Today's 5 Questions features someone from the technology startup community.
Saif Ajani is the founder of Visibli which was formerly known as Assetize. Visibli has created a way to continue to engage visitors on web and social sites with what they refer to as a Visibli bar: a personalized, branded engagement bar that appears above the destination page. To learn more about Visibli check out their website. To learn more about the brains behind Visibli continue reading below.
What motivates you to do what you do on a daily basis?
It's the ability to create value for the companies we work with in an area that is exciting, to say the least. Every company around the world is spending time and resources thinking about how to best leverage the new relationships they have built up with their customers. As this online world of ours keeps maturing and growing, it's mentally stimulating to help our partners face these new challenges in innovative ways.
Do you have any success start-up tips for people wanting to create a name for themselves in your industry?
The tech startup space is full of experimentation. Be ready to try something new out, get feedback from your target market and then build on it (or throw it away!) very quickly. There are also a lot of successful entrepreneurs out there willing to help and mentor startups -- guys like
Dan Martell come to mind. Find them, and ping them as often as they'll let you.
In your opinion why is Toronto a hotbed for cool tech start-ups?
A few years ago, tech entrepreneurship just wasn't happening in Toronto. But with new, early-stage funds like
Extreme VP showing up and providing support with a Silicon Valley mindset, things have improved significantly. Not only has it helped entrepreneurs with funding, but also accelerated the development of the ecosystem.
Another thing that has helped Toronto become a hotbed is the competitive advantage on engineering talent. We've always known that schools like Waterloo and University of Toronto produce tech-savvy graduates that get hired by the best companies worldwide. However, a new phenomenon has been young entrepreneurs move back to Toronto from the US to start their companies because it's easier to find talent here. It's been refreshing to see some of the brain drain get replenished.
What's your favourite tech toy and social media site and why?
I'm very intrigued with Google TV. Though I don't own one (yet) and it has to mature a bit more before it becomes pervasive, it has the potential to change living rooms significantly.
Social media site:
StockTwits. While the growth of Facebook and Twitter have been well-documented, I believe the next growth spurt will come from vertically-focused layers that leverage existing social networks. While StockTwits isn't simply a layer atop Twitter anymore, it is how the site was launched and has since grown into a fantastic social network in its own right. Look for more vertically-focused sites to launch atop the existing social networks in the months ahead.
Who would you say is one of Toronto's social media or tech stars and why?
It's tough to go a day without seeing something interesting from Toronto-based
@fnthawar, @skanwar and, of course,
@mathewi. In fact, it seems almost more natural to refer to them with their Twitter handles vs real names... times they are a-changin'.
Each has been a fun follow with valuable content, and guys that are well-connected in not only the digital world but also the real world. Great for the community to have them around.
