The 2017 Bay Street Bull 30x30 Guide
Written by David King, Christopher Metler, Ross Vernon Dias, Daniel Macauley, Nicolas Mizera, Anjli Patel and Grace Wei.
2017 has not had an easy start, but if it’s anything that we’ve learned from all the chaos, it’s that where there is despair, there is also hope. In our very first 30X30 guide, we’ve assembled a group of champions who have not only taken charge of their lives, but have made it their mission to do better and challenge the status quo. From FinTech disruptors and social entrepreneurs to sartorial architects and freedom fighters, these inspiring Canadians are our models for a better future; a better now.
Say hello to Bay Street Bull’s inaugural Class of 2017. Browse through the list here: visit a profile directly by clicking on a name below.
Michael Katchen
Interview by David King
Photographer: Janick Laurent
Stylist: Sharad Mohan
Hair and makeup: Demi Valentine
“We don’t talk to people about interest rates or oil prices, we tell human stories about money and how it interacts with the way people live their lives.”
With a boyish grin and Eddie Haskell-like charm, it’s easy to assume that Michael Katchen could be just like any other affable and approachable Canadian millennial. Just don’t tell that to the CEOs of the Big Five Canadian banks who may or may not have his picture on their office dartboard. Katchen is here to shake things up, and their deep fear of this nice guy, Wealthsimple (his emerging FinTech company), and his vision to disrupt the monopoly they’ve enjoyed for far too long, are the stories that dreams—and fortunes—are made of.
When did you realize that Wealthsimple, something that started as an idea and your passion, had legs and was going to work?
We've been really lucky about how fast we've grown. I don't think we ever imagined we'd have come this far so quickly. That said, we're a long way away from where we want to be. We just launched in the US a few weeks ago and have plans to launch in other markets later this year. I think that focus on our big vision is really important and keeps us hungry.
“You need to really believe that you’re going to succeed and tune out anything that suggests you won’t.”
How do you feel about being the face of the FinTech movement here in Canada, and even a growing presence outside our borders?
We have a lot of great FinTech companies here in Canada, so I don't know if I'd call myself the face! I am very excited about the momentum of FinTech and the broader tech industry in Canada at this point in time. We really haven't seen many global champions come out of Canada, and I think that's going to change with companies like Shopify and Hootsuite becoming really successful. We just launched in the US and are excited to be playing a small part in this important trend.
As major banks and financial institutions get prepared for the onslaught of FinTech, what is Wealthsimple doing to maintain a competitive edge in the marketplace?
We're doing what we always do: focusing on the client. What can we do to make their experience even better? How can we make it easier for them to achieve their financial goals? So far, that laser-focus on our clients has served us really well. I think that dedication is our competitive edge. If we look at what our competitors are doing and set our priorities in reaction, we'll always be playing catch-up. We want to be leaders, so we don't look to the competition. We look to our team and our clients for how we can keep building a better product.
Do you see Wealthsimple becoming a bank down the road?
Becoming a bank is not in our current plans. But ultimately, we're open to evolving the business in any way that better serves our clients. I'm not ruling anything out.
Your company took on a major institutional investor in Power Financial, one of the largest players in the Canadian insurance sector. How was the experience of negotiating that deal? Did you have any founders remorse once the ink had dried?
Definitely no founder's remorse! I like to say that our relationship with Power has given us the best of both worlds. We still get to operate like a startup, but we have the trust that comes with the backing of one of the world's largest financial conglomerates.
What kind of influence has Power Financial had on the direction of Wealthsimple since taking their stake in the company?
I give a lot of credit to Power and Paul Desmarais III on this. In general, they give us the space we need to operate and innovate. They are thought partners and they try to support us. However, they are deliberately trying to avoid injecting “big company” thinking and process into the way we're building Wealthsimple.
Has your day-to-day role changed much since they have become involved?
Our partnership with Power hasn't changed my day-to-day role. But my role certainly has changed as the company has grown. Our first year, my day-to-day role really focused on growing our initial client base. Our second year, I focused on growing the team—we grew from about 20 to 65 in 2016, and it was important to me to be personally involved in those hires. Now my time is divided between day-to-day operations, growing the Wealthsimple brand in Canada and the US, and exploring new growth opportunities for the business.
Scrutiny is something that comes hand-in-hand with not only being an entrepreneur, but when you achieve the level of success that you are starting to reach. What advice can you offer on mitigating criticism and staying focused on the end goal?
I think one of the key ingredients to being a startup founder—or an entrepreneur of any kind, really—is naive ambition. You need to really believe that you're going to succeed and tune out anything that suggests you won't. I've always believed and continue to believe in Wealthsimple's success, so I don't really pay attention to people who criticize our fundamental mission or concept.
What I do pay a lot of attention to is criticism from people who want us to succeed—the Wealthsimple team, our clients and the people who support me professionally and personally. Our business relies on improvement through iteration, and you can't iterate effectively without listening (and I mean really listening) to the people who interact with your company and your product.
Suit ($1,195), shirt ($175) and pocket square ($75) by BOSS; shoes ($740) by Lanvin.
