But as I mentioned before, Lauren's reach goes beyond saascan, as she's an advisor to incubators and accelerators across Canada—including our friends at Volta and Invest Ottawa—as well as directly providing customer success strategy for a roster of startups in her network. She's got her finger on the pulse of the Canadian startup ecosystem, and I can't wait to pick her brain on the current state of startups and what it takes to succeed in today's market.Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

Today I am thrilled to welcome to the show Kris McCarthy, Co-Founder and COO of FanSaves. Now, FanSaves is a sports tech startup and digital platform that offers fans discounts and deals from sponsors of their favorite sports teams and organizations. They provide partners with unlimited digital sponsorship inventory that is trackable through the FanSaves backend dashboard.Their product is unique in that it offers partners a true turn-key perk that can be added to their membership benefits, while being fully integratable into team websites and mobile apps. This allows FanSaves partners to drive fan traffic back to their own digital assets, helping drive engagement all year round.As unique as the innovation that Kris is driving at FanSaves is, his journey into the startup space is just as interesting. Before entering the startup game, Kris spent seven years playing minor professional hockey while winning two championships before transitioning into the front office, serving as the Director of Sales for two minor professional hockey teams back in 2017.Needless to say, he's had a view into the world of professional sports from almost all angles, and I can't wait to pick his brain about what's in store for Kris, FanSaves and his take on the larger startup ecosystem as we dive headlong into 2024.Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

Today I'm thrilled to welcome Jason Terry from General Ledger Partners onto the show. As a Certified Public Accountant, Jason has more than 15 years in the finance and accounting space, having successfully worked for public, private, and not-for-profit entities with annual revenues ranging from $6M to over $600M.At General Ledger Partners, Jason and his team offer bookkeeping, general ledger cleanup, and financial consulting services to small businesses and startups, managing the accounting function to maximize their company's potential. It's a mission our team at Boast knows well and shares, as we have worked with Jason to help innovative clients capture R&D tax credits to recoup a portion of their R&D spend and help extend their product runway. I'm thrilled to have Jason on to discuss his work in the startup space, the genesis of General Ledger Partners, and the challenges their customers face, as well as what his experience has been wrangling R&D tax credits, working with Boast and supporting customers with a successful capital strategy. Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

Today I'm thrilled to be joined by two guests as part of our Founders & Friends series! For these shows, we encourage a member of our network to extend the invitation to a new friend to hop on the mic to talk about their founder stories and get their take on building a successful startup in today's market!Joining us first is our friend Alina Guidu, CEO of Muze, a platform that enables Independent artists to release music and connect directly with their fans, bypassing the traditional gatekeepers in the music industry and ensuring artists get access to up to 90% of their work's revenue. She's an experienced entrepreneur with a demonstrated history of driving success in the media and Web3 industries, and I'm excited to learn how she's putting these skills to use disrupting the way music is shared in the twenty-first century.Joining Alina and me is Saleha Jaweid, who is a Toronto-based IT Operations Rockstar with a wealth of experience driving innovation across Canada, where she's focused on creating highly productive technology teams. She currently leads IT Ops at Topl, the world's first blockchain built for tracking, tokenizing, and monetizing positive impact. She has worked with many different companies and startups as both a tactical team member and funder, helping them become operationally savvy and inculcate a Lean-Agile mindset.For both Alina and Saleha, there is a lot of R&D and innovative tech involved in their current missions, and I can't wait to learn about what they're working on today, how they got into the startup space in the first place, and their goals for the future!Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

Today I am thrilled to welcome onto the show Tarig Abdellatief, Managing Director of Arctech Accelerate. Based out of Ottawa, Tarig's team sets a national standard for grant and proposal writing, business development and lobbying sector services, representing businesses across software, manufacturing, healthcare, Space Tech, Military, Not-for-Profit and virtually any other sector driving innovation in Canada today. Tarig utilizes a deep understanding of government programs, policies and protocols to help the founders and entrepreneurs he works with maximize their access to the resources they need to succeed. He's put this knowledge to work partnering with Boast and other leaders in the startup ecosystem for a series of recent webinars hosted by Startup Stack, and has been an invaluable resource personally in helping  me understand what it takes to build a successful startup in Canada. I'm truly so excited to pick Tarig's brain about his journey in the startup space, the role his team has played in helping businesses achieve growth at Arctech Accelerate, and what he sees for the future of his organization and startups across Canada. Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

Today I am thrilled to welcome Daniel Shum onto the show. Daniel is the Chief Operating Officer at CTK Bio, a Canadian cleantech startup that's researching, developing and manufacturing solutions that combat climate change and environmental pollution. Their technology is a game changer, converting wasted by-products into truly biodegradable and compostable goods that are designed to break down in managed and unmanaged environments.Daniel's team is very clear in their mission, to ensure that in all processes where ideas meet technology, CTK Bio not only promises success, but strives to accelerate the world's transition to sustainable products.It's a lofty mission, and Boast has been proud to partner with Daniel and the CTK Bio team. In this episode, I look forward to learning more about how Daniel got into the space, the great work the team at CTK Bio is doing, what it's been like partnering with Boast to tap into R&D tax credits, and plans for the future!Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

