r/EntrepreneurCanada

The Competition Bureau launched a market study this year specifically because SME lending in Canada isn't competitive at all.

Link: https://competition-bureau.canada.ca/en/how-we-foster-competition/promotion-and-advocacy/market-study-competition-financing-canadas-small-and-medium-businesses

If you've ever tried to actually get financing as a small business, you know that it's really hard to do so. Banks take forever and they often ghost you, you have to have your credit score pulled, you upload manual bank statements, and half the time they still want a personal guarantee before they'll even talk with you. And many times, you can't get financing.

This is the team at Huumans, and full disclosure, we're building a a lending recommendation engine to solve for these challenges.

We're building a recommendation engine that takes your business's actual profile and gives you a ranked shortlist of financing options that fit your need/financial situation. We will provide choice for small businesses, and not just point financing options to us, but provide the best and most affordable options.

We want to stress test this and make it great!!! And we need 50 business owners to run their real (or hypothetical) financing scenario through it and tell us where it's wrong.

This will take 15 min, no obligation to use anything it suggests. We especially want people who want to know their financing options or to learn about loans and how to grow with them!!

Comment or DM if you're interested - thank you in advance!!!!

TL;DR: I build software. I'll build yours for free. I keep the right to sell it to other businesses later. That's the whole deal.

Suspicious stuff out of the way first: I'm not selling anything, not collecting your email, and not looking for a job. No free trial that becomes $99/month in 30 days.

I'm 28, based in Toronto, and I want to start a software business. But I've watched too many people build something clever nobody asked for. So I'm doing it backwards — find a real problem first, solve it for free, then see if there's a business in it.

What I'll build: anything. I've built Inventory Management Systems, Sales CRM platforms, and an AI Inference Gateway for open-source models. If it's complex, I'm more interested, not less.

Three signs this is for you:

🔹 You're paying monthly for software you half-use — 30 features, you need 4

🔹 You're doing it manually because the real tool is priced for companies 50x your size

🔹 Your workflow is three tools and a spreadsheet duct-taped together

Why you're doing me the favor:

I'm not being charitable. I want a real testimonial from a business actually using what I built, and the right to sell that software to other companies later. You get free custom software. I get proof it works and a product to take to market. Clean trade, nobody pretending.

What to do: drop your problem in the comments or DM me. The messier, the better.

Fair warning — bigger builds take a few months. But you're not paying, so the only thing you're risking is a comment.

If you bid on Canadian contracts. Im looking for (2-3) testers? (No cost - for testing purposes)

I’m an engineer and I’ve been building a system that watches Canadian public tender feeds and tries to answer a pretty simple question:

Which opportunities are actually worth spending time on?

Not “here are 40 notices that matched your keywords.”

More like: here are six that seem relevant to you, here’s why I’d probably skip two of them, and here’s what you should verify before you spend 40 hours putting a bid together.

I’m looking for a few people that actively bid on Canadian tenders and goes through that friction often.

filter opportunities based on what your company actually does, where you work, and the types of contracts you don’t want.

catch obvious blockers early, like security clearances, eligibility requirements, or excluded categories

show the case for and against pursuing an opportunity, with the source behind the reasoning

keep track of what you decided and why, instead of having that knowledge disappear into someone’s inbox or spreadsheet

It’s not perfect yet, we are at the testing phase, and we are still gathering insight. Looking for legitimate procurement practitioners. It’s free to use (this post is not promotional).

Let know if this would be useful.

Thanks and take care.

Hey guys,

I’d like to share something.

I feel like this is a topic we don’t talk about enough, and maybe it’s actually one of the most important parts of business. Target audience.

It recently crossed my mind, how much time do I actually spend working on my target audience compared to building the product?

Let me tell you a quick story.

There are two people. One is allergic to shrimp, and the other one loves shrimp.

They’re both in different places, but the fisherman doesn’t care where they are. Instead, he spends all his time trying to catch the best shrimp.

But he always drives to the same place, where the person with the shrimp allergy is.

It doesn’t matter how good the shrimp are. The person is allergic to shrimp!

I promised myself that I have to spend more time working on my target audience, so I wrote down the top 5 questions to define a target audience:

1. What problem do they have?
2. What do they want to achieve?
3. Where do they spend their time?
4. How old are they, and where do they live?
5. What have they already tried to solve the problem?

Are these the 5 right questions????

Also, imagine that I’m totally new to business (maybe that’s not too hard to imagine) and give me your best advice on how to define a target audience.

Maybe there’s a great app, program, template, or process that you use to create yours?

Thanks for the advice!

Speak soon,

Jan

Hi all, I'm writing a blog post on how new grads or current software engineers can transition into AI engineering and the main thing I'm focusing on is production AI engineering.

