There are days when the weight of building a company suddenly feels a lot lighter. Last week we had one of those days.
We've officially signed with TMX Investor Solutions to bring Optio to North America. For those who don't know them, TMX Group owns the Toronto Stock Exchange.
For a team that started in a rainy Oslo office less than ten years ago, this is the kind of milestone we used to only talk about in "what if" scenarios.
Honestly, it's not the logo or the contract that has me smiling today; It's what this says about us.
The road to Toronto
Every founder knows it's going to be a grind. You don't realize how relentless that grind is until you're years deep into it—fixing the same types of problems in new markets, losing sleep over technical hurdles, and refusing to slow down until the platform matches the ambition.
We chose a path that wasn't exactly "sexy." Equity compensation is technical, it's niche, and it's neck deep in compliance, but we knew it mattered because it's how people actually get a stake in what they're building. We did this from Norway, we did it the right way, and we refused to take the easy shortcuts that would have compromised the platform.
I personally remember the early meetings where we decided to go straight for the big infrastructure players, the ones who hold the keys to the market. It felt like a massive long shot. Today, it feels like we finally found the door we were looking for.
From Oslo to Johannesburg to the Rest of the World
The JSE (Johannesburg Stock Exchange) was our first real "it's working on a global scale" moment, giving us the confidence to keep pushing and expanding outside of Europe.
Today, TMX Group, The Toronto Stock Exchange. One of the biggest exchanges in the world.
Seeing the same architecture that we built in Oslo now win over Canada is not just a local success, it's a solution to a challenge felt by companies everywhere and across the 130 jurisdictions we serve today.
To the team: you built this
Let me be direct: this changes Optio.
This partnership opens North America to us in a way we couldn't do alone. For those of you who work here: you built this. Every person who made a difficult technical decision, who said "no" to a shortcut, who followed the process to build compliance into the system, who asked hard questions when something didn't feel right – you made this agreement possible. TMX didn't sign because they bought a pitch deck, they signed because they tested our system, saw the architecture, met the team, and understood we could deliver.
For prospective customers: this is just the beginning. The pattern is becoming clear; bigger and bigger organizations are choosing Optio. What started as a vision to advance equity compensation globally is becoming concrete with each partnership and client milestone.
Staying true to ourselves
What makes me the proudest is that we got here without turning into a company we don't recognize. We stayed focused on our core values:
- We built a platform constructed around security and compliance from the ground up, not as a layer on top.
- We said "no" to a lot of easy money and quick growth that didn't fit our vision.
- We remembered that behind every data point is a person who wants to be an owner.
It turns out that building with integrity actually works. One of the world's leading exchanges chose to trust our track record and partner with us.
What Comes Next
Things are about to get even more intense. We have to execute, we have to scale, we have to focus, but there's a quiet satisfaction in knowing that we've earned our seat at the table by doing the hard work.
We would like to thank our entire team, our clients and our partners for being part of this. Thank you for making Optio something I'm so damn proud of.
Nine years ago, we set out from Oslo to change how people experience equity ownership. Today, that's already the reality for more than one million users across the globe. TMX Group extends our mission into North America.
The next chapter is here.
If this resonates, I'd love to hear from you. Reach out any time.
- Mats
Read our official announcement on the collaboration with TMX Investor Solutions.
Mats Gerø
