Roger V. Hardy

Roger’s entrepreneurial journey began with a single phone line, a 14k modem and a credit card, building an online company and selling it to a San Francisco based More.com in 1999 at the height of the dot com boom all before the age of 30. As one of Vancouvers first technologists, he recently was named one of British Columbias "Living Legends by Business in Vancouver Magazine along with other BC legends @JimmyPattison, @JoeSegal, @ChipWilson and @FrankGuistra . https://bc500.biv.com/categories/living-legends/ An original Canadian disruptor, he next launched Coastal.com owners of Clearly. The company became the planets leading digital eyewear retailer, going public on the Nasdaq in 2009 before being acquired by Essilor in 2014 for $450 million in cash. Among Roger’s proudest achievements are creating Canada’s most successful vertically integrated e-commerce company, achieving Canada's largest eCommerce exit, passing a billion in revenues and being first to sell more than 1 million pairs of eyeglasses online. Investors were pleased with the over 1000% return on capital. At Hardy Capital, he leverages the experience of having been CEO of several high growth companies over the past 20 years that have generated significant value helping fast-growing companies achieve market-leading positions. Roger invests in real estate and high-growth categories that use innovative technologies to transform consumer spaces. His current portfolio features more than $100 million in real estate assets Including the property he funded and developed at 510 Seymour St, as well as holdings in innovative companies like Cotopaxi, Cymax, Sonder, Kits Eyewear, FIGS, Mogo, and the rapidly-growing eyewear brand Prive Revaux where he sits on the board [ SOLD for 5.4 X revenues to Safilo @~ $110 million USD ]. Roger is also involved in B.C.’s world-class wine industry, as an owner of Liquidity Wines. [SOLD for 5 X revenues to owners of White Claw] Roger loves spending time with his wife, son and three daughters. Together, they run the https://www.hardyfamilyfoundation.com/ a charity aimed at empowering communities in Canada and around the globe. He also established the Hardy Endowment Fund at Bishop’s University, which provides tuition support for students in need having provided more than $400 000 to the University over the last decade. Roger is a recipient of Business in Vancouver’s Top 40 Under 40 and two time winner of the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award in the Business-to-Consumer category in 2006 and in 2016.