There are a lot of people who have been trying to work on AI projects but they are very far from being production-grade. All they do is maybe connect a few APIs with each other, build a UI for it, and call it a day but there's a lot more that goes into production AI engineering and the skills that companies look for. I've been in the AI space for the past 3-4 years. I finished my undergrad a year ago, got into a master's at a very good university, got my first AI internship before I graduated undergrad, and now I've been at a big tech company full time on an AI team for close to a year (while doing my masters).

I know what it took for me to get my first internship. I know what I focused on and learned in my first internship to get into this competitive field early in my career, before having a master's and competing with other people that had master's and PhDs (because on my team I have a bunch of master's and PhDs and I was also told that I was the first undergrad to be in my internship). I also know. Every day, seeing what we need, what we do, and what we focus on when building our production AI systems, I know what the companies are focusing on and I know what works and what doesn't.

Again this is for AI engineering not AI research. The point I'm trying to make is that I'm trying to write a blog post that explains what you need to learn to do production AI and to build production AI systems they could attract employers. It'd be really helpful to have some advice or even to have people review the blog (just so I know that I'm providing good enough value and I'm not biased toward my own limited views).

Dm if interested

Curious how many people have a product/business idea but are stuck on the sourcing side.

Looking for:

• A manufacturer
• A wholesale supplier
• A reliable overseas supplier
• A product to build a brand around
• Better pricing/MOQs than current suppliers

Especially interested in physical products rather than software or services.

What are you trying to build?

July was a strange month, one of my gest so far. A bunch of unexpected expenses hit me, but I also closed more business than usual, and somehow ended with $10,764.85 after covering everything.

Part of me says yes! It's August - vacation month, let's take a vacation. I've been at the grind for a few years now without a real break and to be frank, I'm exhausted!

The other part keeps thinking about taxes, slower months, the next surprise expense - stuff that keeps me up at night, so I decide that I should just leave all of it there. Ya know, do the impossible thing, but I really need that vacation! urrrrrrrgh, not sure what to do!

I've never had this problem before. I was running off credit cards on a deficit for months, and those stretches were very, very difficult to get through. I'm not out of the woods yet. But part of me thinks a break might actually be smart move - clear my head before the Fall and continue to grind till the end of the year!

Thoughts, anyone?

Hey everyone, I’ve built my app and I’m in the early stages of launching it- now I’m stuck on next steps. What should I do? Should I get a trademark for the app? What variety of domain names should I buy?
I’m planning to launch in the USA and Canada. Does anyone know of a lawyer who specializes in edtech startups or app-related legal work?
My app is built for teachers. I’m a teacher myself, and I’ve seen firsthand the daily pain points and the cracks where our hard work slips through unnoticed. I strongly believe in this idea, and I’m looking for people who can guide me- and possibly anyone interested in joining me on this.

We almost shut down because of one bad year.

Our business had been around for over 10 years. Not huge, but successful. Good customers, steady revenue, the usual ups and downs. We weathered storms, market shifts, and typical business challenges. Then one extremely tough year hit

It was a combination of the pandemic and an economic downturn in our industry. Before we knew it, we were spending more time worrying about cash flow than running the business

What shocked me wasn't the bad year itself. That happens to most companies eventually. What surprised me was how quickly creditors seemed to forget all the previous years of profitability. Years of success didn't seem to matter compared to one negative year on the books

All of a sudden, we became a highrisk investment despite being strong in operations and having every chance to make a recovery. Then suddenly everything was different regarding the funding process

Now things are much better for us, but that period definitely shaped my perception of financing. I've been considering other approaches to securing funds including companies such as Third Eye Capital

Has anyone else gone through something similar? Did a single bad year end up causing financing problems, even after a long track record of success?

I know that sometimes it feels like it takes years to build credibility and only a few months to lose it. I'm hopeful things will keep improving, but I'd love to hear how others have navigated this

Hey guys,

I’d like to share something.

When I started my first businesses, I didn’t know anything about marketing. Maybe you feel the same, so don’t worry.

I was so excited to get an idea and build the product, website, and logo. But after I finished, I always asked myself the same questions.

Okay... what now? How am I supposed to bring people to my website?

I created Instagram and Facebook accounts, posted two random posts, and then was surprised that nobody was interested. I felt like I just wasn’t as lucky as other people who somehow went viral.

I’ve tried many different things and read a lot of books about marketing (I can recommend some of them if you’re interested).

And it took me at least two years to finally find something that works for me. I’m still at the beginning of my marketing journey, but I’d like to share it with other people anyway. Maybe it can help.

Two things that really helped me. First, I asked myself what I like to create. I like writing and reading. Then I chose one main platform where I’m the most active. Not just posting, but also commenting, talking to people, and building relationships with my target audience.

