I’m a Canadian entrepreneur living in San Francisco. I’m the CEO/Founder of Clarity. Previously I co-founded Flowtown (Acquired ’11), Spheric Technologies (Acquired ’08), and I’m a mentor @ 500Startup & GrowLabs. Angel investor in 15 others.
Have you been to Moncton, NB, Canada? This is where I’m from.
Business
I’ve been an entrepreneur most of my life. When I was 24 I started Spheric Technologies, a social enterprise consulting and applications company. The company grew by an average of 152% per year, raked in many business awards, employing nearly 30 people before I sold it in mid 2008.
I then moved to San Francisco and co-founded Flowtown, a social marketing application, which raised venture funding and eventually got acquired by Demandforce.com in 2011.
In January of 2012 I started working on Clarity, a platform that helps entrepreneurs give and get relevant advice over the phone. It’s a problem I’m passionate about solving and believe it has the potential to positively effect a billion people over the next 10 years.
Investor
I started angel investing when I was 26 due to my ADHD and passion for entrepreneurship. I’ve since made 15 investments in over 15 companies in both Canada and the US. Companies like GetAround, Udemy, Word Lens, High Score House, Intercom, Unbounce, Manpacks, Plancast, OneForty (acquired by HubSpot), Foodspotting, Lymbix, Etch Media, Rapid Mind Solutions, Primex Painting.
I’m also a formal advisor to Hootsuite and equity advisor to LocalMind, Massive Damage, Quidiq, Happy Stuff via Year One Labs.
Giving back
Kiva.org on their social marketing advisory board
StartupWeekend on their advisory board
Portage as an ex resident and donor
In a previous life
As a teenager I grew up in a challenging environment. By the time I turned 17 I had been to jail twice for drug related charges. At 18 I went to rehab and discovered computers. It saved my life. The reason Portage (rehab) worked for me, was because all the staff were ex-drug addicts. They helped me climb out of a hole, that they once found themselves in. That philosophy, that I learnt at an early age, is the reason why I spend so much time giving back. Getting support from those who’ve been through it before is why I’ve had success, in both business, and in life.