# Cliel Schachter

> Cliel Schachter is the Toronto-based founder and CEO of Northern Labs, a venture studio focused on fintech and digital consumer engagement. His career includes BlackBerry camera engineering and product and engineering leadership at Upsight and Wonolo. His public writing describes using products himself to inform decisions and creating internal tools that help teams learn by doing.

- **Role:** Founder & CEO at Northern Labs
- **Organizations:** Northern Labs, Wonolo, Upsight, Kontagent, Research In Motion / BlackBerry
- **Education:** Bachelor of Applied Science, Honors Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo, MBA, University of Ottawa
- **Known for:** Named co-inventor on US8582000B2, Composite flash for an electronic device., Named co-inventor on US8391702B2, Reduced pre-flash for LED flash based camera devices., Wonolo’s 2019 introduction credits him with a Guinness World Record for a solar-powered vehicle journey; no individual distance or date is established here.

## Career timeline

- **—** — Designed camera electronics at Research In Motion / BlackBerry.
- **2012** — Graduated from business school; subsequently moved to the Bay Area.
- **—** — Worked in product management at Kontagent and led technology at Upsight.
- **2018** — Joined Wonolo as Head of Engineering; later held the VP of Engineering, Product & Design role.
- **2021** — Founded Northern Labs; The Org lists the founder role as beginning in June.
- **2022** — Reported reaching 20 people in six months and partnering with Forte on blockchain gaming infrastructure.
- **2022-10** — Published How we dogfood at Northern Labs.

## Achievements

- Named co-inventor on US8582000B2, Composite flash for an electronic device.
- Named co-inventor on US8391702B2, Reduced pre-flash for LED flash based camera devices.
- Wonolo’s 2019 introduction credits him with a Guinness World Record for a solar-powered vehicle journey; no individual distance or date is established here.
- Reported growing Northern Labs from himself to 20 people in six months.

## Latest updates

- **2022-10** — Published a firsthand account of internal product use at Northern Labs, Wonolo and Upsight.

## Links

- Website: https://northernlabs.ca/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clielgs

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/cliel-schachter
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-09