The CivicAction Leadership Foundation is delighted to feature Som Seif, Founder & CEO of Purpose Unlimited. Som is not only a leader in the financial services sector – he is also committed to making our community stronger. Apart from establishing Purpose Unlimited in 2013, Som founded Claymore Investments in 2005, which BlackRock Inc. acquired in March 2012. Additionally, he co-founded Wealthsimple Inc. in 2014. Before establishing these companies, Som was an investment banker at RBC Capital Markets, pivotal in developing the structured products group and raising capital for asset managers across Canada and the United States.
Our team sat down with Som to learn more about his leadership journey and his interest in supporting the CivicAction Leadership Foundation and our DiverseCity Fellows program.
CA: Hi Som, thanks so much for meeting with us today! To begin, please share your leadership story and your path to becoming the Founder & CEO of Purpose Unlimited.
SS: My whole career path has been one of constant development and learning. I started in engineering and went to work in investment banking without a lot of experience or knowledge of the space, but I was really passionate about it, applied myself very aggressively and then decided I wanted to start a business and broke away when I was 28 to go start my first company.
From there, I was a 28-year-old kid with no idea how to start an asset management company. I was building a business and trying to figure out how to lead a team, develop perspectives on how to be a good manager, set strategy, and build a business model.
So much of my learning has come through on-the-job training, real-time execution, and just throwing myself right into the fire. That is what started me on this journey of being an entrepreneur. I ultimately sold that business and started Purpose just over ten years ago.
I also co-founded Wealthsimple, and all of it has been based on the same principle, which is throwing yourself right into the deep end and having a lot of confidence in your development, learning, and curiosity. Those sorts of character traits position you to absorb as much as you can as you grow.
Purpose was a company that had zero revenue and is now a much larger business. It had just me as an employee, and now it has 260 employees, and to do that, you have to evolve and grow as a leader in a meaningful way. Frankly, I have had to grow a fair amount. From the first company to this company, it has been amazing to step back and look at who I was and who I am now.
CA: You have dedicated your career to building businesses and helping to change the financial services industry for the benefit of Canadians. As many people across the country struggle to afford a high quality of life, what do you hope to see the financial services industry do more of?
SS: I have always felt when there is injustice, there is a need to do something about it, whether in financial services or outside of it. When I see something, I get really energized, frustrated, and passionate about it.
The financial services industry has a critical role in the lives of Canadians and the economy. At the same time, I have always felt that the industry has never focused on the real problem that it was intended to solve. It always energized me and made me passionate to try and help solve real problems and make it a better industry.
I believe to change the industry for the benefit of Canadians, we need to start by understanding the problem, and more importantly, understanding the customer and putting the customer or the Canadian at the heart of what we do. I think every business should think that way. I’ve always attacked everything we’ve done by asking my team how we would solve a problem if it were us experiencing it, or how we should solve a problem because it is the right thing to do. If financial services companies are really making something work for the customer first, then they, as for-profit businesses, have the right to also win.
I believe that the best solutions are when the customer wins first. This has been the principle that has driven me. I’ve always felt like the industry was never about a win-win mindset. Companies have always wanted to win first, and then maybe the customer wins.
Everything we have done, whether it was building Claymore, Purpose, or WealthSimple, has always been driven by the inspiration of improving the financial services industry on behalf of Canadians. This inspiration still energizes me quite meaningfully today, and it starts with innovation and having amazing people around you who also think the same way.
Our organization’s mission are our customers; our mission is to be the most customer-centric financial services company in Canada. This drives all Purpose employees every single day. We solve problems and make great delightful experiences. Ultimately, it starts with being willing to maneuver in many different ways, always solving problems and helping the customers win.
CA: You played a significant role in helping launch the CivicAction Leadership Foundation in 2017. Please share how you learned about the CivicAction Leadership Foundation and what interests you most about the organization.
SS: There are two things. One is that CivicAction’s mission inspires me, and it is a really empowering and important organization.
Two, the quality of individuals I have interacted with who are part of CivicAction and its impact on real people and the country’s future leaders is amazing. I want to support programs that make people better and stronger. We always should be in development mode. CivicAction’s programs are all about developing and helping people and providing a conduit to development and an environment for development.
I was introduced to CivicAction because of several really fascinating people that I consider very close friends who are passionate about it and have been on the board. They introduced me to the story, and it was easy to say, “Yes, of course, I will support it.” Since then, we have continued to support CivicAction.
CA: Purpose Unlimited has made a three-year commitment to support the CivicAction Leadership Foundation. Our DiverseCity Fellows program is now “Powered by Purpose Unlimited,” and a Purpose Unlimited employee will likely participate in the Fellows program during the next cohort. What is your desired outcome for the partnership between Purpose Unlimited and CivicAction/DiverseCity Fellows?
SS: We were looking for ways to expand and build a deeper relationship with CivicAction, and the DiverseCity Fellow program interested and excited us.
A lot of people choose to “do their own thing” when it comes to giving back to the community, with their dollars or with their time. However, there are already so many amazing programs and organizations in our community doing sophisticated work and solving problems.
For example, Purpose could have built its own leadership development program for our own people or other community members. But, CivicAction has already spent years building up the systems, the muscle, the awareness, the structure, and the proven credibility to deliver a leadership program – this makes us much more excited and energized.
I think the ability to partner and power this program, which already has a track record of impact, is a no-brainer.
CA: What do you hope the future of leadership looks like?
SS: I think all people should be curious learners. Live by the mantra of “learn it all, not know it all.” I encourage leaders to embrace this mantra whether they are starting their career or are late in their career, whether they’re a manager or a leader. That’s the mindset that I think everyone should have, and if you do, then great things will always come.
CA: If you were advocating for support, what compelling reasons would you give for other organizations to donate to the Foundation?
SS: CivicAction is a really important organization. It has a real impact on real Canadians. It has produced phenomenal results in terms of the output of some amazing civic-minded leaders who are applying themselves both privately and publicly. The results speak for themselves.
I’m a big believer in organizations that have a single-minded approach to having an impact, not trying to do too much but being very focused. Fellows and other rising leaders who participate in CivicAction Leadership Foundation programs experience a real benefit.
My best advice to anybody is to lean in and get involved because your dollars are actually making an impact, your time makes an impact. We all want to know if our donation actually makes a difference. I know Purpose’s support of CivicAction has an impact.