In this North Star panel discussion, Gabriel Sundaram, a co-founder of Attain, hosts successful CEOs and founders to share their entrepreneurial journeys and key strategies for building and scaling startups. Panelists include Andrew from Stay 22, Anna from Dialogue and Coral, Malik from Nesto, and Joanne from PemPem. They discuss the importance of speed, intensity, and obsession in growing a business, the balance between rapid execution and maintaining personal well-being, and the role of mentorship and coaching. The conversation also emphasizes the value of storytelling in media, adapting to market realities, and the significance of teamwork and finding joy in the entrepreneurial journey. The session ends with advice for students on leveraging academic skills in the business world and maintaining a healthy balance while pursuing their passion.…

In this engaging talk, Harley Finkelstein, President of Shopify, shares insights from his entrepreneurial journey, highlighting the significance of passion, necessity, and grit in building successful businesses. He recounts his early ventures, the foundational role of Montreal in his career, and the evolution of Shopify into a global powerhouse. Addressing a room of entrepreneurs and students, Harley emphasizes the importance of knowing one's mission, leveraging technology, and persevering through failures. He also discusses personal growth, the concept of life's work, and the vibrant entrepreneurial spirit of Montreal. The talk concludes with Harley's perspective on the importance of grit and the belief that entrepreneurship is central to solving problems and creating value.…

In this North Star panel discussion, Eleonore Jarry from Brightspark Ventures sat down with student founders. The conversation highlights the experiences of various student founders, their innovative projects, and the challenges they face in the startup ecosystem. Key topics include raising initial funds, the importance of team and mission, navigating the academia-industry transition, pivots and finding product-market fit, and the unique advantages and support systems available to young entrepreneurs. The panelists also engage in practical discussions on retaining talent within Montreal's ecosystem and fostering stronger ties between academic institutions, startups, and the broader venture capital landscape.…

The band is back together! Eleonore is back from mat leave and we had the chance to record an episode with Ian Jeffrey and Gabriel Sundaram - all while eating a good poutine. We spoke about: How the industry can improve for young moms Stage of early stage in Canada and what it takes to uplevel Latest events & news (Lightspeed, AI startups, Kaufman Fellows)…

In this episode, we have the pleasure of speaking with Sophie Boulanger, CEO @ 1Valet. Sophie is one of Canada's most innovative and dynamic entrepreneurs. She has 20 years of experience in the strategy, performance, growth and value creation of organizations, brands and retail operations in the consumer goods industry. She’s the co-founder of Bonlook which was acquired in 2021. On the second day, we spoke with Julie, she is a serial entrepreneur and current venture capital partner at Amiral Ventures. She’s the co-founder of Tracktik, an innovative company specialized in optimizing the management of security agencies, she led the company to international success. We spoke about their respective founder journeys, building companies that exited and the lessons they learned along the way…

We have an amazing TechPoutine episode to share with you today. Ian Jeffrey, Gabriel Sundaram and I sat down with Kyle Braatz, co-founder & CEO @ Fullscript. We spoke about: How Kyle built his business from the ground up to over $1BN in annual revenue servicing 100,000 practitioners and 10 million patients How Kyle balanced growth and profitability Management principles scaling from 0 to 800 people (culture, board of directors) Working with private equity sponsors His thoughts on the recent capital gains changes Why he joined a group to purchase the Ottawa Senators…

Last week, we recorded a TechPoutine podcast from the Somo Lounge at Notman House. We were joined by the magnificent Sophie Forest, Managing Partner at Brightspark Ventures. She graciously stepped in for Eleonore Jarry who is enjoying her mat leave. Ian Jeffrey, Gabriel Sundaram and I had the pleasure of asking Sophie a bunch of questions about her thoughts on the latest developments in technology (yes, we spoke about AI), the current fundraising environment, what it takes to succeed as a founder and how more women can get into venture capital.…

Ian Jeffrey, Gabriel Sundaram and I had the pleasure of being joined by Mark MacLeod who has sat at the right-hand side of the leaders of high growth technology companies as either a CFO, VC or deal maker since 1999. He served as CFO for software companies including Shopify and Freshbooks. ‍ He was also a General Partner in Real Ventures and founded SurePath Capital Partners. Mark is a coach to startup CEOs and was nice enough to share some great advice on the podcast. We spoke about: Mark’s journey from CFO to investor to coach Why coaching is important for high level executives just like elite athletes Being intentional about work-life balance The notion of intentionality in one’s work…

This is a special episode where we discussed the ongoing saga of Notman House and why it’s important to keep it in the hands of the community. We were joined by Gabriel Lesperance , a serial entrepreneur that benefited greatly from Notman. He wrote a great op-ed in Le Devoir which we recommend you read. We spoke about: The history of Notman House Its pivotal role in fostering entrepreneurship and driving innovative breakthroughs in technology Notman as a symbol of inspiration for countless startups, providing a dynamic and collaborative environment that sparks creativity and innovation The importance of preserving its heritage…

This is the last episode of Tech Poutine before Eleonore Jarry’s maternity leave! Ian Jeffrey, Gabriel Sundaram and I wished her the best of luck. We also celebrated the occasion by eating some good poutine together. On the show, we spoke about: The promises and risks of AI Polarization in media The mission of Techaide and getting together to give back Upcoming events in the ecosystem…

New episode of TechPoutine with Gabriel Sundaram, Eleonore Jarry and Ian Jeffrey is live! On the show, we spoke about: A slew of new funding announcements iNovia’s discovery program, Luge Capital Fund 2 and Front Row Ventures The trend of solo GP Latest innovations of AI and All In conference

TechPoutine with Gabriel Sundaram, Eleonore Jarry, Ian Jeffrey and Nectarios Economakis On the show, we discuss: Harley moving back to Montreal Damien Steel’s appointment as the new DeepSky CEO Fred Lalonde’s keynote about DeepSky (must watch!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Baz2OsoIOPs The impact of Bill C18 on the Canadian media industry…

On this episode, Gabriel Sundaram, Eleonore Jarry, Ian Jeffrey and Nectarios Economakis talk about: Recap of FounderFuel and StartupFest Climate Tech and Deep Sky Building companies that have a purpose

Canadian Technology news with industry veterans: Eleonore Jarry, Gabriel Sundaram, Ian Jeffrey, Nectarios Economakis The show is four friends getting together and talking about the Canadian technology ecosystem. We wanted to share an insider’s perspective and have some fun while doing it. On this first episode, we spoke about Why we decided to start a new show Founderfuel, its founding history and its impact on the ecosystem How we can collaborate more and…