The Hottest Tech Companies of Canada’s For The Year 2021

1. CIOTIMES www.theciotimes.com The 2021 Hottest Tech Companies in Canada Dan McCall CEO, Influitive

4. editorial Hottest Tech Companies In Canada 2021 T growth. In such times, when our dependence on technology is only going to increase with time, a few companies are leveraging the power of technology to provide much-needed solutions to people and help them sustain themselves. While we live in a world where numerous crimes are conducted over the internet and technology is misused, these enterprises in Canada are serving as torchbearers in the cosmos of the modern world. echnology has always made human life easy. However, the pandemic rendered technology an indispensable part of human existence and there seems to be no end to its In our humble attempt to highlight some of the hottest tech companies in Canada, we bring to you our latest edition. On the cover, we are featuring Influitive, an organisation that has acknowledged the importance of creating a digital presence in the market, and aspires to serve as the foundation of its customer’s digital marketing and business experiences as they attempt to increase engagement and achieve better sales. On the inside of the magazine, we are featuring companies like Flybits. This organisation empowers banks to engage an audience of one, at scale. Through their leading customer experience platform, one can deliver data-driven, personalized recommendations and advice, inside your mobile app or website. Achievers is an HR innovation enterprise that works towards creating conditions for a sustainable work environment, which will lead to increased productivity and sales. Wattpad is a global community of readers and writers. It provides writers with an opportunity to showcase their talent to the world. Think Research is a pioneer in providing modern-day healthcare solutions and knowledge, to prevent the interests of the patients and help them choose their required medical facility wisely. They offer a diverse portfolio of services to their customers. Flip through the pages of this magazine to indulge yourself in a corporate read about some amazing companies in Canada.

5. CIOTIMES www.theciotimes.com EDITOR IN CHIEF Carla Houston CONTENT Senior Editor : Anushri Sethia Executive Editors : Diana Tan DESIGN Visualizer : Jeffry Tyler Art & design Director : Justin Brown Associate Designer : Rachel M. SALES Senior Sales Manager : Amanda Harker Customer Success Manager : Leena Fernandez Sales Executive : David Barron , Jeff Nelson HEAD OF OPERATION Kim Williams TECHNICAL Technical Analyst : Saurabh D. SEO Executive : Larissa L. SME-SMO Research Analyst : Erika Morris SEO Executive : Lisa Fessler i n f o @ t h e c i o t i m e s . c o m www.theciotimes.com Copyright 2021 THE CIO TIMES, All rights reserved. The Images and Content used in this magazine should not be transmitted or reproduced in any form or by any mechanical, electronic, means, recording, photocopying or otherwise, without prior permission from THE CIO TIMES. Reprint rights remain solely with THE CIO TIMES

6. COVER STORY 06 Influitive

7. 12 Flybits 18 Achievers 20 22 Wattpad Think Research

8. Influitive

9. Inception And Outset Story Of The Organization Since 2010, In?luitive has pioneered advocate marketing advocates. In?luitive accomplishes this by creating a organization, In?luitive has collectively recorded more than Led by CEO Dan McCall, In?luitive is headquartered in build trust and deepen relationships with customers for In?luitive's vision is to set the standard for creating relationships, create better outcomes and provide and built an easy-to-use SaaS platform that enables destination for the customers' advocates, which includes 100 million acts of advocacy and powered more than $1 Toronto, Canada with employees across North America and top-line growth and bottom-line pro?its. engaging digital journeys that drive a positive change. actionable insights. companies to engage their customers to promote their personalized journeys with advanced targeting, game billion in ROI value for its customers. Europe. Global brands such as Adobe, Cisco, IBM, Mountain brand, adopt new product features, and become loyal mechanics, and rewards. Since the inception of the Dan McCall CEO, Influitive Dew, and SoFi rely on In?luitive to help foster collaboration, Aims, Visions And Ideals Of The Organization In?luitive's software is the foundation for its customers' digital experiences to increase engagement, improve In?luitive has three core values: responsibility of every In?luitive employee. 1. Customer First: Everything said and done is in the eyes of the customer and their best interests. Customer issues and concerns are the top priorities, and their success is the 2. Win as a Team: The greatest results are best achieved 3. Take Ownership: Be held accountable every day to focus through teamwork and diversity of thought. Assume and deliver on what's most important and needed for positive intent, insist on the highest standards, and support forwarding progress and resolution. Act as leaders and Portfolio Of Services Offered collective growth. agents of change. In?luitive's ?lagship product is its customer advocacy, and expert services and leveraging the authentic voice of its community and engagement platform. An industry leader, customers to drive growth. the In?luitive platform gives businesses a better way to mobilize customer advocates by combining powerful tools

