April is the Founder & CEO of Toast, a tech recruitment platform focused on increasing gender diversity in tech. Toast has helped women land roles and negotiate compensation, putting $25M+ into women’s hands. A former PwC, WestJet, and ATB leader with 15+ years across leadership, mentoring, and change management, she is building a hiring platform around equity, advocacy, and measurable career outcomes.
01
Cynicism is easy. Building something better is harder. The future doesn’t change because people complain about it, it changes because someone decides to build something different. Progress almost always starts with someone refusing to accept the status quo.
02
Starting a company is one of the most direct ways to turn ideas into reality. If you’re going to spend years building something, it should make the world better for someone else. Businesses can shape opportunity, culture, and who gets to participate in the economy.
03
Talent is everywhere, opportunity is not. Some of the most capable people are overlooked because they don’t fit traditional hiring patterns. When you build systems that see people properly, companies - and entire industries - get stronger.
One thing to take away
Don’t wait for permission to build something that should exist. Most meaningful companies start with someone noticing a problem, deciding the current way isn’t good enough, and doing the work to change it.
