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Profile
Earlier in his career Zak had the pleasure of being part of a high-growth company for 8 years, which was fuelled by three rounds of venture financing and a world-class team. The experience taught him about the importance of culture in business. He will forever be grateful to the leaders that took him under their wing during this time.In 2014, Zak took the entrepreneurial plunge, and started to build Loopio alongside his incredible co-founders, Matt and Jafar. They had one goal when they started — build a great, sustainable company.
Today, he's very grateful to be scaling Loopio alongside an incredible team of Loopers.
Loopio helps teams supercharge their response process for RFPs, RFIs, and Security Questionnaires.
Zak is a people-focused leader who likes to build things, and with Loopio he has built a company that is one of Canada’s fastest-growing tech startups – it was named one of Canada’s Companies-to-Watch in the 2018 Deloitte Technology Fast 50™ Awards, and selected as one of LinkedIn’s Top Startups in Canada. That takes drive and dedication, both of which Zak has in spades. In the almost five years since he co-founded Loopio, Zak has presided over remarkable growth. Under his leadership, Loopio, which started with a headcount of three, now has approximately 120 Loopers working within its walls. It raised $9M in Series A funding after bootstrapping through its first three years. It’s built a community of 600-plus customers around the world. Not only that, Zak focused on building a company of which every single Looper and stakeholder can be proud to be a part, including the development of a distinctive company culture that’s inclusive, diverse, participatory, motivated, and drives results. That culture has made Loopio one of the most desirable places to work, not just in the Toronto tech community but in Canada – in 2018 Loopio was honored by Morneau Shepell and The Globe and Mail with an Employee Recommended Workplace Award. Zak is the embodiment of five fundamental values that sit at the foundation of that culture: curiosity, candor, grit, mastery, and support. He is an inspirational leader that brings out the best in people, and he takes great pains to be embedded, not just in terms of ensuring he’s regularly interacting with every Looper, but with customers too. Zak sits down with every Looper as part of their onboarding and walks them through the history of the company, answering any questions they might have. He believes in frequent, honest feedback, giving and receiving it in equal measure, and has made two-way feedback a core part of Loopio’s culture, baking it into management training at every level, and making it a core part of one-on-ones and employee reviews. He is dedicated to driving clarity and alignment across the organization so that everyone knows how their day-to-day helps the company achieves its goals. Zak lets all Loopers know they have a vital stake in helping to build the company, and our customers know they have an important voice in helping to build out a winning software platform. He has a solid vision for Loopio’s path forward and how the company can continue to maintain its growth trajectory and serve its customers. He believes in and facilitates total transparency. The company roadmap is clearly articulated; every Looper knows where we’re going, why, and how they can help the company get there. The company’s performance is made crystal clear to every Looper. Questions and suggestions are always encouraged. Finally, Zak is very much a servant leader. He does whatever he can to empower every Looper in their roles and to grow and develop in their careers. He is accessible. Indeed, it’s the quality of his leadership that’s his greatest strength.
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