On the TechTO & TechVancouver stages ×3
Mike Gardner of Agreement Express presents Lessons from The Martian (yes the movie)
Watch on YouTube ↗
Mike Gardner of Agreement Express presents Fintech Lessons from the Martian
Watch on YouTube ↗Mike Gardner of Agreement Express presents The Enterprise is a Starship
Watch on YouTube ↗First seen on the TechTO & TechVancouver stages in 2016. Every talk is searchable — ask the archive about Mike ↗
In their words
We've done that profitably. We've enjoyed approximately a 43% compound annual growth rate for the last five years, and we've done that with our own capital, not with venture capital — no offense to the VCs in the room.
Elon Musk says the first humans will arrive on Mars in 2025. And I say: by 2025, banks will be able to switch their systems in the same day. Only one of those is believable — and unfortunately, it's not mine.
This isn't our clients' fault. This isn't the fault of the organizations buying our technology. This is our fault as technology designers. We take a lazy design approach, and we end up designing technology that requires a waterfall implementation methodology.
anything during that first start up period will can absolutely kill you it is the running out of potatoes it's the weather issue it's anything that might happen anything can kill you
if you made a list of everything that could possibly kill you you will just curl up in a little ball all the CrossFit in the world isn't going to save you
I have about 12 hours to come up with $25,000 or I can't make payroll
Quick answers
What is Mike Gardner known for?
Leading Agreement Express, the Vancouver company that automated onboarding for banks, insurers, payment companies and wealth managers. He told the TechTO stage in 2016 that it had grown about 43% a year for five years on its own capital, with more than 40% of its customers in the Fortune 500.
What happened to Agreement Express?
Its assets were split and sold in December 2022. Advisor360° took the wealth-management onboarding technology and NMI took the payments business. It no longer operates as an independent company.
What does Mike Gardner do now?
He owns Property Fox, a Vancouver software company for Canadian mortgage brokers, is principal of the consulting firm Currentii Advisors, leads a Vancouver peer-mentoring group for Giant Leap, and teaches entrepreneurship in the masters program at UBC.