Entrepreneur of the Year 2024: Bruce Qi powers businesses like Salesforce and O2E Brands with Launchpad’s tech platform

Launchpad’s Paasport platform serves 47 companies around the world, including Fortune 500 businesses

THE KICKOFF: Bruce Qi has dedicated his career to nurturing his passion for technology. He’s dabbled in entrepreneurship, steered companies like digital consultancy Appnovation and SaaS biz Active Network, and currently serves on the board of the BC Tech Association.

Over the past 15-plus years, he’s witnessed how organizations like Coca-Cola, Pfizer and the World Trade Organization adopt technologies—“and the gaps that are there.” In 2018, Qi founded Launchpad Technologies to help connect those missing links. And he bootstrapped it with just $500.

“Let’s face it, with $500 you can’t even buy a month’s coffee or even one big meal for the team,” he says. But as it turned out, it was enough to set the foundation for a company that, in just a few years, grew to attract some major clients—like Salesforce, General Motors and O2E Brands.

ACTION PLAN: Vancouver-based Launchpad helps businesses modernize their technology. Its integration platform, Paasport, can connect and automate different applications (such as CRM and financial systems). So instead of employees doing repetitive tasks by hand, Launchpad sets systems in place to handle those tasks, reduce errors and launch integrations faster, creating a more seamless experience.

The idea for Launchpad may have come from Qi’s years in tech, but his entrepreneurial spirit is rooted in his childhood. Growing up in China, Qi witnessed “this buzz of a newfound free economy where everyone around you is just trying to create something because everyone had nothing.” His family helped build communities and businesses, and continued that work after moving to Finland.

“It’s a story about building something from nothing, and that really inspired me,” Qi says.

CLOSING STATEMENT: With its global HQ in Vancouver (and another HQ in Chile for its Latin American operations), Launchpad’s team has grown to over 40 people spread across 14 locations including Canada, Chile, Mexico, Colombia and the U.S.

In 2023, Launchpad was recognized as a Deloitte Technology Fast 50 company for rapid revenue growth and innovation, and its Paasport platform is currently used by 47 companies around the world

Q+A

What’s an odd job you’ve had?

I grew up in Finland, so I worked on a reindeer farm. In Scandinavia, you  actually eat reindeer.