Our Journey to Financial Freedom
Building Canada's most trusted investing education platform, one investor at a time
How NextTrail Began
Back in 2019, we were two friends sitting in a Calgary coffee shop, frustrated by the same problem that affects millions of Canadians. Sarah had just watched her parents lose a chunk of their retirement savings to high-fee mutual funds, while Michael was helping his sister navigate confusing investment advice that seemed designed to benefit everyone except her.
That conversation sparked something. We realized that financial education in Canada was either too academic or too sales-focused. There wasn't a place where everyday people could learn practical investing skills without getting overwhelmed by jargon or pressured into buying products they didn't understand.
"We wanted to create the resource we wished we'd had when we started investing – honest, practical, and focused on building real wealth over time."
What started as weekend workshops in community centers has grown into NextTrail – a comprehensive platform that's helped over 15,000 Canadians take control of their financial future. We've kept our focus simple: teach people how to invest wisely, avoid common mistakes, and build wealth that lasts.
Meet Your Investment Guides
The people behind NextTrail are real investors who've made their share of mistakes and learned valuable lessons along the way
Sarah Chen
Co-Founder & CEO
Sarah spent eight years as a financial analyst at TD before founding NextTrail. She holds a CFA designation and has a knack for explaining complex concepts in ways that actually make sense. When she's not creating educational content, you'll find her hiking the Rockies or testing new dividend strategies with her own portfolio. Her specialty is helping people understand the psychology behind successful long-term investing.
Michael Rodriguez
Co-Founder & Investment Director
Michael's background in wealth management showed him firsthand how the traditional financial industry often fails individual investors. He's passionate about ETF investing and tax-efficient strategies that work for regular people, not just high-net-worth clients. His weekend hobby of building furniture reflects his approach to investing: solid fundamentals, attention to detail, and building something that lasts.
Education First
We believe knowledge beats speculation every time. Our courses focus on proven strategies, not get-rich-quick schemes.
Practical Focus
Everything we teach is designed for real-world application. No theory without practice, no advice without experience backing it up.
Your Success
We measure our success by yours. Every course, every lesson, every piece of advice is designed to help you build lasting wealth.