What The Tech?

Innovation in Sustainable Materials: A Conversation with Daniel Shum of CTK Bio

Welcome to What The Tech #podcast  by Boast, where  ⁨@pauldavenport3⁩ talks with Daniel Shum, CTO of CTK Bio, about their groundbreaking work in sustainable materials made from upcycled plant waste. They discuss CTK Bio's efforts to shift manufacturing to North America to reduce carbon footprint and costs, the innovative R&D projects including compounding with hemp and agave, and their aim to synthesize materials from plant waste. Learn how CTK Bio navigates #sustainability challenges, builds strategic partnerships, and effectively uses #innovation  #taxcredits with Boast. Join us as we delve into the milestones and future projects that promise to accelerate the world's transition to sustainable products.

00:00 Introduction and Welcome
02:02 CTK Bio's Recent Milestones
05:39 Strategic Partnerships and Ecosystem
09:01 Innovations and Technical Challenges
18:48 Funding and Collaboration with Boast
23:05 Future Plans for CTK Bio
24:18 Conclusion and Farewell

Boast accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence.

Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth.

Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

In the latest episode of What the Tech, we sat down with Raymond Fitzpatrick, CEO and founder of Profitual, a New Brunswick-based company on a mission to democratize financial intelligence for SMEs. Ray is an experienced finance leader and former VC who saw a critical gap in the market: Startup founders determined to disrupt their industries often lack the financial expertise needed to navigate growth and make confident decisions as they scale. 

Profitual was born from a simple but powerful observation—the playing field isn't level for founders without financial backgrounds. Ray and his team are executing on a vision to provide innovative AI-powered financial tools that transform complex data into clear, actionable insights, allowing founders to make the kind of informed decisions that can mean the difference between thriving and merely surviving. 

Boast accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence.

Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth.

Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

In the latest episode of What the Tech from Boast, we sat down with Tony Kim, a corporate investor focused on AI infrastructure, deep tech, and enterprise SaaS. Tony works at a Fortune 100 company's corporate development and venture arm, where he's engaged in everything from M&A to venture capital and LP investing.

What makes this conversation particularly timely is the perspective Tony brings: He's operating at the intersection of traditional corporate strategy and the breakneck pace of AI innovation. As someone who started his career as an investment banker covering infrastructure and telecom in New York City, he's watched the foundational layers of technology evolve. Now, he's helping shape how a major corporation responds to the AI revolution. 

His insights on corporate venture capital (CVC), AI investment strategy, and what separates genuine innovation from hype are exactly what founders need to hear as they navigate 2025's rapidly changing landscape. 

00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome
01:10 Tony's Background and Career Journey
02:47 Understanding the CVC and VC Landscape
06:52 AI Investment Strategies and Trends
14:41 Evaluating AI Innovations
25:21 Future of AI and Infrastructure
32:32 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

The views expressed in this interview by Tony S. Kim are his own and do not reflect those of his employer.

Boast accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence.

Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth.

Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

On this episode of What The Tech we welcome Aaron Konyer, Chief Technology Officer at Modular Solutions. Founded in 2015, Modular Solutions (formerly Nude Solutions) is a SaaS company on a mission to remove pain and friction from the insurance industry through software that allows Insurance Carriers, Managing General Agencies, Mutuals and Brokers to transform and modernize their business

In his role as CTO, Aaron leads the design and evolution of the Modular Solutions platform, bringing experience in system architecture, distributed services and backend engineering to build maintainable and adaptive systems that scale alongside business needs.  

It’s an incredible, Alberta-born business that’s also a Boast partner, and I couldn’t be more excited to pick Aaron’s brain on Modular’s unique place in their industry, the cool tech he’s been steering, and what it takes to succeed in today’s market.  

Boast accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence.

Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth.

Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

In this episode of Boast's What the Tech podcast we chat with Steven Vi, Lead Solutions Engineer at VizworX Inc., a custom software development company based in Calgary. 

Steven shares his journey from academic research at the University of Calgary to leading complex tech projects at VizworX. They discuss the company's innovative approaches using AR, VR, AI, IoT, geospatial data mapping, and much more to solve diverse business challenges. 

Steven delves into exciting projects like virtual operations environments and distributed command centers, highlighting the collaborative and forward-thinking ethos at VizworX. The conversation also touches on funding innovation through various grants and the R&D tax credits and the importance of combining core research with practical application to drive real-world impact.

