I was recently honored alongside Andrew Wilkinson as Distinguished Entrepreneurs of the Year by UVic’s Gustavson School of Business.
Being recognized for our work at Tiny, which has grown to own over 40 businesses including Letterboxd and AeroPress, is truly humbling.
Here are a few highlights from the article, but I highly recommend reading the full story here.
Table of Contents
The Recognition
“We are pleased to recognize Andrew Wilkinson and Chris Sparling as our 2025 DEYA recipients. They have created many opportunities for businesses to grow and thrive.”
Our Entrepreneurial Journey
Our partnership began at MetaLab in 2009.
“We started everything from productivity apps to skincare brands. Some worked, many didn’t. But each failure taught us something valuable about capital allocation.”
Building Tiny
“We realized we were doing it all wrong. Instead of starting new businesses from scratch, we could apply Berkshire Hathaway’s model to internet businesses.”
“Most companies get worse after acquisition. We built Tiny to be different—we buy profitable businesses and stay out of their way.”
Community Impact
“Andrew and Chris represent a new model of entrepreneurship. They’ve shown you can build a world-class company from Victoria.”
The award ceremony will take place on June 10 at the Victoria Conference Centre.