On the TechTO stage ×1
First seen on the TechTO stage in 2020. Every talk is searchable — ask the archive about Fred ↗
In their words
I bartended in a high-end restaurant in downtown Montreal. That was the fastest way for me to make connections with VPs and CEOs — people that could help me start a business that I didn't even know what the idea was for at that point.
It's the biggest software market in the world, yet everyone seems to have that pain point of either I do everything manually, or I have to fight with my CRM.
It's about how can you validate the idea for your product without building anything.
More from TechTO ×1
Around the web ×1
Quick answers
What is Fred Melanson known for?
Co-founding Bliinx, a Montreal startup that pulled a company's interactions with a contact into one relationship timeline inside inbox, calendar and Teams, as a lighter alternative to a CRM. It raised a $1M CAD pre-seed with 500 Startups and Panache Ventures.
How did he build his network?
Deliberately. He told TechTO he took a job at a high-end restaurant in downtown Montreal specifically because it was the fastest route for a student to meet the executives he would need, and that asking those customers how they tracked their own contacts is where the product idea came from.
How did Bliinx recruit its CTO?
Nathan Larue said no twice. Melanson and co-founder Stephane Melanson prototyped the product without code, used one prototype to get a client to sign a contract, and returned to Larue — then at Google — with a paying customer.
What is he doing now?
Not publicly confirmed. Bliinx wound down around 2022 and no current company has been verified for this profile.