Tech titan Michele Romanow is an engineer and a serial entrepreneur who started three companies before her 28th birthday. The newest (and youngest ever) entrepreneur to join CBC’s hit show Dragons’ Den, Michele is the co-founder of e-commerce platforms Buytopia.ca and Snap By Groupon, which have saved millions of users hundreds of millions of dollars. Ranked in WXN’s “100 Most Powerful in Canada” and listed as the only Canadian on Forbes’ “Millennial on a Mission” list, Michele brings her youthful energy and incredible entrepreneurial savvy to every stage.
In addition to starring on Dragons’ Den, Michele was previously a panelist on the show’s web series, Next Gen Den. She is the co-founder of Snap by Groupon (previously SnapSaves), which was acquired by Groupon in 2014. Snap is a leading mobile coupon app backed by Groupon’s 70 million subscribers.
Michele has worked driving new digital solutions to many of the world’s leading brands, including P&G, Netflix, Starbucks and Cirque du Soleil. She previously co-founded Buytopia.ca, which ranked #3 on the “Profit Hot 50” list of the fastest growing Canadian companies, and #1 on Chatelaine’s W100 list of fastest growing companies. Buytopia accelerated their growth by acquiring seven smaller competitors. Previously,Michele was also the Director of Strategy for Sears, where she led apparel growth strategies at the company–a $2.5 billion category.
Michele was a finalist for the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award; the RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards; and was a Cartier Women’s Initiative Award global finalist. She is also the winner of the Toronto Board of Trade Award for entrepreneurs under 30, among many other honours.
In the media, Michele’s work has been profiled in Forbes, The New York Times, INC, The Globe and Mail, and Chatelaine.
During her Civil Engineering undergrad at Queen’s University, Michelefounded The Tea Room, the first zero-consumer-waste coffee shop. At Queen’s, she was given the Queen’s Tricolour–the highest honour awarded by the university–and, after completing her Queen’s MBA, she founded Evandale Caviar, a vertically integrated commercial fishery.
Michele is a director for Whistler Blackcomb (TSX: WB) and Shad Valley, a transformational program that develops the entrepreneurial potential of exceptional Canadian youth.
