Futurpreneur

As a Futurpreneur Canada mentor, I’m paired with a Canadian
entrepreneur who has just started their business. As a Business Mentor, My role is to provide marketing advice, as well as support and encouragement, to help entrepreneurs remain focused on what is important for the success of their business.

As part of ongoing 1:1 mentorship support, my activities include:
• Provide an objective perspective;
• Question, challenge and support the entrepreneur;
• Coach in a non-directive manner, letting the entrepreneur
come to their own conclusions with guidance;
• Help the entrepreneur to reflect on their learnings from
business launch and beyond.

Marketing Mentor

Yaletown Integrative Clinic

• Increased clinic monthly revenue by 725% in 10 months by implementing and optimizing
marketing campaigns.
• Cut marketing expenses by over 15% while growing lead generation volume.
• Team leadership: Directed a team of freelance marketing professionals.
• Transformed brand image to from naturopathic clinic to one-stop-shop wellness destination
with brand identity overhaul project, increasing website traffic by 30%

Marketing Director

Cheam Wellness Group

• Leading the marketing team vision and strategy. Managing a team of marketing coordinators
incldung social media interns.
Managed a digital marketing budget of $13K per month, overseeing campaigns across five
major platforms.
• Achieved a 60% increase in social media engagement for Cheam by launching an influencer
partnership program and leading strategic collaborations.

Digital Marketing Manager

Serotina Media Inc.

Drove $6.9M in sales pipeline for a multinational B2C Ecommerce client (~$1.36M annual
spend)
* Improved an eCommerce client's ROl year-over-year:
* 2021: $3.7M revenue / $940K spend (3.95:1)
* 2022: $6.87M revenue / $1.36M spend (5.05:1)
* ~10,000 leads/mo generated & re-engaged using CRM marketing automation via the
HubSpot marketing platform.

Growth Marketing Manager

Worked with various B2B & B2C clients; Scaled client campaigns utilizing search, display,
remarketing, social, video, landing page creation, conversion rate optimization, etc.


Performed Google Analytics audits for 11+ clients in addition to setting up tracking
implementation. Using tools such as Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Google Data
Studio, Google Spreadsheet but also Tableau, Supermetrics, SQL, API call, etc...

Freelance Digital Marketing Consultant

LM Global Enterprises LTD

- Implemented and managed PPC campaigns across a variety of Search engines (Google, Microsoft, Yahoo)

- Monitor and analyzed the performance of global campaigns, ensuring their continued growth and optimization

Head of Digital Advertising

Perform daily account management of pay per click accounts on Google AdWords, Bing and other. In addition to developing new campaigns across multiple channels. More:

Manage the maintenance and monitoring of keyword bids, impressions, quality score and other important account metrics.

Monitor and administer web analytics dashboards, reports and key reporting tools.

Communication to team and management on project development, timelines, and results.

PPC Specialist

Dear Marketing Student

Founder, Managing Editor

My City Movers ltd

Managed 15 paid search campaigns, Driving 50 high-quality leads per month. performed keyword targeting and bid management as well as overall account optimization.

Paid Search Specialist

Digital Economy Forum

Identifying and executing on opportunities to grow traffic for the
publications through AdWords.

Marketing Coordinator

SkipTheDishes

I Aided the sales team's push to build restaurant supply in Winnipeg and Edmonton by contacting potential new restaurant partners.Successfully developed partnerships with over 12 restaurants such as Kenko sushi, Tutti Frutti and Simple Simon pies to name a few.

Inside Sales Associate

I’ve spent years executing strategic advertising campaigns across Google Ads, Bing Ads, and Meta Ads for brands like Quickbooks, Perfectlens & Cheam Wellness.

With expertise in paid media and marketing leadership. One of my proudest wins was increasing a client’s monthly revenue from $8K to $58K MRR in just 10 months by optimizing and implementing marketing campaigns.

Now, I work as a Fractional Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), helping businesses grow through paid ads and SEO to scale revenue past $1M and grow brand authority by organizing resources and building marketing systems.

I also mentor up-and-coming business owners through Futurepreneur, helping them avoid the same marketing mistakes I made when I was first starting out.

Ready to level up your marketing?

