On the TechTO stage ×2
Funding International Expansion
Watch on YouTube ↗How to Leverage Creator Content
Watch on YouTube ↗First seen on the TechTO stage in 2025. Every talk is searchable — ask the archive about Adam ↗
In their words
For the rate you need, you have to expand internationally. The US being right next door, New York being an hour flight away and the advertising capital of the world, it made sense to go there.
A shortcut if you're in adtech, martech, any type of marketing is you go to these ad agencies who represent the biggest brands on earth. You sell them on one brand that they work on. And then if you do well, they all tell their friends who work at the agency.
Raising venture is not necessarily the right move for every company. And depending on what your personal goals are, the business goals, there are plenty of partners that can help support you to keep that equity so that when you do have an exit, it's meaningful and life-changing for you, your co-founders, your team.
Creators want to be involved in not just producing content after your brand's created. They want to help you build that brand. They want to be a part of that journey.
As a founder of a BTOC company, you must be creating your own personal brand. You are the ethos of the company.
The only way that you're going to see success with creators is if they genuinely care about whatever your mission is.
More from TechTO ×2
Around the web ×3
Quick answers
What does #paid (hashtagpaid) do?
It's a creator marketplace that helps brands like Coca-Cola, Walmart, and Sephora connect with content creators — finding the right creator, managing the whole process, measuring results, and repurposing the content, even onto billboards in Dundas Square. In Canada it also does back-of-office creator work for agency holding company Omnicom.
How did EDC help hashtagpaid close its Omnicom prepayment deal?
Omnicom wanted to prepay under a commercial trading agreement, but its insurance provider would only cover $300K of a multi-million-dollar commitment, and the deal almost fell apart. An irrevocable letter of credit arranged through EDC and RBC — a crown corporation's balance sheet backing the contract — gave Omnicom confidence the company would deliver.
How is hashtagpaid doing now, and what's next?
After two years of rejigging operations, it has been profitable for the last year and a half, with 110 fully remote people (roughly 60 in Canada, 50 in the US) and 75-80% of business from the US. Next up is further international expansion — Europe starting with the UK, and possibly Brazil or Australia.