This is what my marketing funnel currently looks like:

1. Free PDF guide I created a step-by-step guide showing exactly how I tested my business idea. I use it to generate email leads that I own.
2. One big post every two weeks Every two weeks, I write one bigger post about a topic my target audience is interested in. I use the same post for my blog, LinkedIn newsletter, and email marketing.
3. Reddit posts I post 2–3 times per week in my own Reddit community. Starting your own Reddit community is also an amazing thing to do.
4. Building relationships on Reddit Reddit is my main platform, so I also comment on other posts, participate in other communities, and chat with people. And I enjoy it because it’s a topic I’m interested in, so it feels natural.
5. Reddit ads I currently spend around $10 per day on Reddit ads for my marketing PDF guide..

This is what works for me right now.

I feel like marketing is about finding what works for you, making a simple plan, and doing it consistently. Again and again.

I’m currently getting around 50 website visitors per day. Nothing crazy yet, but it’s going in the right direction.

Right now, I’m mostly focused on building the marketing funnel. I don’t care as much about constantly improving the product or website.

My focus is build the brand, do the marketing, and give away as much valuable information as I can for free.

I’m curious, what does your marketing funnel look like?

Thanks for reading and sharing! 

Speak soon,
Jan

I started a small web design business this summer through Ontario’s Summer Company Program, and today I sent out my first proper client deposit invoice.

It’s only $200 upfront, so obviously nothing crazy, but it feels pretty different from getting inquiries or talking to potential clients. There’s an actual business on the other end ready to get started.

The biggest thing I’ve learned so far is that actually getting clients has been much harder than building the websites. I’ve tried cold outreach, Reddit, Kijiji, Nextdoor, paid ads and a bunch of other stuff, and there’s been a lot of trial and error.

For anyone who started a service business young, what helped you go from occasionally landing a client to getting work consistently?

Small note for business owners: If your business needs a new website or you're considering redesigning your current one, I'm still taking on projects. You can check out my work and send an inquiry here:

https://www.infawebdesign.com/

https://www.infawebdesign.com/contact.html

Hey guys,

I'd like to share something.

I recently started thinking about what I did 3 years ago when I started my first business and what I would do differently if I knew then what I know now.

I often see the question, “How do I start a business?” on Reddit, so I thought this small look back at my journey might help someone who wants to start a business but doesn't know where to start or what to do first.

**1. Before doing anything, I would find and read 3 books about these topics:**

* How business works.
* How to test a business idea.
* How to market a business.

Choose any books you want. Just make sure they cover these topics.

**2. I would choose one social media platform just for my business, such as Reddit, LinkedIn, Instagram, or Facebook, and use it to document my business journey.**

Be aware that every platform is different. If you like making videos, Instagram might be the best choice. If you like writing, maybe a LinkedIn newsletter would be better. If you enjoy conversations Reddit is perfect.

**3. I would choose an industry first and then look for a business idea.**

Choose something you understand at least a little, where you can provide value, and that you enjoy learning about and creating content about.

**4. I would create a brand name that isn't too specific, so it can be used for different business ideas.**

If your first business idea doesn't work, as most don't, you can still use the same brand name, domain, and social media account, just with a different business focus.

**5. Before building anything, I would first find where I could connect with my target audience.**

If my target audience were salespeople, marketeres or whatever, I would first find out where they spend their time online.

.

After these five steps, I would start thinking about business ideas and begin testing them with my target audience.

Hopefully, this look back at where I was 3 years ago will help someone get started. It’s hard, but it’s an amazing journey.

Speak soon,

Jan

I'm 28, male, working full-time as a software engineer. Stable job, decent pay, no complaints there. But I want to build something of my own that could eventually replace my salary.

Problem: I have zero experience with this. I've never sold anything, never run a business, never freelanced. I can build software, but that's apparently the easy part. I don't have a product idea I'm attached to and I don't have a "pain point" story — I just know I don't want to be an employee for the next 30 years.

What I'm looking for:

- How did you find your first thing to work on when you didn't have an obvious idea?

- Did you start with services/freelancing/consulting first, or go straight to a product?

- What's a realistic timeline before something starts covering real bills?

- What do you wish someone had told you in year one?

Happy to be told my expectations are unrealistic. Just want honest input from people who've actually done it.

Have about 250k in my savings, deciding on whether to invest in ETFs or buy a 1bd condo in GTA (~500k) with 100K downpayment and rent it out cashflow will be 0 in the best case -100 to 200 in the worst and investing other 100k in my TFSA in ETFs?

Or put down the 100k in my rrsp instead of downpayments.

Any suggestions?

Condo prices are around 500k for a 5-10 years old 1bd or 1+1 condo in a rentable area.

I posted here a bit ago asking if any Canadian founders wanted to pilot an AI-native transactional firm. It ended up one of the top posts of the month so figured I would provide an update.

