Ryan Holmes

Ryan Holmes – Life, Career, and Famous Quotes

Ryan Holmes (born December 30, 1974) is a Canadian entrepreneur, best known as the founder and CEO of Hootsuite. This article explores his early life, career path, achievements, philosophy, and memorable quotes.

Introduction

Ryan Holmes is a Canadian tech entrepreneur and innovator who co-founded one of the world’s leading social media management platforms, Hootsuite. Through his journey—from growing up off-grid in rural British Columbia to building a global tech business—Holmes embodies themes of creativity, perseverance, and vision. His public writing, mentorship efforts, and observations on business and technology make him a respected voice in the startup world.

Early Life and Family

Ryan Holmes was born on December 30, 1974, in Vernon, British Columbia, Canada.

He spent much of his childhood in a rural, off-grid setting, where his family lived on a small farm without conventional electricity.

As a young boy, Holmes showed early interest in computers and technology. In fifth grade, he won a district-wide programming contest; the prize was an Apple IIc, which he rewired to run off a car battery—an early sign of his ingenuity and resourcefulness.

He attended Okanagan College in the mid-1990s, studying business and computer science, but eventually dropped out to pursue entrepreneurial ventures.

Career and Achievements

Early Ventures

Holmes’s entrepreneurial instincts began in high school with a paintball field business, later expanding into an online paintball supply store.

He subsequently launched a pizza restaurant business, Growlies, in his hometown of Vernon. He sold a franchise of it and eventually exited the business to enter the tech sector.

Following that, Holmes taught himself web design and development, then co-founded Invoke Media, a digital services agency. It was within this agency that the idea for Hootsuite was born in 2008.

Building Hootsuite

In 2008, Holmes and his team at Invoke began developing a social media dashboard tool. By 2009, he raised a US$1.9 million seed/Series A funding round and spun Hootsuite off as an independent company.

In 2012, Hootsuite secured US$20 million in funding from OMERS Ventures.

By August 2013, it raised US$165 million in a Series B round—the largest ever at that time for a Canadian software company.

Under Holmes’s leadership, Hootsuite expanded globally, serving millions of users and becoming a major SaaS player in social media management.

Other Projects & Initiatives

Holmes is also the founder of League of Innovators, a program to mentor and support young Canadian entrepreneurs.

In 2016, Holmes co-launched Oristand, a low-cost cardboard standing desk/workstation concept.

In 2017, he published his first book, The 4 Billion Dollar Tweet, which explores social media’s potential and the monetization of online communication.

He continued innovation in 2020 with Kern.al, a startup platform idea.

Holmes is also a contributor to LinkedIn’s Influencer Program and frequently writes for business publications (Forbes, Inc., Fast Company).

Legacy and Influence

• Holmes is widely credited with helping put Vancouver and Canada’s tech ecosystem on the map, via Hootsuite’s success and his advocacy for homegrown innovation.

• He has received recognition such as an honorary doctorate from the University of British Columbia in 2018.

• He coined the term “Maple Syrup Mafia” to describe a virtuous cycle of Canadian tech entrepreneurs reinvesting in the community—similarly to how the PayPal Mafia operates in Silicon Valley.

• His public commentary, mentorship, and writing have influenced many entrepreneurs in Canada and beyond, pushing for more local support, risk-taking, and innovation culture.

Personality and Leadership Style

• Visionary & persistent: Holmes often speaks about transforming obstacles into opportunities—a mindset that guided him through early challenges.

• Practical & humble: He often emphasizes bootstrapping, doing the hard work, and building things that last rather than chasing hype.

• Mentor & community builder: Through League of Innovators and public writing, he invests in the next generation of creators and thinkers.

• Adaptable & experimental: His career arcs—from farming background to restaurants to tech—reflect an ability to pivot, learn independently, and apply skills across domains.

Famous Quotes of Ryan Holmes

Here are a selection of his most cited and meaningful quotes:

• “What drives me is the prospect of turning an obstacle into a business opportunity, and then growing that into something lasting and rewarding.”

• “You can run a sprint or you can run a marathon, but you can’t sprint a marathon.”

• “Everyone told me you can’t build a major tech company in Canada. There just aren’t enough investors or engineers or top-level managers. Each day, I’m driven to prove them wrong.”

• “Social media is the most disruptive form of communication humankind has seen since the last disruptive form of communications, email.”

• “Email is familiar. It’s comfortable. It’s easy to use. But it might just be the biggest killer of time and productivity in the office today.”

• “For everybody in their busy lives, you need to invest in sharpening your tools, and you need to invest in longevity.”

• “Early in my career, I was involved with engineer-led projects, where designers came in late in the game and were expected to put lipstick on an existing code base. This almost never works.”

• “Ultimately, I’d love to see a legacy company that has alumni that come out of it and go on to create other big things. A maple-syrup mafia, a HootSuite mafia.”

These quotes reflect his beliefs in long-term thinking, cultural change, productivity, and building generative tech ecosystems rather than quick wins.

Lessons from Ryan Holmes

1. Start small, think big
   Holmes’s beginnings—farm, paintball, pizza—remind us that many great ventures begin in humble places. What matters is the vision and execution.

2. Persistence matters more than perfection
   He often speaks of pushing through resistance, proving doubters wrong, and iterating over time.

3. Invest in legacy, not just exit
   Rather than building to sell, Holmes emphasizes creating lasting institutions, cultures, and mentorship chains.

4. Balance speed with endurance
   Business is not a sprint; sustainable growth requires pacing, resilience, and continuous tool sharpening.

5. Ecosystems multiply impact
   By mentoring and reinvesting in others (via “Maple Syrup Mafia”), one can amplify one’s own contributions through collective success.

6. Be willing to pivot and experiment
   Holmes shifted across industries and roles, showing that adaptability is a competitive advantage in fast-changing environments.

Conclusion

Ryan Holmes’s story is one of ingenuity, grit, and community-minded ambition. From rural beginnings to global tech leadership, he offers both a roadmap and a set of guiding principles for entrepreneurs. His emphasis on sustainable growth, mentorship, and ecosystem-building—rather than short-term hype—makes his voice especially relevant in today’s fast-moving startup landscape.