Sebastien Provencher

Custom stacks can lead to two very real problems: depending on custom development and increased tech debt. Combined, your pace slows and ultimately, your trade-off is innovation and growth. That’s why Mejuri went from a fully custom stack to Shopify. Before Shopify, Mejuri was on an entirely custom stack: custom ecommerce, payments service, and middleware that was built to connect their custom ecommerce site to their point of sale system [POS]. This led to a ton of challenges. They were spending too much time building and maintaining 3rd party integrations to coordinate channels, data, and functionality between systems. With limited resources and team members, the trade-off of building custom features was they were not able to address their mounting technical debt. Addressing those issues in-house, slowed down their pace of innovation making them unable to deploy features as fast as they needed to. That’s the ‘invisible’ cost component with a custom stack. You spend an inordinate amount of time building custom features at the cost of innovation. Brands can avoid that with Shopify. Shopify is a natively unified ecommerce and POS system so everything just works together really really well. It doesn’t require middleware or integrations. Your customer, order, and product data flows to both channels from a single source of truth. It’s simpler and allows you to move faster. Hear about from Mejuri yourself. Rohit Nathany, the Chief Digital Officer sat down with us to talk about the pain points they faced on a custom stack. As Rohit says, what better way to simplify than to have a unified ecommerce and POS solution? See the full interview here: https://lnkd.in/eyCSdVgf

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INDOCHINO Sets Their Sights on Data Driven Brand Development as Pathway to Accelerating Growth. The addition of Ryane Askew as Vice President of Marketing is an exciting investment in this next phase of profitable growth. VANCOUVER, BC, Dec. 11, 2024 /CNW/ - INDOCHINO, the global leader in made to measure apparel, is excited to announce its strategic focus on brand development as a key driver for growth in 2025. The company is committed to expanding its presence in the retail industry by enhancing its brand story and customer journey. In line with this ambition, INDOCHINO has appointed Ryane Askew as the new Vice President of Marketing, a move that signals the company's commitment to deepening its connection with consumers and accelerating its growth trajectory. "INDOCHINO has experienced remarkable growth over recent years, and we are now entering a new chapter where brand development will be central to our continued success," said Drew Green, Chief Executive Officer, and President of INDOCHINO. "Ryane Askew brings a wealth of experience and a forward-thinking approach to marketing, making her the perfect fit to lead our efforts in shaping the future of the INDOCHINO brand. We are confident that her leadership and deep understanding of analytics and data will help us forge deeper connections with our customers and bring our vision to life in a bold and compelling way." Ryane is a seasoned and dynamic growth leader with over 15 years of experience delivering impactful growth for globally recognized brands. Ryane's most notable results during her time at Pier 1 Imports, Blue Nile, and Nordstrom were driven by her unwavering customer focused leadership style. Throughout her career, Ryane has built and scaled high-performing teams across a variety of functions, including marketing, e-commerce, analytics, and technology. "I am thrilled to join INDOCHINO at such an exciting time in the company's journey," said Ryane Askew. "The INDOCHINO brand has always stood for quality, craftsmanship, and personalization, and I look forward to leading the team in building a stronger connection with our customers. Together, we will elevate the brand experience and create new opportunities for growth as we approach 2025 and beyond." As INDOCHINO looks toward the future, the company's focus on brand development is expected to encompass a variety of initiatives, including refining its digital presence, expanding marketing efforts across channels, and enhancing the overall customer journey. With the appointment of Ryane Askew, INDOCHINO is confident that these initiatives will not only strengthen its position in the market but also solidify its reputation as a leader in custom apparel. Matthew Berglass Ryane Askew Vanessa Pillay (CA)SA, CPA BC Alex Buhler Sean Wrenn Morgan Whitney

