On the TechTO stage ×1
First seen on the TechTO stage in 2024. Every talk is searchable — ask the archive about Jill ↗
In their words
One of the things that I've learned over time is scaling companies isn't always growing them.
You can still believe in your mission, but sometimes you need to adjust the way you get there — and really listen to the market.
Being adaptable is super important. Leave your ego at the door, look at what the market's telling you, listen to clients really closely, and try and understand what they actually need — and do it quickly.
Quick answers
Who is Jill Watson?
Head of growth at erthos, a Toronto biomaterials company. She spent most of her career in Toronto with a stretch in San Francisco, worked in corporate Canada and consulting, then in venture capital at Golden Ventures before moving into operating.
What does erthos do?
erthos works to reduce global dependence on plastics through biomaterials. It originally manufactured bio-resins and bio-additives as alternatives to single-use plastics and cosmetic packaging; it now runs an AI-assisted design approach that helps consumer goods and chemical companies develop customised biomaterials for their own supply chains.
What did Jill Watson say at TechTO?
In September 2024 she walked through erthos's pivot in public: the original bio-resin business ran into market feedback that wasn't venture scale, policy that kept moving — Canada banned compostables — economics that didn't work across geographies, and the plain difficulty of replacing cheap plastics that work well. The company kept the mission and changed the method, moving to a licensing model she said accelerates biomaterial development fivefold. Her framing was that scaling a company is not the same as growing it.