10. engagement. The platform's four unique and core engine lets you target content and activities based on product usage, NPS score, and much more. in your In?luitive-powered hub, providing a ful?illing features are: all kinds of criteria. The platform allows you to build 2. Personalization: Its scalable platform lets you and behaviors. Plus, their team of experts is always 1. Targeting: In?luitive's powerful segmentation geography, business function, management level, personalize every aspect of what members see and do reachable to lend a hand. guided customer journeys for groupings like experience based on each individual's needs, interests In?luitive's core platform comes in two packages: grow, while Digital Community helps businesses mobilize Customer Advocacy and Digital Community. The customer and engage all customers in a community throughout their advocacy package is ideal for mobilizing customers to lifecycle to enhance their lifetime value and experiences. drive social proof and gather vital feedback to ef?iciently In?luitive also offers Virtual EventHub™, a fast and easy customers with existing In?luitive communities can either Packaged and a la carte services include program strategy, way to create a live digital event for unlimited attendees. extend their existing hub to support a virtual event or In?luitive practice leaders and consultants offer a wide discussion, moderation, content development, graphic This all-in-one virtual event platform contains the same create a separate event-speci?ic hub that seamlessly variety of services to help customers plan, design, design, data analytics, project management, and Contributions To The Technological Sector Of The Economy At its inception, In?luitive pioneered advocate marketing customer engagement. features and functionality as In?luitive's core platform, and connects to their community hub. implement and maintain their customer community. administrator training. and has been a long-time leader in customer advocacy software. In recent years, In?luitive has become a leader in online community management and a major player in Every part of In?luitive's platform is targetable—including that generate extreme customer and channel partner all the zero-party data it captures through member activities and feedback. This enables brands to create personalized experiences and unique journeys at scale

11. 3. Gami?ication: In?luitive's platform features best-in- interaction, collaboration, awareness and learning. They help you bring together what your customer's Canada, where organizations industry-wide needed to trends: 3. A need to give customers a break with a bit of fun c-suite executives class gami?ication that uses friendly competition, 4. Rewards: Rewards go beyond catalogs and swag. methodologies from both B2C and B2B rewards/loyalty Effect Of The Pandemic And The Changes In The Market consider cutting software from their martech stack. 1. A signi?icant re-prioritization on long-term customer points, and badges to create authentic and effective They go deep into your brand and what you stand for. programs. Amongst their customer base of customer advocacy 2. Increased focus on educational resources and 4. Increased interest from multiple business units and customer engagement. It's a sure-?ire way to drive and marketing managers, In?luitive saw four consistent nurturing customers engagement value and are motivated by leveraging proven content like trivia, pop culture quizzes and recipes to try At their 2020 B2B Summit, Forrester said that “customer-obsessed companies will prioritize The pandemic signi?icantly impacted the tech market in customer engagement over net new acquisition to

13. survive the COVID-19-induced downturn and that tech engage virtually with their customers and employees. right technology, In?luitive offered clients its Virtual From onboarding to advocacy and everything in use cases, allow for branded sub-communities, and investment will follow to scale those early CX Further, many In?luitive customers experienced EventHub platform for free along with strategy between, In?luitive allows customer-obsessed deliver next-generation gami?ication to audiences successes.” In?luitive worked closely with its customers hardship with the cancellation of in-person events and sessions to help them get up and running quickly. companies to serve up personalized experiences, wherever they are online. and prospective customers who needed a way to conferences. With experience in event services and the supercharge activities across multiple channels and As the worlds of customer advocacy, loyalty, and customer experience departments who are community and engagement collide, In?luitive is in a working together to make it happen. unique position to bring those worlds together and support the customer marketing, customer success, The Company's Views On The Post-pandemic Market The industry trend is clear and indisputable: “what came before” and there are enough companies The post-pandemic market has not only accelerated have customer engagement as a core business strategy Customer's want omni-channel, personalized that have successfully made this digital transformation this trend, but it has also rebalanced marketing's focus that encompasses the entire lifecycle journey: from Advice To Budding Entrepreneurs In The Technological Sector No matter what technology you are trying to bring to detractors or promoters—and take action to address to attract new customers and ignite growth. experiences from their vendors and business partners. that disconnected experiences have become an and budget on attracting new customers and prospect to customer to loyalist and then ?inally to Customers expect every interaction to be guided by enrager. mobilizing customers into advocates. The future will advocate. market, it matters not what you think, but how you their concerns or desires. In doing so, your customers make others think of you. Listen intently to and engage will turn into loyal advocates and become your best frequently with your customers—whether they are (and most cost-effective) marketing and sales weapon