Today I'm thrilled to welcome Kenneth Berger onto the show. With 20+ years in the tech industry, Kenneth helps startup leaders get unstuck and make their dreams happen. As an executive coach to dozens of top founders, Kenneth shares the tools he's developed throughout his career to help leaders articulate what they truly want and take a courageous stand for those desires.Kenneth's Services: https://kberger.com/He's a former founder in his own right, having helped create businesses backed by Andressen Horowitz and Accel, and was one of the earliest key hires over at Slack, acting as their first Product Manager as Slack grew from 100k to 1M+ daily users.Needless to say, he's been on the front lines of technological innovation and behind the scenes of some of the most impactful brands of the 2000s, and I'm excited to pick his brains and share his insights with our podcast community.Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

Today I am thrilled to welcome onto the show Sean Languedoc, Founder and CEO of Outforce.AI. Formerly known as Global Talent Accelerator, Outforce transforms outsourcing from a daunting task to a strategic asset to accelerate delivery for venture-backed companies. Outforce filters out all the noise and quickly matches clients with the best suited engineering agencies - filtering down to agencies that can not just deliver but also seamlessly blend with existing company culture.Sean's team at Outforce have a database with over 77,000 software agencies from next door to off shore. They quickly get to the top ten and do deeper due diligence from there so clients don't waste any time talking to any companies that aren't a fit. Their unique approach has a remarkable 98% hit rate, enabling tech companies to ramp up their engineering capacity swiftly and confidently without a dent in quality, cost, or time.But this is just one pillar of Sean's story, as he's spent more than 25 years immersed in the tech space and built 4 companies from ideas into thriving enterprises. He continues to immerse himself in the startup ecosystem as a mentor, guiding budding entrepreneurs through the complex landscape, and providing them with the resources and network to thrive.Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

Today I'm thrilled to welcome to the show Daniel Rizzi, Co-Founder and GC at We-Watch. Daniel's mission is to help make the world a safer place without compromising people's data privacy or freedoms. To do so, he's embarked on a unique social enterprise with We-Watch that essentially harnesses the power of community for social and criminal justice.With the We-Watch app, users can find people who were nearby and witnessed when a specific incident—take, for instance, a vehicle collision—occurs, enabling the user to contact the witnesses to see if they can share observations or media related to the event. From there, the user can consolidate relevant information and media in the We-Watch app, helping them obtain recourse in conjunction with concerned parties and authorities.It's a truly innovative and very timely solution that can be a silver bullet for numerous scenarios. But while Daniel is a co-founder in his own right, he's also an advisor to founders across Canada, helping them raise the capital they need to scale while navigating around any potential legal roadblocks to their success. I can't wait to get his take on the startup scene today, the work he's doing at We-Watch and what's on the horizon.Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

Today I'm thrilled to welcome to the show from Silicolabs, Benjamin Alsbury-Nealy, Co-founder and CEO, and Kyla Alsbury-Nealy, Co-Founder Chief Operating Officer. Benjamin and Kyla are driving some serious innovation over at Silicolabs, leveraging emerging technology to bridge the gap between Neuroscience and Artificial Intelligence. They do this by creating tools that enable anyone to leverage tech like virtual reality, augmented reality, and AI within a framework designed for creativity and collaboration.The results? Silicolabs customers can easily create virtual experiences that simulate real-world scenarios to train and assess humans & AI behavior, saving precious time and resources.It's a hot market for sure, and one steeped in research and development, and we're excited to ask Benjamin and Kyla how they got into the space in the first place, the many applications and use cases of their cutting-edge tech, and their opinion on what it takes to succeed in the current startup ecosystem.Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

Today I am thrilled to be joined by Caroline Arzoo, Director of Partnerships at Omnisync, a VC and government-backed software and services company that's helping drive the development of world-transforming and game-changing innovations. This team truly leans on innovation, using modern AL/NLP-powered context-matching algorithms to create non-obvious connections between public and private innovators, scouts, and funders. Once a connection is made, Omnisync's workflow tools help the parties execute on exciting new opportunities and collaborate on projects, unlocking critical resources such as early-stage funding, key partnerships, deep market intelligence, and predictive insights, for the go-getters in the innovation ecosystem..In Caroline's role, she works with teams like Boast that have a shared mission of driving innovation by giving passionate founders access to the resources they need to achieve growth. She's the perfect person for the job, as she also contributes as a Mentor to the Founder Institute in their San Diego and Silicon Valley chapters, adding further proof to just how passionate Caroline is about empowering innovators to make an impact.She certainly has worked with some great minds in her career to date and I can't wait to pick her brain about the awesome innovators she's working with today and Omnisync's plans for the future!Without further ado, welcome to the show Caroline!Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

Hello and welcome to What The Tech from Boast AI, where we talk with some of the brilliant minds behind new and exciting [tech] initiatives to learn what it takes to tackle “technological uncertainty” and, eventually, change the world.Today I'm thrilled to welcome Tarra Stubbins to the show, founder of Take It Easy Group. Take It Easy is aiming to help seed and series A companies scale for success by helping them “Quit The Cult of Busy.” Her team of talented Executive Business Partners can help new founders and CEOs develop methods and efficiencies that will propel them to rocketship success—and Tarra has the track record to prove it!Having been a personal assistant for more than 20 years for some of the biggest names in business and entertainment, Tarra has taken the skills she learned out on the road and puts them to use helping her clients eliminate their To-Do lists on a daily basis.Needless to say, she knows first hand what it takes to help founders navigate the choppy waters of the startup world without losing their cool, and I'm very excited to pick her brain on how she found Take It Easy Group, her strategies for new startups and her take on the ecosystem in 2023.Boast AI accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence. Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth. Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.