Building a tech startup is never a straight line, especially when trying to disrupt an entire industry. This is particularly true for tech startups in Toronto, where innovation meets fierce competition.
On a recent episode of Tenacity with Sonia C, I sat down with Anthony Tulai, Founder and CEO of Hopp Dating, a Toronto-based app that’s shaking up the world of online dating by putting real-life connections first.
As someone who’s spent years in the tech startup space in Toronto, I’m always inspired when I meet founders like Anthony who aren’t just creating another app—they’re solving real, painful problems with innovative technology.
In today’s crowded dating app market, Hopp stands out because it’s designed to get users off the app and back into real-world experiences.
Let’s break down some of the key lessons from our conversation.
Solving Real Problems, Not Just Building Apps
One of the first things that struck me about Anthony’s journey was how he applied a proper problem-solving mindset to building Hopp.
Coming from a background in Nanotechnology Engineering at the University of Waterloo, Anthony didn’t just wake up one day and decide to build a dating app. He lived the problem. He (and his friends) experienced the frustration of endless swiping, dead-end conversations, and wasted time on traditional apps and realized nobody was fixing it.
As a tech founder, I believe the best startups don’t just chase trends. They solve real problems. Hopp does just that by eliminating in-app chatting and encouraging real-world meetups instead.
If you’re building a tech startup in Toronto or elsewhere, start here: solve a problem that matters.
Startup Founders: It’s Execution, Not Just the Idea, That Matters
During our conversation, Anthony opened up about his early mistakes with Hopp. Like many first-time founders, he initially treated the app as a side project, coding first and validating later.
The big lesson here:
You can’t just build something cool and expect users to come.
You must validate, test, listen, and build the right product.
When he realized the first version wasn’t gaining traction, Anthony didn’t give up. He rebranded, partnered with a designer, conducted user interviews, and rebuilt Hopp from the ground up. Every tech founder needs to be ready for this pivot.
🔹 Start small, listen harder, pivot faster.
🔹 Execution is everything.
In my experience of scaling companies, I’ve repeatedly seen that ideas are easy, and execution is the differentiator.
Scaling a Tech Startup: Patience, Strategy, and Smart Growth
Another highlight of our conversation was how Anthony is growing Hopp:
Not with a “blast it everywhere” approach but by building city by city, starting with Toronto.
I often emphasize this when coaching startup founders: smart, localized growth beats unsustainable blitz scaling. In tech startups, product-market fit always comes before scaling.
By focusing on local adoption, building real-world user feedback, and fostering genuine growth, Hopp is setting a strong foundation for long-term success. If you’re building your tech startup in Toronto, ask yourself:
➡️ Are you trying to scale too fast without real traction?
➡️ Are you learning from your early adopters first?
Safety and User Trust: Why UX Matters More Than You Think
One of the fascinating parts of our discussion was user behaviour. When asked what made users feel safest on a dating app, Anthony shared something unexpected:
A clean, professional-looking app builds user trust more than anything else.
It’s not just the technology working in the background. It’s the perception of professionalism and safety that matters.
That was a big takeaway and something every founder needs to understand:
🔹 User trust starts with great design.
🔹 Your UX is your brand.
In tech startups, especially those operating in sensitive spaces like dating, security measures are critical, but so is the emotional experience your platform creates.
Lessons for Tech Founders from Anthony Tulai’s Startup Journey
Here are my key takeaways for all startup founders, based on Anthony’s journey with Hopp:
✅ Start with a real problem. It’s not an idea, a real, lived pain point.
✅ Validate before you build. Talk to users, even if it’s uncomfortable.
✅ Expect to pivot. If your first version flops, it’s good feedback, not failure.
✅ Focus on user trust. UX matters. How your app feels is just as important as how it works.
✅ Scale strategically. Build deep roots before you try to grow wide.
If you take these lessons to heart, you’ll be miles ahead of most founders who think “building an app” is enough. It’s not. Building an honest, impactful company requires tenacity, adaptability, and relentless focus on the user.
Final Thoughts: Reinventing Tech Startups in Toronto
Through Tenacity with Sonia C, I aim to share conversations that help founders, not just hype success stories. Anthony’s journey is a real-world example of how to build smarter, pivot faster, and put people first, lessons every tech startup founder needs to hear.
Whether you’re launching a new dating app, a SaaS company, or the next big thing in AI, the same rules apply:
🔹 Solve a real problem.
🔹 Build for humans.
🔹 Stay resilient.
I’m proud to use my platform to support the next generation of tech innovators. Toronto deserves to be known for startups and startups that last.
🎧 Listen to the full episode here
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By Sonia Couto | Startup Mentor | Founder | Speaker | Host of Tenacity with Sonia C
