Mark MacLeod

Limitless.ceo

Limitless is an exclusive community of VC and PE-backed CEOs who want
to scale themselves and their companies without limits.

Founder

I coach startup CEOs to grow themselves and their business all the way to a massive exit

SurePath Capital Partners

SurePath Capital Partners is the premier strategic financial advisor to the global SMB Software market. With offices in Toronto and San Francisco, we aim to be the #1 advisor in this space globally and the one call CEOs and board make when they need to make a deal happen.

FreshBooks

I led finance and corporate development at FreshBooks - the #1 cloud accounting specialist for small business owners. Since 2004, over 5 million people have used FreshBooks to track time, organize expenses and invoice clients online and in the cloud.

Accomplishments:
- Closed $30M institutional funding round + other unpublished transactions
- Led the process to find a partner to backstop a new product line
- Sourced and closed other key revenue-generating partnerships

CFO + Chief Corporate Development Officer

Real Ventures

Venture Partner

Parter at Real Ventures where I focus on SaaS, freemium, e-commerce and digital media seed investments

Director, Fabric Technologies
Director, Context.io (sold to Return Path)
Director, Frank and Oak
Observer, Rewardli Inc.
Investor, Thinknear.com (sold to Telenav)
Investor, Localmind.com (sold to Airbnb)
Investor, Massive Damage Inc.
Director, Sweet IQ (sold to Reachlocal)
Observer, Unbounce.com
Investor, Engagio (sold to Influitive)
Investor, Origin.al Internet Company

General Partner

Tungle Corporation

CFO for Tungle - a great solution for meeting coordination.

Raised a $5M "A" round. Served as CFO through the successful sale of the company to RIM.

SaaS, E-commerce, Marketplace companies

Interim CFO, Shopify
Advisor, Well.ca
Advisor, Cakemail 
Advisor, Dok Dok Inc 
Advisor, Raymark
Advisor, Sitezoogle 
Interim CFO, Status.net Inc.

Advisor & CFO

Mobivox

Led finance, operations, legal, HR, strategic planning functions for this mobile communications startup. Raised an $10M B round led by Flybridge. Raised an additional $1M in China. Made major improvements to execution, ops, key metrics, etc.

Terrascale Technologies Inc.

Led finance, operations, customer support, IT and manufacturing for this venture-backed networked storage vendor. Negotiated the sale of Terrascale to Rackable Systems (NASDAQ: RACK) in a deal returning 10x on invested capital.

VP, Finance

Hexago

Prepared this 15 person IP networking startup for commercialization & ‘B’ round funding. Responsibilities included financing, all back office operations, investor + board relations and negotiation of all  agreements. Towards the end of my term, I was given increasing responsibility for OEM sales and strategic relationships.

I help startup CEOs go from $5M in revenue to a massive exit

Since 1999, I have sat at the right-hand side of the leaders of high growth technology companies as either a CFO, VC or deal maker. I served as CFO for software companies including Shopify (NYSE: SHOP) and Freshbooks. 

I was a General Partner in Real Ventures, one of Canada's largest and most active seed stage funds. My investments there include the fund's largest cash on cash and highest IRR returns to date. 

Most recently, I founded SurePath Capital Partners the leading investment bank for SMB SaaS companies where we did hundreds of millions in financing and exit transactions.

The thing I loved most about these roles was the one on one coaching and advisory conversations I had with CEOs. 

Since 2020 I have been coaching, investing in and advising CEOs + helping them execute game-changing deals.

I am a semi-active angel investor with a portfolio of 22 investments, 2 highly positive exits and counting.

In my spare time, I am a passionate CrossFit athlete and electronic music producer/ DJ. I also run Deep Down Music, a record label.

I coach, advise and invest in the CEOs of high growth technology companies & help them execute game-changing deals.

The Tokyo Test.

Before I hire anyone or partner with a VC, I ask myself one question:

Would I be excited to sit beside this person on a 14-hour flight to Tokyo?

If the answer is no, I pass.

Life is too short to work with people you don't actually like.

Skills matter. Chemistry matters more.

Use the Tokyo Test.

Helping VC-backed CEOs scale themselves and their companies without limits. | Host of The Startup CEO Show podcast

The most senior person in the room uses the fewest words.

Junior: 10 slides to explain the problem
Mid-level: 5 slides with bullet points
Senior: "We have a cash flow issue. Here are three options."

