‍

This week on The Moment, we're joined by a visionary in the Canadian tech space, Satish Kanwar. As the co-founder of Good Future, an innovative family office and venture, Satish is building a community of entrepreneurs dedicated to driving meaningful, positive change.

He sits down with co-hosts Fatima Zaidi and Jason Maghanoy to discuss:

• Why the best businesses have a clear, consistent vision
• Why irrational commitment is a key part of becoming a successful founder
• How Canada can become a global tech leader

‍

Introducing Satish Kanwar

Satish’s professional journey is marked by a decade of leadership at Shopify. He played a pivotal role in the company’s product acceleration strategy, leading over 30 strategic acquisitions and expanding Shopify’s global commerce reach. 

But before Shopify, Satish was already making waves as the co-founder of JetCooper, a design studio that Shopify acquired, setting the stage for his impressive career in scaling tech companies.

Now, through Good Future, Satish is focused on fostering innovation and collaboration within Toronto’s tech ecosystem. He also serves as Board Chair at BetaKit and sits on the Board of Directors for Toronto Global, further shaping the future of Canada’s startup landscape.

‍

Key takeaways from our conversation

Why founders need an irrational commitment

One of the defining traits of successful entrepreneurs is what Satish Kanwar calls “irrational commitment”: an unwavering belief in their vision, even when logic might suggest otherwise. 

Satish explains that true founders don’t just believe in their ideas – they’re obsessively committed to making them a reality, no matter how long it takes.

Building a company is a marathon, not a sprint. Only those willing to commit for the long run see their vision come to life. Satish has seen this firsthand: the founders who persist, outlearn, outwork, and outlast the competition are the ones who ultimately build extraordinary companies.

As Satish puts it, "Good decisions reveal themselves in decades, not days." Founders who embrace this long-term mindset — who commit everything they have, from time and energy to health and resources — are the ones who leave a lasting impact.

A clear vision is essential – both personally and professionally 

One of the most critical lessons Satish Kanwar has learned throughout his career, both as a founder and during his ten-year tenure at Shopify, is the importance of having a clear, repeatable vision.

A strong vision isn’t just about setting an ambitious goal – it’s about consistently aligning your team, decisions, and actions toward that North Star. When reflecting on his time at Spotify, Satish notes: “We always concentrated on being very clear about the future state we were trying to achieve and how that differed from where things were today.”

From there, founders and business leaders alike need to reinforce their vision by consistent execution. Every step they take should reinforce their long-term goal, shaping the company’s trajectory and ensuring that it stays on course, even through market shifts and challenges.

For Satish, this mindset applies to his personal career trajectory as well. After reaching the ten-year milestone at Shopify, he came to a crossroads. He could have stayed forever—he loved the people, the mission, and the work—but he had to ask himself: “What might I regret later?”

It was this question that ultimately led him to step away and explore new opportunities—proving that vision isn’t just about leading a company, but also about personal growth and knowing when it’s time to evolve. 

Now, with Good Future, he’s applying the same principles — clarity, consistency, and long-term commitment — to help the next generation of founders build businesses that leave a lasting impact.

How Canadian startups can step onto the world stage

For many founders, including The Moment co-host Fatima Zaidi, it has never felt harder to build and scale a business in Canada. But as Satish Kanwar points out: “frustration is the fuel that many of us are using to try to spark and move change.”

Satish believes that Canada has the potential to be a global leader in innovation, but it requires both structural changes and founder-driven action. While government policies, infrastructure, and cultural shifts play a role, the most powerful thing any entrepreneur can do is build a highly successful company rooted in Canada – one that creates jobs, exports innovation, and strengthens the local economy.

That doesn’t mean limiting operations to Canada. Canadian startups should expand globally, tapping into international markets while still keeping their founding energy, talent, and impact anchored at home. However, Satish also acknowledges that foundational issues, like housing affordability and cultural dynamics, must be addressed to support a thriving innovation economy.

Ultimately, founders have a choice: they can let frustration drive them away, or they can use it as motivation to build something that contributes to Canada’s long-term prosperity.

As Fatima aptly puts it, if Canadian entrepreneurs move their businesses elsewhere, they risk becoming part of the very problem they’re frustrated with. The solution? Treat the country’s startup success as a collective mission that requires long-term vision, resilience, and action.

‍

Listen to “From Shopify to Startup”

If you’re interested in learning more about the moments defining Satish’s career and the future of the Canadian startup scene, check out the full episode wherever you get your podcasts.