Here's how you know you're in the right place: You walk into a podcast studio in a shared co-working space in Calgary called Thin Air Labs. It's the kind of space where real work happens; not polished, not pretentious, just functional and full of energy. And it's become the epicenter of meaningful conversations about building tech companies in Canada.

That studio is home to Tech Thursday; and Phil Burns, who created it, is the kind of person who believes that the best ecosystems aren't built top-down, but instead by showing up, week after week, and asking the right people the right questions.

The Origin Story: A Talent Problem That Became a Community

Phil's path through the region's tech ecosystem started when he joined Neo Financial right after their Series A and worked with the team through their Series C. As the company was scaling fast and needed hundreds of new hires in the coming year, Phil found himself leading something called "talent marketing."

The goal was straightforward: How do you get skilled, senior people to want to work for you?

What he discovered was a gap in the Canadian tech ecosystem. There were hiring fairs, pitch competitions and demo days, but there wasn't anything that brought senior technologists together; that is, the people actually grinding inside these companies who knew what it took to scale.

So that's exactly what Phil created: Weekly panels featuring people who'd actually built something. Not recruitment events, but actionable, useful conversations with leaders driving meaningful solutions.

From Corporate Initiative to Community Institution

Two years ago, Phil spun Tech Thursday out on its own. It's now a multi-city operation with events in Calgary, Winnipeg, Edmonton, and Ottawa, publishing localized newsletters reaching 13,000 people, recording podcasts (including Your Business Is On The Line, Canada's number one business comedy podcast) and hosting dinners with founders.

What's really powerful and impactful about Phil and his team's mission is that Tech Thursday isn't trying to be global. In fact, they aim to be hyper-local, following the playbook of Andreessen Horowitz and Harry Stebbings, but inverted: Instead of building for a massive international audience, they're building deep relationships in their specific markets.

It's the new media playbook (podcasts, newsletters, events), executed at the neighborhood level.

The Real Impact: Actually Supporting Founders

What makes Tech Thursday different is that they're genuinely trying to support the companies in their circle, not just "get butts in seats" or check a nonprofit box.

That's where the partnership with Boast comes in. Tech Thursday gets Boast in front of founders who might not otherwise know about R&D tax credits. And Boast brings resources and expertise to conversations at the local level, where they can actually make a difference.

It's a model that echoes across everything Phil does: Find the smart people, create the space for them to connect, and get out of the way.

What We Learned This Week

Paul spent a marathon session recording at Thin Air Labs, the shared space that houses Tech Thursday, multiple podcasts, and dozens of founders working on the next big thing. He sat in that studio and talked to builders across real estate, AI, fintech, neurotechnology, and more.

What became clear is that Calgary isn't flying under the radar by accident. There's intentional work happening here. People like Phil arecreating infrastructure, while the founders we talked to in the Labs are actually building.

It's not the loudest or the biggest, but it might be the most integrated.

Listen to the full conversation to hear Phil talk about Tech Thursday's vision for the next chapter, the nonprofit work he does with friends, and why he genuinely believes the best tech companies in Canada will come out of these prairie ecosystems.

About What the Tech from Boast

What the Tech features conversations with brilliant minds building transformative solutions. Hosted by Paul Davenport, Boast's Head of Content.

Learn More About Tech Thursday

Tech Thursday hosts weekly panels, publishes localized newsletters, and records podcasts across Calgary, Winnipeg, Edmonton, and Ottawa. They're building community for builders.

Learn More About Boast

Boast helps Canadian and US companies maximize R&D tax credits to support growth and innovation. We work locally with partners like Tech Thursday to meet founders where they are and help them access the funding they've earned.