Takara Small (she/her)

Takara Small is a Toronto-based technology journalist, entrepreneur and developer. She’s also the technology columnist for Metro Morning (Toronto’s top-rated morning radio show), host and producer of the Globe and Mail startup podcast ‘I’ll Go First’ as well as on-air tech expert for CBC and CTV. Her journalism work has been featured in news outlets around the world, which include the BBC, Toronto Star, Refinery29, Flare magazine, Mic and Fortune magazine. Meanwhile as a sought-after and renowned public speaker, she’s often invited to share her insights about entrepreneurship and innovation with international audiences at festivals, like Deloitte’s DisruptionByDesign summit, Collision conference, Elevate, CIX and Social Media Week.

As the founder of VentureKids Canada (a Toronto-based nonprofit) she and her team provide free coding classes, programming workshops, food and computer supplies to students living in the city’s underserved communities. The organization works in partnership with Toronto Community Housing Corporation (Canada’s largest public housing agency and second biggest in North America), Toronto Public Library (Canada’s largest public library system) and more to boost diversity in the city’s growing technology sector.