When the tech market shifts, your exit plan better shift too.
On October 21, TechExit.io returns to Toronto, bringing founders, investors, and strategic buyers together at the MaRS Centre for a full day devoted to the art of M&A in 2025.
Mantle CEO Amar Varma will chair this year’s edition of TechExit.io Toronto.
This year’s theme, “Optionality is King,” is a direct reflection of an industry being reshaped by AI, a rise in secondaries, and shifting valuations. IPOs, full sales, partial exits, and recapitalizations are all still on the table, but the challenge is knowing how to stay ready for whichever appears first.
TechExit.io is built to help founders do exactly that. Across panels, fireside chats, and in-depth conversations, attendees will hear from founders who have navigated six-figure acquisitions, investors who have backed Canada’s most successful scale-ups, and buyers who know precisely what closes and kills a deal.
Allen Lau, Co-Founder of Wattpad, will unpack his experience selling the storytelling platform to Naver Corp. for $754 million CAD. Kazi Ahmed, Co-Founder and CEO of Carbon6 (acquired by SPS Commerce for $305 million CAD) and Kevin Kliman, Co-Founder and CEO of Humi (acquired by Employment Hero for more than $100 million CAD) will compare their very different paths to the negotiation table.
The investor presence will be equally strong. Hughes Lalancette of Inovia Capital, Jeffrey Bennett from National Bank’s Technology and Innovation Banking group, and Lauren Epstein of Storytime Capital are among some of the investors that will explore everything from liquidity options to AI’s growing role in investment decisions.
On the buyer side, a conversation between former Shopify VP of Product Acceleration Bram Sugarman, Shopify Head of Engineering Farhan Thawar, Amar Varma of Mantle and Chair of TechExit.io, and Matt O’Leary of 1Password will pull back the curtain on Big Tech acquisitions and the dynamics at play when major players are at the table.
And in a session called “Cringe Worthy: Top 10 Ways to Not Blow a Deal,” moderated by former Certn president Sarah Miller Wright, Dentons’ Mike Hollinger and INQ Consulting’s Samara Starkman will lay out the most avoidable mistakes they’ve seen torpedo promising transactions.
Jack Newton, CEO and Founder of Clio, said the draw of TechExit.io has always been its ability to balance practical advice with candid storytelling.
“The value at TechExit.io is hearing on-the-ground stories from founders who have sold their companies and being surrounded by a network of people who know the upsides and downsides of selling a company,” said Newton.
For founders weighing their next move, for investors scanning for their next win, and for advisors guiding clients through the process, TechExit.io will offer a concentrated look at M&A strategy in 2025.
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All photos provided by Cube Business Media Inc.