Black Entrepreneur of the Year 2024

1. Your thoughts on winning the CanadianSME National Business Award

Receiving this honour is humbling and deeply affirming. It celebrates far more than an individual milestone—it recognizes the collective ingenuity of our binational team, the trust of our clients, and the vibrant ecosystem of Black innovators driving Canadian business forward. The award reinforces my belief that when talent is met with opportunity and inclusive leadership, extraordinary outcomes follow.

2. A special message or advice to small business owners

Stay relentlessly close to your customers’ pain points and let those insights guide every decision. Resources may be limited, but curiosity, discipline, and a bias for action cost nothing and compound quickly. Surround yourself with people who challenge your thinking, measure what matters, and don’t be afraid to pivot when the data—or your gut—says the market has moved. Consistency beats perfect timing, and progress beats perfection every day.

Lamar Falconer

CEO & Co-Founder of AltoLeap Inc.

Lamar Falconer is co-founder and CEO of AltoLeap Inc., a Canadian software development firm specializing in cloud-native enterprise solutions. Since 2012, AltoLeap has powered over $100 million in annual revenue for clients across manufacturing, transportation, and service sectors. With an engineering background and MBA, Lamar combines strong technical expertise with strategic business leadership. Lamar also mentors emerging software engineers throughout Canada and the Caribbean.

CanadianSME

With an aim to contribute to the development of Canada’s Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s), Cmarketing Inc is a potential marketing agency and a boutique business management company progressing rapidly in its scope. By acknowledging a firm reliance of the Canadian economy over its SMEs, the agency has resolved to launch a magazine, the pure focus of which will be the furtherance of Canadian SMEs, and to assist their progress with the scheduled token of enlightenment via the magazine’s pertinent content.

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