Meet Caylee Kalisky & Boris Zipilevich
“We thought- let’s find a way to freelance our talent together. That’s when it started.”
Caylee Kalisky and Boris Zipilevich are not your typical millennial couple. They’re driven by the desire to achieve, and already have plenty to show for it.
Caylee, along with her boyfriend Boris, started Blank Canvas Solutions, a company that specializes in website development and analytics, marketing, graphic design, 2D animations and voice overs.
“I always knew I wanted to do something with a creative side to it, but I wasn’t sure what it was. Boris was the opposite: creative, but he loved numbers and business. We thought- let’s find a way to freelance our talent together. That’s when it started.”
Part of what sets their company apart is that Caylee and Boris are in a relationship. It is not an easily thing to work with a partner, never mind run a business together. Many people like that Caylee and Boris are a young couple working together. In fact, in their logo, the “C” and the “B” are blue while the rest of the letters are black. The “C” and “B” stand out just like Caylee and Boris do.
Boris’ parents also work together and served as an inspiration for the young couple. “I always thought it was so nice”, Caylee explained. The pair knows how to separate work and personal life, and although there have been challenges, they have managed to make it work.
“We work really well together. I have a partner in this process who is so supportive and also loves what we’re doing. I couldn’t run it without him and I know he would say the same.”
During their undergraduate degree, with Caylee studying in the New Media Program at Ryerson and University, and Boris studying Business, Economics and Statistics at the University of Toronto, the pair decided to find a way to combine both of their skillsets.
At first, they started out with a few clients and their business remained small enough to work part time. With continuous growth and more and more clients looking for their services, Caylee and Boris risked it all and it has been paying off. Caylee now works full time for their company, with Boris maintaining a part time position for the time being.
“This is our baby; our business that we started. You don’t think you can make it or do it, but if you just work hard you can do it.”
Caylee and Boris were not strangers to the feelings of pressure to find a job upon graduation like everyone else around them. However, the risk was worth it.
“The norm that society puts on people is for us to go to university, graduate and look for a stable paycheck job, a set 9-5 every day. That doesn’t have to be how it is. You’re still capable of being successful in your own way and finding what you want to do. Don’t cave to the pressure of what everyone thinks you should do. Do you.”
Check out Caylee and Boris’ start-up on Facebook and Instagram.
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Jumans of Toronto is a window into the lives and passion of Jewish young adults making their mark in the world. A 50-part series, Jumans is inspired by Humans of New York. If you’d like to recommend someone awesome to be highlighted, please send an email to adina@thehousetoronto.com.
Written by: Adina Samuels