17 of Canada’s best movers, shakers and Mod Media Makers
Over the last few years our Information technology, Communications and Entertainment (ICE) practice has had the pleasure of working with some of the most innovative online and mobile media startups in Canada. We interviewed 17 of their founders (and photographed their teams in fine Madmen style) for our inaugural Mod Media Makers.
What does it mean to be a Mod Media Maker? Who are they, how are they changing the media industry and what might make them the titans of tomorrow?
Despite their disparate approaches and backgrounds, the leadership/founding teams of our Mod Media Makers have much in common:
- Passion
- Innovation
- Disruption
Each have lead their companies with a burning passion to solve consumer media problems and have built technology teams which bleed innovation.
Here’s a quick introduction to a few of our Mod Media Makers:
Ray Reddy of PushLife (acquired by Google on April 8, 20011)
PushLife was a mobile commerce platform that leveraged carrier billing infrastructure to deliver an innovative user experience for buying and managing digital goods (such as music and ringtones) across a range of mobile devices. PushLife solved a number of problems for carriers looking to increase purchases across mobile devices. It’s no wonder Google ‘swallowed-up’ Ray’s company. Something tells me, however, Ray will be back. He’s possessed of an intelligence and humility that makes him perfect for building disruptive businesses.
Oreon Mounter of The Royal Few
Oreon Mounter’s The Royal Few (TRF) takes social networking to another level, or shall we say ‘class’. TRF is an exclusive social network that targets socially-active influencers in the 19-to-35 demographic. It’s a ‘who’s who’ of social networking and admission is not open to all. The Royal Few eliminates extraneous and/or distant contacts, pairing your ‘friends’ down to those folks who are ‘in the know’. TRF’s lucrative business model lies is its ability to put advertisers in front of trend setters — and give those trendsetters a place to congregate.
Mounter’s passion for uniting people, innovation and technology are visible everywhere in TRF. He’s one of the nicest folks you’ll meet and is extremely professional and humble. These qualities have helped Oreon execute in a dog-eat-dog industry, building many fans and forming many business relationships along the way. And as you’ll see in his Mod Media Maker profile, he dresses ‘to the nines’.
Sami Saddique of Synaptop
Sami Saddique is the incredibly smart Founder of Synaptop, whose browser allows anyone to ‘collaborate over the cloud’ — simultaneously sharing files, listening to music, chatting, watching videos and so on. It’s a virtual window into a user-shared world.
Sami brings passion and next-generation thinking to absolutely everything he creates. I often leave meetings with him thinking: Huh? What did he just say? But he brings it all to life brilliantly.
I’m certain that Sami has built some very disruptive IP into Synaptop.
See all of our Mod Media Makers
These are just a small sample of the types of incredible entrepreneurs and start-ups you will read about in the Mod Media Makers content piece from us folks here at MaRS. Look for more pieces that highlight the innovation and passion radiating from MaRS in the coming months. We appreciate and want your feedback – please do feel free to comment in the comment sections.
Do you want to change the world like our Mod Media Makers and have a start-up or idea? Then consider becoming a MaRs client and connecting with an Advisor. To learn more, click here.