00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome
01:45 Steven's Background and Role at VIS Works
03:49 The Intersection of Technology and Business
08:59 Applied Research and Development at VIS Works
15:09 Funding and Innovation Strategies
21:55 Future Projects and Closing Remarks

Boast accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence.

Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth.

Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

For fast-growing tech companies, navigating SR&ED tax credits can mean the difference between extending runway by quarters or getting bogged down in painful audits that consume dozens of hours. The key differentiator? Finding a technical partner who can translate engineering innovation into tax language without requiring extensive hand-holding. 

Tyler Kelloway, Director of Finance at CoLab Software, joins the latest What The Tech podcast to share his journey from Big Four accounting to wearing every hat at a Y Combinator startup, and why switching to a specialized SR&ED provider saved significant development time while growing their claims year over year. 

Boast accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence.

Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth.

Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

Some of the best entrepreneurial journeys begin with simple problems that need solving. For Ahmed Hadjeres, founder and principal electrical engineer at ProductShop, that problem was remarkably straightforward: He loved music shows but couldn't score tickets. 

That quest for free concerts led him to build access control technology that would eventually be used at Tomorrowland, Lollapalooza, and the Olympics before being acquired by Eventbrite. On the latest What The Tech podcast, Hadjeres shares his unconventional journey from first-year engineering student to venture studio founder, and why Montreal's innovation ecosystem needs more support despite having world-class talent. 

Boast accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence.

Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth.

Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

From working behind the counter in his family's retail business to overseeing finance, operations, product, and engineering at one of Canada's most innovative fintech companies, Aly Khan Musani's career path demonstrates how foundational business principles remain constant even as industries evolve. 

As CFO and COO of Symend, Musani brings more than 20 years of leadership experience to bear on a deceptively complex problem: Helping major companies like Telus communicate effectively with customers who've missed payments. On the latest What The Tech podcast, he shares insights on building behavioral science-driven solutions, navigating government funding programs, and why understanding cash flow gives you control over your destiny. 

Boast accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence.

Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth.

Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

Hello and welcome to What The Tech from Boast AI, where we talk with some of the brilliant minds behind new and exciting tech initiatives to learn what it takes to tackle “Technological Uncertainty” and eventually change the world. 

For small businesses navigating the complex world of R&D tax credits, finding the right partners can make all the difference between leaving money on the table and maximizing government incentives. That's where strategic partnerships between accounting firms and specialized tax credit providers create real value for entrepreneurs. 

This week welcome to the show John Hunt, CPA and Sr. Manager at General Ledger Partners (aka GLP). In his role, John and team provide detailed, efficient and accurate bookkeeping and financial consulting services to small businesses. Based in Austin, Texas, John and his team actually partner with Boast to help their clients maximize their access to Innovation Tax Credits to enhance their runway and build stronger products.  

For subscribers to the show, you may remember we last connected with John’s colleague Jason Terry last year to chat through what it’s like supporting innovative SMBs in 2024. Needless to say, a lot has changed between then and now, and I can’t wait to pick John’s brain on how doing business at any scale in the U.S. has evolved in 2025, how his team partners with Boast, and what’s on deck for the future. 

Boast accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence.

Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth.

Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.

What The Tech is back for a new season of innovation insights with leaders across Canada's tech ecosystem. 

On our return episode, we welcome to the show Leigh Christie, Cofounder of MistyWest. Launched in 2003, MistyWest is an engineering design consultancy that helps create futuristic technologies that enable a healthier planet while bringing prosperity to all humankind. While their primary focus is on projects that advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals, Misty West provides product consulting services to a wide range of industries, from IoT to computer vision systems to battery packs and device packaging.  

Leigh and his team at MistyWest are also Boast partners who share our vision for helping connect innovators with the resources they need to bring world-changing products to market. I’m thrilled to pick his brain on how he got into the innovation space, what he’s seen in the two decades since founding MistyWest and what’s on the roadmap.

Boast accelerates the success of innovative businesses globally with software that integrates financial, payroll, and engineering data into a single platform of R&D intelligence.

Visit Boast.ai, sign up for our Blog newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for weekly #InnovatorsLive sessions and the latest news to fuel your growth.

Intro and Outro music provided by Dennis Ma whose mixes you can find on Soundcloud at DJ DennyDex.