I’m opening up 2 spots for March to provide personalised marketing consulting:

✔️ One-on-one consulting calls (ask questions, present problems)
✔️ $60 for 60 min (or $1 per minute—your call)
✔️ Unlimited 1:1 chat with me via text or email with 24-hour response guarantee (or your money back)

If you’re a business owner who’s serious about scaling and wants clear, actionable advice tailored to your business, I’m here to help.

Ayo Afolabi

Vencora

Vice President Marketing | GTM Practice Leader | Vencora | Constellation Software Inc  (TSX: CSU)

Professional Background Summary

Senior commercial leader with 20+ years building and scaling B2B software and services businesses. Accountable for full go-to-market strategy and revenue engine design across high-growth, multi-brand portfolios. Led teams across marketing, sales, CX, and product marketing to drive margin expansion, pipeline velocity, and customer lifetime value.

Grew a $300M+ multi-brand portfolio by driving double-digit organic growth through whitespace expansion, account-based strategy, and GTM execution at scale.

Influenced P&L strategy and commercial alignment across 15+ global software businesses through direct coaching of GMs and portfolio leaders.

Delivered $106M+ in new revenue and $66M+ in ARR across B2B verticals through demand engine design and customer expansion.

Built GTM systems that scaled pipeline by 30–70% and increased bookings by 30% across fintech, banking, transportation, and education.

Repositioned underperforming business units to achieve 20%+ CAGR through value narrative transformation, sales enablement, and CX alignment.

Created scalable GTM playbooks to integrate post-acquisition businesses and drive commercial traction within 12 months.

Various Executive GTM Roles Spanning Marketing, Sales, Customer Experience and Operations

Volaris Group

Vice President | Global Growth Leader | Volaris Group | Constellation Software (TSX: CSU)

Director of Marketing and Sales Ops |TripSpark | Volaris Group | Constellation Software (TSX: CSU)

ITRG Research Group

Regional Sales And Marketing Director 

Pearson Embanet

National Sales And Marketing Director

Schulich School of Business

Well versed in Strategy, Brand Management and Consulting.

MBA Graduate 2010

DHL Express

Director : Growth Marketing and Partner Management 

Pitney Bowes

Director (Agency Operations and Client Growth)

Microsoft Corporation

Senior Business Consultant (CONTRACT)

Scotiabank (Internship)

Marketing and Operations Analyst

Senior Vice President | Fractional CMO | GTM Practice Leader | Global Marketing and Sales Executive | Speaker | Vencora | Constellation Software Inc. (TSX: CSU)

Your funnel's full. Your bookings aren't.
That's not a "demand" problem... it's a 𝗚𝗧𝗠 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺.
I’m Imraan, operator, advisor, and speaker for teams who don’t have time to guess.

Over the past 20 years, I’ve led global GTM teams across marketing, sales, revenue, and strategy. 

I’ve built systems that scale, repositioned portfolios mid-flight, and helped high-growth orgs close the gap between potential and performance.

But I’ve also made the mistakes—launched with misaligned messaging, chased volume over pipeline quality, hired fast before the engine was ready. 

That’s how I learned what 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 drives growth: clarity, alignment, and execution that matches the moment.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗗𝗼

I work with founders, GTM leaders, and operators across high-growth and enterprise organizations to turn GTM complexity into clarity. 

That could mean building the first scalable revenue engine… 

Or pressure-testing an existing one that’s stalling under scale.

I work with early-stage founders, GTM leaders, and scaling orgs to:

* Align brand, product, sales, and CX under one revenue rhythm

* Design backwards from revenue, not forward from noise

* Sharpen value narratives, expand pipeline, and reduce CAC

* Coach teams on high-stakes GTM decisions with data and context
  
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜’𝘃𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱

* GTM ownership and growth across a $200M+ portfolio of 17 brands

* 30–60% YoY pipeline growth

* 30%+ lift in bookings

* Double-digit organic revenue growth with gains in CAC efficiency, NRR, and sales velocity

* Scalable GTM playbooks that reduced time to value 

* Enterprise transformations across SaaS, services, and platform orgs
  
𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗜 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸

Keynotes, exec offsites, summits—any room solving for serious GTM.

𝗧𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗜’𝗺 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗼𝗻:

* GTM Maturity & Execution Strategy

* Value-Based Selling: From Value Parity to the Value Wedge

* Identity vs. Reality: What Your Brand Actually Signals

* Pipeline Intelligence & Revenue Design

* Strengthen vs. Grow: Knowing What Season You’re In

* Customer Experience as a GTM Lever
  
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲

* GTM isn’t a checklist. It’s your operating system.

