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The One45 Story – From startup to sale with the founder, the investor, and the CEO

In this episode Tony Rautava, Associate, Pender Ventures is joined by David Barr, Pender’s CEO and Portfolio Manager, Brian Clare, former CEO of One45 and Derek Hemmes, Founder and Board Member of One45. Together they take a stroll down memory lane and talk about the early days of One45, the idea that launched the company, when they knew they had product market fit, the challenges they faced, the lessons they learned as they build the company for not just one but three acquisitions. Listen out for Brian’s recruitment and promotion stories!

Key Takeaways:

01:08 – Derek explains the origins of One45 including why they chose the name.

03:27 – Derek discusses the journey to the sale of One45 to Cytiva.

07:48 – Tony asks Derek how he felt about selling One45 to Cytiva and the eureka moment that solidified his decision.

10:25 – Derek and David talk about running a company without being scared by creating a nest egg for oneself.

12:25 – How David became an investor by acquiring One45 acquisition in Pender Growth Fund and plans to return to the historic growth of the first years of the company.

15:20 – Brian revisits the moment that convinced him he should be CEO of One45 and talks about the very first challenge he faced.

18:05 – Brain talks about the journey of One 45 as we know it and the Altus exit.

20:30 – Derek and Brian discuss building One45 and the moment they found product market fit.

29:30 – Reinvesting earnings to further develop the product. Brian and Derek provide their viewpoints

33:00 – Tony asks the team to share some of the lighter moments from their journey together in building, scaling, and selling One45, in particular Brian’s recruitment story.

39:57 – Brian talks about the inbound acquisition interest One45 received.

43:00 – Brian talks about his current role at Altus.

44:20 – Dave shares his experience being an investor in One45.

45:40 – Tony asks the team to share some advice for entrepreneurs and investors.

Mentioned in This Episode:

Tony Rautava.

David Barr.

Brian Clare.

Derek Hemmes.

Ric Arseneau.

John Simms.

Greg Peet.

Bart Copeland.

Jason Moreau.

P. Diddy

Taylor Swift.

PenderFund

Capital Management Ltd.

One45.

Cytiva.

Altus Group Limited.

eRezLife.

University of British Columbia.

Canadian Conference on Medical Education.

Acetech Leadership.

ActiveState Software Inc.

Flickr.

Slack.

Disclaimer

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