If you’re a startup just finding its legs in Toronto or Montreal, you may eventually hit a plateau, wondering how you’re going to take your business to the next level.

In the spirit of entrepreneurism — and to help inspire you to get your next project off the ground, we’ve put together a list of Canadian FinTech success stories and profile what makes them stand out.

Kira

Kira has changed the legal landscape with AI software that alleviates the minutia of reviewing contracts and instead automatically extracts the info most relevant to the case.

Kira Systems bootstrapped its way to an impressive list of clients at leading Canadian law firms and in September they secured their first major investment of $50 million US to help them grow beyond their modest Toronto beginnings.

Ample Organics

Both major cannabis producers Aphria and Aurora use Ample’s revolutionary seed-to-sale software to manage all things related to the plant, from cultivation to packaging and all compliance issues in between.

In fact, the majority of Canadian licensed cannabis producers have already signed up, and as the industry continues to mature the software will continue to evolve, keeping Ample Organics ahead of the pack.

Guaraná Technologies

Specializing in iPhone, Android, and web app design and development, Guaraná has carved a unique space for itself by providing seamless and efficient development with the fewest wasted man hours and iterations. Their lean design philosophy focuses on democratizing the entire process, keeping their clients not only informed but integral — ensuring their vision is never compromised.

Guaraná delivers software and application development solutions to small and medium-sized businesses like the ones on this very list, and they turn mobile app development into a collaborative, co-creative problem-solving experience, staying with clients during upgrades, maintenance, QA, and any future improvements.

League

A true game changer on this list, League is a health insurance app that enables employees to personalize their benefits, and has attracted financial backing from of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System as well as Mike Lazaridis’s Infinite Potential Technologies — you’ll remember that he founded Blackberry.

By June 2015, League had implemented a services marketplace — an Uber-like platform that allowed users to quickly find, book and pay for myriad health services such as meditation, massage, yoga, and other services.

League’s founder, Michael Serbinis believed that bringing businesses on board would help maximize user engagement, as client companies could effectively market on behalf of the app. League has since partnered with big employers including Unilever, Shopify, and KPMG.

Unlike a great deal of healthcare providers that are focused on directly servicing doctors or medical institutions, with very little attention paid to the end user, League’s benefits are a unique type of pick-and-pay, where employees can choose precisely the services they want, and ignore the ones they don’t.

This creates a more efficient system, as the benefits will actually be tailored to employees. Consider one of the startups listed above, staffed mostly by Millennials. A company comprised mainly of young workers won’t be paying for hearing aids or chiro sessions, but may instead focus on alternative wellness options such as yoga.

When you’re thinking about bringing your next big tech idea to life, consider the above companies as a springboard to guide your ideas and keep you on track.