Nichole Porter

Today, Phenom acquired Plum (HQ is Waterloo, Ontario) to bring scientifically validated behavioral assessment to every enterprise hiring decision. Combined with Be Applied (Acquired in Jan 2026), we now have a full-spectrum assessment stack that validates both what candidates can do and how they'll do it: cognitive capability, behavioral fit, situational judgment. From psychometric science to agentic delivery to enterprise-scale governance, this is where signal meets execution. I welcome the Plum team, customers, and partners.. https://lnkd.in/gVVr3UN5

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April 29. 20 minutes. Ted-talk format. One stage. A conference built only for family office operators. My topic: you already know your back office has problems. What you don't have yet is a map. I'll walk through real scenarios we see constantly: from multi-entity consolidation to AI agents. Each one with a before, an after, and the specific insights for the family office accounting space. I don't take invitations like this for granted. This is why we built SumIt — understanding how family offices actually think is our product development process. If you'll be in the room: come find me. The conversations between sessions are always the best part. #familyoffice #letssumit #fintech #wealthtech #accounting

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Your pipeline isn't dry. Your volume is. Every time someone says "the market is quiet" I check their dials and it's like... 11 calls by Thursday 💀 The market isn't quiet. YOUR phone is. 100 dials → 15 conversations → 5 meetings → 1-2 closes. It's just maths. You don't need a better pitch. You don't need warmer leads. You need to pick up the phone 40 more times. The reps killing it right now? Same market. Same product. Same script. More volume. It's not a talent gap. It's a dial gap. Fix the input. The output fixes itself.

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Top 5% of sales leaders on LinkedIn do one thing differently when building their network that I guarantee you're overlooking... They build an audience of active decision-makers instead of just collecting any connections with the right job title of their ICP. Most sales leaders on LinkedIn have 5,000+ connections but can't tell you how many of those people actually check LinkedIn or would even see their messages. The top 5% intentionally build their audience with one Sales Navigator filter that the rest of LinkedIn skips. Before they send any connection requests, they turn on "Posted on LinkedIn" in the last 30 days. That filter cuts their target list by 85%. If they start with 10,000 prospects, it drops to 1,500, but those 1,500 are checking LinkedIn daily or weekly. The other 7,500 might check once a month or less. Someone who checks LinkedIn once a month has 1 opportunity to see your message or content in 30 days. Someone who checks daily has 30 opportunities. That delta compounds fast. If you're posting content, the daily user sees 30 posts while the monthly user sees 1. If you send a message, the daily user probably responds within 24 hours while the monthly user might not see it for weeks (if ever). The top performers understand that connection quality matters just as much if not more than connection quantity, and they prove it with response rates that are 5x higher than everyone else sending requests to anyone with just the right job title. They'd rather have 250 active connections who actually see their stuff than 2,500 dormant ones who don't. Thoughts?

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🎙️ Episode 5 of The Davies Download is out! This week, I’m joined by Shawn Francis who shares his incredible journey - from starting in Support to leading and building a Customer Success team at Shopify, one of Ottawa’s most well-known tech success stories 🇨🇦. 💬 We dive into what makes Customer Success such a crucial part of business growth, how to identify the why behind it, and the kind of people strong organizations invest in to create lasting impact. If you’re passionate about leadership, career development, and building customer-first teams, this one’s full of insight and inspiration. 🎧 Tune in to The Davies Download to hear how great leaders grow from the ground up. Find the links below! #CustomerSuccess #Leadership #Podcast #CareerGrowth #CustomerExperience #Shopify

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Financial services in Canada all look the same. Same slogans. Same promises. Same stock photos. Sea of Sameness. Red or Blue or Green. Nobody can tell how one brand is stronger or serves the customer better than another. That’s not branding. That’s camouflage and commoditization. And in a commoditized market, two things happen: 1. You’re forced to compete only on price. 2. If you’re no longer the cheapest, you’re stuck. Worse, nobody comes to you directly. Customers don’t remember you. They don’t seek you out. Which means almost every customer is acquired through paid ads — driving acquisition costs higher and higher. Case in point: ask Canadians to name an insurance brand, and one of the most common answers is Geico. The irony? Geico doesn’t even operate here. That’s how undifferentiated the Canadian market has become. Studies always show that in categories where brands blur together, CAC spikes. That’s exactly what’s happening here as everybody drives up the cost to advertise and reduces ROAS. Only winner? Google. The prize is wide open. The first company with the conviction to carve out a real USP — and the guts to deliver it with creative vision — will own the market. Because in a commoditized world, playing it safe isn’t safe at all. It’s the bold who win.

