OTTAWA, CANADA, NOV 5-6 2025 • ROGERS CENTRE
SAAS NORTH is Canada’s go-to hub for scaling and growing SaaS & AI-Native companies, where founders and investors connect to stay ahead.
For the first time, SAAS NORTH is launching with a unifying theme, helping founders stay ahead in an AI-driven world. From go-to-market to product innovation, this year’s agenda is packed with real strategies, tools, and frameworks that today’s SaaS leaders are using to adapt, scale, and thrive with AI.
Since 2016, SAAS NORTH has been attracting the biggest names to our stage. Check out our past speaker alumni!
Tobias Lütke
Founder
Shopify
Tope Awotona
CEO & Founder
Calendly
Katherine Homuth
Founder
Oomira & SRTX
Swish Goswami
Head of Growth & Marketing
Boardy
Neil Patel
Co-Founder
Neil Patel Digital
Stephany LaPierre
Founder & CEO
Tealbook
Mara Reiff
Chief Data Officer & Co-CEO
FreshBooks
Dax DaSilva
CEO
Lightspeed
Jason VandeBoom
Founder & CEO
Active Campaign
Alison Taylor
Co-Founder & Co-CEO
Jane
David Cancel
Co-Founder & Executive Chairman
Drift
Jason Smith
CEO & Co-Founder
Klue
Sarah Stockdale
Founder
Growclass
Steve Munford
CEO
Trulioo
Kelly Schmitt
CEO
Benevity
Wade Foster
CEO & Co-Founder
Zapier
Sara Cooper
Chief People Officer
Jobber
Without the brave mid-level marketing managers who convinced their CFOs to give us the money, it would be fiscally irresponsible to run this event.
This November, you and your team will travel to Canada’s Capital* for a transformative professional experience at SAAS NORTH. Yes, we used the word transformative. It’s a business conference, it needs business words. *For any of our American friends reading this, Ottawa is the capital of Canada, not Toronto.
Jason Smith, CEO & Co-Founder, Klue
SAAS NORTH NOW #98
Louis Têtu, Executive Chairman & Former CEO, Coveo
SAAS NORTH NOW #97
Asia Orangio, CEO & Founder, DemandMaven
SAAS NORTH NOW #96
Peter Carrescia, Co-Founder, goConfirm (formerly Confirm, & originally Qui Identity)
SAAS NORTH NOW #95
Simon De Baene, Co-Founder & CEO, Workleap (formerly GSoft)
SAAS NORTH NOW #94
Nathan Yeung, Founder, Find Your Audience
SAAS NORTH NOW #93
Chris Arsenault, Partner, Inovia Capital
SAAS NORTH NOW #92
Stephany Lapierre, Founder & CEO, TealBook
SAAS NORTH NOW #91
The Masked Investor
SAAS NORTH NOW #90
At SAAS NORTH, one of the most talked-about sessions didn’t come from a notable name from the global tech and SaaS community. It came from a costumed figure in a SaaSquatch suit. The "Masked Investor," disguised to preserve anonymity but empowered to speak with honesty, peeled back the curtain on what VCs really think about founders, funding, and the future of SaaS.
It was candid, occasionally brutal insight from someone who’s seen hundreds of founders' pitch, scale, stumble, and pivot.
The session captured a feeling many in SaaS have sensed: the game has changed, and it’s time to get real.
Key takeaways:
Founders are often told to “think big,” “move fast,” and “raise money.” But what if the real challenge isn’t getting capital—it’s what comes after? In an industry shaped by hype cycles and funding headlines, it’s rare to hear the honest, hard truths about how venture capital actually works.
That’s what made “The Masked Investor” session at SAAS NORTH so refreshing (or was it the SaaSquatch outfit). Beneath the costume was a seasoned VC who’s spent a decade deploying hundreds of millions—and who was finally free to speak plainly about what founders are getting wrong.
Today, we unpack the essential lessons from that conversation—from how Canadian VC dynamics shape founder outcomes to why traditional SaaS models are giving way to a new era of pricing, and what it really means when a VC says “no.”
Keep reading for a rare, insider’s look at what venture capital looks like behind the mask.
Canadian founders operate in a very different venture ecosystem than their U.S. counterparts. In Canada, many funds raised capital through government-backed programs like VCAP and VCCI . These funds come with mandates that extend beyond pure profit—like job creation and economic development.
This dynamic can lead to misalignment between what VCs want, what LPs need, and what founders expect.
For founders, this means knowing who you're raising from and what drives their decision-making. It also means adjusting expectations—Canadian VC’s may move slower or favor different types of growth than Valley investors.
While some fear AI will cannibalize SaaS, the Masked Investor sees something more nuanced: evolution. Traditional SaaS models—particularly those locked into rigid pricing and long-term contracts—are losing favor. Buyers want outcomes, not subscriptions.
The investor predicted a shift toward “results-as-a-service” models, where companies charge based on what gets delivered—not what gets promised.
Founders need to rethink not just what they build, but how they deliver and monetize value. Chasing trends isn’t enough—building for depth and utility will separate winners from hype machines.
One of the starkest realities the Masked Investor shared is how little founders often understand about the strings attached to venture capital. Taking VC money isn’t just a cash injection—it’s a shift in governance, accountability, and control.
VC-backed founders often face pressure from boards, audit committees, and investor expectations that don’t always align with long-term thinking. Bootstrapped founders, on the other hand, maintain autonomy—and in many cases, greater personal wealth.
The key is knowing what you want from your business and being brutally honest about whether venture funding supports that vision.
One surprising insight was how much weight VCs place on communication. Even if they say no, the story isn’t over. Consistent, clear updates show investors that you can execute, adapt, and grow—even if they didn’t bet on you the first time.
Founders who stay quiet after a “no” often disappear. Founders who keep updating build a trail of progress that VCs can’t ignore—and might eventually reengage with.
The message from behind the mask was clear: substance beats spectacle. The founders who win in 2025 aren’t the ones with the flashiest decks or the biggest raises—they’re the ones who know how to build, communicate, and grow with intention.
Oh—and if we had to place bets on who was really behind the mask? Let’s just say... we wouldn’t be surprised if it was someone whose portfolio is already shaping the next decade of Canadian SaaS.
SAAS NORTH is THE Canadian hub for rapidly-scaling SaaS founders and their teams. Learn, network, and grow with Canada’s largest in-person SaaS community at SAAS NORTH.