Who have you emulated and look up to in your career? What lessons, either directly or indirectly, have they taught you that helps guide your work and vision?
I've always been inspired by Elon Musk. We need more entrepreneurs with conviction and passion to solve big problems.
Wealthsimple has certainly invested in its visibility via its marketing campaigns. How do you see the conversation around personal finance changing with the growth of FinTech?
I think Canadians are becoming more open to looking beyond the big banks for financial services. A few things are driving this shift. One is technology—people my age expect to be able to use technology to access services, and the big institutions haven't been able to move quickly enough to meet changing demands. Another is trust. This generation came of age during the financial crisis and is more skeptical of the big institutions than perhaps their parents were. Transparency is really important to these clients: they want to see exactly what they're paying and to whom, and that's something we offer them.
Do you feel like there is still a large gap when it comes to educating people about FinTech? What are people most hesitant and wary of when it comes to robo-investing, and how do you acknowledge those fears?
I think we've been able to tap into something that other financial companies haven't because we approach money and investing in a very human way. We don't talk to people about interest rates or oil prices, we tell human stories about money and how it interacts with the way people live their lives. This has allowed us to connect with people who may not have otherwise been thinking about investing at all.
Do you feel like the model of traditional financial services as we know it is dead? Why or why not?
I don't think it's dead. I think it's evolving rapidly. People's expectations are changing, mostly driven by technology. Firms that embrace this change and enable their teams with technology will thrive.
What do you see as the biggest barrier(s) to the success of Wealthsimple?
You know up to this point, everything that people told me would be a big barrier, we've been able to overcome. So I'm not really sure. When we launched we were told Canadians' relationships with the big banks was too deep-seated and we'd never be able to get anyone to trust us. Now over 20,000 Canadians trust us with more than $750 million. We were told operating as a start-up in such a highly-regulated space would be impossible, but we've worked closely with the regulators from the beginning and they've been very supportive. People told us that Canada was too small a market to build a successful business. We're now one of the only multi-national FinTech firms in the world.
Similarly, what have you learned from your mistakes and hardships as an entrepreneur that have helped you achieve success?
I've learned that the hardest and the most important part of building a company is building an amazing team. The most rewarding moments as a founder have been seeing the team achieve a major milestone or project that I've had absolutely nothing to do with. It's really hard to do that well, especially when you care so much about the people you're working with.
Where does your career take you next? Do you see yourself branching out or staying on course?
My dream is to build Wealthsimple into a global company that helps people all over the world achieve their financial goals. I plan to be focused on that for the foreseeable future. Check back once we get there!
Suit ($1,195) and sweater ($185) by BOSS.
Jazz Cartier
Photos courtesy of Roots Canada
Jazz Cartier may have been born Jaye Adams in Toronto, but living with a stepfather who put food on the table working as an international diplomat, his childhood was marked by periodic relocations around the map. Considerable chunks of Cartier’s youth were accordingly spent across the United States and Barbados, with one migration reaching as far as Kuwait.
The time abroad consequently revealed untold genres of music to the maturing Cartier—something he openly attributes to his development as an urban performer.
Having attended an eminent Connecticut boarding academy throughout his formative years, in 2012, Jazz Cartier unexpectedly turned down the opportunity to enroll in a Columbia College Chicago arts program. It would have been one move too many to a foreign place—without friends or family—and Cartier wasn’t prepared to stomach it. Instead, the prodigal son returned to his hometown and embarked on pursuing his passion for music.
While Cartier claims he began work on his first mixtape Marauding in Paradise in 2011, it was only once he came back to Toronto that he commenced a true push to complete the debut opus, unleashing singles like “Switch” and “Set Fire.” The singles gained Cartier feverish play on local radio and at Toronto Raptors games, as well as steady gigs at the city’s foremost live venues.
Not surprisingly, he began to garner a tangible buzz. Marauding in Paradise was finally released in 2015, earning Cartier a Polaris Music Prize nomination that same year. His follow-up, Hotel Paranoia, duplicated the honour in 2016.
Okay, now that we’ve offered up ample introduction to Cartier, here’s why we think he matters: beyond the man’s unique upbringing and arrival on the scene, Cartier is actively bucking the trend of how modern rappers are expected to carry themselves.
Despite multiple label offers, Cartier remains unsigned—by choice. Sure, when the right deal comes, he’ll take it, but he’s putting zero pressure or expectations on himself in the meantime. And rather than lay waste to the escalating riches that traditionally accompany increased exposure as an upstart rap artist, Cartier is content for now to funnel it right back into his creative process.
Most impressively perhaps, in lieu of identifying himself within contemporary rap music’s chorus line of exuberance and excess, Cartier has instead chosen to be a voice against the avarice, substance abuse and lavish lifestyle that all too often comes hand-in-hand with industry notoriety.
Toronto may have found its prolific global ambassador in Drake, and dark crooning soul in The Weeknd, but maybe Jazz Cartier is on the path to carve out his niche as something more; its untapped conscience. - CM