# Roger Patterson

> Roger Patterson is a Vancouver technology entrepreneur, co-founder and former CEO of the original Later, and co-founder of Launch Academy. His work spans software engineering, data extraction, mobile gaming, social media tools, entrepreneurship teaching, and founder mentoring. His published accounts of leading Later emphasize small-business customers, transparent pay, and learning across generations. Creative Destruction Lab lists him as an associate and a board director of Later and Launch Academy.

- **Role:** Co-founder and board director at Later; co-founder and board director at Launch Academy; associate at CDL-Vancouver (as listed by Creative Destruction Lab)
- **Organizations:** Later, Launch Academy, Creative Destruction Lab, Queen’s University, Mitacs, Metalogix Software, Datacomb Data Services, SWARM / Flock & Swarm Mobility, ActiveSky, Newbridge Networks
- **Education:** BSc, Computer Science and Mathematics, University of Victoria, Studies in Computer Science and Mathematics; degree not specified, University of Auckland, MBA, Strategy and Entrepreneurism, Queen’s University
- **Known for:** Co-founded the original Later, which grew into an international social media marketing business and was acquired by Mavrck in April 2022., Co-founded Launch Academy, a nonprofit supporting Vancouver technology entrepreneurs., Designed and taught entrepreneurship courses and workshops for postgraduate students at universities including Queen’s, Waterloo, UBC, and the University of Toronto.

## Career timeline

- **Before 2000** — Worked at large technology companies including Nortel and Newbridge Networks, according to his account of four years in corporate cubicles.
- **2000** — Joined a startup shortly before the dot-com bubble burst; he later described its failure and the financial cost.
- **Dates not specified** — Co-founded Metalogix Software and worked as head software architect at ActiveSky.
- **2006-2011** — Founded and ran Datacomb Data Services, providing data mining and business intelligence for web retailers.
- **2011** — Began creating and teaching entrepreneurship workshops through Mitacs, according to his public professional history.
- **2012** — Co-founded Launch Academy in Vancouver; also founded a geo-mobile multiplayer gaming business associated with MapDash.
- **2013** — Began teaching entrepreneurship in Queen’s Master of Management Analytics program; Later’s Instagram scheduling idea emerged from a Vancouver hackathon.
- **2014** — Co-founded and launched Latergramme with Ian MacKinnon, Matt Smith, and Cindy Chen; began leading the original Later as CEO.
- **2015** — The Later founders committed to the business full-time in March and hired their first employee, according to Patterson’s 2021 recollection.
- **2016** — Latergramme renamed itself Later on April 13, reflecting plans beyond Instagram.
- **2021** — Later announced 1,135% revenue growth and placements of 19th in the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 and 119th in the Fast 500.
- **2022** — Mavrck acquired Later in April. The announcement assigned Patterson the Later business-unit presidency and a board seat.
- **2023** — End of his 2014-2023 CEO tenure as described by Creative Destruction Lab; published arguments about AI and the creator economy.
- **2024** — Later and Mavrck announced a unified Later brand in January under CEO Lyle Stevens.

## Achievements

- Co-founded the original Later, which grew into an international social media marketing business and was acquired by Mavrck in April 2022.
- Co-founded Launch Academy, a nonprofit supporting Vancouver technology entrepreneurs.
- Designed and taught entrepreneurship courses and workshops for postgraduate students at universities including Queen’s, Waterloo, UBC, and the University of Toronto.
- Creative Destruction Lab credits him with founding and growing five companies and one nonprofit, including two large exits.
- Led Later during the period reflected in its November 2021 announcement of 1,135% revenue growth and Deloitte technology rankings.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — A Product Market Fit Show retrospective revisited Later’s growth and 2022 acquisition through co-founder Ian MacKinnon’s account; this is a retrospective about the company, not a new Patterson role.
- **2024-01** — Later and Mavrck formally united under the Later brand; the announcement named Lyle Stevens CEO.
- **2023-03** — His Forbes Business Council article discussed trends shaping the creator economy during a downturn.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rogerpatterson/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/flockswarm

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/roger-patterson
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-25