Brevity isn't about being short. It's about being clear.

It means you've done the hard work of:
- Cutting through the noise
- Identifying what actually matters
- Removing your own confusion first

If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it yet.

Watch how the best CEOs communicate:
- They get to the point
- They don't hedge with qualifiers
- They don't need jargon to sound smart

The CEO who says "Revenue is down, we need to cut 15% of headcount by Friday" is more senior than the one who sends a 2000-word memo about "organizational optimization initiatives."

You earn seniority when you stop needing extra words to feel credible.

Complexity is easy. Clarity is hard.

If you want to level up, start cutting.

Subscribe to my newsletter and get a 22 page presentation on the secrets of Limitless CEOs https://lnkd.in/gWqQBd-n

Bryn Jones grew PartnerStack for 4 straight years at 100% growth.

Most founders dream of that problem.

He told me it nearly broke him.

His insight: "Growth solves everything. Except it solves everything by letting you ignore problems.

You can only pave over so many cracks before the whole thing collapses.

The wildest part? Fixing those problems after Tech Winter hit was the most fulfilling work of his career. More than the hypergrowth years.

If you missed my podcast with Bryn, here is the interview. We cover:
Also in this conversation:
✅  How being on Canada's national swim team prepared him for 10 years as a CEO
✅  Why most partnerships fail despite their potential
✅  The one question that determines if a partnership will work
✅  Why he ignored his instinct and what happened next

Read it here:

Open article: PartnerStack's CEO Bryn Jones on 10 Years of Building B2B Partnership Networks and Why Growth Nearly Broke Him - Mark MacLeod by markmacleod.me

PartnerStack's CEO Bryn Jones on 10 Years of Building B2B Partnership Networks and Why Growth Nearly Broke Him - Mark MacLeod

Work hard. Play hard. Sleep hard.

This is my mantra.

Work hard: Anything worth doing is never easy. You need to push.

Play hard: Play makes life worth living. Most CEOs think this is a post-exit luxury. I disagree. For me, "play" is music and yoga. Non-negotiables.

Sleep hard: Another thing many CEOs skip. To show up as your best self and crush without burning out, you need to sleep like it's your job.

You are a mental athlete. Athletes sleep like it's their job.

Nobody is thinking about you.

Seriously.

Your competitor? Too busy with their own problems.

Your team? Thinking about their own issues.

Your board? Looking at the numbers, not judging you as a person.

The brutal truth: You're not the main character in anyone's story but your own.

So why are you making decisions based on what "they" might think?

❌ Holding back on that bold strategy
❌ Overthinking that honest conversation
❌  Not sharing your real challenges

Your anxiety about perception is burning energy that you need for  building.

The CEOs who scale fastest realize that only results matter. Not optics. Not opinions. 

Make the call. Say the thing. Take the risk.

They're all too busy worrying about what YOU think of them.

If your direct reports drain you, you have the wrong people.

Or you're doing their job for them.

I see this constantly with the CEOs.

❌  They finish a day of back-to-back 1-on-1s and they're exhausted.

❌  They spend more time fixing their team's work than doing their own.

❌  They dread certain meetings because they know it'll be them solving problems again. Or a certain team member just saps them of energy.

Here's what should happen instead:

✅  Your direct reports should energize you.

✅  You should leave your 1-on-1s thinking "damn, I'm glad they're on this team."

✅  You should feel excited about what they're building, not anxious about cleaning up their mess.

✅ You should get ideas from them, not just give them.

If that's not happening, there are only two reasons:

1. You hired wrong
2. You're not letting go

Hiring wrong is fixable. Make the change.

Not letting go is also fixable, but it requires you to change.

Stop jumping in to save the day. Stop being the one with all the answers.

Build systems. Train properly. Then trust.

Sometimes you need to watch things break to learn where the system needs fixing.

You can't scale a company where everything runs through you.

And you definitely can't sustain it.

Your team should multiply your energy, not divide it.

If they're not doing that, something needs to change. 

P.S.
This was my all star team at SurePath Capital. Each and every team member gave me enery and leverage.

This is the story of how a tax law professor built a $30M ARR company while still teaching classes.
 
Benjamin Alarie is the CEO of Blue J Legal AND a professor at U of Toronto law school.
 
