It truly takes a village to build a startup. Behind every fast growing company, funded founder, or well timed partnership is often a community builder quietly doing the connective work that holds an ecosystem together.
Community builders are the ones making introductions before founders know who to ask. They bring people into the same room, physically or virtually, where ideas collide and opportunities emerge. As early stage founders increasingly rely on shared resources, peer learning, and trusted networks, the role of community builders has never been more important.
Yet, this work is often invisible and thankless. That is why this list shines a spotlight on some of the individuals strengthening the startup ecosystem where ever they go, one conversation, meetup, and introduction at a time.
13. Bohdan Zabawskyj
Bohdan has been steadily building Canada’s CTO and technical leadership community via TrueNorthCTO, bringing developers, engineering leaders, and technical founders together to share real world experiences. His work creates space for honest conversations around scaling tech teams, architecture decisions, and leadership challenges, topics often missing from traditional startup events.
12. Daniel Francavilla
A strong believer in the power of community, Daniel Francavilla has spent over a decade building brands and bringing people together. From helping nonprofits scale to supporting ecommerce and startup brands, Daniel consistently uses community as a growth engine, connecting people around shared purpose and long term impact.
11. Mell Truong
Behind the scenes of Toronto Tech Week’s debut last year, Mell Truong was a driving force in bringing the city’s tech community together at scale. Her work helped create a unifying moment for Toronto’s ecosystem that showcased the city’s talent, ambition, and collaborative spirit.
10. Paul Davenport
Paul Davenport has been instrumental in building community around Boast, a non dilutive funding platform that helps startups unlock capital through SR and ED and government incentives. Beyond the product, Paul has helped foster conversations around sustainable growth, capital efficiency, and founder education, topics critical to early stage success.
9. Jeff Waldman
Jeff Waldman brings over 25 years of experience across HR, talent, and the future of work, with more than a decade dedicated to building trusted HR communities. In 2025, he refocused ScaleHR to work closely with emerging and growing HR, Recruitment, and Work Tech startups and SMBs, helping them drive brand awareness and lead generation. He is also the founder of SocialHRCamp, a global community-led event series that supports HR leaders and practitioners through hands-on learning and meaningful connection.
8. Anastasia Hambali
Anastasia Hambali has been focused on one of the most pressing challenges for founders, access to funding. Through her work, she is helping Canadian startups navigate financing with greater accessibility. Her community driven approach demystifies funding and gives founders the confidence to make informed decisions.
7. Michael Liu
From Toronto to San Francisco, Michael Liu has been a strong connector for Canadian founders navigating Silicon Valley. Whether sharing job opportunities, organizing meetups, or making key introductions, Michael consistently delivers real value and helps founders build meaningful relationships beyond borders.
6. Shannon Graszat
Shannon Graszat has been building a powerful entrepreneurial community through Innovation Factory in Hamilton, Ontario. From supporting founders year round to leading signature events like LiONS LAIR, the Innovation Factory Startup Pitch Competition and Gala, her work celebrates entrepreneurship while providing founders with real opportunities to scale. It is a rare and impactful model within Canada.
5. Sandeep Todi
A fintech leader and founder of Truly Financial, Sandeep Todi has played a key role in growing the US chapter of India’s largest SaaS founder community. By engaging more than 200 founders, VCs, and ecosystem leaders, he has helped build cross border connections that give founders access to capital, customers, and global perspectives.
4. Alexandra Kapelos Peters
Small businesses thrive when they are not building alone. Alexandra Kapelos Peters has been growing a community around Cansulta, connecting small businesses with experienced consultants. By lowering barriers to expertise, she is helping founders and operators access the guidance they need to grow sustainably.
3. Caitlin Carter
Caitlin Carter has been building a strong founder community around Highline Beta, one of Canada’s leading venture studios. Through engaging meetups and hands on support, she helps founders move ideas forward by creating space for testing, feedback, and collaboration. Her work provides founders with both practical insights and inspiration at critical stages of company building.
2. Clark Lai
Clark Lai is the founder of Motiv and a long time builder of Calgary’s startup ecosystem. From organizing hackathons to engaging corporate partners, Clark has played a key role in strengthening the city’s innovation pipeline. His work continues to push Calgary forward as a serious hub for startup growth.
1. Jonathan Hillis
Jonathan Hillis is one of Toronto’s most genuine community builders and increasingly beyond the city. Through the Techskis Summit in Collingwood, he is building more than an event. He is creating a collaboration hub. By bringing founders, operators, and investors together in an intentional setting, Jonathan facilitates meaningful connections that help companies scale. From warm introductions to hands on support, he makes community feel personal and powerful.
Are you building a community? Organizing the next best meetup? Know someone should be on our radar? We love to hear your stories. Send in your stories today.