What actually happened since:

Twelve companies reached out wanting in. Software licensing, commercial lease negotiation, employment stuff, etc. These are now actively being scoped and completed.

Law Society registration, indemnity, firm registration, all completed. The firm is live, you can DM me for the website link if interested.

A few people asked what’s actually under the hood: It’s Spellbook working inside the document plus a custom Claude orchestration layer we built for the first drafts and redlines. Versioned drafts, audit trail on every matter, commercial terms so nothing trains on client data, and I read, correct and sign everything before it leaves.

The pilot is still open. Our fees are posted on the site and pilot clients get a discount from those. If there’s a contract sitting on your desk you’ve been avoiding, DM me.

Thanks!

We see too many clients with no agreement or worse, a horrible shareholders agreement, which enables a rogue shareholder to frustrate the decision making process.

You don’t need anything fancy to start, but you want to agree to the terms of the divorce when you love each other, not hate each other.

Choosing the right lawyer is also important, while many lawyers can draft an agreement, it’s important to find a lawyer who specializes in this practice area to ensure it’s properly drafted.

We opened our practice because there were too many bad lawyers out there and the good ones were far too expensive.

Hey guys i know this isnt the place for this but just give me a chance

I am the solo founder behind Ashcroft-Motors, an early-stage automotive technology venture, and I am currently looking for my technical counterpart and CTO.

About Me & Current Status:
I operate as the business lead coporate strategy and visionary for the project. I have already mapped out a comprehensive, 6-page technical design its not much but its something. To keep corporate paperwork and cap-table structuring entirely clean, the company remains unincorporated until I find the right technical partner to split co-founder equity with from day one.

The Venture Concept:
We are designing a rugged, low-electronic sedan engineered specifically for law enforcement, emergency services, and defense sectors.

• The Problem: Modern fleet vehicles are heavily dependent on complex software and electronics, making them highly vulnerable to digital attacks, component failure, and EMP threats.
• The Solution: Our vehicle is 100% EMP-proof, runs natively on bio-fuels and renewable fuels, and deliberately bypasses non-essential electronics to maximize field reliability and mission uptime.
• The Market & Pricing: We are matching current municipal fleet budgets with a highly competitive target price of $31K baseline MSRP for standard police cruisers and a $35K high-speed interceptor variant. Our long-term roadmap expands from secured government contracts directly into commercial taxis, rideshare, and the consumer market once stable cash flow is secured.

Who I am Looking For:
I am searching for an ambitious, Technical Co-Founder / CTO.

• Background: Ideally a senior student, recent graduate, or expert engineer specializing in Mechanical Engineering, Automotive Design, or Embedded Systems.
• The Role: any hands-on builder who is excited to dive into a 6-page design with me, take ownership of the technical side, and lead the development.
• Location: Midwest US preferred (Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois) for eventual physical prototyping coordination, but open to remote for the initial architecture phases.

Compensation:
This is a co-founder partnership track offering an equitable split of founder shares/equity.

If you wants to revolutionize the fleet automotive and defense industry, please drop a comment or slide into my DMs. I have a standard NDA ready so we can safely jump into the technical blueprints and see if we are a good fit and guys if you know anyone intrested please pitch them this and thank you for your time

running a small business in Canada and I think I’ve reached the stage where all the boring stuff I ignored at the beginning is coming back. when I started it was literally just me, one client, some invoices and a contract template I found online.

fine.

now there’s more money coming in, I’m working with contractors, talking about bringing another person into the business and possibly signing a bigger long term agreement with a client. and suddenly every decision has some legal question attached to it

do I need a better contract?
what happens if a partner wants out?
should shares be split now or later?
what if a client stops paying?
what am I personally liable for?

etc etc

I started reading about business law because I genuinely don’t know anymore which things are “just use common sense” and which things can screw you 2 years from now. For people here who actually built a business past the very early stage when did you finally get a lawyer involved?Was there one specific moment where you were like okay yeah, Google and templates are not enough anymore?

I'll be straight with you.

I built a platform for franchise operators and I'm decent at building and marketing but I don't come from the franchise world. That's been my biggest problem from day one

The platform has two sides: one for operators who own multiple locations of the same brand and want to manage everything candidates, hiring, activity in one place instead of chasing each manager individually. And another for franchisees who want to connect with others in the same brand and share strong candidates instead of losing them.
I've been talking to operators for months and the conversations have been genuinely useful. But what I'm missing is someone who actually knows how this world works from the inside a franchisee, a multi-unit operator, a franchise consultant who could help me understand where I'm getting it wrong and who I should actually be talking to

Not looking for investment. Not looking for a co-founder. Just someone willing to have an honest conversation with someone who built something in their space without fully understanding it first.

If that's you, or you know someone, drop a comment or DM me.