🧭SaugaTech Compass #5 - Bootstrapping, Scaling, and Building Outside the “Big Hubs”

Hello SaugaTech Community,

In our last edition, we talked about how tech platforms play a role in shaping geopolitics in the context of Nepal. This week the tables were turned as geopolitics hit back hard in the form of hike in H1B visa fees in the U.S., a move that directly affects how tech companies can hire global talent and scale. It’s yet another signal that the external environment matters just as much as what we build internally.

But while global forces shape the industry, closer to home we’re reminded of stories that prove something powerful: Great Tech companies can be built anywhere, more often than not its just a matter of resilience, creativity, and customer obsession.

This week, we shine a spotlight on Payworks, a Canadian success story that started far from the usual tech hubs—and grew into a national powerhouse.

🚀 Payworks: Building a Tech Powerhouse Outside the “Big Hubs”

When people think of Canadian tech hotspots, Winnipeg rarely comes to mind. It’s not Silicon Valley, it’s not Toronto, and it’s certainly not the place most people would expect a national tech leader to emerge. Yet in 2000, Barb Gamey, after more than a decade of experience in payroll at firms like Comcheq, saw an opportunity: existing providers were slow, outdated, and lacked strong customer service. She envisioned something different: a modern, customer-first payroll solution built for Canada

That vision became Payworks, a company that started small but today is one of Canada’s largest workforce management platforms—all built from Winnipeg.

🌱 The Early Days

Payworks didn’t start with venture capital, splashy PR, or a global accelerator badge. It started with grit. Barb and her small team began with a handful of clients, one of whom had 135 employees—an early test of whether their product could scale. Their philosophy was simple:

• Build a reliable, easy-to-use product.

• Obsess over customer service.

• Grow sustainably, one client at a time.

📈 The Growth Journey

From that foundation, Payworks grew steadily:

• Expanded beyond payroll into HR tools, workforce analytics, time & absence management.

• Opened offices across Canada, now employing 600+ people in 12 cities.

• Grew to 45,000+ customers, processing payroll for nearly 1 million employees monthly.

• Reached $100M+ in annual revenue.

What makes this story even more remarkable is that Payworks did it all bootstrapped. For nearly 25 years, the company reinvested its earnings, scaled carefully, and kept its focus on Canadian businesses. It wasn’t until a couple of weeks back in September 2025 that Payworks accepted its first external investment, from Hg Capital—a move made not out of necessity, but to accelerate growth after proving its sustainability.

🌍 Culture & Values

At its core, Payworks was built on the principle of “doing right by people.” This wasn’t just a tagline—it shaped their culture, products, and relationships. From building a collaborative, sustainable Winnipeg head office in 2024 to offering best-in-class customer support, Payworks always treated culture and people as part of its competitive edge.

💡 Lessons for Founders and Professionals

Payworks is more than a payroll company—it’s a blueprint for building lasting businesses anywhere:

• Innovation can happen anywhere. Winnipeg isn’t a “tech hub,” just like Mississauga, Brampton, or Oakville aren’t. Geography shouldn’t limit ambition.

• Bootstrapping builds resilience. Focusing on customer value and sustainable growth creates stronger foundations than hype-driven scaling.

• Domain expertise is power. Barb’s payroll background gave her insights global competitors overlooked—proof that deep knowledge creates moats.

• Customer service is strategy. Tech features can be copied. Relationships and trust endure.

• Longevity beats flash. Payworks built credibility year after year, outlasting hype cycles.

• Expand adjacent, not everywhere. Starting with payroll, they naturally moved into HR, time tracking, and benefits—deepening customer value without losing focus.

• Culture scales too. Tech isn’t the only thing that needs scaling—values, people, and purpose scale with it.

✨ SaugaTech Epilogue

If Winnipeg can produce a tech powerhouse like Payworks, why not our region?

Mississauga, Brampton, Oakville, and the wider SaugaTech community are full of ambitious professionals and entrepreneurs. Payworks is proof that: great tech businesses don’t have to be born in Silicon Valley—or even Canadian tech hubs like Toronto/Vancouver/Calgary. They can be built wherever ambition, execution, and customer focus come together.

For aspiring founders, Payworks is encouragement: you don’t need perfect timing, flashy investors, or a global hub to succeed. You need a clear problem, relentless focus, and the discipline to grow sustainably.

For professionals, it’s a reminder that deep expertise, curiosity, and a commitment to adding value are timeless career advantages—even in the age of AI.

At SaugaTech, we celebrate stories like these because they remind us of what’s possible—right here, in our own backyard.

Thanks for reading Edition #4. Until next week 🚀

Onwards and upwards,

Team SaugaTech

CONNECT | COLLABORATE | INNOVATE

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