On this day in 2013 I had a blind date with a web developer in Vancouver that changed my life.

I had just spent a few years rebuilding my nest egg after my modest web services business folded in 2010. We were growing in head count and repute but sales were lumpy and cash was slipping through my fingers like sand. I came into work after August long weekend in 2010 and tearfully let everybody go.

I had a vague vision to create a finance site with an elite, local team but I knew it would be a while before I had my confidence and some capital back. I was fortunate to get a consulting gig with Cambridge House, the Howe Street trade show, and spend a couple years meeting people.

I bought the CEO.ca domain from buddies in 2012. By 2014 I was starting to get some traction after a few lucky investments in energy and technology. I was so nervous selling my first ten bagger that I nocked the price down one morning lower than I needed to, but I had some dough in my jeans again. I bought a fledgling business that I’d soon regret and a blue Canali suit on a memorable trip to NYC that summer.

Maybe now was a good time to think about finding a great developer or two to take ceo.ca, then a blog with about 50,000 views a month, to the next level, I pondered.

I was looking to connect with an individual or individuals rather than an agency because I ran my own agency and knew they tend to focus on the next sale. I kept interviewing web developers wearing Rolexes and getting scared off with memories of my former self.

Catching up with a former colleague over beers one night I was reminded of a few valuable insights:

  • Web developers don’t want to work alone. They want to work in small teams of people they like. They also want to learn from somebody senior.
  • There was clearly an opportunity in mobile messaging looking at competing Canadian finance sites
  • An 8 week school called Lighthouse Labs was a breeding ground for new web talent in Vancouver.

Sensing an opportunity, I made it to Lighthouse Labs the following evening for a demo day.

So impressed, I wrote a blog post about it and I pinged some of their staff for suggestions of who I could work with.

Charlyn at Lighthouse told me in fact one of the instructors could be available.

Murat and I met in Gastown for a coffee on this day in 2014. He was so easy going and cool I felt like I was on a date with a girl out of my league. Somehow I didn’t come on too strong.

He had already started building a messaging app for his classes called TeaOrbit, and agreed to spend some time brainstorming with me. I still can’t believe for a $2500 deposit Murat built the first version of CEO.chat over Christmas. I couldn’t take my eyes off it and we hit it hard in 2015 adding features and introducing it to all of you.

He also brought forward a team of former students from Lighthouse to help. Chris, Maggie, who left us later that year, and later, Stefan, are some of the best people I’ve had privilege to know.

CEO.ca was viewed ~7.25 million times last month, ~200x more than this time 2014.

The biggest win of my investing career also started with a nod from this guy. When he said a particular venture was worth investigating, he changed my life again.

Making Murat a partner here was obvious --- he controls the source code!

I love the man and could not be more appreciative we met.

Wish you all as much luck finding a business partner you can rely on.