Klipfolio’s Allan Wille on the Turning Tides in Canadian Tech
I chatted with Allan Wille of Klipfolio at SaaS North, fresh off the company’s release of a dashboard template gallery at the tail end of 2016.
Several of the new pre-built dashboards are inspired by the methodologies of digital marketing whizzes like Andy Crestodina and Rand Fishkin.
“We like working with people who have deep domain expertise,” says Wille of the collaborations.
He adds that their goal is to help users “awash in KPIs” to focus on the metrics they should be monitoring, enabling them to make sound decisions regarding their business.
Klipfolio is currently helping 7,000 customers hone in on the right metrics, and they’ve recently announced a $12M Series B raise from existing investors.
Right before this interview with Wille at SaaS North, Tobi Lutke of Shopify was participating in a fireside chat with Sean Silcoff. He said that he often receives the advice to move his company to the US.
Naturally, I was curious as to what Wille’s experience and what his reaction would be to that advice. His response sparked conversation about the trends he’s seeing in the Canadian tech landscape.
“I have started two companies. I’ve talked to probably 100 VCs and I have yet to talk to somebody that says you need to move your staff to the US. Now, I have heard that from colleagues.”
Wille says he’s seeing a more interesting trend crop up.
“We have started getting calls from US companies and recruiters to hire Canadians, but not move them to the States. They want to hire Canadians and keep them in Canada, because the salary, especially compared to the foreign exchange market, is way less expensive.”
Wille says that retaining R&D talent in the Valley, for example, is difficult and cost-prohibitive.
“I think VCs are recognizing that in Canada there are huge efficiencies and benefits, in addition to the social and culture landscape that are keeping people here.”
This change in perception is also altering what most would deem the traditional path that Canadian companies usually travel on — acquisition by a US company.
“We’ve had Halogen, we’ve had Kinaxis, we’ve had Shopify — really motivational IPO exits. Their true head count and headquarters are in Canada, in Ottawa in this case, and they have not sold out. They have done it from here.”
He also recognizes Hootsuite and Vision Critical, among other companies that have “resisted that early exit to a foreign company.”
“I think there’s more confidence in what a Canadian company can do these days,” says Wille.
