Founder & Operator — Kimberfire (Acquired)
Making AI workfor small business.
I help you find where AI genuinely fits, then build it: not a demo, a system that takes draining work off your plate and your team's, so a small team turns out the work of a much larger one.
Founder of Kimberfire (acquired) — the custom-jewelry company I spent thirteen years building by replacing the showroom with software I designed and shipped. Before that, an MBA from Ivey and investment banking.
A ten-minute assessment I built: which task to fix first, or whether AI fits at all. Results on the spot.
Most people selling AI to small business have never run one. I have. So I judge every build the way an owner has to: what it costs, what it saves, and whether it pays for itself.
A few beliefs that shape the work.
Start with the problem, not the tool
The useful question isn't “where can we use AI?” — it's “what work is draining your team?” That's where the good conversations start.
Systems over demos
A slick demo is easy. Something that quietly does real work every day is the hard part — and the only part that actually matters.
It should give you time back
AI should take work off your plate, not add one more thing to manage. If it isn't making the day lighter, it isn't working.
It earns its keep where the answer can be checked
Intake, quoting, filings, reconciliations, the bookkeeping you send out. Wherever work repeats and someone can check the result, AI has become genuinely good at it. Where the call takes real judgment, a person still makes it.
What this costs.
Five stages, each a fixed price you see before it starts, with a stopping point after every one. Not ready to build? A working session is 90 minutes of planning, strategy, or straight education on what AI means for your business, at a flat price per session. Just want it written down? Documentation is its own engagement — the way the business runs, documented workflow by workflow, whether or not anything gets automated.
If it won't pay for itself inside a year, I'll tell you not to build it.
See the numbers
Jonathan Goldberg — Toronto, Canada
Thirteen years building one company — concept to acquisition.
I spent thirteen years building Kimberfire, a technology-driven custom jewelry retailer, from the ground up to acquisition. The durable advantage wasn't just the product — it was the system behind it: a virtual consultation process that let a small team serve clients across Canada with the polish of a much larger operation. That system is a large part of what the buyer was buying. Building their own system is the same move I now help other businesses make.
I designed the system and the software behind it. I then ran its development for ten years, and I still advise Kimberfire on its technology post-acquisition.
I came to Kimberfire from the business side: an MBA from Ivey, then several years in investment banking at one of the large Canadian banks, building the models behind financings and M&A and seeing the deals through. That's still how I look at a business — including whether an AI build is worth the money. Before banking, I worked in luxury goods — business development and manufacturing — across Canada, the Middle East, and Belgium.
If you're an owner wondering where AI actually fits in your business, that's the conversation I'm most interested in.
Banker, then builder.
- 2026 — Present
Builder & Advisor
AI × Small Business
Building and advising on where AI genuinely helps small business: practical systems that take draining work off the owner and their team, and let a small team turn out the work of a much larger one. Built the assessment on this site, where every build starts: it scores a business's own workflows and makes the case for the one to fix first.
Applied AI
- 2026 — Present
Advisor
Kimberfire
Advising on technology, strategy, and operations post-acquisition.
Leadership
- 2013 — 2025
Founder, President & CEO
Kimberfire
Built the business from concept to acquisition. Designed the system — a proprietary virtual consultation process that blended e-commerce efficiency with personalized service — and the software behind it, then ran its development for ten years. Also owned brand, digital presence, supplier relationships, and the CAD/CAM production pipeline.
Entrepreneurship
- 2021 — 2023
Mentor
BHive & Toronto Business Development Centre
Mentor in the Start-Up Visa Program and Start-Up Incubator.
Mentorship
- 2009 — 2012
Associate, Investment Banking
National Bank Financial
Focused on financings and M&A for issuers in the mining, agriculture, and diversified sectors. Played an active role in deal origination, execution, and financial modeling.
Finance
- 2008 — 2009
MBA
Ivey Business School, Western University
Full-time MBA. The bridge from the diamond trade to investment banking.
Education
- 2006 — 2008
Business Development Manager
Northam Diamond Inc.
Business development and manufacturing roles in Canada, the Middle East, and Belgium.
International Business
Featured & quoted.
20+ publications across business, lifestyle, and Canadian press.