Aaron Zifkin

Worth knowing

He has twice taken a US platform into Canada from nothing and built it into a market that mattered, from the Toronto launch through Ottawa and Vancouver, handling sales, marketing, operations and the public argument that comes with regulated consumer businesses. He knows what a first hire, a first city and a first year actually cost. Founders and US companies planning a Canadian entry should get in touch.

Story

Aaron's first company was a waterski and wakeboarding school he co-founded on the Kawartha Lakes in 2001. He moved into technology at Toronto's Artez Interactive, where he ran global business development, grew new user revenue by more than 300% and helped lead the sale of the company. Airbnb hired him in 2014 to open Canada, and by 2017 the country was one of its strongest markets worldwide, which earned him a regional operations role across the Americas. He left that December for Lyft, where he spent three and a half years building the company's first market outside the United States. Since 2023 he has been building Landed, whose infrastructure lets employers and communities run shared-appreciation down payment assistance programs.

Highlights

• First employee and Country Manager, Airbnb Canada (2014-2017)
• Managing Director, Lyft Canada; launched Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver (2018-2021)
• SVP Global Business Development, Artez Interactive (acquired by FrontStream, 2013)
• President and COO, MyPlace, after its $5.8M seed round (2022-2023)
• Board member, Children's Aid Foundation of Canada (2019-2023)