OUR MISSION
At Hardbacon, we are on a mission to help Canadians make better financial decisions and in turn bring home the bacon to lead wealthier and more financially secure lives. We provide the tools, information, and insight everyone needs to navigate their finances with confidence and ease.
We believe in helping everyone gain access to the right financial information at the right time.
By bringing together the tools people need to plan, budget, invest, and save, in one smart application, we are giving everyone the power to take control of their personal finances today for a more secure, more free and wealthier tomorrow.
At Hardbacon, we are on a mission to help Canadians make better financial decisions and in turn bring home the bacon to lead wealthier and more financially secure lives. We provide the tools, information, and insight everyone needs to navigate their finances with confidence and ease.
We believe in helping everyone gain access to the right financial information at the right time.
By bringing together the tools people need to plan, budget, invest, and save, in one smart application, we are giving everyone the power to take control of their personal finances today for a more secure, more free and wealthier tomorrow.
OUR TECHNOLOGY
Hardbacon is a financial technology company with an application at the heart of its mission. Hardbacon connects to your bank accounts, credit cards, and investment accounts, allowing you to gain a complete picture of your finances.
It works as a planning app where you can add financial goals and turn your ambitions into realities; as a budgeting app that allows you to track how and where you spend your money; as an investment tracking app, that provides premium financial data on mutual funds, ETFs and stocks, portfolio analysis, and stock market alerts; and finally as a savings app with special comparison tools for financial products.
Our comparison tools help people save on recurring services, from insurance to online brokers, including cell phone plans and car loans. As users sync their accounts with Hardbacon for budgeting and investment tracking, we can easily help identify the best and most affordable products.
OUR TECHNOLOGY
Hardbacon is a financial technology company with an application at the heart of its mission. Hardbacon connects to your bank accounts, credit cards, and investment accounts, allowing you to gain a complete picture of your finances.
It works as a planning app where you can add financial goals and turn your ambitions into realities; as a budgeting app that allows you to track how and where you spend your money; as an investment tracking app, that provides premium financial data on mutual funds, ETFs and stocks, portfolio analysis, and stock market alerts; and finally as a savings app with special comparison tools for financial products.
Our comparison tools help people save on recurring services, from insurance to online brokers, including cell phone plans and car loans. As users sync their accounts with Hardbacon for budgeting and investment tracking, we can easily help identify the best and most affordable products.
OUR STORY
Hardbacon was co-founded in 2017 by current CEO Julien Brault as an app for retail investors and transformed into an app for all Canadians to take control of their personal finances.
In 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Hardbacon worked with passion to help Canadians face the economic downturn by becoming a free app, and releasing planning and budgeting features, as well as financial product comparison tools.
And so, the company developed an application that combines planning, budgeting and portfolio management features. It also launched financial product comparison tools in 7 verticals, signing deals with major Canadian banks, and again helping hundreds of thousands of Canadians make better financial decisions.
More than 100,000 monthly active users later, Hardbacon is proudly helping Canadians on the road to financial independence.
Today, Hardbacon is constantly improving its web and mobile app offering and is working on new tools to further help Canadians, including an AI based stocks rating system, the addition of credit scores, as well as the introduction of a web version of the Hardbacon app, expected to launch in January 2022.
Our growing team continues to be dedicated to our mission and aim to provide professional and trustworthy information with passion. As we continue to grow our company, our objective will remain the same: to help Canadians make better financial decisions and in turn bring home the bacon.
OUR STORY
Hardbacon was co-founded in 2017 by current CEO Julien Brault as an app for retail investors and transformed into an app for all Canadians to take control of their personal finances.
In 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Hardbacon worked with passion to help Canadians face the economic downturn by becoming a free app, and releasing planning and budgeting features, as well as financial product comparison tools.
And so, the company developed an application that combines planning, budgeting and portfolio management features. It also launched financial product comparison tools in 7 verticals, signing deals with major Canadian banks, and again helping hundreds of thousands of Canadians make better financial decisions.
More than 100,000 monthly active users later, Hardbacon is proudly helping Canadians on the road to financial independence.