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Over $500M in Sales. 12 Toronto tech leaders. One dinner table... A powerful reminder of what really drives business in 2024. Last night, I hosted top GTM executives from Google, Cisco, OpenText, Stack Adapt & some of the fastest growing startups. In a world obsessed with digital transformation, one truth stood out: real relationships close enterprise deals. Why this matters: • Top execs are flying weekly to NYC & SF • Multi-million dollar deals are getting closed in person • Trust = currency in enterprise sales • Digital tools support, but don't replace relationships The reality of enterprise sales in 2024: • One champion isn't enough • You need buy-in from entire teams • Face-to-face builds deeper trust • Community drives opportunities Key lessons from the room: • Enterprise sales cycles are getting more complex • In-person meetings convert at 3x digital • Community is the new competitive advantage • LinkedIn is underpriced attention This wasn't just another networking event. This was Toronto's top minds sharing battle scars and victories over good food and better conversation. Shoutout to all the amazing GTM leaders for your insights. Max Woo 👋 Saad Khan Yugbodh Singh Steve Young Neil Duffy Shwetha Vincy Michael King Nabeil Alazzam Leo Vynnyk Hamza Farhat Ali Vik Kandeth Want to join the next gathering of Toronto's finest? Drop a 🤝 below. These insights are reshaping how we're building at Virio. #toronto #b2bsales #enterprisesales

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The 3 top secrets about SR&ED If you’re a founder in the Canadian tech space - this snippet is for you! 1. In 2019, SR&ED provided >$3 billion in tax incentives to over 20,000 businesses. A quick 1-liner on SR&ED: It is the single largest federal program to support R&D in businesses in Canada. 2. 80% of SR&ED claims were received by companies with <100 employees I really want to hammer this home 2% of claims came from Solopreneurs Since this is from 2019, I fully expect this number to be higher for 2023-2024 57% were for companies with 1 to 19 employees…again based on 2019 data The takeaway - You might be small But you’re a powerhouse of innovation 3. You had an innovative-as-heck idea, spent time and experimented on it; but it failed You can still claim SR&ED on it. I LOVE this because it is the correct long term approach. Be rewarded for your innovative attempt, not its outcome. — Like this snippet? Please let me know what you thought in the comments below. Also, follow me for more insights. Want to get started with SR&ED for your business? Drop me a note for a no-obligations consultation.

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Such a great blog post which I suggest every founder read. So many golden nuggets in here. But one that stands out: What are some qualities that you see in the most successful founders? Well, I love smart people, with high IQs, and high EQs, that’s great. But, of the founders that I see, the highest correlation with success is with their grit quotient. They’re not necessarily the smartest people in the world, but their grit and determination are unbelievable. They never give up and always find a way to blast through any obstacle they face. It’s the mentality of “succeed or die” – it’s that kind of determination that wins. #gritcotient #grit #founder #highperformancemindset

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Trolley isn’t just making moves—it’s rewriting the playbook. $23 million in Series B funding just landed, courtesy of Wavecrest Growth Partners leading the charge, with Pace Capital and GreenSky Ventures in the mix. Tim Nixon, the mastermind CEO and founder, is steering this Toronto-born powerhouse into uncharted territory, turning payouts and tax compliance into an art form. The kind that businesses don’t just appreciate—they can’t function without. This isn’t your standard “look, we got funding” story. Trolley is scaling the mountain of cross-border payments, dragging outdated systems kicking and screaming into the 21st century. Billions in annual payments, 2.5 million recipients, 210+ countries served—it’s global domination with a side of razor-sharp precision. They’re taking the internet economy’s wild west of payouts and whipping it into shape, slashing compliance costs by 35%, keeping 99.99% uptime, and moving money so fast, even banks are taking notes. And let’s not ignore the tech flex here: fraud prevention that catches what others miss, ID verification to keep things clean, tax compliance across 200+ jurisdictions, and parent-child account management that scales like it’s 2050. Toss in NetSuite integration, and Trolley isn’t just building a platform; they’re building the infrastructure for how global business gets paid. It’s no wonder heavyweights like Envato, Downtown Music, and GoTo have hitched their wagons to this rocket. But this is just the warm-up. With this fresh $23M injection, Trolley is gearing up to plant flags in even more territories, scale their go-to-market teams, and keep innovating where it matters—compliance and efficiency. Tim Nixon and his team aren’t just running a company; they’re orchestrating a global takeover with a fintech symphony that’s as ambitious as it is effective. This is the kind of momentum that doesn’t just shake up the industry—it reshapes it. For every startup eyeing global growth or every #Fortune500 chasing efficiency, Trolley’s making it clear: there’s a new standard in payouts. It’s faster. It’s smarter. And it’s here to stay. Tim Nixon, take a bow. The internet economy just found its backbone. #Fintech #Payments #TaxCompliance #IDVerification #Compliance #Efficiency #Technology #Innovation #TechEcosystem #VentureCapital #StartupFunding #StartupEcosystem #Startups

