Michele Romanow

Michele Romanow
Born (1985-06-12) 12 June 1985
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Occupation Entrepreneur

Michele Romanow (born June 12, 1985) is a Canadian tech entrepreneur, television personality, board director and venture capitalist. She co-founded SnapSaves,[1] which was acquired by Groupon in June 2014 and renamed Snap by Groupon. She co-founded Buytopia.ca, a Canadian Deal site that was #3 on Canada’s list of fastest growing companies. She is on the list of 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada[2] and was named as one of the Forbes Top 20 Most Disruptive “Millennials on a Mission”.[3] Romanow joined the cast of CBC’s Dragons' Den in Season 10.[4]

Personal life

Born in Calgary, Alberta, she attended Queen's University and graduated with Civil Engineering and MBA degrees. She was the sole winner of the highest tribute at Queen's, the Agnes Benidickson Tricolour Award, in 2007.[5] Michele is the daughter of Marvin Romanow, the former President & CEO of Nexen Inc.

Business

Romanow launched her first business, The Tea Room,[5] a zero consumer waste coffee shop, in 2006 while studying at Queen's University. Romanow then partnered with two colleagues from her engineering class, Anatoliy Melnichuk and Ryan Marien. Together, they founded Evandale Caviar, Buytopia.ca, and SnapSaves without raising any external capital. Romanow graduated and started Evandale Caviar, a vertically integrated fishery that distributed high end sturgeon caviar to luxury hotels and restaurants. She then became the Director of Strategy for Sears Canada. In 2011, Romanow started Buytopia.ca which, by 2013, had 2.5M subscribers and had provided over $100M in savings through deals for products, services, events, and travel, with merchants including brands like Cirque du Soleil, Porter Airlines, and Staples.[6] Buytopia also grew by acquiring six competitors.[7][8] Romanow started SnapSaves, a mobile couponing app that gives shoppers cash back when they buy certain items in the grocery store by partnering with consumer packaged goods companies. Groupon purchased SnapSaves in June 2014, relaunched in the U.S. as Snap by Groupon.[9]

Romanow is currently a director for Whistler Blackcomb (TSX: WB)[10] and Shad Valley International.[11]

Television

Romanow was announced as one of the new dragons on Season 10 of the Canadian reality television series Dragons' Den in 2015, alongside Joe Fresh founder Joe Mimran and Manjit Minhas of Minhas Breweries after the departure of Arlene Dickinson, David Chilton, and Vikram Vij.[4] The season 10 premiere is scheduled for broadcast on CBC television in the fall of 2015.

Romanow previously starred in Season 1 of Dragon’s Den NextGenDen, a Dragons’ Den series aimed at tech companies for entrepreneurs below 40.[12][13]

Awards

Romanow has been recognized with several honors and awards including:

References

  1. ↑ Isaac, Mike (October 2, 2014). "With New App, Groupon Goes After Grocery Deals". New York Times.
  2. 1 2 "Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100 – Current Winners". Women's Executive Network. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Top 20 Most Disruptive Millenials On a Mission – Michele Romanow". Forbes.com. Forbes.
  4. 1 2 Truman, Nancy (March 25, 2015). "Dragons' Den adds Snapsaves creator Michele Romanow, Minhas Breweries' founder Manjit Minhas". Financial Post. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  5. 1 2 Jemison, Lisa (April 5, 2007). "Tea Room Manager Receives Tricolour Award". Queen's Journal.
  6. ↑ Restauri, Denise. "Technology Is The Fastest Way For 20-Year-Olds To Get Rich". Forbes.com. Retrieved July 25, 2013.
  7. 1 2 Czikk, Joseph. "Toronto's Buytopia Named #3 on Hot Profit List + Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist". betakit.com.
  8. ↑ "How we acquired six companies in a year". The Globe and Mail. July 10, 2013.
  9. ↑ Lunden, Ingrid. "After Quietly Acquiring SnapSaves, Groupon Launches Snap, Paying You To Shop". techcrunch.com.
  10. ↑ "Whistler Blackcomb – Leadership & Governance". Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Shad Valley International". globalgiving.org.
  12. ↑ "CBC Targets Startups through new Dragons' Den Platform, Next Gen Den". techvibes.com.
  13. ↑ Yunusov, Elena. "The Next Gen Enters the Dragons' Den". betakit.com.
  14. ↑ "Profit Hot 50 – 2013".
  15. ↑ "Profit W100 Ranking 2013 #24 – Michele Romanow".
  16. ↑ Pearce, Tralee (January 10, 2014). "Meet the 28-year-old who's started three companies already". Chatelaine.
  17. ↑ "EY announces 2014 Ontario Entrepreneur Of The Year™ finalists today". Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  18. ↑ "EY announces Ontario Entrepreneur Of The Year 2013 finalists today". Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  19. ↑ "Canada's 100 Most Powerful Women". Financial Post.
  20. ↑ "2013 RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards Finalists".
  21. ↑ Shenker, Mira (November 22, 2013). "Toronto Board of Trade Recognizes Entrepreneurs". Profit Guide.
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