Tech + Science

Entrepreneur of the Year 2024: Clariti co-founders Cyrus Symoom and Jake Dancyger are changing the way people interact with governments

Clariti has grown from 20 to 120 employees.

By Nathan Caddell /

THE KICKOFF: Cyrus Symoom and Jake Dancyger became friends while studying at Queen’s University, and bonded further during an exchange trip in Singapore. They went their separate ways after school, with Symoom going into finance and Dancyger getting exposure in the tech startup world. But the desire to bring their talents together in a joint venture never subsided.

“Through our network, we got introduced to the idea of, rather than building something from the ground up, buying a product you really believe in and scaling it,” says Symoom. “That resonated with us because there are so many businesses out there that haven’t figured out how to bring a product to market.”

ACTION PLAN: The pair, who are both from Ontario originally, searched across North America looking for businesses that fit their bill. Eventually, they found BasicGov, a small B.C. company that was digitizing government permitting processes like driver’s licence renewals.

“It was a good team with a great product, but the investors weren’t super supportive, and they didn’t have the growth capital or a vision for where they wanted the product to go,” says Symoom. “For Jake and I, we just thought, ‘Oh my god, if we can change the way citizens are working with governments and we can automate one of the most painful processes to deal with, that seems impactful.’”

They raised money from a group of investors, bought the company in 2020 and renamed it Clariti.

CLOSING STATEMENT: Clariti, a remote-first company that calls Vancouver home, had about 20 employees and US$4 million in annual revenue when Symoom and Dancyger purchased it. Today, the company has some 120 staff and works with around 200 governments across North America, including the City of Phoenix and the City of Los Angeles. Clariti will end 2024 at close to US$18 million in revenue.

Q+A

What’s the best leadership advice you’ve ever received?

JD: Do hard things with people you love and that will get you through anything. 

CS: Take calculated risks.