Today, Hardbacon is constantly improving its web and mobile app offering and is working on new tools to further help Canadians, including an AI based stocks rating system, the addition of credit scores, as well as the introduction of a web version of the Hardbacon app, expected to launch in January 2022.
Our growing team continues to be dedicated to our mission and aim to provide professional and trustworthy information with passion. As we continue to grow our company, our objective will remain the same: to help Canadians make better financial decisions and in turn bring home the bacon.
OUR VALUES
The Hardbacon vision is rooted in a future where our financial system is democratized so that anyone, regardless of their level of wealth, can take full advantage of existing financial tools to make their dreams come true.
Through our experience in fintech and dedication to financial literacy, we are proud to provide trusted tools to our clients, while implementing new standards for the entire industry to uphold.
Transparency
As a team, we value transparent relationships meaning a commitment to honesty, trust, and making information accessible to all. As a company, we take this value one step further by aiming to maintain relationships of transparency not only within our team, but also with our users. We’re dedicated to being open about what we do and how we do it, and truly believe it is the best and only way of doing business.
Autonomy
As an employer with the goal to help Canadians make better financial decisions, we not only provide tools, but educational resources to have a lasting impact on your financial independence. We take responsibility in guiding our users towards a more autonomous future where they can have complete control over their finances. Our business model is based on users' needs being met at every level and that includes providing independence for financial success.
Freedom of expression
We see the value of freedom of expression and, at Hardbacon, it acts as a foundation. Just as we value your access to the best financial information, we’re dedicated to cultivating a safe place where everyone is encouraged to share opinions and information without fear of censorship.
MEET OUR TEAM
Julien Brault
CEO
As the CEO of Hardbacon, Julien aims to guide his team with collaborative leadership. He co-founded Hardbacon to help Canadians make better investment decisions and has since raised over two million dollars and landed strategic partnerships with financial institutions all over the country. Before launching Hardbacon, Julien shared his passion for finance and technology as a business reporter for Les Affaires. He also served as Director of Growth for a fintech investment fund.
Fun Fact: Julien started his career as a book publisher and is the author of the book Robert Bourassa.
Ivan Lagacé
Financial Data Specialist
A Financial Data Specialist, Ivan joined Hardbacon with a wealth of knowledge to share. Before joining the team, he had a 15-year career dedicated to developing and analyzing software for simulating complex systems in the aerospace, automotive and other industries. Next, he embarked on a sales and marketing career for software and hardware technology companies. Ivan considers Hardbacon as his third career. After completing a Master's Degree in Mathematical and Computational Finance, he is dedicated to developing financial software applications.
Fun fact: Ivan is behind the cutting-edge portfolio analysis algorithm at Hardbacon.
Nicolas Raynaud
Chief Technology Officer
Our Director of Technology, Nicolas, joined the team with over 10 years of experience as an expert developer and software architect, notably in the financial services industry at Crédit Agricole. Prior to joining the team, he was a Software Architect and Senior Developer at OPT New Caledonia, following a similar stint at CAFAT. He is passionate about solving complex software problems as well as the impact of his work on the lives of end users.
Fun fact: A globetrotter, his work has brought him all over the world. He is also a strong believer in Software Craftsmanship.
Erick Martz
Head of Growth
Erick is the Head of Growth at Hardbacon, where he brings more than 20 years of studies and professional experiences in website creation, web marketing and IT project management to the team. He has collaborated with several renowned communication agencies, both in Quebec and international. In 2016, he launched his own branding an online marketing agency dubbed Agence Web where he puts his knowledge to work in order to perfect organic SEO techniques.
Fun Fact: Erick is the founder of the Facebook group Mini Maisons Quebec, which boasts over 60,000 members.
Frédéric Roy
Monetization Director
A business development and sales specialist, Frédéric joined Hardbacon as Director of Monetization, after spending nine years in the world of specialized media for Canadian financial service professionals. By night, he continues to share his knowledge of finance as a columnist for Planète Business. His background in Political Science, his expertise in communication and his knowledge of the financial world make him the expert to talk to about your projects!
