04 Oct 2021 Aspire to Tech – Boast.AI
Member Spotlight
Tell me about your company. When were you founded? What do you do? Where are you located?
Boast.AI was founded in 2011. Our mission is to accelerate the success of innovative companies in Canada and the US. We take care of R&D tax for our clients. Our approach is unique as we use engineers and machine learning to streamline the process – to automate – which is more efficient. Our head office is in Vancouver, but we are currently working mostly remotely. We also have offices in Toronto, Calgary and San Francisco, but now, we have hubs of people working all over North America.
What is the big problem that your company is tackling?
R&D tax credits are a great source of funding for companies, but the traditional process to apply for them is cumbersome. The big problem that we’re tackling is taking that administrative burden off our clients, and especially off of their engineering team. Traditionally, an accounting firm would file a company’s taxes and the internal engineering team would do all this work on shredder R&D tax, to then get proof read or adjusted by the accounting firm. Which takes a lot of time for companies to do, which is why we are here to help them do it.
What are you most proud of in terms of company milestones?
We have had a lot of success recently. We have achieved double digit growth year on year and we also raised $30 million at the end of 2020. Some of the smaller things we’ve achieved are almost more exciting though, such as helping companies access more money for their R&D. It brings us joy to be able to tell the clients we see doing good work, that they qualify for more funding to continue their amazing work. This is very rewarding. Finally we are also seeing a lot of growth as a company. Going from 15 employees when I started to 50 employees now. This is a real milestone for us.
How would you describe your company culture?
It’s incredibly open, transparent, and results orientated. Boast.AI is accommodating and supportive and provides resources for our team members when they need them. We also have the freedom to be completely independent. Alex Popa, our CEO, is very trusting and gives us the space to try new things and push ourselves but gives us the support from him and the company, when need. Which creates a really positive work environment. At the end of the day, we are transparent, results oriented and we take care of our clients. That’s the name of the game.
What are three words that you would use to describe your company?
Integrity, openness, and passion. The three of those in combination, I would say.
What is it like to work at Boast.AI? Why is it a great place to work?
What makes Boast.AI a great place to work is the company culture. The openness and the real focus on results. Because of that, its not always a nine to five job. Sometimes it is seven to seven and other times it is eight to three – whatever it takes to get the job done. That makes it a positive and rewarding environment when we achieve great results for our clients. We also receive constructive feedback on a regular basis, which is important and appreciated. You could say it is one of the best jobs – we are helping cool tech companies get funding to hire more engineers and do more interesting work. We are taking away a terrible process and making their lives easier and allowing them to focus on their work. So it’s positive across the board.
In their own words – what do your employees say?
Are you hiring?
We are hiring and growing on the sales team, and also on the engineering and customer success teams. have some very aggressive growth plans for the future too. We aim to have 250 people by 2025. If you’re interested in AI, come join our team and check out our careers page.