14. Dr. Hossein Rahnama Founder & CEO Flybits Inc Flybits 12 | September 2021

15. lybits was born in a university research lab in 2008, by information while devices were getting smaller. An opportunity are What are your aims, visions and ideals? At Flybits, we believe that bad data sells and better data serves. delivered through the right channels, its power can work for us: be the standard-bearers of better data use. View our open letter The data economy requires a new paradigm where data is treated https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHQDhf0ttYQ Flybits empowers banks to engage an audience of one, at scale. personalized recommendations, and advice. While banks product. Marketers activate these turnkey services to both help F existed, to apply context to data and deliver relevant more impactful than we've ever seen before. We recently launched an open letter to Canada's top national relieving stress, fostering connections, and improving lives. We here: as an asset class. And there is a major opportunity (and need) for Professor Hossein Rahnama. He recognized that humans make decisions using different inputs and sources of recommendations. It's only with context that our physical and information. It was a time when people were being bombarded digital worlds can seamlessly connect, to bring experiences that with newspaper, the Globe and Mail. In it, we discuss the true promise feel there is a huge https://www.?lybits.com/resources/blog/open-letter/ banks to bring trust into the mix, and reimagine their business of the Data Age. When data is protected, organized, secured, and opportunity for trustworthy, accountable ?inancial institutions to models. Please view our video: Flybits for better data Tell us about the services you offer to your customers? Through our leading customer experience platform, banks can leverage our live-feed, we also prepackage all the relevant points customers and drive real results. We enable the world's top incorporate a human touch on their digital channels, and service of interaction -- that help ?inancial institutions to advance beyond transactions and be with customers through a dynamic feed of data-driven insights, customers buy a home, save, manage debt, or onboard to a new their customers in the moments that matter. Mention some of your contributions to the technological sector of the economy. Flybits has built their product with ?inancial institutions in mind. Ensuring that the solution we offer can address the problems in | 13 September 2021

16. which they face. Namely, Flybits is an end-to-end and a fast time-to- experiences. Flybits holds a patent portfolio with 11 patent ?ilings Flybits customers have a signi?icant competitive advantage as they Flybits has successfully helped FIs deliver hyper-personalized and channel after implementing Flybits. Another major bank in Latin market solution that was built with privacy and scalability in mind. under 3 families, combining the strength of semantic computing with transform their digital channels with predictive, contextual predictive customer experiences to achieve business objectives. For America achieved a 164% increase in offer redemption after What's more, we bring ?inancial institutions the power of context to data ntelligence, machine learning and software engineering design intelligence. example, a major bank in North America that leverages Flybits' ersonalizing address the demand of highly personalized, “always on” customer patterns. And with a focus on customer centricity and intuitiveness, technology saw a 43% increase in user engagement in their mobile customer experiences using Flybits. Ÿ Flybits successes continue to be recognized at home and abroad. Enlighten us about the notable recognitions and accreditations you have received as a company. The Globe and Mail named us amongst the Top 100 Growing Barclays has recognized us as a Highly Commended company. The Companies in Canada for our exceptional growth over the last three criteria for this honor is based on a combination of disruption, Ÿ years. impact, scale, and diversity of a product. Ÿ The University Waterloo awarded our HR team with their The Great Place to Work Certi?ication, a direct result of our Deloitte - as one of Canada's fastest-growing technology companies Generation Award, which highlights the continuous focus and employees and their pride in working for Flybits. as a 2019 Technology Fast 50™ award winner by Deloitte. Ÿ impact we have made in developing the next generation of talent. In 2019 alone, were also recognized by: Ÿ Ÿ 14 | September 2021