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Thank you for posting this perspective, Jack Newton. I couldn't agree more that in positioning this as a tax on the wealthy, our government has completely missed the real consequence of this policy - discouraging the risk-taking required in entrepreneurship. For every wealthy person impacted by this tax, there are likely dozens (if not hundreds) of others who have tried and, as most entrepreneurs do, failed to achieve a life-changing outcome for themselves, their employees and their early investors. The odds are always stacked against entrepreneurs and startups, yet they are fundamental to our economy's ability to adapt and remain globally competitive. We need to encourage people to take these risks despite the odds. This policy is one more reason a potential entrepreneur or startup employee would think, why bother? And even if I do, why stay in Canada when other countries would offer a materially better outcome? Disappointing indeed.

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#Montreal #Nonprofits #PresidentialElection Is there for me the job of President or Chief position with minimum base salary USD $250,000/year and fundraising target of USD $100 million in the first year? Expertising in executive management and Compound Option #LEADERSHIP with Infinite Profit, I will greatly enhance your own organization's core competencies. I do funding via adding the huge benefit of #Tokenization, #CrossborderPayment & #ClimateChange Compound #Options to your scaling business.  Funding cost is 15+% for the funding amount less than USD $10 billion, at least USD $1 million. The SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper way is donating to TAHK #Foundation for enjoying USD $900+ trillion option leadership, then we will help you with your target:  - Donating $150 thousand USD per year service. - Email to: [email protected] for your donation. As an Universal Interacting & Media Solutions nonprofit, TAHK Foundation will help you interact with the best options for your requirements. Romain Gauthier Andy Chabot Fiona Keats Nathalie Giroux Barry D. Stein Jean-Guy Gourdeau, CPA, CFA Josée Saint-Pierre Joanne Liu, MDCM, FRCPC Ed Ahad Perry Niro Dylan Hervé Chambre de Commerce Latino-Américaine Ala Mindicanu, PhD Rina Marchand Bram Freedman Mike Savatovsky Diane Bussan Barry D. Stein Lili-Anna Peresa Danial M. #Job #2024Elections

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Pumped to be in Toronto today for Shopify editions.dev with Barrel CTO Wes. If you're here - come say hi 👋🏼 If you haven’t had a chance to check out the 150+ product updates in Shopify’s bi-annual release, Summer Edition '24, check it out here: https://lnkd.in/gETbX_2P It’s hard to believe we’ve been helping brands launch on Shopify since 2009. A lot has changed in the last 15 years. It's no longer enough for brands to invest in their website alone—they need to meet their customers where they are to succeed. As an agency, Barrel has evolved from focusing solely on a client’s website to examining the entire customer journey, seeking opportunities to enhance how customers shop and experience the brand across touchpoints. Many of our clients are CPG brands, making this approach even more relevant. These days we're working on building Shopify B2B E-Commerce storefronts, designing Amazon content, creating personalized email/SMS flows, and implementing Shopify POS. Shopify has continually evolved with merchants' changing needs and customers' buying patterns. They’re not afraid to embrace partnerships like Amazon Buy with Prime while investing the same energy in POS and B2B that got their core e-commerce offering to where it is today. The Summer ’24 Edition is aptly titled ‘Unified’ and, as usual, it’s a lot to digest. The addition of a “Top 10” summary this year is a great starting point. Among my favorite updates are unified & tailored Markets experiences across B2B and retail, store credit availability, split shipping in checkout, and seamless store pickup between POS and DTC. I'm eager to dive into the Summer Edition '24 with our team over the next few days and uncover new opportunities to enhance our clients' commerce experiences. + Subscribe to my newsletter for a weekly look at what I'm building and learning in agency leadership, life, and e-commerce: https://lnkd.in/eJU8Zpt

