Portrait of an Entrepreneur: Sarah Seddiki

For Sarah Seddiki, entrepreneurship has always felt like a natural path. But through her first ventures, another conviction emerged: her work needed to make a positive contribution to society.

With LS2, she found in education a field that gives purpose to that ambition. The company develops and distributes software for educational institutions, providing them with better technology to support teaching.

Since its founding in 2017, LS2 has grown through trial and error, continuous learning, and the trust of its clients. Sarah has built the company around one key priority: serving the institutions that give LS2 the opportunity to support them.

In this interview, she reflects on her journey from accounting to entrepreneurship, shares the lessons that have transformed the way she works, and explains how she found her place within the entrepreneurial community.

My name is Sarah, but my friends usually call me ... Sarah. I founded my startup LS2 in 2017 because I wanted to lead a project from A to Z, rather than focusing on just one part of it. As a child, I wanted to be a businesswoman and I was a huge fan of my dad. My favourite meal is ... I’m not sure I have one, but when I’m hungry, anything tastes good!, and if you ran into me on a Sunday, I’d probably be reading a book or learning something new.

🎙️ Let’s go back a little: what was your journey before starting your business?

I studied business administration at Université Laval, then completed my bachelor’s degree in accounting at HEC Montréal. After that, I worked briefly at Deloitte. I liked the structure that accounting provided, but the day-to-day work wasn’t for me. I needed the freedom to be creative in business.

I launched my first tea company, which won several awards, followed by a women’s accessories business whose products I distributed through retailers including Jean Coutu pharmacies. I travelled to Asia a lot for these businesses, but I still felt like something was missing.

Then I met Louis, my co-founder, who is incredibly talented in IT. We started taking on consulting contracts together.

When we began working with educational institutions, I loved it. Everyone told me that educational technology wasn’t a profitable sector, but I followed my heart.

Did you always know you wanted to become an entrepreneur?

Yes, absolutely. I didn’t know exactly what entrepreneurship was, but I knew I wanted to be a businesswoman. My father had his own company: he had to find solutions, talk to clients, and figure things out. I loved every aspect of what he did.

Even at a very young age, I already wanted to get started. When I was ten, I would organize garage sales with things from around the house, sometimes even things my father didn’t want to sell! He let me do it to encourage me.

When did you tell yourself, “I’m ready, I’m going for it”?

I knew I wanted to become an entrepreneur as early as high school. To me, education was supposed to help me get there, but the people around me encouraged me to first develop a concrete profession. That’s why I chose accounting.

But after four months at Deloitte, it was clear that path wasn’t right for me. I wanted to be involved in many different things, come up with ideas, and bring them to life. Entrepreneurship no longer really felt like a choice, it was simply what suited who I was.

Where does the name LS2 come from?

We wanted to offer Specialized software solutions (LSS in French). We kept it simple, and choosing LS2 took us about two minutes.

For me, what matters most is the value we bring to our clients. I’d rather find a name that works and move forward than spend a huge amount of time on that detail.

Did you go through an incubator? What did you get out of it?

Yes, I completed Centech’s Acceleration and Propulsion programs.

When you’re building a company, you wear a lot of hats without necessarily having all the skills you need. My strengths were accounting and business development. For everything else, I had a lot to learn.

Centech gave me access to people who had that expertise. It helped me understand areas like human resources and financing much more quickly. More than anything, what I gained from the experience was collective intelligence.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

“It’s as simple as that.”

We tend to make things far more complicated than they need to be. At its core, building a company is about identifying a need in a market and meeting it.

Then you have to come back to practical questions: Who are my clients? Where are they? How can I meet them? For me, keeping things simple makes it easier to move forward.

And if you had to give another entrepreneur one piece of advice?

Become an entrepreneur for the right reasons. It takes time, and you have to love what you do to get through the failures and challenges.

I worked hard for years before I started to feel genuinely proud of what I had built. If you’re doing it solely for the money, I’m not sure it’s worth it. When you’re doing it for the right reasons, success isn’t just about making money.

If we look five years ahead, where do you see your startup?

I’d like to strengthen our presence across Canada and continue building relationships with the clients we already have in the United States.

But my priority remains serving our clients well. They’ve placed their trust in us and given us the opportunity to support them. I want us to be able to help more people while continuing to keep our current clients happy.

What’s the next major step toward that vision?

To keep doing what we’re doing, one step at a time.

I used to always look for the next big thing to accomplish. Over time, I’ve realized that when you keep moving forward, opportunities arise. You can then recognize them and seize them. I’ve learned to trust that process more.

What do you need most right now?

I feel truly grateful for what we have. We chose a structure that works for us: The company is funded entirely through its own revenue, with no equity dilution.

We’ve reached a really good rhythm now. It took time, but we’ve built trust and credibility. Things are moving forward more naturally. I don’t feel like there’s anything in particular we’re missing, we mostly just need to keep going.

Looking back, what are you most proud of today?

Being able, through my entrepreneurial journey, to express who I truly am.

For a long time, I felt a little different, like the black sheep. I had lots of ideas, a lot of optimism, and a desire to change the world. Sometimes, that made me question myself.

Being around other entrepreneurs made me realize that there are plenty of people like me. The environments at Ax.c and Centech have helped me embrace who I am. And the more I’m myself, the more fulfilled I feel.

On the other hand, what has been the most challenging?

Not realizing sooner that working more doesn’t necessarily mean achieving more.

Eventually, something clicked, but it came at a high cost. Working 80 hours a week isn’t the path to success.

Is there a phrase or mantra that guides you?

“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.”

To me, it means we can allow ourselves to dream big. Even if we don’t end up exactly where we intended to go, we can still find ourselves somewhere wonderful.

Is there one person who has really made a difference in your journey?

My parents. They’ve always believed in me, sometimes even more than I believed in myself.

Hearing them tell me, “Go for it, you can do it,” made a huge difference. Having that support to take the leap and keep going is incredibly valuable.

Has Ax.c made a difference in your entrepreneurial journey?

To me, it’s one of the greatest privileges a tech entrepreneur can have in Quebec.

We’re constantly surrounded by other technology companies. Whenever we need something, we can ask for help or be connected with the right person.

Entrepreneurship can be very isolating, with limited resources. Here, I feel like there’s an abundance of resources, but above all, an abundance of people and human connections, all within beautiful offices.

To wrap up: what motivates you to get up in the morning?

Knowing that I’m making a positive impact. Working in education means having the privilege of contributing to something that truly matters to me. That’s what motivates me and makes me feel good about what I do.

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