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STOP LYING TO YOURSELF THE PREDICTIVE REVENUE MODEL and THE MQL WATERFALL ARE DEAD As 2026 begins, one thing is becoming clear: volume-based GTM is no longer producing predictable results. More emails, more LinkedIn messages, more calls none of it guarantees pipeline the way it once did. Buyer attention is fragmented, algorithms filter most outreach, and decision-makers are harder to reach than ever. This isn’t a temporary slowdown. It’s a structural change. The teams that will win in 2026 aren’t the ones with increasing activity. They’re the ones aligning their GTM motion around who is actually in-market and when it makes sense to engage them. Intent and timing are no longer optimizations. They’re the foundation.

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Canadian Founders: Is This Why You’re Not Building the Next Shopify? I just finished listening to a conversation between Mark MacLeod and Marie Chevrier Schwartz that had me nodding and pausing. Mark posed a question: Why don’t we have more large Canadian companies like Shopify? And then came the two points: 1️⃣ Canadian entrepreneurs need a bigger appetite for risk. 2️⃣ We need to get way better at selling — because distribution is where the value is created. My $0.02: We don’t just have a skills gap here. We have a story gap. The stories we hear, tell, and repeat shape the ceiling we think exists. If all we hear are cautious growth tales, we’ll keep playing small. If all we celebrate is product craftsmanship without celebrating the art (and grit) of selling, we’ll keep undervaluing the very thing that scales companies. That’s why I believe POV-driven content — especially founder-led podcasts — can be a cultural lever. Podcasts are intimate. They’re unfiltered. They let you hear the heartbeat behind the headline. And when you use them intentionally as a founder, they can help you practice and project the very traits we need more of. How do we make that happen as founders? ➡️ Use your podcast to build your risk muscle: Every time you share bold decisions, market bets, or experiments you’re running, you’re not just telling a story — you’re reinforcing to yourself and your audience that risk is part of your DNA. Speaking it out loud makes it real, and it holds you accountable to keep swinging big. ➡️ Turn your podcast into a sales engine: Each episode is a chance to showcase your expertise, your product’s impact, and your customers’ wins. You’re not cold-calling — you’re creating warm familiarity so that when you do reach out, the trust is already there. ➡️ Expand your distribution reach effortlessly: When guests, partners, or customers share their episode, they’re introducing you to networks you couldn’t access alone. That’s distribution in action — and it compounds with every release. ➡️ Sell without the “sales pitch”: By consistently delivering value and insight, you position yourself as the go-to in your space. That authority shortens sales cycles and opens doors you didn’t even know existed. Imagine a founder in Vancouver launching a podcast about scaling climate-tech solutions. They share their decision to enter the U.S. market before perfecting the product (risk appetite). They spotlight how they landed their first enterprise client through relentless outreach (sales focus). Listeners aren’t just inspired — they’re DM’ing to ask how they can work together. That’s the magic. You’re not just telling stories. You’re building the muscle of risk-taking and selling in real time — and letting the whole ecosystem watch you do it. (More in the comments)

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One insight from last night’s Scalpels & Spreadsheets event last night that stuck with me: Dominate one vertical. De-risk through horizontal expansion. Huge thanks to Aman Desai and Vijesh Vijayan for hosting, and to Shafiq Vallani (Head of Canada at Redesign Health) and Tim Clarke for sharing very candid lessons on building in healthcare. Healthcare problems often look different on the surface: • hospital → home transitions • clinic → home referrals • community care coordination But the deeper you get into the system, the more you realize something: The underlying problem is often the same: fragmented data and fragmented coordination. That’s something we’re seeing while building Amicare. Our current focus is institutional care transitions, starting with clinic-to-home care, because it provides faster validation cycles and clearer operational feedback. But the infrastructure challenge extends far beyond that single entry point. Different transitions. Same systemic bottleneck. One of the biggest lessons from healthcare innovation: solve the infrastructure layer well once, and multiple workflows start to unlock. Great conversations and an inspiring community of builders tackling some of healthcare’s toughest problems. #HealthTech #DigitalHealth #StartupLessons #HealthcareInnovation #TorontoStartups

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For episode 30 (!!) of #SeeingAroundCorners, Peyman and I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Zain Manji, Co-CEO and Co-Founder at Lazer Technologies, a Toronto-based engineering and design agency specializing in Shopify. Zain shared invaluable insights into the future of commerce, emphasizing the unification of web, retail, and international experiences. Lazer's unique approach, rooted in being "builders at heart" allows them to understand and address the pain points brands face. Having scaled their own multi-million dollar brand on Shopify, they bring a business-first perspective to their work with top brands like SKIMS, October's Very Own, Mattel, Inc., and AG1. We also delved into the role of AI in commerce. Zain highlighted two key applications enhancing the customer journey through chatbots and discovery tools, and boosting internal business efficiency with engineering tools like Copilot and Sidekick. It's all about strategically applying AI to solve the biggest pain points. This discussion is a must-watch for anyone looking to stay ahead in the dynamic world of e-commerce. #Ecommerce #Shopify #AI #RetailTech #DigitalCommerce #FutureOfCommerce #Innovation #BrandBuilding #Engineering #Design #podcast