He saw AI coming for the legal profession in 2011. Had a choice: watch it happen or build the future himself.
 
The kicker? He's not a software engineer. His co-founder moved from Australia because of a childhood friendship.
 
They started in 2015. Spent 7 years building with supervised machine learning. Then LLMs hit. They pivoted hard in 2023.
 
Now: 300%+ YoY growth. 10 new logos daily. Approaching $30M ARR.
 
The lesson isn't about AI or tax law.
 
It's about recognizing when your deep domain expertise intersects with massive technological shifts.
 
Ben knew tax research was painful because he'd lived it for thousands of hours. He could see exactly what needed to exist.
 
Most professors would write another paper. He built a company.
 
We talked about:
✅ Managing investors while maintaining an academic career
✅ Enterprise sales when your TAM is basically the Big 4
✅ Why LLMs changed everything
✅ The $500B tax compliance market nobody thinks about
 
Link in comments.

The new CEO flex: Your sleep score.

Remember when pulling all-nighters was a badge of honour?

That doesn't scale. It just makes it harder for you to build your company.

Elite performers know: sleep is performance.

8 hours. 90% sleep score. REM cycles optimized.

That's the real flex.

You're a mental athlete running a company worth millions.

Sleep like your business depends on it.

Because it does.

No small plans.

It takes the same effort to hit "achievable" targets as it does for "crazy" targets.

Same meetings. Same strategic planning. Same team-building.

The only difference? Your ambition.

Most CEOs set targets they know they can hit. Safe. Predictable. Boring. They do this so they can tell their investors they are "on plan".

As you get ready for 2026, consider setting seemingly impossible targets.

Google was famous for this with it's moonshot thinking.

Hitting 60% of a moonshot target may be much better than hitting 100% of an achievable target.

Early stage VC: "We make 30 bets a year. Let's take a shot."

Growth stage VC: "We make 3 bets a year. Prove everything."

This is the shift founders don't see coming.

Seed investors are building a portfolio. If 1 in 10 works, they win. They can afford leaps of faith.

Growth investors are making concentrated bets. If 1 in 3 fails, their fund is cooked. They can't afford to be wrong.

So they need:
✅  Three years of consistent revenue growth
✅  Proof of unit economics
✅  Evidence of repeatability
✅  Clear path to exit

They're not being difficult. They're being rational.

Your Series A took 20 conversations.
Your Series C will take 200.

The math is simple:
- Early stage: high volume, high failure tolerance
- Late stage: low volume, low failure tolerance

Build your pipeline accordingly.

If you're raising growth stage capital with a seed stage pipeline strategy, you're going to run out of runway before you find your lead. Growth investors want to track you for a long time before they invest. No FOMO decisions.

Don't get bitter. Get realistic. 

Subscribe to my newsletter and get a 22 page presentation on the secrets of Limitless CEOs https://lnkd.in/gWqQBd-n

P.S.
here's a random photo of me at the Calgary Stampede back when I was a VC. Cowboy hats are underrated

You can't see the system when you're inside it.

Your best thinking happens when you step out of the environment that created your current thinking.

Today I am joining Adrian Salamunovic to kick off the first Limitless Unconference in Tulum.

A group of ambitious humans are arriving. All builders. All on the go.

The goal is to reset. Take a breath. Take stock of what’s working and not. In our companies and our lives.

To engage in healing breath work and movement. To gain clarity and set our commitments and dreams for 2026.

I use retreats as a way to recharge, reset and recommit every year. My goal is to have one big retreat per year and 3 small ones.

This gives me perspective and direction. I slow down to speed up.

CEOs who build for the long term don't just work hard. They build in time to step back. Quarterly. Monthly. However often you need it.

Because perspective isn't found in the grind.

It's found when you finally stop grinding.

When you lose your health, you realize nothing else matters.

So many CEOs that come to me for coaching are killing themselves and can't keep up.

In this video Robbie Bent co-founder and CEO of Othership gets real about his journey. See comments for the full conversation.

P.S.
If you want to build a market-leading company without sacrificing your health, come join us at Limitless (see my featured post for the link)

Open video: ✂️ The CEO role will kill you on youtube.com

Want to 10x your company? Start by 10x'ing your capacity.

You can't scale what you haven't built in yourself first.

I see CEOs obsessing over growth hacks, fundraising strategies, and hiring plans.

