Hi there!

My name is Max Jessome, and I’m the COO and one of the co-founders of Optiml, a software platform designed to help Canadians minimize their taxes and optimize their financial lives.

I’m starting this blog to keep you informed about the latest tax laws, financial news, Optiml updates, and how these developments may affect you as an Optiml user. In this space, I’ll share insights on key updates and features of Optiml, break down complex tax policies, highlight case studies, and more. My goal is to make financial planning accessible, insightful, and, dare I say, even enjoyable!

I’m thrilled to bring this to you and would love to hear your feedback or suggestions for future stories or opinion pieces.

Who We Are and Why We Started

Our company was founded in March 2022 with the goal of filling a gap in the market for simple yet effective financial planning solutions that everyday Canadians could use.

The mother of invention is necessity, and that’s exactly how Optiml began. A number of years ago, my mom was looking to retire. She followed the traditional path: she and my dad went to one of the large banks, met with an advisor, and spent several weeks painstakingly developing a financial plan. Months later, they received a printed copy confirming she could retire.

However, my parents - both electrical engineers - began reviewing the plan and asking questions:

• Why was CPP starting at age 65?
• Why were they drawing down non-registered accounts entirely before touching RRSPs?
• What if they didn’t achieve the 6% returns projected for the next 30 years?

What should have been quick changes required long meetings and an entirely new plan. On top of that, the tax strategies were justified with, “This is what all our clients’ plans look like.”

In short, my parents were left wanting more from their financial plan (more questions than answers). They couldn’t access the internal tools the bank used, so my dad began searching for alternatives.

After months of trying different online tools, some costing upwards of $700 a year, he found only two types of products:

1. Basic Planning Tools: Designed to point you toward a financial advisor.
2. Glorified Calculators: These tools let you input your savings goals and withdrawal preferences, then produce graphs and charts showing what might happen if you keep doing what you’re doing. However, they provide no real strategy or tax optimization and leave the user to create their own plan.

Fed up, my dad started building his own solution in Excel. Like many of our users before discovering Optiml, he used Excel’s powerful features for mathematical calculations, optimization, and scenario testing. After months of development, he created a prototype that became the foundation for Optiml. It allowed my parents to find alternative strategies, stress-test their retirement plan, and feel confident in their financial future. My mom retired, and years later, they are thriving in retirement (and haven’t moved in with me yet!).

The Birth of Optiml

My dad's experience inspired me to create something more. He often said there was a need for a product like this - something that didn’t exist in the market but was desperately needed. Realizing their situation wasn’t unique, I set out to make that vision a reality. I teamed up with my dad and two incredible co-founders, Zac and Alex, to bring Optiml to life. Zac Davies, our CEO, was an early-stage employee at the successful PropTech startup Realhub (now Realbase), which was acquired by Domain Group in 2022. Alex Ingham, our CTO, is an exceptionally talented software engineer driving our technical innovation. And, of course, my father, Don Jessome - a serial entrepreneur and engineer - brings invaluable expertise to our team. Together, we created the Optiml software you know today.

Our Mission

Our mission is simple: to empower every Canadian with the financial confidence and peace of mind to not only survive in retirement but thrive. Optiml helps to ensure you’re on the right track, or, if necessary, identifies what needs to change to get you there.

Following stories like The Wealthy Barber, I truly believe everyone has the opportunity to retire wealthy. All you need is a plan, the power of compound interest, and time. Optiml’s unique tax optimization algorithm is just the icing on the cake.

Looking Ahead

I’m excited for you to follow along as we continue to develop Optiml and provide a tool that we believe is truly revolutionary. Thank you for being part of this journey. I can’t wait to see what we can achieve together.