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Canada’s #Payments Industry Is Shifting Fast — And Many Businesses Are Being Left Behind Canada’s payments landscape is undergoing a major transformation. Businesses no longer want delayed settlements, hidden fees, or disconnected systems that create extra operational work. Many are also facing a new and urgent challenge: being debanked by traditional #FinancialInstitutions. With accounts suddenly restricted or closed, companies are struggling just to process everyday commerce, accepting customer payments, paying suppliers, and managing #CashFlow. What forward-thinking businesses now demand is clear: speed, visibility, and reliability. Over the next five years, the #PaymentProcessors that win in #Canada will be the ones that simplify complexity rather than add to it. Real-time payments and evolving regulations are accelerating this change, and businesses are becoming far more selective about who they trust with their payment infrastructure. As #CEO of #Kapcharge, I believe payment processing should strengthen cash flow, improve efficiency, and create confidence, never friction. The future of payments in Canada is already taking shape. The question is: Who is truly prepared to support businesses through this shift? @Kapcharge by Kapital

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Big moment for Canada. PartnerStack just got acquired by AppDirect. (congrats Luke and the team) One of those homegrown companies that quietly built something real. Over 138,000 partners in their network, driving 1M+ B2B signups in a single month. That’s a signup every ~2.5 seconds. Tens of billions in GMV now across the combined ecosystem. Strong product. Strong GTM. A category that kept compounding. What stood out from the note was simple. They didn’t need to sell. They chose to combine forces to build something bigger. Good reminder that you do not need to be loud to build something valuable. You just need to keep building.

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Today we launched Custom AI Employees at Vendasta . From a people perspective, this is what excites me most: AI that takes work off humans’ plates — without taking purpose, ownership, or control away. When teams have support with quoting, follow-ups, and customer communication, they get space to do what only humans can do. That’s not replacement. That’s better work design. We have been using our AI agent, Pepper, for over a year in our People Ops department and it has been a game changer for us! So we can spend more time with our people and less on admin. Proud of this team and the future we’re helping small businesses build.

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Dear revenue leaders and HR — Your SDR career track shouldn’t directly lead to SDR management without a different role before that 😒 It may feel like the right move short term to promote your SDR to SDR manager because 1️⃣ this is someone that is great at their craft and can teach this to other SDRs 2️⃣ give them the easy promotion path they maybe asking for But ultimately you are setting them (or yourself or the craft of sales) up for a tough career path long term. ✋🏽 Getting diversity of experiences — through a closing role (AE), or a farming role (CSM or AM) is key to getting hired for senior executive roles in their future. It also helps create the right talent funnel for your GTM org ✅ I strongly believe it’s the best path to building an amazing rev org. The truth — if someone hasn’t managed multiple parts of the funnel, they will have a harder time finding their path to owning the whole funnel as a C level exec 5-10 years down the road. Ofcourse there are exceptions to this rule — later career SDRs that have experience in different industries or folks that just LOVE the job. ✔️ But if you are hiring new grads into their first jobs — it’s your responsibility to help them explore different possibilities across GTM 🔑 Do the right thing for people’s careers 👊 Your job as a leader is to help your people excel in their role today while also helping them find their long term ‘why’ 💙 Thanks for coming to my ted talk 🙏

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I wrote the same article twice. Why? Canada's population is approximately 22% French-speaking and 76% English-speaking. If you're building a product for the Canadian market, you can't ignore 8 million French speakers. So I wrote two versions of the BulkForm T4 article: - One in English - One in French Same content. Same solution. Two languages. This isn't just about translation – it's about accessibility and reaching your entire target market. When you're solving a problem for Canadians during tax season, you need to meet them where they are, in the language they're most comfortable with. That's how you build products people actually use. Source: https://lnkd.in/e7g4dzhS #ProductDevelopment #CanadianMarket #Bilingual #TaxSeason #BulkForm #CustomerFirst #MarketingStrategy

