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From Idea to Exit: What I've Learnt Matters Most
Watch on YouTube ↗Applying Product Mentality to Everything in Your Company
Watch on YouTube ↗First seen on the TechTO stage in 2016. Every talk is searchable — ask the archive about Chris ↗
In their words
We were mostly a bootstrap company that almost no investor wanted to touch with a 10-foot pole, yet we grew it over seven years to be profitable.
About four years ago we were on the verge of running out of money, and we sat down everyone … and we said we're not gonna be able to make payroll, so we're gonna have to dock your pay by 25%, we're gonna give you options instead. We thought half of people were going to quit. Guess what happened — half of people asked if they could take more options.
A successful product has nothing to do with the idea. Our idea, what Unata was all about, is exactly the same as what it was six years ago. It wasn't the idea that got us here, it's the people.
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Quick answers
What is Chris Bryson known for?
Founding Unata, the Toronto white-label digital grocery platform acquired by Instacart in January 2018 for a reported US$65M. He now runs NS/TX Industries, the Toronto alt-protein company behind the New School Foods plant-based salmon filet.
What is Chris Bryson doing now?
He is founder and CEO of NS/TX Industries in Toronto, which in June 2026 raised US$10.5M in Series A funding and grants co-led by Inter IKEA Development BV and Lever VC to automate and scale its meat-alternative manufacturing platform.
How many times has Chris Bryson spoken at TechTO?
Twice, both as CEO of Unata: 'Applying Product Mentality to Everything in Your Company' in May 2016, and 'From Idea to Exit: What I've Learnt Matters Most' in March 2018, weeks after the Instacart acquisition was announced.