On the TechTO & TechWaterloo stages ×2
How to Get Things Done
Watch on YouTube ↗Stop Thinking About Scaling
Watch on YouTube ↗First seen on the TechTO & TechWaterloo stages in 2018. Every talk is searchable — ask the archive about Katarina ↗
In their words
We were able to optimize our profit margins to 78% — not only from selling, but from cutting costs alone.
Would you rather be a $50 million business that is operating off of 1% margins, or a $5 million business operating off of 50% margins? It's not a trick question — one is five times more profitable.
When you're a small business with a very limited runway, agility is really the only advantage you have over major players.
Around the web ×1
Quick answers
What is Katarina Ilić known for?
Co-founding Voltera, whose V-One desktop printer lets engineers prototype circuit boards in hours instead of waiting weeks for a fabrication run. She leads revenue there and has been with the company since it was a student capstone project.
How did Voltera start?
It began as a 2013 engineering capstone design project at the University of Waterloo. The team won the international James Dyson Award — the first Canadian winner — and funded the first machines through a Kickstarter campaign in 2015.
Did Voltera raise venture capital?
It ran a Kickstarter in 2015, but Ilić says on stage the team stopped chasing investment after an unsuccessful raise and grew off revenue and margin instead, reaching 78% profit margins.