In this Ownr Success Story, we’re chatting with Cerys Goodall, a Toronto-based entrepreneur, expert PR strategist, and tech-enthusiast. Cerys is a powerhouse in the tech scene and has been growing with the industry for the last 20 years.
About Cerys
Cerys began her career in biotechnology. However, after experiencing the repetitive nature of the work, she knew it wasn’t for her. With an introduction to public relations from a close friend, Cerys was intrigued by how integral PR was to every facet of a business.
“The thing I love about PR is that you really get to touch on every part of the business.”
After discovering her love of PR, Cerys focused on executing media and marketing strategies for companies in the technology, science and innovation industries. This led to a number of senior public relations and marketing roles, working with companies Neptec, which provided the laser camera system to NASA for the Discovery Return to Flight mission, and Kobo, Canada’s eReading company that was sold to Rakuten in 2012, as Senior Director of Public Relations.
In 2016, after launching the LEAGUE brand as their VP of Marketing Communications, Cerys decided to start The Goods.
The Goods
Created out of a desire to find the most effective way to help technology companies communicate with their audience, The Goods is a business that makes high-quality PR and marketing accessible to startups so that they can create a strong and sustainable brand that drives growth.
The primary mission of The Goods is to provide startups with a flexible partner that will help them start off on the right foot, without over-investing in things that they don’t need. Services include strategic communications, marketing, branding, messaging and media relations.
Being involved in the inner workings of a business coupled with a clear understanding of a business’s market and objectives, helps her understand what’s needed to ensure the right message is being relayed to the right audience.
Using Ownr: A new way
Cerys started by taking on a couple projects, until she realized she was gaining serious traction. That’s when she decided to get incorporated. Cerys knew that she wanted to get her business setup right the first time and not have to worry about mistakes.
“It was important to ensure that the infrastructure was built properly: getting registered, setting up HST, getting your business number—it’s intimidating, and you don’t want to make a mistake. Google, and the Government websites do not make it easy either, just too many things to try and be aware of.”
She initially incorporated the Goods as Goodall Communications Inc. in 2016, using the predecessor to Ownr. The process was simple and smooth, which is why she went back to Ownr in 2019 to incorporate her newest side venture, Novell Media Inc.
“Ownr was so ridiculously easy that it’s actually unfair. It’s so simple you almost feel like there’s a catch—I think it took me 20 minutes and I was done!”
Amongst many features, Cerys enjoys the fact that Ownr helps her organize her day to day:
“As entrepreneurs, you are supposed to have all these things at hand, but we tend to lose them, then have to find them again. Now, I log into Ownr and am able to access the information easily.”
The future
In the last couple of years, Cerys has taken her expertise and technical knowledge to InnerSpace, a Toronto-based startup focused on delivering indoor location data (“GPS for the indoors”), including building the world’s largest database of digital indoor data.
The Goods continues to serve startups in the consumer tech, defence, health, security, professional services and AI sectors.
“What I love is that I get to explore the marketing side of myself, and keep my PR side still up and running”.
The Goods has allowed Cerys to stay in touch with an incredible network of people and a community that helps support entrepreneurs in their journey to success. She’s happy to engage and continue helping startups everywhere, keeping The Goods coming!
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