On the TechTO stage ×1
First seen on the TechTO stage in 2026. Every talk is searchable — ask the archive about Pascal ↗
In their words
Restaurant groups still get 20% or so of their reservations by phone. They invest millions in design and marketing, they'll pay influencers on Instagram to drive traffic to the restaurants — and very often that last mile of the sales funnel gets missed, because no one really picks up the phone in restaurants.
For me the big unlock was how quick you can get to yes in the US — way faster than in Canada. There are some restaurant groups in Toronto I'm still in talks with after four months, and it's meeting number twelve. There we got yeses on the spot after a demo.
Selling into the US is not that different than in Canada, but there's more competition in the market — and as a result, entrepreneurs and businesses there will be willing to take more risk and try new things.
More from TechTO ×1
Quick answers
Who is Pascal Dessureault?
Co-founder and chief operating officer of Tablevoice, a Toronto- and Calgary-based company whose AI host answers restaurant phone calls and books reservations into OpenTable, Resy and SevenRooms. He worked in communications and marketing at large financial services firms for about twenty years first.
What did he say at TechTO about selling in the US?
That the difference is speed, not difficulty. On the Toronto Tech Week 2026 panel about the Game On San Francisco immersion, he said he was twelve meetings and four months into Toronto restaurant groups while US operators said yes on the spot after a demo — because more competition makes them readier to try something new.
What problem does Tablevoice solve?
Missed restaurant phone calls. Dessureault told the TechTO audience that restaurants still take about 20% of reservations by phone while spending heavily to drive that demand, so the booking is lost at the last step when nobody answers. Tablevoice's AI host takes the call and writes the reservation straight into the restaurant's booking system.