Although I may not do a lot of crazy outward acts of patriotism, I’m a proud Canadian. This is a great country to raise a family and run a small business.
One thing you’ll find out about Canadians, we’re very protective of our “celebrities”. Despite the fact that we’re the 2nd largest country in the world, our population ranks at #35. So, when somebody from Canada gets famous for any reason, we get excited.
Perhaps it was just my ignorance, but I don’t remember a ton of big tech companies coming out of the Great White North. I knew about Corel and ATI early on and, of course, Blackberry. Now that I’m running my own business, it’s so great finding Canadian companies doing really good work. Since I’m naturally biased, it’s even better when I find out that they’re Canadian after I’ve already fallen for their products and services.
There are more good Canadian companies than I have time to list. So, I’d like to get this conversation started with 3.
Freshbooks:
I know I’ve mentioned them a lot here, and I apologize if you’re getting sick of me repeating that name. In my defence, they’re a well-known company…in my field…in my country. Of course, I’m going to talk about them a lot. If you want to read more, you can check out my other Freshbooks posts here.
Hootsuite:
I just found out this company was Canadian last week, despite the fact that I’ve been using their web app for over a year. Hootsuite makes my favourite social media web app. It’s where I do most of my Twitter-related work.
Arkli:
You may have just read my post last week about Arkli. Once again, I found out they were Canadian after writing the post and trying out their service. Arkli makes running a social media campaign exponentially easier. Check out the post, or visit them directly to see what makes them great.
Now, here’s your turn to help me finish this list. Do you know of a Canadian small business/startup/entrepreneur that’s really doing amazing things? I’ve discussed those in the tech or accounting sector, but feel free to brag about someone in any area…just as long as they’re based in Canada.
Don’t be shy. If you think your own company is awesome, then list yourself in the comments. There’s nothing wrong with being proud of what you do.
I look forward to seeing what you share.