But they ignore the most important variable: themselves.

Your energy. Your focus. Your ability to handle stress. Your decision-making under pressure.

Most founders hit a ceiling not because their market is too small or their product is wrong.

They hit a ceiling because they've maxed out their personal operating system.

The tree grows tall because its roots go deep.

Your company will only rise as high as your foundation is solid.

This means: sleep, exercise, mental health, relationships, nervous system regulation.

The boring stuff that everyone skips.

The biggest outcomes are founder-led. Always have been.

Zuck. Bezos. Jobs. Musk.

They didn't just build companies. They built themselves into people capable of leading those companies.

Stay grounded while you build.

Invest in your foundation as aggressively as you invest in your business.

That's how you become limitless.

Here's why meditation feels scary (at first)

The moment you sit down, the noise starts. Not around you—inside you.

You suddenly notice how busy your mind is. Thoughts. Loops. Worries. Stories.
It’s a lot.

But here’s the truth: that chaos was already there. You’ve just been working so hard to think clearly through it. This is why you're so exhausted. Why you can't think clearly.

Imagine how much energy you’d reclaim if your mind was actually clear.

Meditation shows you the mess then helps you clean it up.

Yes, it’s uncomfortable at first.

But on the other side? Clarity. Presence. Power.

Sit anyway.

The peace you’re seeking is already within you.
✨

EC I ESD STUDIO GLOBAL

CO-FOUNDER & VICE PRESIDENT

BRIDGE2BUSINESS

Struggling with sourcing complexity in China and Asia? 

With 22 years of boots-on-the-ground experience across China and Asia, we connect you to the best suppliers, manage quality, and optimize your supply chain for success with our value added services.

Let’s explore collaboration opportunities together! 🙋🏻‍♂️🙏🥂

WeChat / WhatsApp: +86 13818297998

FOUNDER & CEO

Market Union Co., Ltd.

MANAGING DIRECTOR

Winholt Equipment Group

As a leading American 🇺🇸 manufacturer/importer with a global supply chain to a wide variety of industries — and for good reason, we've been designing and manufacturing top-tier equipment solutions for dish, prep, cooking, storage and transport-producing equipment in stainless steel, aluminum, and steel, all readily available or easily modified to your specifications. 

I was responsible for sales and marketing among all international supermarkets & chain stores both in China 🇨🇳 and USA 🇺🇸, such as Wal-Mart, Target, Ross, etc., with all kinds of OEM/ODM products. 

It was a very impressive and great experience in my career.

KEY ACCOUNT MANAGER

Tears of Time

TEARS OF TIME IS AN 🇵🇱 AMBER BRAND FROM POLAND. IT STARTS THE BUSINESS IN CHINA SINCE 2011. I HAVE BEEN DOING THE WHOLE MARKETING JOB FOR TEARS OF TIME BY ASSISTING MANAGING DIRECTOR FROM SINCO POLAND...

MARKETING DIRECTOR

SINCO IMPORT SP. Z O.O.

As a team leader of Shanghai Rep. Office of SINCO from POLAND 🇵🇱 , I have been managing and coordinating the whole sales and purchasing term to work in Import & Export business between China and European Retail Chains (mainly with Poland, like BIEDRONKA, ROSSMANN, PEPCO, etc). The widely exported products include: Toys, Kitchenware, Home Deco, Home Textile and 
Knitting garments, Plastic and Paper Products, Gardening, Outdoor products, Working Safety products and Hardware, etc. The imported products: Amber jewelry.

IMP. & EXP. MANAGER

SHANGHAI LUXMAN DEVELOPMENT CO., LTD.

I was doing export business in Home furniture & Fashion garments, acting as a sales supervisor.

EXPORT SUPERVISOR

SHANGHAI 3L MEDICAL PRODUCTS CO., LTD.

I was doing export business in Medical products: 3ply disposable face masks, medical/surgical face masks, non-woven surgical gowns, etc. We were exporting worldwide markets especially to South American countries, such as Mexico, Brazil, etc.

EXPORT SALES

Managing Director @ MU Group | MBA, China Supply Chain Management, committed to exporting Consumer Goods mainly to Retailers in the EU 🇪🇺, USA 🇺🇸, and Mexico 🇲🇽, etc...

