On the TechTO stage ×2
Ghassan Halazon of EMERGE presents Beyond the Wreckage
Watch on YouTube ↗The Ultimate Guide to Building and Scaling E-Commerce Brands | Ghassan Halazon
Watch on YouTube ↗First seen on the TechTO stage in 2018. Every talk is searchable — ask the archive about Ghassan ↗
In their words
When I was 25 years old, I quit my Wall Street job — which is really code for Wall Street quit me — and, you know, jumped into the entrepreneurial journey.
Don't raise money unless you need to. Deploy the money very carefully, only if you have to. Measure it.
Four million customers cost us 50 cents when they're costing others 50 bucks.
The technical answer is it boils down to CLTV versus CAC — customer lifetime value versus customer acquisition cost. It's a critical ratio in e-commerce.
More from TechTO ×1
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Quick answers
What is Ghassan Halazon known for?
Founding EMERGE Commerce in 2016 and running it as a public company on the TSX Venture Exchange (ECOM). EMERGE buys and operates e-commerce brands — truLOCAL, UnderPar, JustGolfStuff, Tee 2 Green and Viral Loops — and reached $27.7M of revenue in 2025.
What did Ghassan Halazon do before EMERGE Commerce?
He was a banker at Citi in New York, then moved to Toronto and co-founded what he called Canada's first daily deal site. It merged with its largest competitor, hit about 200 employees, and collapsed. As he told the TechTO stage in 2025: 'By 30 I lost it all. I went to zero.'
What is EMERGE's '2.0' model?
After buying at the 2020 e-commerce peak with debt, EMERGE sold non-core brands and cut debt to focus on two verticals — grocery and golf. Halazon described it on the TechTO stage in May 2025 as working on 'fewer, bigger, more compelling opportunities.'
How many times has Ghassan Halazon spoken at TechTO?
Twice: 'Beyond the Wreckage' in April 2018, and a May 2025 fireside on building and scaling e-commerce brands.