Finding the right reliable technology partner for growing companies can be incredibly challenging. Founders have to navigate the technical landscape while delivering value to the customers. Islands is a Toronto-based startup technology partner that has been helping companies scale their technology. Islands also operates a nimble venture studio, specializing in AI and B2B SaaS. The company is led by Ali El-Shayeb, who previously achieved a successful exit in the HR tech space. Islands has experienced tremendous traction in the past six months. They scaled from 5 to 40 engineers with 4x YoY revenue growth in 2024. We caught up with the team to discuss the developments.
What was the inspiration behind Islands?
The inspiration for Islands stemmed from our firsthand experiences as founders. After successfully building and selling our first venture, nugget.ai, we recognized the many challenges faced by entrepreneurs in the tech space, in particular, building their product without the ideal and necessary expertise and resources required. Even when you have the resources, there are many challenges including:
– communication between technical teams and founders
– difficulties in attracting and retaining top tech talent with the speed required by the business
– scope creep leading to delays and increased costs
– inadequate consideration of long-term scalability.
We believe there’s a better way than letting founders try to figure it out all by themselves and we’ve built Islands to do that.
You previously had a successful exit in HR tech space. What was that experience like?
Building and selling Nugget.ai was a journey filled with challenges and triumphs, as is typical for any startup endeavour. Despite the initial hurdles of deciphering market needs and assembling the right team, we persevered through the uncertainties, even amidst the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The pandemic presented a unique set of challenges, but it also catalyzed our pivot towards a more impactful direction. We adapted our AI-powered platform to address the pressing needs of job seekers, enhancing startup matching capabilities. This strategic pivot proved highly successful, with dozens of clients onboarded and over 10,000 candidates benefiting from our solution within just four months.
As our success gained traction, we garnered interest from venture capitalists in both Canada and the US.
Ultimately, we made the decision to sell the company in 2021. In retrospect, I look back on the journey with a sense of fulfillment and gratitude for the experiences and lessons learned.
What are some way you partner with founder to scale their tech stack?
At Islands, we offer two key approaches:
Turnkey Project Partnership: We act as a fractional CTO, handling all aspects of product development from initial requirements to launch and beyond, ensuring speedy and high-quality results.
Agile Staff Augmentation: We provide elite engineers and designers to seamlessly integrate with the client’s team, enabling flexible scaling to accelerate development efforts and meet market demands.
What are the biggest mistakes when it comes to MVP?
Two mistakes we see all the time are:
Keep perfecting the MVP ahead of launch: It’s certain that your MVP will be different than your final product but it’s also imperative that Founders define clear objectives to ensure time delivery to allow feedback from the market. If you keep changing and delaying your go-to-market, you are likely making a mistake.
Not thinking long-term about your tech choice: Focusing solely on short-term goals without considering scalability and long-term sustainability can result in technical debt and future challenges. It’s crucial to design the MVP with scalability in mind, ensuring it can evolve seamlessly as the product grows and adapts to changing market needs.
We believe Founders should prioritize agility and adaptability to MVP development. By emphasizing fast iteration and continuous adaptation to achieve product-market fit, our clients avoid these common pitfalls.
What trends do you see in your space?
Founders, now more than ever, must embrace AI as an essential element of their product strategy. AI not only enhances product capabilities but also reshapes competition dynamics. By integrating AI technologies like large language processing, computer vision and machine learning, founders can offer more intelligent and competitive solutions. Embracing AI allows startups to disrupt traditional industries and level the playing field against incumbents.
Looking ahead, my advice to founders is to stay ahead of the curve by exploring AI-driven opportunities. Consider launching products that leverage AI to deliver enhanced value propositions. Additionally, explore how AI is delivering value to users, driving innovation, and expanding into new markets. Lastly, founders should prioritize recruiting top talent with expertise in AI and related fields to fuel your company’s growth and success in the ever-evolving tech landscape.
What’s next with Islands?
Islands is in expansion mode, gearing up for multiple venture studio product launches. Among our highly anticipated offerings is a robust time and performance tracking application tailored for agencies, professional services, and remote teams. Additionally, we’re launching an AI Corporate Venture Studio aimed at assisting enterprises in optimizing their operations with AI-driven solutions.
As we propel forward, we’re focused on scaling our team at Islands. We’re actively seeking top talent, including HR Generalists, Business Development Reps, and Software Engineers. These individuals will play a pivotal role in defining the future of technology for forward-thinking companies, driving innovation, and shaping the tech landscape.
Where can people learn more?
Visit us here https://www.islandshq.xyz/ and on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/islandshq/