With 20+ years of international trade experience, I specialize in helping companies scale their product offerings, optimize sourcing strategies, and accelerate revenue through China’s vast manufacturing landscape. 

From Europe 🇪🇺 to the U.S. 🇺🇸, and to LATAM (Brazil 🇧🇷, Mexico 🇲🇽, Peru 🇵🇪…), I’ve worked alongside distributors, retailers, and brand owners to turn supply chain complexity into competitive advantage by delivering the right products, at the right cost, with speed and reliability.

What You Can Expect

👉 20+ years of hands-on sourcing success in Chinese supply chain

👉 On-the-ground teams in Shanghai & Shantou (Chenghai) for daily supplier oversight

👉 Fluent cross-cultural communication and negotiation on your behalf

👉 Seamless handling of compliance, shipping, and global fulfillment

Based in ShangHai & ShanTou, I lead two results-driven sourcing teams focused on 5 major high-growth categories:

1️⃣ Toys & Games
2️⃣ Home & Garden
3️⃣ Sports & Outdoor
4️⃣ Pet Products
5️⃣ Luggage & Bags

We act as an extension of your team by providing supplier access, quality assurance, and category insights that fuel business expansion. 

Whether you're entering new markets, launching private label lines, or streamlining procurement, we help you move faster and smarter.

Armed with an MBA from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, I lead with both market intelligence and cultural fluency—because great sourcing isn’t just about price; it’s about building partnerships that last.

If you’re serious about scaling your product business with the right sourcing strategy, let’s talk. 🙋🏻‍♂️🙏🥂

Davy Shi, 💡🌎 ✅

❤ What do toys and pets have in common?

They both make us feel something. 🐾

Joy. Comfort. Connection.

When you really think about it… toys and pets aren’t so different.

A child reaches for a toy for the same reason a dog wags its tail — to play, to connect, to feel alive. 🎾🧸

Play isn’t just entertainment.
It’s emotion in motion. 💡

And that’s where the worlds of toys and pets overlap.

Both tap into something deeply human — the need to nurture, to laugh, to care. ❤

Some of the smartest brands are already bridging these two worlds.

Toy designers are now creating sensory, durable, emotionally engaging products for pets.

Different audience, same heart. 💭

Because when a toy makes a child smile…

Or a pet feel safe and excited…
It creates something powerful: trust. 🤝

And trust is the foundation of loyalty.

As companies explore this crossover, they’re uncovering a truth that goes far beyond product lines:

People don’t just buy things…
They buy feelings. 🌍

Great products do more than function — They connect hearts, not just hands. ❤

And in business, that’s where the real magic happens. ✨

Video Credit: TikTok
Content Copyright: Davy Shi

#Toys #Pets #ProductDesign #ConsumerTrends #BrandLoyalty #Innovation #CustomerExperience

Davy Shi 💡🚀🌎 

Cofounder | CEO | MBA, China Supply Chain Management, dedicated to delivering consumer goods globally, with a strong focus on overseas markets including EU 🇪🇺, USA 🇺🇸, and LATAM.

What’s the difference between earning something and being given it?

Everything! ⚖️

Because: 

“No pain, no gain!”

“There is no such thing as a free lunch! “ 🚫🆓🍕🌮🍜

When you earn it, you carry it differently… 🎒

You understand the effort. 💪

You remember the failures. ❌

You value the process. 🛤️

When it’s given to you, it’s easy to take it for granted. 🙄

To assume it’ll always be there.🕰️

To treat the reward as the goal, instead of the growth it took to get there. 🌱🏆

And that brings me to this…

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 What are we teaching our kids?

Are we giving them everything they want, thinking it’s love? ❤️

Or are we giving them the chance to build resilience, effort, and pride? 🧱

Because when you hand someone a trophy, you may give them a moment of joy. 🏆😊

But when they earn it, you give them something far deeper…

🔥 Confidence.
🧭 Character.
🚀 And the ability to go out and earn the next one.

This might be an unpopular piece of parenting advice these days…

But it builds more resilient humans. 💥

Let’s raise builders, not borrowers. 🏗️

Let’s raise earners, not inheritors. 💼

That’s how we change a generation. 🌍👣

Video Credit: Jack Ma
Content Copyright: Davy Shi

#Difference #Uniqueness #Value #Business #WhatInspiresMe #Resilience #Entrepreneurship

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