Michele Romanow on debt capital markets
From Entrepreneurship Journey | Clearco · · TechTO
“Debt capital is extremely hard and is extremely complicated. If I knew how challenging it would be to do the capital markets part of this business and so for us that means you know raising hundreds of millions of dollars in debt capital because we give capital to our founders and we don't use our equity capital to do that. That would be very ironic if we did that if we told founders to not dilute equity.”
On , Michele Romanow, CEO & Co-Founder at Clearco, spoke about debt capital markets during Entrepreneurship Journey | Clearco on TechTO.
About Michele Romanow
Michele Romanow appeared on the podcast *Between Two Brunettes* on May 24, 2026, after a full day of filming *Dragons' Den*. She discussed Clearco's mission to make entrepreneurship accessible by automating access to capital using data from digital platforms, noting that the company has grown to face global competitors. Romanow also commented on the venture capital market, stating that fewer exits have occurred because companies stay private longer, and predicted that many software companies will fail. During the interview, Romanow offered several opinions on entrepreneurship. She argued that the common advice "do not quit" is "terrible advice" and that founders need to know when to move on to their next iteration. She described Canada as having "100% tall poppy syndrome," where successful people are torn down rather than celebrated. Romanow also emphasized that a business's repeat customer rate is the most reliable metric, and cautioned that raising more capital can reduce a founder's control over their company's destiny.