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Last week I attended NEXT Canada's Venture Reveal event, where I was fortunate to witness some of Canada's most promising startups pitch their innovative companies to an audience of investors, academics, and fellow entrepreneurs. For those unfamiliar, NEXT is a powerhouse tech incubator committed to nurturing the next wave of impactful Canadian entrepreneurs. With an impressive track record of launching unicorns, facilitating over $2B in capital raises, and supporting countless entrepreneurs in their journey to improve Canada's competitiveness, they are highly valued in the early-stage tech community. Reflecting on the event, a few key insights resonated with me: -"There will be 100 problems in a startup, the ones who end up surprising us aren't always the ones who sparkle the most. They are the ones who keep crawling through." Ajay Agrawal's perspective on the nonlinear nature of startup challenges underscores the importance of resilience and adaptability. -As John Kelleher aptly put it, "The game of building successful tech startups is a game of outliers. Every year of the 130k businesses are started, 4,000 are capable of building and securing venture funding. Of those, 200 will raise funding from a top-tier VC and only 15 will generate almost all venture returns. -Despite Canada's GDP per capita experiencing a decline of 1/2% annually since 2020, it's imperative we foster an environment that cultivates high-growth ventures. Amidst these takeaways, I'm inspired by the resilience and dedication exhibited by entrepreneurs tackling real-world problems head-on, especially amidst today's challenging climate. Special kudos to my mentees, Nicole Baranowski at Hairstrong and Matthew Stevens & Mathew Chan at Tailwind, for their commitment to bringing their innovative offerings to market. Here's to celebrating the bold visionaries shaping Canada's entrepreneurial landscape. Onward and upward!!! #CDNtech #entrepreneurship #growth

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🌟 Calling All #Montreal GTM Leaders! 🌟 🚀 Exciting news! Our Pavilion community in Montreal is not just growing—it's thriving! And the picture I'll share shows just why. These incredible leaders are the heartbeat of our community (you can see a few of them below🤣), making each meet-up more than just a gathering—it's a powerhouse of insights and camaraderie. 📅 Join us on December 12th at Stay22’s office for an event on - 2025 Planning, Challenges & Insights - 📅 We're almost at full capacity, so secure your spot by emailing me at [email protected]! 🤔 Why join Pavilion? It's not just about what we do—it's about why we do it. It's not merely meetings or networks; it's a belief in building relationships, not transactions. It's about giving before getting, playing the long game, and supporting each other in real, impactful ways. 🔗 Here's why Pavilion stands out: 🌱 We build meaningful connections. 💡 We share freely and support generously. 📈 We're about making a lasting impact, not quick wins. ✨ Imagine being part of a community that aligns with your deepest professional values, one that offers support, growth, and real human connections. That's Pavilion.🔥 👋 If this speaks to you, don't just watch from the sidelines. Be part of something bigger. We're not just building features; we're igniting a movement. #PavilionMontreal #GTMLeaders #Networking #ProfessionalGrowth #JoinUs #CommunityPower 💌 Email now to not miss out on our December gathering at Stay22. Let's make magic happen together! ✨

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There are some events that fundamentally shift trajectories. In 2017, the Canadian tech sector rallied in response to the Trump travel ban, defining itself as place that embraced innovators with open arms. Last night, the BetaKit Town Hall ushered in another momentum shift in Canadian tech as some of the sector's biggest names gathered in reaction to the Canadian budget and how to approach the current challenges facing productivity and innovation. My takeaways: FOR GOVERNMENT Tobias Lütke continued his criticism of changes to the capital gains tax, which he described as a clumsy and misguided move that "taxes innovation the way we tax cigarettes" and will serve as the same disincentive of behaviour. But Lutke's overall assessment of the budget may be a bigger problem for Ottawa, as he called out the discrepancy between "what the government says it wants and what it shows it wants." No one likes a hypocrite, and it seems that capital gains has focused the sector's attention on a government innovation and spending narrative that may not hold up to scrutiny. FOR INVESTORS AND INDUSTRY Ivan Zhang from Cohere pointed out that of all the companies and founders in the room (and there were a lot) almost none could claim a Canadian as their first customer. Courage is required to back new ideas and new products, and the room seemed to agree that courage is in short supply in Canada. FOR BUILDERS When asked what he would love Canadian tech to be the best at, Lutke said "craftsmanship." It was one of the most surprising moments of the night for me, and I love the idea of defining ourselves around building beautiful and truly unique products - not just the idea, but the implementation. "If you build something great, it sells itself," he said. FOR EMPLOYERS Jocelyne Murphy had the mic drop moment of the night, and may have single handedly changed the tech sector's approach to hiring when she talked about the negative impact that drawn out recruitment processes and repeated layoffs are having on her isolated generation. FOR BETAKIT The energy and interest in the room is yet another proof point that storytelling matters. People are looking for a centre of gravity for Canadian tech and innovation and somewhere to convene around the issues that affect their lives. BetaKit aspires to be that place. Big thanks to everyone involved, especially Satish Kanwar Arati Sharma Douglas Soltys Lauren Arnold Category Communications eThereLIVE.com