* Most sales problems aren’t sales problems—they’re upstream GTM issues.

* Lead volume is noise. Pipeline quality is signal.

* Backwards math > wishful forecasts.
  
𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿—𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁—𝗹𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸. 

Because the longer you delay GTM clarity, the more you pay for confusion.

Imraan Hassam

I wasn’t planning to share this.
But it stayed with me today.

I stopped at Tim Hortons this morning.

Every now and then, if the line is moving slow enough,

I’ll pay for the person behind me and head out before they see.

No reason.
No agenda.

Just something I’ve done for years, a small way to remind myself that the world is bigger than whatever’s on my calendar.

Today, when I asked for the bill behind me,

the cashier hesitated.

She said, “𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘳… 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦?”

Something about the question made me pause.
As if kindness had a limit.

I told her it was fine.

It turned out to be a mother and her son.

As I pulled away, I caught a glimpse of their faces when they were told.

Just a few seconds in the rearview mirror,
but their reaction was… pure.

Surprised. Relieved.

Grateful in a way that reminded me how little we know about the battles other people are fighting.

And it hit me,

We spend so much of our lives in motion,
deadlines, deliverables, meetings, metrics,

That it’s easy to forget how much the smallest gestures can matter.

Not because of the money.
Not because of the act itself.

But because, for someone, it might be the first good moment in a hard day.

Or the first reminder in a long time that people can still be gentle.

I’m not sharing this to say “look what I did.”
That’s not the point.

I’m sharing it because it grounded me.

It reminded me that even with all we juggle,
leadership, families, pressure, expectations,

The thing that connects us isn’t our roles or our titles.

It’s our humanity.

And most days, we move too fast to notice it.

Let alone express it.

Today was a reminder for me.
Maybe it’s one you needed too.

"Be kind to one another and lift someone up."

Everything was lining up perfectly.
Until it didn’t.

The Blue Jays were supposed to have their storybook ending.

The numbers. The momentum. The energy.

Every sign pointed in one direction.

And then baseball did what baseball always does,
it reminded us it doesn’t answer to predictions.

You can prepare flawlessly.

Execute cleanly.
Make every right call…

and still walk away without the ending you thought you earned.

That’s not failure.

That’s life reminding you that control is a comforting illusion.

Some fans called the season a waste,
all that hope, all that energy.

But others said something different:

“𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘶𝘴.”

The moments. The tension. The belief.

The ride.

And after years, I’ve learned that’s the real game.

You can’t guarantee the ending.

You can only decide how you show up for the innings that matter.

Because sometimes the win isn’t in the scoreboard,
it’s in the heart you pour into the chase.

...

“𝘽𝙚 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙪𝙥”

I wish someone had told me this before I waited so long.

It would’ve saved me years.

Most people don’t delay their beginnings because they lack ability.

They delay because they’re waiting for a moment that feels 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭.

A cleaner season.
More certainty.
More confidence.

Some imaginary signal that says: 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺.

But you can start at 40.
You can start at 50.
You can start broke.

Alone. Uncertain. Unfinished.

What slows you down isn’t age or resources.
It’s the illusion that beginnings should feel composed.

Like control should come 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 movement.

It doesn’t.

Real beginnings are clumsy.

They wobble.
They bruise your ego.

They make you question yourself long before they build your momentum.

They don’t feel brave.
They feel inconvenient.

And the people who go further aren’t the most prepared.

They’re the ones who finally realized they were waiting for permission that was never coming.

So they moved anyway.

Not when the plan felt perfect.
Not when the fear disappeared.
Not when confidence arrived.

They moved while unsure.
While imperfect.
While still figuring it out.

Because “someday” isn’t patience.

It’s fear wearing a calendar.

𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗺 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴,

𝘔𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.

...

“𝘽𝙚 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙪𝙥”

Even the people you admire secretly wonder if they deserve to be admired.

I’ve sat in rooms with founders who built 8-fig companies.

Spoken to creators with thousands of followers.

Coached leaders who lead hundreds.

And you know what most of them confess?

“𝘐 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘐’𝘮 𝘧𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵.”
“𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘐’𝘮 𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘐 𝘢𝘮.”

That’s imposter syndrome.

And it doesn’t disappear when you “make it.”
It just evolves with every new level.

Because every next step forces you to meet a version of yourself you’ve never been before.

