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Growth cycle: TryCycle Data Systems cracks top 20 in Globe and Mail’s list of fastest-growing firms

September 27, 2024

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Bolstered by a new CEO and an expanding line of product offerings, TryCycle Data Systems continues to chart an impressive growth trajectory. The Ottawa-based software firm was the region’s highest-ranked entry on the Globe and Mail’s 2024 list of Canada’s top-growing companies, which was announced on Friday. It comes in at No. 20 with three-year revenue growth of 1,845 per cent. It’s the first appearance on the list for TryCycle, which specializes in apps that provide clinical and peer-to-peer mental health support to Indigenous groups, military veterans and other users. The firm’s founding CEO, John MacBeth, stepped down earlier this year to focus on acquiring new customers. He has been replaced by Brett Merriman, who joined TryCycle as chief financial officer in 2022. Merriman is overseeing a firm that is quickly making a name for itself in the mental-health support space. Founded seven years ago, TryCycle launched with a smartphone app that regularly prompts users to answer questions related to their mental health. The artificial intelligence platform then analyzes the data to determine if patients are experiencing more severe symptoms or are at risk of relapsing. The system is used by mental-health clinicians in Canada and the U.S. Seeing the need for better mental health resources tailored to Indigenous communities during the pandemic, TryCycle introduced an anonymous chat app called Talking Stick. The free platform connects users with Indigenous peers, who are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to discuss a range of mental-health issues. Developed in partnership with the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations in Saskatchewan, it has been downloaded tens of thousands of times. In addition, the company is preparing to introduce another app aimed at military veterans in need of mental health support. TryCycle, which placed third on OBJ’s list of Ottawa’s fastest-growing companies earlier this year, employs about 35 full-time staff as well as 190 part-time Indigenous peer advocates in Saskatchewan. It is far from the only local organization to crack the Globe and Mail’s rankings, which rely on companies to voluntarily submit applications with supporting financial documents. Here is the full list of Ottawa-Gatineau firms on the Globe and Mail’s Report on Business ranking of Canada’s top-growing companies: