Two Robust and Innovative Entrepreneurs To Look Up To CanadianSME sat down with Steve Apostolopoulos and Jason Sawyer, co-founders of Caary Capital, earlier this year to understand their vision for small and medium-sized businesses across Canada and get their thoughts regarding the future development of SMEs in Canada. We also talked about the present state of FinTech and how it can help in creating tremendous efficiencies for businesses in the coming years. Steve and Jason shared the purpose behind launching Caary and how they are helping SMEs in Canada in procuring the capital they need. We also talked throughout the interview about the roadblocks for SMEs in getting credit. Together, we explore Steve and Jason's journey and hear their advice for startups of today.
Steve
Jason
Apostolopoulos
Sawyer
Co-Founder of Caary
Co-Founder of Caary Capital and a veteran of the alternative investment business.
Capital, Managing Partner of Triple Group of Companies and CoFounder and Chief Development Officer of Triple Properties, a privately-owned real estate investment, development, asset management and leasing company. Steve is also the founder of Six Ventures Inc., a private equity and venture investment company.
Currently, Jason is the General Manager of Access Alternative Group S.A., a Nassau, Bahamas based venture investment and advisory firm that has led and maintains investments in early-stage software, fintech, clean energy, natural resource, health & fitness, and consumer product companies.
What is your vision for SMEs in Canada? And how do you see SMEs evolving over the next few years in Canada?
What are your thoughts on the current state of fintech? How do you think fintech can help businesses?
Jason: Our vision for the sector is why we started Caary. We want SMEs to thrive. While it’s been a very challenging couple of years, I believe the sector will be even more dynamic in the future. There has been a lot of contemplation by budding entrepreneurs over the last two years – about how they view their roles and new ideas emerging. I expect we will now get to see the execution of these big ideas from a more diverse set of entrepreneurs, including more womenowned businesses.
Jason: Fintech’s progression and innovation have been largely focused on the consumer space until recently. That’s due to a deep reliance on a concentration of large financial institutions in Canada. In the last couple of years, there has been a global focus on fintech and it’s become, by far, the most investable space in the VC universe. As a result, Canadians and Canadian businesses are starting to take note. They are seeing their peers in other jurisdictions benefit from better fintech products and services and they are starting to turn their heads towards the possibility that there is more out there than what traditional financial institutions can offer.
Steve: Not to mention businesses have learned how to be more agile and resilient as the world delivered these twists and turns throughout the pandemic. Many SMEs went digital and that accelerated change is likely to inspire even more innovation over the coming years.
Alongside that, fintech has become laser-focused on the business environment and the pain points that every business - from a startup to a fully functional, profitable, mid-size business -encounters. We expect to see fintech create tremendous efficiencies for businesses from those advancements over the next five years.