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I wrote a short piece about my experience at C2 last week, and it's Anick Beaulieu-approved! 🤩 Curious to hear about others' experiences, let me know if you went! #C2Montreal #Innovation #Entrepreneur #Business #Startup

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Good Morning All - I’m thrilled to introduce this years C100 2024 #C100Growth and #C100Fellows cohorts! These companies, executives, and founders represent the next wave of Canadian tech opportunity, each poised to make a significant impact in their respective industries. This year we had an incredible applicant pool of hundreds to select from and were blessed to make tough incredible selections. The 12 companies joining our Growth Program exemplify the deep quality of Canadian tech and the incredible repeat innovation that Canada has to offer, with more than half of the leaders being serial entrepreneurs. The cohort comprises pioneers in B2B SaaS, fintech, health tech, cleantech, and AI. This years 26 early-stage companies showcase Canadian ingenuity, technological advancement, and a commitment to social impact - it's also the largest cohort ever – and is characterized by its diversity, spanning B2B SaaS, deep tech, health tech, fintech, legal tech, and more. Congratulations to all and welcome to the C100 family! #CdnTech #Innovation #Entrepreneurship

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The state of the Canadian venture capital industry? Is the tone set by BDC? For the quarter ending December 31, 2023 BDC venture capital lost $76 million and for the 9 months ended December 31, 2023 BDC VC lost $164 million .... a continuation of recent losses ($640 million for the full year ended March 31, 2023). We should see the full 2024 BDC financial results, for the period ending March 31 2024 in their 2024 annual report in the next few weeks. The link below may be a harbinger of even more troubles ahead. "the Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (CVCA) BDC noted that $6.9 billion CAD in VC funding was invested across 660 deals during 2023—declines of 34 percent and 12 percent year-over-year, respectively, as overall activity continued to return to pre-2020 levels" $6.9 Billion in VC Funding across Canada. And Canada is supposed to be a leader in Ai and other super technologies? (Benchmark- Nvidia market cap is $2.8 TRILLION USD) Chrystia Freeland Andrew Bevan François-Philippe Champagne Colin Deacon doesn't this level of activity seem way low and inconsequential for Canadian venture capital? are the results measuring up? https://lnkd.in/gbB39rMM

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This 👇🏼. As a non-political person on LinkedIn, I avoid posting partisan content. But this is tech, innovation, productivity, and entrepreneurship/ venture related - not politics. And really should concern any Canadian that wants to see growth IN the country. Borders have NEVER been more fluid, talent is portable. Tax policies drive incentives and incentives drive action. I’m off to look at emigration stats now to take a snapshot. 3 years from now we’ll look back at this choice with regret. #capitalgainstax #digitalnomad #venturecapital

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Emmanuel Grenier of #carrefour taking a different view on a phased rollout at #techforretail: phase 1 is about developing and testing and take time to do it properly; phase 2 is then about creating value. Value creation cannot happen without a dev / test mindset. #composablecommerce #grocerycommerce

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I recently read this article by Sam Sebastian, the head of Google Cloud Canada, and it got me thinking about the future of #AI in #Canada. He makes a strong case that AI will be a major force in Canadian business by 2025. He believes that AI will be used to optimize back-end processes, enhance customer-facing platforms, and even create entirely new products and services. I think he's is right! AI is already having a major impact on businesses around the world, and Canada is no exception. In fact, I believe that Canada is well-positioned to become a leader in AI innovation. We have a strong talent pool, a supportive government, and a thriving tech sector. I am confident that Canadian businesses will be able to use AI to achieve great things in the years to come. I encourage you to read the article and learn more about how AI will reshape Canadian business in 2025. #AI #Canada #business #innovation #technology #future https://lnkd.in/gXqr5yCf

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