Swaraj Paul and his business partner, Akash Mondal, opened the doors to their new company Taxably in January of 2020. This was just weeks before COVID-19 restrictions came into effect, which quickly resulted in their physical location closing to the public. However, this did not stop the two business owners from following through with their plans to grow Taxably, the tech-based accounting firm. Since Taxably takes a paperless approach, the owners used this to their advantage to take their services entirely online to combat pandemic mandates. This also allowed the company to provide faster services for their clients.
Taxably’s mission is to introduce innovative ways to make taxes easier, faster and affordable for people through technology and best in class customer service. The company differentiates itself by providing an entirely virtual tax-filing service and targeting newcomers to Canada. Their research discovered that not many accounting firms focus on this audience, which lead to the perfect market for Taxably to focus on. Swaraj recalls, “There are so many newcomers to Canada, and we are here to help them understand their financials to make more educated decisions.”
While researching the tax industry, Swaraj and his partner discovered the copious amount of paper and natural resources used in tax firms annually. Taxably does its part in being mindful of environmental impacts by using completely paperless filing systems while also cutting their costs down. The business partners went a step further to partner up with One Tree Planted and pledged to plant a tree for every client who avails their services. As of today, they have planted over 300 trees in Ontario during the one year and eight months that they have been running.
When Swaraj moved to Canada seven years ago, he was unaware of the necessary steps to start a business here. While pursuing his education at Fanshawe, he walked through the halls and came across the Leap Junction room. He then met business coach David Ouellette for the first time, to who Swaraj attributes a vast amount of his business knowledge. He learned how to create a proper business plan, made countless connections, and obtained various resources necessary to launch his business. This allowed Swaraj to start the research and planning phase once he was close to graduating and launch Taxably the following January. The business partners kicked off their business by using a referral program to incentivize their customers to spread the word about their business.
In the summer following the launch, Swaraj participated in the LEAPin Business Accelerator program offered by Leap Junction. Swaraj recalls this program having a significant impact on his business operations. He states, “being involved with Leap Junction was life-changing. They really changed the way I thought about my business and connected me to exactly who I should be in contact with”. Today, Swaraj is still connected to Leap Junction as he states, “They continue to send me networking opportunities. Just last week I had the opportunity of speaking in a class at Fanshawe.”
Taxably now has business partnerships with accounting firms in Australia and Ireland. They are currently working on getting their government license to expand into insurance, mortgage, and investments to help people build wealth over an extended period. Swaraj states, “there is so much financial knowledge that people simply don’t know about.” By expanding their business to different segments, they will share more knowledge with a broader audience.
Swaraj’s piece of advice for aspiring entrepreneurs: “Go to LEAP Junction and just start!”
Ready to accelerate your business? Shoot us an e-mail and let us help you kickstart your plans: leapjunction@fanshawec.ca
To book an appointment with one of our business coaches: http://leapjunction.ca/book-online
For more information on LEAPIn, LEAP Junction’s Business Accelerator for Fanshawe students and alumni: https://www.leapjunction.ca/leap-in
More about our LEAPer Feature: Swaraj Paul is a Fanshawe College graduate, and an honoured LEAP Junction entrepreneur. He graduated from the Honours Bachelor of Commerce Degree focused in Accounting in 2020. Swaraj was featured in Business London’s Magazine’s “Twenty in Their 20s” article in October of 2020, and participated on the employer's panel at the Ignite Career Conference at Fanshawe College in November 2021.
Do you have a business you’re working on? Students can apply to complete their 2022 co-op requirements while working on building their business and network by applying for an Entrepreneurial Co-op at LEAP Junction. Interested students can apply through the Fanshawe Career, Co-op & Co-curricular portal here: https://myfuture.fanshawec.ca/postings.htm?pId=131783
Follow Taxably on social media @taxablycanada
Visit their website at: https://taxably.ca/
Written by Brooke Davidson