The End of an Era

In 2004, Elton Pereira and his brothers, Adrian Pereira and Myron Pereira, as well as business partner and brother-in-law, Don Wharton, founded ParetoLogic, a global provider of PC and cloud-based security, privacy, optimization, backup, and other utility software solutions for home and small business users. Over the course of the next decade, ParetoLogic grew substantially, with a team of 5 employees generating $3.9 million in revenue in 2004, growing to 350 million downloads and $24 million in sales in every country in the world by 2015. In 2020, the Pereiras decided to wind down ParetoLogic; here’s a look back on the triumphs achieved along the way.

Origins

Before founding ParetoLogic, Elton Pereira’s father, a lifelong entrepreneur, gathered his children around his computer and demonstrated how he was selling 10-20 units per day online of an education software called Video Professor. This inspired Elton and his siblings to set off on their own online marketing and software development journey.

Early on, the Pereira and Wharton brothers sold a wide array of different software applications as resellers, but eventually discovered a huge niche and opportunity in the anti-spyware space. They focussed on adware and spyware online marketing campaigns and shortly thereafter were selling hundreds of units per day of security and privacy software. They had strong initial success as resellers but had higher aspirations.

At this point in time, online marketing was a side hustle for the Pereiras and Wharton. They were thriving in their own careers in finance, computer science and real estate, but a synthesis of their unique skill sets helped them to become a leader in online safety. At first, the company ParetoLogic outsourced development of its software to India and launched out of their basements, allowing them to achieve profit from their first day of operation. Although outsourcing the first release of their anti-spyware software was cost effective and allowed them to get to market quickly, the owners experienced communication challenges with the outsourced developer. The ParetoLogic team thought they could solve this problem by outsourcing to a local software developer, but ended up having the same communication problems and much slower delivery.

Growing Fast

In year 2, the Pereira and Wharton brothers decided to make a big move to gain great control over their business and its long term future. ParetoLogic signed a lease on 10,000 square foot office space at the Victoria Jubilee Center and then hired talented and diverse internal teams that included customer support, marketing and sales, product management, research and development, quality assurance, talent and culture, accounting, front office, and executive management.

This happened extremely fast. The company had 20 new hires within six months of acquiring the office space, 40 by the end of the year, 100 within 12 months after that, and 200 at the height of the company. Many employees stayed loyal to ParetoLogic for over 10 years and collectively created a truly special vision of what a revolutionary software company could be.

Each year, the ParetoLogic team aspired to deliver at least 2-3 new products, reach new audiences by working with the top marketers in the world, and never rested on its laurels. In the security and privacy software space, they competed with Microsoft, Norton, and McAfee, and despite the heavy competition were growing exponentially year over year. Their marketing efforts reached individual consumers and small businesses with smart, simple solutions, their customer service was approachable and accessible 7 days a week, and they built a family oriented culture that team members loved and appreciated.

Building a Family Centered Culture

Elton Pereira and his siblings built ParetoLogic as both a company and a family. They went out of their way to celebrate birthdays and special holidays, started a company hockey team, hosted events including BBQs, soccer games and an Annual Amazing Race, provided lunch and learn sessions every Friday, threw parties, and distributed Annual Achievers Awards to employees recognizing performance, growth and loyalty.

Though ParetoLogic earned numerous awards for its business and technology, Elton Pereira always placed a focus on giving back, encouraging his employees to be leaders and stewards in the community. ParetoLogic built schools in Kenya, India, Mexico and the Dominican Republic, sponsored children through World Vision, gave blood at the Canadian Blood Services, served breakfasts to the homeless at Our Place, supported a rehabilitation center in India to protect young girls from sexual exploitation, gave toys to young children through Santas Anonynous, and supported BC Children’s Hospital – and these were just a small number of ParetoLogic’s philanthropic initiatives.

Winding Down

After 17 years, the Pereira family has retired the ParetoLogic business to focus on family and other exciting business endeavors in technology, software as a service, sports video, social impact and venture capital. They also are embracing this opportunity to continue supporting family, friends, and community, both locally and globally.