For everybody in their busy lives, you need to invest in sharpening your tools, and you need to invest in longevity.

Everyone told me you can't build a major tech company in Canada. There just aren't enough investors or engineers or top-level managers. Each day, I'm driven to prove them wrong.

I was told I had to go to business school to succeed. I gave it a shot, but eventually dropped out to bootstrap a restaurant with just a Visa card and a $20,000 line of credit. Everyone told me restaurants were hard work (and they were right! I have so much respect for anyone in the restaurant business). I ran the restaurant for two years, sold a franchise, decided to change paths, and sold the whole operation at a modest profit.

What drives me is the prospect of turning an obstacle into a business opportunity, and then growing that into something lasting and rewarding.

HootSuite never had a big launch. We were lucky to even have office space.

Social media is the future, with employers recognizing they need to start hiring people with the right skills.

Not using social media in the workplace, in fact, is starting to make about as much sense as not using the phone or email.