17. Frost & Sullivan awarded Flybits for best practices in Technology Innovation in global customer experience technology for the ?inancial LinkedIn included Flybits on its 2019 Top Startups list in Canada, CIX, Canada's largest curated startup investment conference, named services market. Recognized in The Fintech Power 50, an annual guide to the most recognizing the organization as one of the hottest high-growth global Flybits to its annual list of Top 10 Growth companies — a list that How has the pandemic affected the tech market in in?luential, innovative, and powerful ?igures in the Fintech industry. companies to work for in the country. recognizes innovative, mature startups with high potential to scale. Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Canada? Is your company changing with the market? The pandemic brought with it a great amount of uncertainty. Flybits, along with our customer base, was impacted dramatically, not only from a revenue growth standpoint but also on an organizational level where we had to quickly When the pandemic hit, most banks around the world entered a crisis stronger from what was a very dif?icult year. We have been able to advance that helps banks better target their customers. mobilize our entire employee-base to a new working environment, while mode of accelerating and building digital capabilities to catch up to where our product with a framework that makes it easy for our customers to working closely with our customers who faced signi?icant challenges. they should have been. Inspired to be a catalyst for change and integrate data, we built template experiences for our customers to go-to- empowered by our entrepreneurial spirit, we have collectively emerged market faster, and created audience optimization - an intelligence layer Modern technology has changed human thinking and its existence. With the rapid advancement towards globalization, what do you think the post-pandemic market will look like for tech companies? The pandemic has accelerated digital transformation for many organizations with an emphasis on advancing customer experiences to be more in tune with personal needs and requirements. For tech companies, this will translate to collaborating with external partners to build robust customer ecosystems that can provide relevant and contextualized experiences. | 15 September 2021

20. ACHIEVERS Jeff Cates CEO & President chievers is a modern-day enterprise that experience that has lasting effects on engagement. They seek seen as an opportunity to build a great culture and change the networks that allow them to learn, grow, and contribute to THEIR VISIONS AND VALUES A to create a holistic work environment of dedicated and way the world works. They are pioneers when it comes to our communities. encompasses HR innovation, powered by workforce data. The organisation supports an individual empowered individuals who can contribute to the employee recognition and engagement. They give employees throughout their journey and delights the employees with an organisation in more than one way. At Achievers, every day is a voice through pulse surveys, frequent check-ins, and “ Creating environments where employees can do the best work of their lives “ Their values are the means of accomplishing their goals. At treating every customer, every Achievers employee — even achievers, they believe in morals and ethics. They are the compass that guides them to greatness. It’s these values that drive their passion and uncompromising dedication to 18 | September 2021 September 2021

21. their competitors — with the highest levels of integrity. It de?ines who prioritize, take action, and be accountable for the outcome. They they are as an enterprise and what they value. They are inclusive and inspire their clients to operate in similar manner. That’s their secret to AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS been accredited with the following; Ÿ Achievers secured ranking as a top provider based on customer Achievers is recognized on the 2021 list of Best Workplaces in Ÿ Achievers Ranked in HRO Today’s Baker’s Dozen 2021 Customer With their aim to facilitate and improve the productivity of every career-advancing opportunities needed to drive success. accredit the uniqueness that each employee contributes to their success! culture. They believe that for growth, it is essential that they think big, Their excellence has been recognised all across the globe. They have Employee Recognition Program. Ÿ and quality of service. Ÿ Achievers Ranked in HRO Today’s Baker’s Dozen 2021 Customer Ÿ Achievers was awarded Bronze in the category of Best Advance in satisfaction surveys in the categories of service breadth, deal sizes, Ontario by Great Place to Work Canada Satisfaction Survey for Recognition Satisfaction Survey for Recognition employee and the ?irm as a whole, The Achievers Women’s Network The Achievers Women’s Network strives to provide a safe space for THE WOMEN'S NETWORK was created to share information, best practices, education, and persons of any group or identity striving for universal equality, inside experience, that will help one another develop leadership skills and and outside of the workplace. | 19 September 2021

22. THINK RESEARCH Sachin Aggarwal CEO The world is currently faced with the biggest medical crisis. In evidence-based tool for hospital physicians has now about healthcare so that every family can choose the correct THINK RESEARCH such trying and tedious times, Think Research is heralding a successfully evolved into a healthy and sustainable care facility for themselves. Their family of companies span change in the way we look at medical science. An organisation ecosystem of integrated digital health solutions and services. the healthcare continuum and reach more than 300,000 that commenced its operations with a single clinical They are an initiative directed towards educating people clinical professionals worldwide. This unique structure allows them to generate value along the entire clinical knowledge lifecycle, from generating new Think Research’s journey began with Dr Chris O’Connor, a research to knowledge tools and education, to enabling THE DAWN OF THE ENTERPRISE critical care physician in southwestern Ontario. Through his patient clinical services and connectivity. 20 | September 2021 September 2021

