In February, I spoke with Vitaly Pecherskiy, co-founder and CEO of StackAdapt, and something clicked in my head about the way AI has changed B2B software development.
You might not be familiar with the company by name, but you’ve likely engaged with their works,
“With AI, it should bring down the barriers to how you quickly adopt new software without having to become masters of the software.”
Vitaly Pecherskiy
because the AI-powered marketing and adtech company pulls in approximately $500 million USD in revenue and over $100 million USD in earnings annually, making it one of Canada’s largest and most profitable private companies.
In this week’s episode, we talk about StackAdapt’s 13-year journey, including how the company avoided the pitfalls of its initial competitors to outlast and surpass them, and StackAdapt’s early bet on AI and what’s changed with the recent GenAI and agentic AI explosions.
One of the most obvious changes is the way ad creative is being disrupted by generative tools, but Vitaly speaks in detail about how AI has required his company to build software that does more: not only a great marketing platform, but a platform that can teach StackAdapt’s customers how to be great marketers.
Doing both well requires a lot of data about your customers and their needs. StackAdapt uses AI internally and Vitaly knows the power of business intelligence and context; convincing customers to share that data is another matter.
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We close on a frank discussion of what Vitaly has learned about leadership over the last decade, and particularly after talking over as CEO in 2024. Founders early in their entrepreneurial journey might come for the building with AI conversation, but they should stay for the wisdom Vitaly drops, backed by years of experience.
Vitaly is both a candid and laid-back guy, but don’t let that gentle demeanour fool you: he’s built a Canadian tech giant.
So, how did he build StackAdapt? Let’s dig in.
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The BetaKit Podcast is presented by BetaKit Most Ambitious: Town Hall, the marquee opening event of Toronto Tech Week 2026.
Taking place on May 25 at the iconic TIFF Lightbox, BetaKit Most Ambitious: Town Hall will bring together over 500 leaders from across Canada’s tech and innovation ecosystem for meaningful conversations about strengthening the nation’s autonomy, security, and prosperity.
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Recorded and edited by Toronto Podcasts.