Showing the Way Forward for New and Small Businesses in Montréal

The world of business seems to be changing much faster now than it has done in decades. While businesses managed to build with the rise of the internet and adjust to smartphone cravings, there’s now much more to wrangle from digital space and beyond.

With the digital space has come increased competition and a need to grab attention, the chance for consumers to buy cheaply from overseas wholesale providers, and on top of this, tariffs now cast an ominous shadow. Showing a nimble and local-focussed approach, these are the firms setting an example of how to deal with modern business.

Turning to the Customers

It’s not the case anymore that a great idea – usually in the entertainment space – requires its owner to schmooze up to venture capitalists. Instead, creatives can turn to the customers even before they’ve become customers.

This is the world of crowdfunding, and while some high-profile projects have failed to deliver, there’s a lot of faith in the online community for creative projects. In Montréal, we’re seeing this in action with Lethal Comics in Mile End.

In the face of the pencils down movement at the studios of the two biggest North American brands, Marvel and DC, Andy Belanger and his co-founder of Lethal Comics pivoted to crowdfunding. Now, the fans back the ideas that they want to see come to life, giving the creatives “unfiltered creativity” without company directives weighing on them.

Making Local Relationships to Expand

It can be very tempting to seek financing from major investors, particularly to the south, and getting that huge injection of cash to quickly move forward and expand as swiftly as possible. The increasingly competitive marketplace would suggest that this is the only way forward.

However, as shown by Montréal-based Sheertex Inc., or SRTX, there is a lot of value in building local relationships and appealing to provincial investment programs. In the five years since moving from Ontario to Montréal, Katherine Homuth brought in a new and local finance executive and tech sector guru to help forge local connections.

At the end of 2024, the innovative textile company – which makes unbreakable tights aimed at replacing nylon tights – won US$50 million in financing, with US$25 million of that coming by way of the government’s Investissement Québec. Now, Homuth and SRTX can breathe life back into Montréal’s garment industry.

Freebies to Build an Audience

For any relatively new business or sector, it’s important to earn foot traffic – digital or otherwise – to announce yourself to the customers. Online, competition has encouraged creative ways of doing this, even to the extent that offerings are made free to use. This is the case leaned on by the emerging local online casino sector.

In the guide explaining how to play free spins no deposit by Henri Ojala, several platforms have been verified as offering free spins on popular slots without the customer needing to make a deposit. This is, of course, in stark contrast to how these businesses operate on a pay-to-play basis.

Still, it’s a promotion that taps into the tried-and-trusted free samples angle. If the product is strong enough and you believe in it as a business, let people try it for free. Then, you earn brand appeal and allow customers to make good, informed decisions.