Ep. 566: Tech Entrepreneurship in British Columbia
Guest: Shawn Johnston (Refoundry / Forge and Smith)
In the ever-evolving landscape of technology, the journey of building a tech company from scratch in British Columbia can be both exhilarating and daunting. Shawn Johnston, a serial tech company founder, knows the ups and downs better than anyone. “I’ve had my face pressed against the glass more than once. That’s when you stare into the financial abyss and can’t see a way out, but then you do.”
Survival in the hostile world of start-ups and, in particular, tech start-ups demand an ability to focus, refocus, and refocus again and again and again. “Since 2010, I’ve had to reinvent myself so many times I can’t recall all the ways I’ve had to do it,” says Johnston. “I redefined and refocused so many times because it’s the only way to find the path forward. You simply have to stay on task and never give up.”
The founder of Forge and Smith, a web design and web design agency, saw a new opportunity and launched another new company, Refoundry, a low-code themeless site builder for Wordpress. Johnston says, “I saw a need and decided I could fill it for companies that needed a faster [and] lower-cost path for their customer’s presence, and it’s a hit!”
We invited Shawn Johnston of Refoundry to join us for a Conversation That Matters about how you find the inner strength and discipline to keep going in the world of tech entrepreneurialism.
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