In an exclusive interview with CanadianSME Small Business Magazine, David Y. Smith, Founder & CEO of Elderberry.work, shares his transformative vision for solving talent challenges faced by Canadian SMEs. With decades of experience as a corporate executive, tech startup leader, and small business owner, David leverages his expertise to address the growing talent mismatch.
Elderberry.work connects SMEs with seasoned professionals aged 45+, offering a curated pipeline of knowledge workers with proven expertise. David emphasizes the strategic value of this talent, highlighting their wisdom, adaptability, and ability to drive multigenerational collaboration. By enabling SMEs to access top-tier insights and skills on-demand, Elderberry.work empowers businesses to innovate, scale, and achieve sustainable growth. Through his platform, David champions the untapped potential of experienced professionals, creating socioeconomic benefits and fostering a brighter future for Canadian SMEs.
David Y. Smith, an executive with large blue chip companies and a leader or advisor for 4 tech startups, in the USA & Canada. As VP/General Manager led the growth of a new division to $100 million in sales. He was part of a Northern California tech startup during the dot com boom, raising US$60 million. Small business owner, having started 4 businesses. Consulted for many small, medium, large organizations in North America & internationally, both for profit and non-profit social enterprises. Has brought 5 emerging technologies and trends from early adopters to the mainstream. A business social and environmental sustainability leader, with an undergraduate degree in environmental science and a MBA. He is part of the untapped talent pool he champions.
As a matchmaker, we make it easy for SMEs to get the experience they need. On-demand, self-serve, one stop convenience – all functions, seniorities, industries. Our lean, curated talent pipeline means quick time to shortlist. The SME and talent negotiate the scope of work and associated fees.
The ideal way to use Elderberry.work is to creatively specify the knowledge gap to be addressed. Use talent more proactively and more often since it’s cost-effective and as easy as plug and play.
SMEs can now dream bigger and execute better because they won’t be limited by knowledge and capabilities. Age 45+ talent often help SME owners recognize how much bigger their visions can be.
What inspired you to create Elderberry.work, and how does it address the critical talent shortages faced by Canadian SMEs?
I’ve been an executive at large companies in Canada, the US, internationally, including GM of a division I grew to $100 million in sales, a small business owner and a consultant for numerous SMEs. I understand the challenge of finding the right experience at the right price. Most SMEs are worried about meeting their targets due to talent shortages. So there’s the problem.
The solution lies in the fact that “knowledge workers” (vs. skilled trades) are out there but SMEs can’t easily find them. As Statscan says, it’s actually a talent mismatch, not a shortage. There’s a growing number of businesspeople aging up, like me, with strong experience. They’re not always easy to find – probably not social media stars – but they offer a tremendous reservoir of experience. We attract, aggregate, and make them easily discoverable. SMEs love to tap into our growing talent pipeline as their needs evolve.
How does your platform enable SMEs to operate without talent constraints and take bolder steps in their growth journey?
We enable SMEs to acquire the talent they need – their size is a competitive advantage. Nimbly using an ongoing series of talent whenever and for whatever is needed, in small portions and large. Drive productivity, cost and risk reductions, revenue growth. Without the overhead, or even a HR department.
We’re about knowledge transfer – injecting proven insights into SMEs to complement their employees. Talent as a variable cost for short consults – a day for brainstorming, or longer contracts, freelancers, fractionals.
As a matchmaker, we make it easy for SMEs to get the experience they need. On-demand, self-serve, one stop convenience – all functions, seniorities, industries. Our lean, curated talent pipeline means quick time to shortlist. The SME and talent negotiate the scope of work and associated fees.
The ideal way to use Elderberry.work is to creatively specify the knowledge gap to be addressed. Use talent more proactively and more often since it’s cost-effective and as easy as plug and play.
SMEs can now dream bigger and execute better because they won’t be limited by knowledge and capabilities. Age 45+ talent often help SME owners recognize how much bigger their visions can be.
People don’t age like their parents. Longevity is giving us extended years of productivity. But society’s perceptions haven’t caught up. Our talent has managed through massive change and disruption, including technology adoption, over the past decades. The learning is evergreen – the specifics differ, but the people and financial processes don’t.
I champion the 5 ways age 45+ create business value: subject matter expertise of course. Then there’s knowledge, judgment, and wisdom. Third is soft skills – communication, collaboration, accountability, resiliency. Next is multigenerational teams, known to be 20% more productive. And fifth is cost-effectiveness.
Ultimately, age 45+ provide timeless knowledge, not just timely information. AI is topical but its use needs human oversight. Who better to do that than people with the experience age 45+ have?
It’s a strategic imperative because we enable SMEs to avoid talent constraints, so they can compete better. And because their competition just may be using us to gain advantage on them. You’d be missing a key success factor by not leveraging age 45+.
Can you provide examples of how the talent on Elderberry.work has helped SMEs overcome challenges and achieve their goals?
There are many use cases, including issues related to buying and selling businesses, strategy, finance, operations, sales, marketing, IT, procurement, product development, admin, etc. These aren’t only senior advisors, there are plenty with roll-up-the-sleeves implementation experience to really work alongside SMEs’ employees.
For example, our talent has helped SMEs by creating sales playbooks and training their salespeople, improving their user experience, leading the financials for acquisitions, dealing with HR issues, de-risking and optimizing their supply chains, guiding complex technology adoption, and addressing customer demands for a sustainability plan.
But perhaps my favorite example is helping medium-sized businesses to start doing international business, when their leadership team doesn’t have that experience. Imagine going to Elderberry.work to find a couple of people who together have the experience in the countries you target, knowing the culture, government regulations, distribution channels, competitors, customers. That would really accelerate the businesses’ expansion.
What is your vision for the future of Canadian SMEs, and how does Elderberry.work aim to contribute to their long-term success?
I worked in the US for 6 years, where there’s a more established entrepreneurial culture. I’m not the only one who wants Canada to be more like that.
We can kickstart it by cross pollinating experienced businesspeople with SMEs. Through tens of thousands of SMEs doing this, we breed successive generations of even more successful SMEs, who help spawn and mentor others.
SMEs’ successes will mean more hiring, including young adults, who are facing an unemployment crisis. People aging up gainfully participate in the economy, alleviate a labour shortage, retain a sense of purpose, earn income, stay engaged.
In aggregate, SMEs truly become the engine of our economy. And both younger and older adults have much less need for government resources, in terms of EI, pensions, healthcare and social services.
Altogether, massive socioeconomic benefits. As a social enterprise, that’s what we hope to help enable.
