It all started with a spreadsheet.

How it began

Far too many Canadians are left managing their financial future through a confusing mix of static paperwork and DIY spreadsheets. For Optiml co-founder Max, this reality hit home when his mother began preparing for retirement.

Like most Canadians, his mom and dad sat down with a financial advisor to build a plan. The printed plan arrived weeks later, and it was outdated the day they got it. So they began digging into the details themselves. They wanted to know if the plan was truly the most tax-efficient strategy for their specific lives, or why one path was recommended over another.

“As it turned out, most traditional financial plans follow a rigid, one-size-fits-all deposit and withdrawal order. They aren't truly optimized for the individual.”

Max's father wanted to see the math behind every decision, and nothing available at the time could show him that. So he did what far too many Canadians do: he opened Excel and built his own model. That spreadsheet became the source of truth that eventually gave Max's mother the confidence to retire. But it also became something much bigger.

Co-founders Max, Zac, and Alex saw this as a business opportunity, a gap in the market. Canadians wanted more than a static, printed report; they wanted clarity and control.

What began as a family necessity has grown into a mission. They transformed that original spreadsheet into Optiml, an online platform built to give every Canadian the ability to run their own retirement plans and “what-if” scenarios.

That is how Optiml was born.

Officially launched in September 2024, Optiml is now serving Canadians from coast to coast.