Like most entrepreneurs, Kirk Simpson (co-founder and CEO of Wave) hated everything to do with accounting, invoicing and payroll. Before launching Wave he owned two successful tech companies, in a time when there wasn’t a simple and free financial software in the market for small businesses. Understanding first-hand the pain of managing finances, he knew there had to be a better way to support small business owners.

So in 2010, along with James Lochrie, they officially launched Wave. At the time, only eight employees working out of a small shared workspace in Toronto’s Leslieville neighborhood. Wave has since grown to become an award-winning financial services software company, with more than 250 employees serving entrepreneurs and freelancers around the world.