Fun fact: Frédéric loves to put pen to paper to support good causes. He previously collaborated with the Fondation du cancer du sein du Quebec and la Fondation de l’hôpital général de Montreal.
Charles L'Heureux
SEO Director
Charles joined Hardbacon as a SEO Specialist where he assists on all things digital marketing. He brings over five years of SEO and blogging experience where he contributed to brands and agencies including HustleLifeCo (personal blog), Globalia, and PUBinteractive. He holds a DEC in Business Management, as well as a BA in Marketing and has obtained several reputable certifications from Google and Hubspot academy.
Fun Fact: Charles is a longtime scout. He says his experience of the outdoors as a scout has shaped who is today. He continues to be a fan of the outdoors and camping.
Simon Girard
Social Media Specialist
Simon heads all social media at Hardbacon. While he works, he is completing his Bachelor degree in Economics. Simon also studied Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management at Champlain College, where he acquired a great deal of business knowledge. He is passionate about entrepreneurship and is eager to learn everything about start-up life with the hopes to one day start his own business.
Fun Fact: Simon has dabbled in the world of business as a franchise owner where he managed multiple employees and generated a turnover of $35,000.
Jun Chen
Software engineer
Fresh out of earning his Masters in Computer Science, Jun Chen joined Hardbacon as a Software Engineer. Before joining the company, Jun gained experience in front-end development at Gameloft on the music trivia game SongPop 3. He was equally part of the front-end team at RightCapital, in China. As a Software Engineer, his focus is on the front-end of both mobile and web apps where he is passionate about delivering high-quality code.
Fun Fact: Jun obtained his Bachelor's degree in computer science at the Sichuan Agricultural University in China.
Stefani Balinsky
Editor in Chief
Stefani Balinsky is the Editor in Chief at Hardbacon. She has been writing professionally since her days at university and her summer internship at the Just for Laughs Festival. She has multiple degrees from McGill University and her PMP from the Project Management Institute. She loves data and research as much as she loves a good story. She has held marketing positions in publishing, health, and fintech companies. She also has an entrepreneurial mindset that feeds her curiosity.
Fun Fact : Stefani adores going to concerts. She’s seen Bruce Springsteen in Canada, the USA and Europe.
Louis Angot
Journalist
Louis Angot is a French Journalist at Hardbacon where he is in charge of writing to inform readers of the best practices in personal finance. After graduating from Concordia University with a degree in journalism and art history, he studied fashion marketing and journalism in Paris for two years. An ardent writer, he has written for several media, including Carenews, a company specialized in social and solidarity economy.
Fun fact: Louis is passionate about architecture and urbanism and enjoys walking around Montreal to photograph the city's buildings.
Heidi Unrau
Journalist
Heidi Unrau is a Journalist at Hardbacon. She studied Economics at the University of Winnipeg, where she fell in love with all-things-finance. At 25, she got her first bank job as an entry-level teller. She moved up the ranks to Credit Analyst, Loans Officer, and now a Personal Finance Writer. In her spare time, you'll find her hiding in the car listening to Freakonomics podcasts, or binge-watching financial crime documentaries with a pint of Häagen-Dazs. When she's not chasing after her two little boys, she's in the hot tub or arguing with her husband over which cash back card to use for date night. She’s addicted to coffee, crypto, and obsessively checking her credit score on Borrowell.
Fun Fact: Heidi has lived in five different provinces across Canada, loves her free Tangerine bank account, and will never cut back on Starbucks. Like ever.
Stéphane Cabrol
Business Operations Manager
Stéphane, the Head of Business Operations, first invested in the Hardbacon project during the late 2020 funding round. Following an interview with another Montreal start-up, he was referred to Julien Brault for a consulting assignment in finance and accounting. Having completed a bachelor's degree in business administration in 2015 and with over ten years of experience in accounting, most of his career has been spent in the accounting, event and public services sector in Guadeloupe, France, and Canada. Following the creation of his own business in 2017 (OuiSnap Canada), his taste for entrepreneurship has allowed him to gain new skills in business development and management.
Fun Fact: His interest now turns to financial management and relations with the various partners at Hardbacon.