[Update December 2023: Qui Identity is now goConfirm]
Last week we announced the launch of Qui, and the support that Peter Carrescia and I received was tremendous. I want to thank everyone for their good wishes and messages of congratulations. I’ve been in the Canadian tech ecosystem for a dozen years now, and I remember what it felt like before we had such a supportive community. When we launched Wave in 2010, it felt like we were doing something alone, in a vacuum. Not now. One of the reasons we continue to see so many great companies launching and scaling here is because of the support for one another and the amazingly talented and skilled people that have developed here. As an industry, we’ve come so far in a decade!
So in launching Qui now, I get to be the beneficiary of this amazing momentum that we’ve all contributed to. The industry is bigger; people are even more skilled and specialized than ever before; allies — from peers to exchange ideas with, to investors who can bring them to life — are much easier to find.
And I’ve changed too, thanks to the amazing people who taught me important lessons along the way. As I begin a new journey with Qui, I know more clearly this time around that the most important thing is an amazing team. Building a company up for a second time allows me to reflect on the early days of Wave and what we learned along the way — about investing in people and leadership; about properly fostering and encouraging diversity of opinions and backgrounds; about valuing people who break molds rather than adhering to them; and that a team built on these beliefs creates a much stronger, more inclusive and more empowered culture.
The last time around, those were new lessons for me. This time, Peter and I hit the ground running with a passionate belief in those truths. And I’m excited by the prospect of building an organization around people who believe them too. Because with the opportunity in front of Qui (giving individuals control over their identities), the convergence of technologies (decentralized identity, blockchain) and with the right team to execute (do you know someone who would be great at Qui? We’re hiring… goconfirm.com/careers/), I know we’re going to be able to do exciting things together.