“When you shift to solving a problem, it doesn’t matter if you have to change or pivot — it becomes about the best ideas and actions.”
We’re thrilled to welcome Brian Heath, a serial entrepreneur who founded and sold multiple companies, and most recently led commercial trucking’s largest connected vehicle platform, Drivewyze, as our newest Senior Advisor & Entrepreneur in Residence.
After studying economics at the University of Alberta, Brian started his career in banking and investment management, expecting to spend his career in finance. But a rare bankruptcy in Canada’s banking industry changed all that. When the bank started to fail, sending the stock tumbling and wiping out employees’ savings, he decided to change directions, rely on himself instead, and start his own business.
That was the beginning of a prolific chapter as an entrepreneur. Driven to solve problems and a technophile at heart (now holding over a dozen U.S. patents), Brian has worked in multiple industries, but found his calling in developing new technologies. With Intelligent Imaging Systems, he helped develop integrated sensor systems to help law enforcement detect unsafe trucks. The mission to eliminate truck crashes grew, along with the company, which went on to invent multiple IoT devices and have its intelligent transportation system technologies deployed across North America.
The experience led him to create Drivewyze, an enterprise SaaS business that offered safety and efficiency solutions to the commercial trucking industry. Drivewyze services included North America’s largest weigh station bypass program and other safety solutions like in-cab driver safety coaching. By the time he sold the business in 2024, Drivewyze had become a successful Canadian technology growth story. With software integrated into millions of trucks and operations in 47 U.S. states and 4 Provinces, Drivewyze became the largest connected vehicle platform in North America for commercial trucking.
At Inovia, one of his goals is to advance a national compute and energy strategy that champions Canadian portfolio companies and reinforces Canada’s economic sovereignty. We sat down with him to discuss the focus on customers, the dangers of falling in love with your product, and the pickleball court he once built for employees.
TELL US SOMETHING MOST PEOPLE MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT YOU
I was born in Lima, Peru. My mother is Peruvian, and my father was British. I immigrated to Canada at the age of six. So, I’m a huge proponent of immigration and the value of immigrants in the innovation economy. In each of the businesses I’ve built, we’ve benefited from incredible diversity in our workforce, much of which has come from immigrants.
CAN YOU SHARE ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES OR FAILURES THAT YOU LEARNED FROM?
It happened when I was so focused on the product we were making that I didn’t fully appreciate the friction it might face before the market could use it.
At the start of Drivewyze, we invented a great technology and proved it worked. But we required government approval in every state and provincial jurisdiction. Further, the larger trucking fleets needed our technology integrated into their existing in-vehicle hardware. Solving these product–market fit challenges took more time than expected, stressed our finances, and slowed early growth.
You need to know your market well enough to successfully mitigate those friction risks. We leaned into government relations and pivoted from a direct-to-driver sales focus to an indirect go-to-market strategy through established strategic resellers. Regardless of the type of friction points a startup faces, founders and leaders must give themselves enough time and financial runway to solve product–market fit. It’s a careful balance of aggressive execution and conservative financial planning.
WHAT’S THE BEST PIECE OF ADVICE YOU RECEIVED IN YOUR CAREER?
“Fall in love with the problem, not the solution.”
That’s connected to my previous answer. Early on, you may focus too much on what you’re building. You’re so proud of your product that you might even get protective of it. But when you shift to solving a problem, it doesn’t matter if you have to change or pivot — it becomes about the best ideas and actions. Accepting this will save you a lot of unnecessary work in the long run and unlock growth earlier.
WHAT’S A QUESTION YOU WISH PEOPLE ASKED YOU MORE OFTEN?
Surprisingly few people ask how a decision is going to impact the customer.
We’re constantly trying to solve technical, financial, and operational problems as we build companies. Someone may, for example, say, “If we just go ahead and put this telephone tree in place, collapse service-type specialization, and centralize telephone operators, we’ll save a lot of money.” They forget to consider how that affects the customer experience. It’s a question you need to ask yourself at every juncture.
WHAT ENERGIZES YOU? HOW DO YOU TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF?
I love the outdoors. I’m an active person; it keeps me healthy and helps me keep up with our teenage boys. That’s a lot of motivation right there!
Health is important to me, and that value shows up in business, too. In the early days, we always made time for the team to go out and be active. Of course, there was always a bit of competition — whether it was soccer or ping pong. As we grew into a larger company, we continued the tradition and even built a gym for basketball and pickleball.
IN YOUR ROLE AT INOVIA, WHAT QUESTIONS SHOULD FOUNDERS ASK YOU?
I’m looking forward to collaborating with founders on the adoption and use of AI by startups and growth-stage companies. It ties to the overall competitiveness of our companies and is indelibly linked to the success of the larger economy. Ask me anything about the adoption and integration of those tools, and I’ll share what I’ve learned from my own experiences and from other companies.
In general, I have broad experience in founding and scaling technology companies — from product concept through commercialization and growth. It’s a deep and varied set of lessons that I’m happy to share with other CEOs as they work to find their own formula for success. Just share your challenges — I may have experience directly relevant to your situation.