When Jordan Goure founded Picsume Inc., he wasn’t your typical first-time tech entrepreneur. With nearly two decades of business experience across hospitality, real estate, and micro-manufacturing, Jordan had built and scaled multiple companies before ever launching a line of code.

But no matter the business, he kept running into the same problem: hiring.

“We’d post a job and get a thousand resumes,” Jordan says. “Even with an HR team, it was overwhelming. It was impossible to sort through the noise, and the software out there wasn’t built for businesses like ours.”

That pain point eventually turned into a vision. Picsume—short for “a leveled-up résumé”—is a platform that replaces static, outdated résumés with structured, dynamic profiles designed to actually get job seekers in front of hiring managers. Launched in 2023, the platform quickly gained traction with both individual users and large enterprises.

Why IP moved from “someday” to “right now”

Jordan wasn’t new to the basics of intellectual property. In his previous ventures, he’d handled trademarks and brand protection. But Picsume was different. It wasn’t just a product—it was proprietary technology. And with that came an entirely new set of questions.

“We knew IP would matter eventually,” he says. “But when we started raising funds, it became clear that it wasn’t something we could put off.”

During their first demo day, Jordan and his team brought investors, stakeholders, and even Members of Parliament together on their 30-acre winery campus in Windsor-Essex. The pitch was polished. The vision was clear. But nearly every investor asked the same thing: what’s your IP strategy?

“I realized we had to take real, tangible steps right away,” Jordan says. “We couldn’t just say ‘we’ll get there.’ We had to show that we were serious.”

That urgency became a turning point for the company. After that day, Jordan connected with WEtech Alliance, who introduced him to Elevate IP.

From vision to validation: Building IP strategy with Elevate

Picsume joined the Elevate IP program at Tier 2. With funding support in place, Jordan and his team got to work building a multi-layered IP strategy that would protect their technology and set the stage for future growth.

At the heart of that strategy was Picsume’s non-biased matching algorithm—a unique system designed to ensure fairer, more accurate candidate-employer matches using structured, validated data. The algorithm wasn’t just a feature—it was a first-of-its-kind system for the Canadian market.

“We had already done the hard work,” Jordan says. “What Elevate IP allowed us to do was bring it to the right experts, who could confirm what we suspected: that our work was not only original, but protectable.”

The patent lawyers agreed—enthusiastically. “Usually lawyers are cautious. But they came back and said, ‘not only is this patentable, there are multiple layers of protection here.’ That was huge.”

Picsume will continue to work with the Elevate program, where they will begin the process of formal patent filings and expanded trademark strategy across new markets. Their platform now includes both a free candidate tool and a scalable business suite that lets small companies or large enterprises manage continuous hiring with structured data—no more PDFs, no more outdated CVs.

Why IP strategy gave them more than just protection

While the legal protections were important, Jordan says the biggest value from Elevate IP was the confidence it gave the team.

“As entrepreneurs, we’re driven by validation—not just money,” he says. “Having experts tell us we were building something truly original gave us clarity, confidence, and momentum.”

Picsume is now being used by some of Canada’s largest manufacturers and continues to scale its enterprise platform. Their algorithm scores candidates in the 90th percentile across all major applicant tracking systems and AI scanners. For employers, their system acts like a recruitment agency in a box—automating intake, tracking, and follow-up without the cost or complexity.

And they’ve done it all while staying rooted in Windsor-Essex. While other tech companies migrated to Toronto or the U.S., Jordan doubled down on his hometown, turning a winery into a tech campus and using the business to attract other entrepreneurs to the region.

“We were getting pressure to move to bigger markets,” he says. “But we chose to stay and build something special here. We want to prove that great tech can be built outside the usual places.”

Why Jordan recommends Elevate IP to any founder

For Jordan, Elevate IP wasn’t just helpful—it was the missing piece. And what stood out the most was how easy it was to get started.

“So many programs are complicated or time-consuming,” he says. “But Elevate IP was approachable. It gave us access to the right people, at the right time, without creating more work.”

He believes that’s exactly what founders—especially newer ones—need.

“These programs shouldn’t make you feel more overwhelmed. They should build confidence. And that’s exactly what Elevate IP does. It gives you tools, but more importantly, it gives you clarity.”

For a company built on the belief that hiring should be smarter, faster, and more human—Elevate IP helped make sure their solution is protected, scalable, and ready for whatever comes next.

Original Article on Communitech