23. practice treating ICU patients at Trillium Health Sciences, he hit upon what ?irst A visionary by nature, Chris recognized what others didn’t. He acknowledged the ef?iciency, adoption of best practices, care quality, and patient outcomes. Order Sets appeared to be a simple, local challenge: handwritten, unstructured text orders for fundamental challenge facing clinicians: free-text ordering was time-consuming were a resounding success and Chris’ vision of a cloud-based collaborative platform ICU patients. and error-prone. Inspired by checklists used by pilots in the airline industry, he for clinicians led him to found Think Research in 2006. realized that evolving ordering processes into digital checklists would improve Today, with a growing network of clients, collaborators, and partners, this They’re organizing the world’s health knowledge so that everyone gets the best care. collaborative principle continues to drive our product development. They are continually building new solutions to transform healthcare, one patient at a time. beyond. They are currently working across all sectors, including acute, primary, and the clinical decision-making process, standardize care, and improve patient THEIR VISION AND MISSION Their knowledge-based tools empower healthcare providers at the point of care and They make use of contemporary technology to come up with solutions to support with millions of patients impacted every year. VIRTUAL CARE IN RESPONSE TO THE GLOBAL PANDEMIC long-term care. outcomes. Their products and services are available in over 2,800 facilities across Canada, the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, and the Middle East, Patients unable to visit their primary care provider due to scheduling, travel, and lost to minor tasks like sharing prescriptions or results that could be done virtually outpatient treatment or for seniors’ care homes residents who cannot attend a clinic other barriers too often delay or choose not to seek care for non-critical issues. without sacri?icing care quality. or hospital. Our platform fully integrates with the two most-used EHR systems and For clinicians, relying exclusively on in-of?ice appointments means valuable time is Virtual Care supports the delivery of patient-centred healthcare, whether for has seen a tenfold increase in visit volume during COVID-19. Their patient engagement platform allows health care providers, specialists, allied health and community support workers, and others to provide virtual care through text messaging, audio-video conferencing, and secure document sharing. | 21 September 2021

24. “The most loved storytelling platform across the globe” Wattpad provides readers with a platform to discover Wattpad is currently home to over 90 million readers and myriad of genres from mysteries to LGBTQ+ meet-cutes, They empower diverse voices and stories all over the taste, thus exposing the reader to a variety of different The Watty Awards are Wattpad’s annual celebration of millions of Wattpad writers undertake to bring their epic stories, novels and scripts by new, unrecognised, writers that connect through the power of story and technothrillers to cyberpunk fairytales, they have it all world, helping you build a communityof readers on a stories. They champion untold stories to the publishing & THE WATTY AWARDS the electrifying, visionary, diverse voices that choose to stories from their dreams and into the lives of readers untapped, unsigned, and talented writers and connects share emotions and affections through characters, covered! worldwide platform. Once you like a particular genre, amp; entertainment industries. share their stories on Wattpad every year. For over a around the world. From the ?irst seed of a story to the them to the global community of readers and learners. dialogues, sentences and words. The Wattpad houses a they start recommending other stories based on your decade, The Watty Awards have celebrated the journey 22 | September 2021 September 2021

25. moment you type the ?inal period on the last award. sentence of our ?inal chapter—this is all part of that same journey. That’s why this award show is distinct and unique and so much more than an WATTPAD STUDIOS Wattpad Studios partners that can’t be found anywhere else. We deal Wattpad Studios is radically transforming the with the entertainment industry to co-produce exclusively in the one thing that powers the way the entertainment industry sources and Wattpad stories for TV, ?ilm, digital video, and entire entertainment industry - original stories produces content. They have a brilliant and print. Wattpad is home to voices and content that captivate audiences around the world. immensely talented community of storytellers and are backed by honest data and real-time stories that captivate audiences. Wattpad works on the platform. insights. with media executives to single out stories They deal exclusively in the fuel that powers the that have a great chance at commercial success entire entertainment industry: original from the roughly 400 million uploads shared | 23 September 2021