Becoming a successful entrepreneur calls for inherent curiosity. While Roy Pereira characterizes his school-aged self as a “math geek,” it’s really his interest in understanding how nascent computing technologies were able to “make stuff out of nothing” that launched him on the career path he’s taken to date.
On the latest episode of What The Tech, we welcome to the show self-proclaimed serial entrepreneur and Techstar Roy Pereira. Roy is currently the CEO of Unified, the integrations-as-a-Service platform for B2B SaaS companies. With their Unified APIs, developers can integrate just once to add multiple software systems to their products from categories like HR, ATS, CRM and Authentication. Their solution has transformed what used to take several months into an afternoon project, helping SaaS companies swiftly and securely scale their integrations.
It should go without saying, but those time savings and value adds can be a gamechanger for emergent SaaS products as they look to make their mark, achieve new market potential and drive more revenue.
But along with steering the innovation over at Unified, Roy has been a positive presence in the Toronto and broader Canadian tech scene for a while now, with more than a decade of pushing the envelope in the Advertising, Security, Networking, and of course Software industries.
We’re thrilled to hear what’s in store for Unified, how Roy got into the startup scene in the first place, and his take on the current state of the tech ecosystem.
Funding has fundamentally changed
As Roy Pereira explains, over the past two years there has been a ground shift in how startups, scale ups and even mature businesses tackle funding. As a result, business leaders will need to “hustle and get traction,” seeking out creative paths to funding that stretch dollars further without overextending budgets.
At the heart of all of this is never losing sight of customers, who will not only help guide what shape your products and services take, but how much revenue can ultimately play in your long-term capital strategy.
The dawn of Useful AI
There are a wealth of AI tools that have been available in the market for years. But by combining the neural networks and machine learning capabilities of the past, today’s AI innovators are finally creating truly useful artificial intelligence compared to the more “novel” applications available less than a decade ago.
While Roy considered himself a “math geek” during high school and university, it was his inherent curiosity into understanding how computers can “make stuff out of nothing” that cultivated his entrepreneurial spirit.
