Apps, Featured, Start ups

Homebase Bets Big on Canadian Tech Talent

Leading hourly team management app invests in Canadian tech talent, doubling its local workforce (+104%) in the past year against a backdrop of volatility in the technology landscape. Company adds Canadian leaders to its Executive Office, including Chief Marketing Officer, Candy Lee, and Chief Technology Officer, Oliver Fisher, who together bring strategic expertise from Shopify, HelloFresh Canada and FreshBooks. Further strengthening product development capabilities, Homebase also welcomes VPs of Engineering Andrea Corey and Alamelu Radhakrishnan, bringing product development expertise from Freshbooks, Loblaw Digital and Shopify. Homebase also opened its first-ever Canadian outpost this month, with an 8,000 sq. ft. office located in downtown Toronto. TORONTO, Sept. 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Homebase, the all-in-one team management app that helps more than 100,000 local small businesses manage their hourly teams, makes big waves by investing in the Canadian technology industry. In the past year, the company has more than doubled its full-time workforce in Canada (+104%) and opened its first-ever office in downtown Toronto. Homebase has also supercharged its Executive Office with new, seasoned Canadian leadership, including Chief Marketing Officer, Candy Lee, and Chief Technology Officer, Oliver Fisher. Having held previous leadership roles at Shopify, HelloFresh Canada and Freshbooks, both Lee and Fisher bring deep expertise and strategic insight into growing and scaling big brand SaaS companies that serve small businesses and consumers. This investment is a strong signal of Homebase’s commitment to growth against the backdrop of an otherwise volatile technology sector. Beyond the Canadian team, the company has also grown headcount in the past year in the U.S. and beyond. Toronto is the newest Homebase office, joining other locations in San Francisco, Houston and Denver. “With our new leadership, Homebase is set firmly on a path to scale our business to new heights, and supercharge our product to help small business teams work better than ever. Our people make Homebase what it is and our growing Canadian team is critical to unlocking our potential to provide an unbeatable experience for local businesses,” said Homebase Founder & CEO, John Waldmann. Prior to joining Homebase, at HelloFresh Lee helped scale the subscription business multiple times over, nearly doubling revenue in her first year while securing a hard-fought market leadership position ahead of long-time competitors. Lee is committed to helping accelerate the trajectory of Homebase to empower the +100k small businesses on the app to make work easier. “Main Street businesses have traditionally been ignored by technology providers, so I’m thrilled to work with the team to rewrite the script and put great tech in the hands of unstoppable local businesses,” said Candy Lee, Homebase CMO. Furthermore, Fisher led international expansion efforts at Freshbooks and also helped grow Google’s Safebrowsing team in Montreal. As Director of Engineering at Shopify, Fisher also helped launch Shopify Capital to provide seamless liquidity to merchants based on their existing sales, impressively growing the business rapidly in about one year. “I’m incredibly excited to shape a lasting company that’s making an impact by driving small business growth,” said Oliver Fisher, Homebase CTO. “I’m focused on building a world-class engineering team that will enable us to develop features that serve customers faster and more efficiently. Establishing engineering talent in Canada is a key part of that strategy,” said Fisher. As growth and innovation remain core to Homebase’s mission, the company also welcomes two additional expert leaders with deep product development experience. Andrea Corey, with more than two decades of experience designing systems to scale at startups, including Freshbooks and Eloqua joins as VP of Engineering, Platform Engineering. Additionally, Alamelu Radhakrishnan, former Chief of Staff to Shopify CTO, rounds out the new leadership as VP of Engineering, Product Delivery. About Homebase:Great businesses are built on great teams. Great teams run on Homebase. Homebase makes work easier for 100,000+ small (but mighty) businesses with everything they need to build unstoppable hourly teams: employee scheduling, time clocks, payroll, team communication, hiring, onboarding, and compliance. Just don’t call us “Human Capital Management.” We’re an all-in-one team management app built for busiest businesses, so owners and employees can spend less time on bullsh*t and more time on what matters.To learn more, visit joinhomebase.com