Building Tiny: Our Journey to DEYA Recognition

 

I was recently honored alongside Andrew Wilkinson as Distinguished Entrepreneurs of the Year by UVic’s Gustavson School of Business.

Being recognized for our work at Tiny—which now owns over 40 businesses, including Letterboxd and AeroPress—is truly humbling.

Here are a few highlights from the article, though I highly recommend reading the full story:

The Recognition
Pete Gustavson, chair of the DEYA committee, said:

“We are pleased to recognize Andrew Wilkinson and Chris Sparling as our 2025 DEYA recipients. They have created many opportunities for businesses to grow and thrive.”

Our Entrepreneurial Journey
Our partnership began at MetaLab in 2009. Like many entrepreneurs, we learned through trial and error:

“We started everything from productivity apps to skincare brands. Some worked, many didn’t. But each failure taught us something valuable about capital allocation and what makes businesses actually work.”

Building Tiny
Inspired by Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger, we realized we could take a different approach:

“Instead of starting new businesses from scratch, we could apply Berkshire Hathaway’s model to internet businesses—finding great companies with proven track records and holding them forever.”

Our philosophy has become core to Tiny:

“Most companies get worse after they’re acquired. We built Tiny to be different—we buy profitable businesses and then stay out of their way. No unnecessary meetings, no forced synergies, just support when it’s needed.”

Community Impact
We’re proud to grow a world-class company while actively supporting Victoria’s business ecosystem. Mia Maki, Associate Dean External at Gustavson, noted:

“Andrew and Chris represent a new model of entrepreneurship. They’ve shown you can build a world-class company from Victoria while actively supporting our local business ecosystem.”

The award ceremony will take place on June 10 at the Victoria Conference Centre.

For more on our journey and impact, visit Chris Sparling.