J’can Canadian wins entrepreneurship award in technology industry
TORONTO:
ANDRE SMITH, founder and CEO of Flip Academy, is the 2024 winner of the BMO Black Entrepreneur of the Year, Technology Industry award, which will be presented at the Obsidi Awards, an initiative of the Black Professionals in Tech Network (BPTN), later in June.
Described as someone who “revolutionises financial literacy for kids via a digital platform blending animation and gamification,” Smith, 34, says the award is an important validation of the incredible work that his company has been doing in the community helping kids and parents to learn about money management.
“I feel like it’s a validation of our bigger purpose which is to help kids to save, invest, and break generational cycles,” said Smith who immigrated to Canada in 2011 at 21 and graduated in 2015 from York University with an honours degree in accounting.
Flip & Floss, the name of his company, is an acronym for Financial Literacy and Investor Program and Future Leaders Obtaining Sufficient Skills.“Flip Academy is the first platform in Canada that uses a simulated banking experience, animation and gamification to teach kids about money management,” notes an online description.
The company is committed to helping at l east one million kids to save, invest and break generational cycles. The award celebrates black entrepreneurs in tech who have turned their startups into success stories. “It’s for the visionaries who see possibilities where others see obstacles and build teams that reflect the excellence of black innovation in technology,” reads the citation.
Individuals nominated must lead a tech business with significant innovation and market impact, achieve notable business growth and financial performance, serve as an inspirational figure for black entrepreneurs in tech, exhibit resilience and adaptability in the face of business challenges, and embody the BMO values of integrity, empathy, diversity, and responsibility in their entrepreneurial journey.
Obsidi is a networking platform for black professionals to build relationships with a strong peer community and level up their careers. It helps to bridge the network gap in the tech industry by connecting companies with qualified black tech and business professionals.
INSPIRATIONAL IMMIGRANTS
Smith established Flip & Floss in 2020, noting that he did so because of his own experience growing up relatively poor in Jamaica, and coming to Canada without much knowledge of money management.
He recalls a particularly stressful period in his life of having accrued over $50,000 in bad debt. In 2016, a conversation with a coworker on money management, investing, and securing his kids’ financial future inspired Smith to think about the same for his own children. Between 2016 and 2018, he invested in learning and taught himself how to buy stocks, invest in real estate, and as a result became an investor in real estate, and stocks. Having gained the knowledge about how money works, he built a financial learning App.
Initially, Smith volunteered and taught parents and children throughout the Greater Toronto Area about financial literacy and, in 2020, he received the Canadian Broadcasting Commission (CBC) Toronto Community Champion Award for his work – this propelled him further.
“It started as a workshop business and then a year ago is when we pivoted to a fintech company,” says Smith who in 2021 was one of six York University alumni recognised among 75 finalists for Canadian Immigrant magazine’s Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards. The Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards is a people’s choice awards programme that recognises inspirational immigrants who have made a positive impact on their communities since arriving in Canada.
Born and raised in Spanish Town, Jamaica, Smith grew up with his maternal grandmother, Edna Elaine Thomas, and attended Eltham High School.
As he had been failing at accounting in school, his teacher, Marlene Newman, had a “stern conversation” with him one day. This resulted in her mentoring him, and he was able to graduate with a distinction (grade one) in accounting. “She continued to be a beacon of support after that,” said Smith.
BREAKING GENERATIONAL CYCLES
Describing his grandmother as someone who always helped people, Smith said that attribute has stayed with him. “I’ve just been more passionate about helping people and how I can make people’s lives better.”
This, he says is at the core of what his company is building and the reason they are so focused on breaking generational cycles and helping the average child to have enough money for university or to buy their first property – “to make sure that wealth is transferred from one generation to the next.”
Smith is passing on Thomas’ lessons of gratitude and being charitable to his five year-old son and oneyear-old daughter. Having grown up without a father in his life, he is making sure that he is a present and active father and husband in the lives of his family.
His own experience of financial challenges in school led him to start a scholarship programme at Eltham High School for students from low-income families who demonstrate strong leadership skills.
In 2020, he authored and published his first book titled, Living Purposefully Beyond the Walls of the Ghetto, a book about family, hardship, failure, success, victory and the power of a positive mindset. Smith said he wrote it to tell the story of his grandmother and of losing a friend to gun violence in Toronto, among other things.
Smith is a volunteer with the Mentorship Academy for young Jamaicans – the brainchild of a Global Jamaica Diaspora Council member Dr Sandra Colly Durand. He will be attending the 10th Biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference in Montego Bay, June 16 to 19, where he will be a panellist on youth creativity and innovation. He will be back in Toronto to attend the Obsidi Awards on June 20. The ebullient entrepreneur also volunteers as a mentor for youth in Jamaica with YESS Global which is committed to educating and transforming the lives of youth globally.