30 Companies. 27 Exits. What Chad Wasilenkoff sees that others don’t
Chad Wasilenkoff is not a typical founder. He started selling golf balls at eight years old, was buying and selling video games, BMX bikes and cars by his teens, and has gone on to found close to 30 companies across forestry, mining, advanced materials, chemical recycling and medical devices. He doesn’t consider himself an inventor — he’s an investor who operates the business himself and looks for the exit.
His playbook is finding value where nobody else is looking. He turned a near-worthless forestry mill into Fortress and sold it for $210 million. He bought a Swiss banknote mill for a fraction of its worth and unlocked tens of millions in hidden land and inventory value. He spotted a coming uranium shortage most investors ignored. That same instinct now drives Eye Guardian, glasses designed to detect glaucoma at home, and a chemical catalyst company tackling plastic recycling at scale.
For founders and investors in hard tech or deep tech, this conversation is a masterclass in contrarian thinking — what investors listen for in a pitch, why solo founders face a harder road, and why buying a great idea can beat inventing one.
What you’ll discover today…
(00:00) The golf-ball hustle that started it all, and the parental support behind it.
(08:57) The contrarian bet that built Fortress.
(13:36) Inside the pressure of a distressed-asset turnaround.
(17:12) Running multiple companies solo, wired differently.
(21:30) Why a 30-company track record doesn’t guarantee a check.
(22:40) The throughline from uranium to glaucoma glasses.
(25:43) Eye Guardian and building versus buying.
(28:37) What investors listen for — and why solo founders struggle.
(32:35) Coachability, discipline, and humility.
(36:35) De-risking deep tech with grants and digital twins.
(42:51) Legacy, what still excites him, and rapid-fire wisdom.
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Guest: Chad Wasilenkoff
Over the last 25 years Mr. Wasilenkoff has been the founder, CEO and leader of dozens of transformational businesses globally in over a dozen different industries. These include the Swiss banknote mill, pulp mills in Canada, gold mines in Ecuador, uranium, oil & gas, wallpaper, chemical catalyst for plastic recycling (with a Nobel prize winner as the CTO), software, composites, xylitol, and others. His accomplishments include numerous exits over $100 million and one unicorn. Mr. Wasilenkoff is a previous award winner of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the year for manufacturing and the Pacific Region (Canada) with an established media presence including Bloomberg TV, CNBC, BBC, CNN, Fox Business News, BNN, and various other TV, radio, and print media outlets.
Host: Peng Cau
Peng Cau is a seasoned entrepreneur and innovation leader in advanced manufacturing and industrial automation. She co-founded Transformix Engineering, scaling it into a global automation powerhouse acquired by ATS Corporation in a substantial eight-figure valuation deal. Today, she leads the Startup Program at Siemens Digital Industries Software, supporting deeptech and hardtech founders in scaling transformative technologies. A recognized voice in Canada’s tech ecosystem, Peng serves on several boards, including Reko International Group and the Kingston Economic Development Board. A refugee from Cambodia, her journey from survival to success has earned her national accolades and a respected place in Canada’s business and innovation landscape.
Eye Guardian was founded by a serial entrepreneur when he heard about how intraocular pressure was measured and how glaucoma and ocular hypertension were being managed. Given that this is the leading cause of irreversible blindness – a new and better solution needed to be found. Backed by years of medical research and technological development, their patented solution delivers accurate, comfortable, and accessible intraocular pressure monitoring for at-risk patients worldwide. Learn more about Eye Guardian here.
