Mike Wessinger knows how to build with ambition and daring in Canada. His vision and leadership established PointClickCare as the senior care industry's first cloud-based health information system. Today, the platform is the most widely used system in the Long Term and Post Acute Care space. Relentless in his pursuit to disrupt the healthcare status quo, Mike’s forward-thinking vision drove the organization to level silos across the healthcare ecosystem, creating North America’s largest care collaboration network.
With a desire to impart his wisdom and experiences to Canada's next generation of up-and-coming founders, Mike is excited to co-chair the C100 board of directors with Janet Bannister.
We spent some time with Mike discussing his commitment to supporting daring founders building in Canada.
How and why did you first become connected with C100?
I didn’t know what it was all about but one of the founding charter members said, “You have to join and come to [the C100] Summit.” So, I did and was blown away by the Summit event, the people I met and the over experience. I haven’t missed a Summit since!
What do you hope to accomplish during your time as C100’s co-chair? What would you like to see C100 accomplish during this time?
We have all the ingredients to establish Canada as a tech powerhouse where we punch above our weight globally. C100 can help connect the Canadian tech ecosystem and be an indispensable resource to founders and tech leaders.
You built PointClickCare Technologies, a tech unicorn and Canada’s largest private software company, within Canada. Why?
Simple. I love Canada. I chose to live in Canada. Dumb or stubborn, it never occurred to me to move somewhere outside Canada to build a juggernaut of a tech company. To be clear, there have been some challenges being one of the few tech companies to scale in Canada, but we were happy to help cut the path for future Canadian unicorns and rocket ships. On balance, I think the benefits of remaining in Canada outweigh the challenges, and it’s only getting better. The world needs more impactful tech companies with Canadian sensibilities.
Do you think the conditions exist in Canada for ambitious founders like you to build generational companies?
You bet. We have all the raw ingredients to build a world-leading tech ecosystem, but it won’t happen alone. I believe it all starts with helping hundreds of companies across the $100 million revenue threshold and dozens over the $1 billion mark to make it sustainable.
What do you think needs to happen in the Canadian tech ecosystem for companies being built here to punch above their weight on a global basis?
A critical milestone is getting one hundred Canadian companies to cross the $100 million revenue threshold and ten to twenty over the $1 billion revenue threshold. If we do that, we will create a self-sustaining environment where talent continues to recycle, capital recycles, and support systems develop. If we are successful, talent and capital worldwide will be attracted to Canada. Companies will have local systems and support structures to enable them to build world-class tech companies in Canada frictionlessly.
We believe in this, too, and we’re glad Mike is on board!
