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Michael Katchen
Disrupt legacy industries and scale customer-first innovation with Michael Katchen, fintech entrepreneur and CEO keynote speaker. Michael works with organizations to embed innovation frameworks, identify overlooked market opportunities, and compete against established players. Named Canada's Top 40 Under 40 and Entrepreneur of the Year.
Michael Katchen built Wealthsimple to solve a problem he experienced firsthand: investing was too expensive, too complex, and too exclusionary for everyday people, especially younger Canadians. As founder and CEO of Wealthsimple, Katchen grew the platform to manage over $5 billion for more than 175,000 clients by eliminating high fees and account minimums that kept first-time investors out. He was named Entrepreneur of the Year at the Canadian Startup Awards and one of Canada's Top 40 Under 40. Katchen's approach to building Wealthsimple offers a blueprint for any organization looking to challenge entrenched industries. He prioritizes process over product, focusing on how teams identify problems, test solutions, and scale what works. His experience competing against Canada's biggest banks provides practical insight into how smaller, faster companies can win by designing around customer needs rather than institutional habits. Audiences leave Katchen's talks with a framework for embedding innovation into daily operations, not just quarterly offsites. They gain a clearer understanding of how to identify overlooked customer pain points and turn them into growth opportunities. They also learn how to build technology-driven businesses that still feel human and transparent to the people they serve. Book Michael Katchen to give your audience a proven, actionable approach to disrupting industries that resist change.
Katchen's track record scaling Wealthsimple to $5 billion by dismantling barriers in a regulated industry gives teams a practical model for competing against entrenched players. His focus on process over product translates directly into how organisations can identify overlooked customer friction and build around it systematically.
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frequently asked questions
Something we've not covered here?
Michael Katchen structures his talks around a framework drawn from his experience building Wealthsimple, walking audiences through how teams identify overlooked customer pain points, test solutions, and scale what works — using his direct competition against Canada's major banks as the primary case study.
Michael Katchen speaks on fintech entrepreneurship, accessible investing, innovation strategy, and building technology-driven businesses that compete against established institutions. He is founder and CEO of Wealthsimple, which he grew to manage over $5 billion for more than 175,000 clients by removing the fees and account minimums that excluded first-time investors.
No. PepTalk adds no booking fee, so you pay the speaker's fee and nothing beyond it. The service, from shortlist through to contracts and event-day logistics, is included. For repeat or multi-event bookings, PepTalk can agree preferential rates with your procurement team.
Share your event date, audience, format, objectives and budget, and PepTalk sends a hand-picked shortlist within 24 hours. Each suggestion comes with a profile, a fee and a recommendation on the strongest fit. Once you choose, PepTalk handles contracts, travel and logistics through to event day.
The typical fee range is the speaker's standard in-person fee in their home market, shown in their local currency. It moves with format, location, date and session length: virtual sessions and shorter slots usually cost less, while international travel and peak dates cost more. Send your brief to PepTalk and the team will confirm the exact fee in your currency.
Not all of them, and it makes no difference to your booking. PepTalk's network of 15,000+ speakers covers talent the team works with directly alongside speakers represented by agents and agencies worldwide. PepTalk approaches the speaker, negotiates the fee and handles contracting either way.
Three to six months ahead is comfortable for most events, and 12 months is better for large conferences, peak-season dates or one specific in-demand speaker. Shorter timelines are workable, and PepTalk regularly fills last-minute and replacement bookings within days. Availability is the constraint, so get in touch as soon as you have a date.
