Collision 2019 Wrap-Up
May 31, 2019
Last week, we attended Collision Conference 2019 in Downtown Toronto. It’s known as one of the fastest-growing tech conferences in North America, with 2019 being their fifth year hosting thousands of start-ups, large scale companies, students, and professionals. We witnessed tons of great companies exhibiting and speaking at this 3-day conference and we’d like to share a few of the things we loved.
With Collision changing locations from New Orleans to Toronto this year, it further cements the fact that Toronto is quickly becoming the place to be in the tech community. The conference boasted over 25,000 people from 125 different countries to talk about the great products and services they’re creating both locally and abroad.

Many strong Toronto-based tech companies roamed the floors, took the stage, and exhibited at Collision. We heard about entrepreneurship, partnerships, and how technology is making the world a better place from companies such as Shopify, Rakuten Kobo, and RBC and walked us through new product innovations coming from Interac and Koho at their booths. These are just a handful of the amazing Toronto companies that showed up to Collision – not even mentioning all the great conversations with Torontonians we had at our own booth.
While we could continue to sing Toronto’s praises, what made Collision great was all of the companies and people who came to our city to spark interesting discussions around innovation. Charity: Water, Waymo, and Sidewalk Labs were a few of the companies in attendance that shared their stories and got us thinking about how charities, cars, and cities can become so much more with some innovation and a product-focused mindset.

Outside of the talks and exhibiting companies, it was also an exciting time for women in tech thanks to the opportunities that Collision set up for women to chat with other women, whether it was at the Women in Tech Lounge, Women in Tech Mentorship, or the Women in Tech after-Collision events for sips and conversation. We loved that the conference offered discounted Women-in-Tech tickets and it allowed us to send many women Connectors to the show this year.
We were thrilled for the opportunity to talk to so many product builders and other like-minded folks at Collision. We learned just as much about you as you learned about us. There were some great conversations that went beyond, “Who are you? And what do you do?” and we thank everyone who stopped by our booth to say hello!

Check out our previous event wrap-up when we attended Google I/O 2019!
Related Posts

Fri Jun 2
Thoughtworker Spotlight: Priscila Araújo
Priscila Araújo has worn many hats across multiple countries, and we’re lucky to have her at Thoughtworks Canada. With over 10 years of experience from Brazil to Canada, she has engineering, delivery and product experience, just to name a few. Currently, as a Lead Product Manager, she works collaboratively with Thoughtworkers to build great software, driving impact by helping clients scale and grow. Priscila also shares her thought leadership by speaking at conferences and providing mentorship at Thoughtworks. As a strong believer in taking risks and trusting the process, find out in her Thoughtworker Spotlight how visiting Toronto on a scholarship and doing a Thoughtworks internship ten years ago influenced her trajectory from software engineering into the realm of product. When she’s not helping clients scale and grow or sharing tasty Brazilian treats with the office (the bolo de rolo she brought back from her recent Brazil trip was devoured in minutes), you can find her playing basketball, taking her dog out to play in the sun, biking by the lake and doing stand up paddleboarding in Toronto. If the weather calls for the indoors, she is a passionate plant parent and a coffee aficionado. With all of these interests, can you guess what her favourite product is? Hint: It definitely works as a great pair with any of these hobbies! Find out more in this week’s Thoughtworker Spotlight.

Fri May 26
Thoughtworker Spotlight: Jagbir Lehl Singh
Some may know him as Canada’s Head of Delivery, but Jagbir Lehl Singh is also a writer (check out some of his articles!), a foodie and a runner. His team would add aspiring rapper to the many hats he wears – you’ll have to join the team to see why! As a builder of high performance teams, he is laser-focused on driving his teams to deliver impact to clients by achieving their business goals. When it comes to scaling agility in organizations and creating structures where teams thrive, Jagbir uses his 18+ years of experience to support the growth of Thoughtworkers, developing them into leaders through his mentorship. If he’s not exploring Toronto’s latest gems for unique cuisine and beverages, you can find him outdoors, taking long weekend walks with his family. As a continuous learner who enjoys staying on his toes, can you guess what his favourite product is? Hint: It has been a constant companion of his for the last five years.