Identifying 35 Canadian firms on the path to $1 Billion annual revenue 

Announced this morning in partnership with Communitech as part of TMX Investor Day, Team True North is a roster of Canadian innovation companies shown by verified data to have the highest probability of reaching $1B in revenue. Paystone, an integrated automated payment processing and seamless customer engagement platform, boasts the only London, Ontario spot on this list (but not for long). A company with a prominent history of making London and Southwestern Ontario’s innovation ecosystem proud, Paystone has made this exclusive list following an incredible year of growth.  

As global markets experience volatility, past experience has shown that strong global leaders become even stronger. Team True North represents the 1 per cent of highest-performing global private companies in Canada.  

“The accomplished list of Team True North exemplifies the innovative and global ventures that Canada brings to the table,” says Christina Fox, CEO of TechAlliance. “I am confident that London and Southwestern Ontario companies will continue to be named to this extraordinary list, as I know first-hand the impact of our regional ecosystem and its dedication to the world’s tech ecosystem. Billion-dollar status is an accolade that can only be built by grit, tenacity, community, and entrepreneurship – and as the Regional Innovation Centre supporting Paystone in their growth years, we celebrate this accomplishment proudly for our region and for our good friend Tarique and his team at Paystone”.  

“Team True North confirms that Canada – with its diverse set of best-in-class firms from coast-to-coast – is well on its way to becoming the world’s top tech ecosystem,” said Chris Albinson, CEO and President at Communitech. “These companies have the highest probability of achieving billion-dollar status not only because of their impressive growth rates, but also their unwavering commitment to building trust into technology, which gives Canada a distinct global advantage.” 

According to comprehensive data gathered by Silicon Valley Bank, analysis done by New York-based data science firm Two Sigma, and the model developed by Communitech for confirming high growth potential, each company in this first class of Team True North meets one of four criteria: 

• $20M-$39M in annual revenue with 60 per cent or more growth rate,
• $40M-$79M in annual revenue with 40 per cent or more growth rate,
• $80M – $99M in annual revenue with at least 20 per cent growth rate, OR
• +$100M in annual revenue with at least 15 per cent growth rate 

The first cohort of Team True North companies had $5.1B in combined annual revenue with an average annual revenue of $141M as well as an average year-over-year growth of 149 per cent in 2021. As new data is received and verified, Communitech will update the roster of firms on Team True North. 

“Many founders aspire to achieve the level of scale that allows them to build a billion-dollar company, making it on this list is a true testament to Paystone’s potential,” says Tarique Al-Ansari, CEO of Paystone, “We’re very honoured to be listed on Team True North among other great Canadian companies and are even more excited for Paystone’s future”. 

Updates to the roster of tech firms on Team True North will be published regularly, and even more London, Ontario companies are set to make the next list in the fall of 2022. With rising stars in Southwestern Ontario’s tech and innovation ecosystem soaring towards unicorn company status at rapid speed, our region anticipates further celebration of Team True North recognition. Team True North is supported by partners such as TMX (TSX, TSX-V), Ernst & Young, the Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association and NRC-IRAP. Companies included work with innovation hubs across Canada’s Tech Network, including TechAlliance of Southwestern Ontario, MaRS Discovery District, Invest Ottawa, Platform Calgary, BC Tech Association, Innovate Edmonton, Viatec and ventureLAB.