Bianca Johnston Customer Research

Independent Customer Research Consultant

Shopify

Integrated Campaigns Lead

Senior Market Researcher

LoyaltyOne

Market Research Manager, AIR MILES Reward Program

Market Research Consultant, AIR MILES Reward Program

Market Research Specialist, AIR MILES Reward Program

Espresso

Espresso is  an integrated brand agency that drives media-agnostic thinking in brand strategy, marcom, advertising, and custom technology products.

Account Supervisor

I help you do research right and become a more customer-centric marketer | 🇺🇦 🇨🇦

🤔 Making decisions based on gut rather than data? 
😕 Marketing efforts not giving you the ROI you’d hoped for? 
🤪 Trying to do your own customer research and feeling out of your element? 

Ask any successful marketer and they’ll tell you the key to growth is to know your customers. But from there the advice gets a little…well, fluffy.

I share tactical, no-fluff tips on how to do customer research right, so you can: 

- Uncover customer truths 💡
- Optimize your marketing and content ⚙️
- Drive business growth 📈

I have 13 years’ experience in market research and marketing roles, across industries and customer segments. I’m a big believer in no-BS marketing and love sharing actionable advice on how to do research right so you can quit winging it and start winning! 🚀

Bianca Johnston 🔮✨

StackedSP

We help tech startups achieve audacious goals by stacking their teams with champions.

Founder & CEO

FounderProject

FounderProject is a new type of venture fund run by students investing in student startups.

Real Ventures

Real Ventures is Canada's largest, and most active seed stage venture fund.

Venture Capital

Ex-VC of early stage startups. Then founded FounderProject, a venture fund run by students investing in student startups. 

The problem? The fund didn’t materialize as I’d hoped, and that hit hard. 

Yet, amidst the disappointment there was real impact. Hundreds of startups took flight, thousands of startup jobs were created, and the VC world took notice.

It became clear to me: while the right funding matters, the right talent can make or break a startup. That insight led me to create StackedSP, a talent firm for venture backed startups.

Fast forward a decade, StackedSP has helped founders and their startups hire thousands - from founding employees, to leaders. Today, those startups are industry leaders and have raised billions from top investors.

But it's not just about the hires. I actively invest in tech startups, and am a limited partner in venture funds. And, building community is crucial. 

Enter Unstacked Startups – a hub for startup founders and talent. There's a podcast, live events, and a newsletter called FounderMail.

My mission? Empower founders, and startups to build a better future.

Ilan Saks

Startups don’t run on process — they run on people.

One of my favorite moments with Ruchi Varshney (ex-Dropbox eng leader, now co-founder of Maple) was when she broke down what talent actually means inside a high-velocity startup:

“Talent is the lifeblood of the company."

She also said something that every founder or leader should consider:

“Assume a default position of trust and rule by exception.”

Her take on early hires?
Generalists. High-grit operators. People who “flow like water” and fill gaps you weren't aware of.

Very insightful from someone who has scaled both a 200-person org and an early stage startup.

Full episode is live.
#UnstackedStartupsPodcast #HighAgencyTalent

Unstacked Startups & StackedSP | Backing founders & helping them hire elite talent ⚡

Hiring for raw attitude beats chasing nice resumes—every. single. time.

Andrew Gazdecki (Founder of acquire.com), nails it: “Attitude → Motivation → Skill —in that order.” You can train craft; you can’t teach optimism or intrinsic drive. 

Master the art of spotting high-potential talent—people who spike in curiosity, soak up ambiguity, and drive the room’s energy. 

Next time you’re interviewing, flip the script:

Does this person light up talking about solving gnarly problems?

Would I want to be stuck in a six-hour flight delay with them?

Could they teach me something new, tomorrow?

What's the most underrated hiring signal you’ve ever used? Give the clip below a listen!

Most startups don’t have a hiring problem.
They have a clarity problem.

In the last month, I’ve met dozens of founders who are trying to hire their first 5–10 team members.
Brilliant people building real products…
but struggling to attract the talent they need.

Every time, I ask the same question:
“Why would a top engineer or go-to-market hire choose your startup over the other 200 hiring this month?”

And that’s where things fall apart.

Great candidates aren’t just looking for a job.
They’re looking for a reason to bet their career on you.

If you can’t articulate:
• What you’re building
• Why now
• Why it matters
• And why the right person should care

…you’ll lose the talent you need before the process even starts.

At StackedSP, we keep seeing the same truth:
Top people don’t chase titles.
They chase conviction.

If your startup can communicate that clearly, hiring stops being a bottleneck—and becomes a competitive advantage.

Founders: What’s the one thing you wish more candidates understood about your vision?

#StartupHiring #Founders #EarlyStage #TechRecruiting #TeamBuilding

Loved this conversation with Ruchi Varshney — one of the sharpest minds in SaaS infrastructure and someone I genuinely enjoy learning from.

Billing isn’t glamorous, but it is critical to a SaaS company.

Ruchi breaks down pricing, AI in finance, and how to build trust-first teams in a way only she can.

Huge shoutout to Ruchi for making the time — grateful to have her on the Unstacked Startups Podcast.
🎧 Full episode: https://lnkd.in/eR8w5k3Y

 #UnstackedPod

“Billing is the heartbeat of SaaS.”

On this episode of Unstacked Startups, we sit down with Ruchi Varshney, co-founder of Maple and former Dropbox engineering leader, to talk about:

• Innovative pricing models
• AI’s role in finance
• Building trust-first startup teams
• What early-stage founders get wrong

This one’s for SaaS leaders, CFOs, and product minds rethinking what billing can (and should) do.

🎧 Listen now: https://lnkd.in/eR8w5k3Y

taplio

The Battle

Bianca Johnston 🔮✨

Ilan Saks

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taplio

The Battle

Bianca Johnston 🔮✨

Ilan Saks

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);}Ilan Saks's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreIlan Saks's LinkedIn Performance