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When the largest bank in Canada pays someone like Will Arnett to mock Neobanks… You know something’s changing. For decades, the Big 5 had two unbeatable moats: - consumer inertia - you banked where your parents banked. End of story. - and regulatory framework protecting existing players. But now: The habit-barrier is crumbling. Millions are trusting the challengers: Neo Financial, KOHO, Wealthsimple, EQ Bank | Equitable Bank, Questrade Financial Group and others. Superior products and experiences are winning. Regulators are no longer just talking about promoting competition — they’re taking first actions (and more needed). In this week’s Budget 2025, the federal government committed to new legislation on consumer-driven banking (with oversight shifting to the Bank of Canada), banned investment-account transfer fees, promised clearer switching processes, launch of PSPs and stablecoin framework, and signalled reform in how incumbents operate. This isn’t just fintech noise. It’s a power shift: from incumbents who own the rails -> to challengers who own the experience. Questrade was just approved to launch a bank in Canada, Koho has been working on it as well, Revolut just hired a CEO to lead Canadian expansion. If the largest bank feels compelled to hire Hollywood to make its case… maybe the ground under their feet is already moving. A few people to shout out and worth watching for driving this wave of change: Daniel Eberhard (Koho) • Andrew Chau (Neo) • Michael Katchen (Wealthsimple) • Jan Pilbauer (Revolut Canada) • Benjamin Bergen (Council of Canadian Innovators) • Chadwick Westlake, CFA (EQ Bank) • Edward Kholodenko (Questrade) 💬 What do you think — is this finally the start of real competition in Canadian banking… or are we still years away from dismantling this oligopoly. #fintech #banking #neobanks #startup #scaleup #Canada #innovation #financialservices #founder #operator

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Not all payments move the same way in Canada. But they all run through the same regulatory stack. In my last post, I talked about that stack. Here’s what most teams miss: They assume there’s a single “payment flow”. There isn’t. What’s really going on is simpler and trickier: Same stack.   Different paths. Different fintech models hit that stack in very different ways. A wallet-based fintech? → Heavy on AML / safeguarding   → Little direct interaction with clearing   → Risk mostly sits in custody and compliance  A pay-by-bank / A2A flow? → Direct interaction with bank infrastructure   → Consent and data governance become critical   → Conduct shows up earlier than expected  A merchant acquiring / POS model? → Card network rules dominate   → Settlement runs through acquirers   → Chargebacks add another layer  A cross-border / remittance flow? → AML gets much heavier  → FX and liquidity come into play   → You’re dealing with multiple jurisdictions  👉 Same country   👉 Same stack   👉 Completely different paths This is where most designs quietly break: Teams design for where the payment starts… …but not for how it moves across layers. And that’s the real issue. Because in Canada: Risk doesn’t stay in one place -   it moves across the stack depending on the flow. If you don’t design for that movement: You don’t have a scalable system. You have a fragile one. In the next post, I’ll break down where designs actually fail -  and how to get this right from day one. > Note: Logos shown for illustrative purposes only. No affiliation or endorsement implied. #Payments #Fintech #Banking #Canada   #PaymentArchitecture #OpenBanking #RealTimePayments   #RPAA #PaymentsCanada            

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"Founder-led isn't a strategy. It's just a phase. And it becomes the bottleneck to your ability to scale." Paul M. Griffin 👨🏻‍✈️ Griffin kept it real at Sales Toronto. He shared how The Sales Factory went from making $4,000 between two founders (and hitting TechTO for free pizza) to becoming #1 on G2 in Canada. His framework for going from founder-led to sales-led: 1.Messaging: One ICP, one pain point, one promise. If your reps can't do it in 10 seconds, you can't scale. 2.Motion: Match your sales process to your deal size (<$10K, $10-50K, $50-150K, enterprise) 3.Scoreboard: If you can't measure it, you can't scale it. Sales teams need visibility, not just motivation. The biggest mistake? Hiring before you have these systems locked down. It leads to chaos and layoffs. BAMFAM: Book a meeting from a meeting. If there's no meeting, there's no deal. Watch the full talk on our YouTube channel 🎥 youtube.com/@TechTOorg (Sales Toronto playlist). Don't miss the next TechTO event 🔗 techto.org/events

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EXCITING NEWS: We’re kicking off the year with a SDR Leaders of Canada event in Toronto. This is not another AI hype session or sales happy hour. The focus is simple: How SDR leaders are actually using automation and AI to coach at scale without losing the human judgment that makes coaching effective. In my experience, reps don’t stall because they lack tools. They stall because coaching becomes inconsistent, reactive, or purely performance-driven. Coaching done well looks different depending on: - A vs B vs C players - Tenured reps vs new hires - Consistent underperformance vs temporary dips - 1:1s that actually change behavior, not just review numbers That’s what this session is built around. What this is not: Generic ChatGPT demos “Just record your calls and magic happens” takes Surface-level AI advice you’ve already scrolled past What this is: Real examples pulled from teams in the room How we’re applying AI across multiple SDR orgs today Where automation helps—and where it actively hurts coaching 📍 Jan 29 🕠 5:30–8:30 PM 📍 Downtown Toronto (DM for details) Our last event brought out ~50 SDR leaders across Canada, and this one is shaping up to be even more tactical. If you lead SDRs, coach reps, or own pipeline creation and want to sharpen how coaching actually works in 2026, DM me and I’ll send you the invite.

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