Where We Started
Last summer, we celebrated Trinary’s 10th anniversary. Ten years is long enough to have lived through several business lifecycles, yet still short enough to feel like everything is just beginning.
Today, Trinary designs and develops artificial intelligence solutions and custom web applications for Quebec SMEs looking to structure, automate, and scale their operations sustainably.
In reality, the story began a little before 2015. It started in 2012, in an apartment.
At the time, we were working from home, and at Pascal’s place whenever we needed to be together to think, debate, and design architectures on an improvised whiteboard. We had laptops, a lot of energy, and a fairly unreasonable level of ambition. But let’s be honest: a living room is not an ideal environment for building ambitious and durable systems.
So we quickly started looking for a real office.
We found a loft on Sainte-Catherine Street, in Montreal’s Quartier des spectacles. An authentic and inspiring space that we initially subleased before eventually taking full possession of it a few years later. It was there that Trinary officially took shape in 2015, initially as a technology startup incubator.
At the time, our business model was simple, but demanding: we invested our time and technical expertise in exchange for equity. We didn’t just want to deliver development hours; we wanted to help build something that could last.
At the same time, we operated under another banner, HiveTek, handling more traditional mandates for well-known marketing agencies. We worked behind the scenes, but we were building strong foundations. That period shaped our DNA: technical rigor, an obsession with stability, and deep respect for architecture.
It was also during those years that we hired our first employee, Randi, who is still with us today. Her arrival marked an important transition: we were becoming a team.
Three Complementary Profiles
From the very beginning, Trinary has been built on the complementarity of three profiles.
Karl Johnson is a passionate entrepreneur and DevOps strategist. He started in web hosting at a very young age and founded Aeris Network, a company that is still active today. Karl thinks in terms of resilient infrastructures, performance, and scalability. He has the ability to see systems as a whole and anticipate challenges before they become problems.
Pascal Meunier, our CTO, is a proud geek in the noblest sense of the term. From a very young age, he would take things apart just to understand how they worked. Today, he transforms ambitious ideas into high-performing, reliable, and sustainable technical solutions. He doesn’t just aim to make things work; he aims to make them work cleanly, efficiently, and for the long term.
As for me (Francis Perron), my background is different. Formerly a graphic designer, I transitioned into front-end development with the goal of combining creativity and technology. I also oversee marketing and company growth. I enjoy thinking about how systems, digital experiences, and strategy can align to accelerate growth and create a real competitive advantage.
Together, we cover three essential dimensions: infrastructure and robustness, architecture and technical performance, as well as experience, product, and growth. That balance is what shaped Trinary and continues to guide our decisions today.
From a 360 Agency to Complex Systems
After HiveTek merged into Trinary, we pivoted toward a full-service web agency model. We handled UX, design, development, and strategic consulting. We created ambitious and visually striking experiential websites that we are still proud of today.
But over time, one realization became clear: since most of our team consisted of backend developers passionate about complex systems, building showcase websites — no matter how elegant — was no longer enough to satisfy our technical ambition.
So we redirected our energy toward web applications and more foundational solutions, where the challenges are greater, architectural thinking is central, and the value created is long-lasting.
The Arrival of AI and the Acquisition of Kinetik Solutions
The arrival of ChatGPT marked a turning point. We didn’t see it merely as a trend, but as a profound transformation in the way systems are designed and business processes are intelligently automated.
It was in this context that we acquired Kinetik Solutions, a young startup focused on operational efficiency. This acquisition allowed us to accelerate our shift toward artificial intelligence by integrating a product-driven vision and an emerging technology stack that helped shape our current offering.
Today, we develop custom artificial intelligence solutions and advanced web applications for Quebec SMEs, with a structured, responsible, and results-oriented approach. Concretely, we help businesses:
-
Optimize and automate their processes
-
Structure and leverage their data intelligently
-
Integrate AI in a practical and sustainable way
Our goal is not to chase trends, but to build useful, high-performing, and scalable systems.
Our Mission: Bringing Artificial Intelligence into Quebec SMEs in a Practical Way
Our vision is not to create impressive demonstrations, but to design systems that are genuinely useful. We believe artificial intelligence becomes powerful when it is integrated into existing processes, structured around clean data, and deployed within a robust technological framework.
That is why we develop custom artificial intelligence solutions tailored to the realities of local businesses.
And when needs go beyond AI alone, we also design custom digital products and web applications capable of supporting long-term growth.
What Has Never Changed
In ten years, many things have evolved: our offices, our business model, our positioning, our technologies.
But one thing has remained constant.
We have always wanted to understand before building. We have always preferred robust solutions over quick fixes. And we have always enjoyed complex challenges.
We started in a living room with laptops.
Today, we develop advanced systems in a recognized innovation center.
Trinary is no longer an incubator, nor a 360 web agency. It is a team of people passionate about programming and about creating innovative solutions for local businesses.
And if the first ten years have taught us anything, it is that evolution is part of our DNA.
The next decade promises to be even more ambitious.
What’s Next?
If you are a Quebec SME looking to integrate artificial intelligence into your processes, optimize your operations, or develop a custom web application, we would be happy to discuss it with you.
To learn more about our vision and strategic approach, you can also consult our pitch deck.
The next decade is only just beginning.