The difference is, the ones who rise anyway…
don’t wait for the fear to leave.

They move 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘵.

They ship the thing.
Say yes to the stage.

Raise their hand in the room even when their voice shakes.

Confidence isn’t the absence of doubt.
It’s the decision to act before certainty arrives.

So if you’re sitting there wondering whether you’re “ready” 

maybe you already are.

...

“𝘽𝙚 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙪𝙥”

Everyone says “fail fast.”

No one tells you what it does to your confidence when you actually do.

The part they never include in the motivational books?

Failure doesn’t feel empowering in real time.
It feels personal. Heavy. Quiet.

You start questioning your judgment. 
Your decisions. Yourself.

Earlier in my career, I treated every miss like a reflection of my capability.

Now, 20+ years later, I treat it like information.

Because the shift happens when you stop labeling it as failure,
and start labeling it as data.

The most valuable lessons in leadership aren’t learned from wins.
They’re learned from what you do after the losses.

Don’t glamorize failure.
Just respect what it 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 you.

Every miss sharpens your instincts,

if you have the courage to sit with it long enough to understand it.

Failing forward isn’t about moving on.
It’s about moving wiser.

...

“𝘽𝙚 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙪𝙥”

Perfectionism is fear dressed up as high standards.

And I spent years mistaking it for a superpower.

Checking everything twice.
Fixing things that weren’t broken.

Holding myself hostage to standards no one else required.

People applauded it.

“𝘏𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘳.”
“𝘋𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯.”
“𝘔𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘴.”

But none of that came from excellence.
It came from pressure.

The silent kind.

The 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘶𝘱 kind.

The kind that convinces you to sit on ideas until they’re “ready”

and treat every mistake like a character flaw.

Perfectionism didn’t make me elite.

It made me hesitant.
It made me slow.

It made me measure my worth by outcomes instead of effort.

The shift happened quietly.

Sharing earlier.
Stopping two edits before the spiral.
Realizing clarity shows up 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 motion.
Choosing progress over polish.

And the twist?

Everything got better.

My output.
My speed.
My thinking.
My confidence.

Not because I lowered my standards,
but because I stopped trying to feel safe before I moved.

Perfectionism never protected my potential.

It hid it.

So if you’re stuck polishing the same corner of your talent, ask yourself,

𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗿𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁… 𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗷𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝗱?

One moves you.
The other freezes you.

Start before you feel ready.
Speak before the sentence feels perfect.
Move while your hands shake.

That’s where growth lives.

...

“𝘽𝙚 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙪𝙥”

I once sat in a meeting hoping no one would call my name.

If you’ve ever felt that same quiet panic,
you’re not alone.

People assume the smartest person in the room is the one speaking.

But after 20+ years in leadership rooms across industries,

here’s what I learned:

The smartest person is sometimes the one silently Googling and learning during their own time.

Early in my career, jargon flew faster than the actual strategy.

Acronyms. Frameworks. Models.
Everyone spoke fluent “business,”

And I was still learning basic “𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘬.”

So I nodded.
Took notes.

Googled half the terms during lunch,

Hoping no one noticed the anxiety hiding behind my poker face.

And then something clicked:

Everyone fakes understanding at some point.
Some just fake it with better posture.

But that phase, that quiet absorption,
Isn’t incompetence, It’s acceleration.

You’re not behind.
You’re calibrating.

Fast-forward a few years…

I ended up running the same meetings I once felt lost in.

Not because I suddenly became brilliant,

But because I stayed curious long enough for everything to make sense.

Because these days, staying relevant requires retraining your curiosity.

So if you’re in those rooms now, hear this:

Ask the “stupid” question.
Sit in the discomfort.

Let it sting, then let it shape you.

People who rise fastest aren’t the ones who talk the most,

they’re the ones brave enough to say:

“𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸… 𝘺𝘦𝘵.”

...

“𝘽𝙚 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙪𝙥”

Value-based selling isn’t about lowering prices.
It’s about raising the standard.

Most reps struggle not because they’re bad sellers…
but because they never learned how to run real discovery, uncover a value wedge, or tie outcomes to business impact.

In this episode of GTM Unfiltered, I break down the art of selling value — not discounts.

taplio

The Battle

Ayo Afolabi

Imraan Hassam

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreImraan Hassam's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Ayo Afolabi

Imraan Hassam

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Imraan Hassam's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreImraan Hassam's LinkedIn Performance