In the early 2000s, as the internet entrenched itself into daily life, a glaring problem emerged: passwords.
The average person juggled a handful of logins, but as digital services multiplied, so did the chaos of remembering “Password123” for every account.
Enter Dave Teare, Roustem Karimov and Jeff Shiner—the trio behind 1Password, a Toronto-born company that redefined how the world secured its digital life.
Quest for Simplicity
With a passion for untangling complex problems, Jeff Shiner joined 1Password as CEO in 2012. The seeds, however, had been planted years earlier.
Co-founders Dave Teare, Sara Teare, Roustem Karimov, and Natalia Karimov launched the company in 2005 with a shared vision for better security.
Shiner, with his background in scaling tech ventures, recognized the urgent need for a tool that balanced ironclad security with effortless simplicity.
“Security shouldn’t feel like a burden.”
From Side Project to Global Phenomenon
The idea was radical for its time—a single, encrypted “vault” where users could store passwords, credit cards, and sensitive notes, all guarded by one master password. At a time when data breaches dominated headlines, 1Password offered not just a solution but a lifeline.
- 2006 The first version launched as a Mac-only app, built in Teare’s spare time between freelance gigs.
- Early Days: Bootstrapped and lean, the team obsessed over user feedback. While competitors chased venture capital, 1Password iterated quietly, refining its code in Toronto’s coffee shops.
- Privacy First: Unlike free alternatives that monetized user data, 1Password bet on a subscription model. No ads. No backdoors. Just trust.
Building the Vault
1Password’s success hinged on an unapologetic focus on trust. While Silicon Valley giants prioritized growth at all costs, the Toronto team doubled down on principles that felt distinctly Canadian:
- Zero-Knowledge Encryption: Even 1Password couldn’t peek into user vaults.
- Cross-Platform Accessibility: Seamless sync across devices arrived years before iCloud Keychain.
- Human-Centered Design: Features like Travel Mode—temporarily erasing sensitive data at border crossings—and Watchtower, which flagged compromised passwords, set industry standards.
By 2020, the company had quietly amassed 15 million users and over 100,000 business clients, including giants like IBM, Slack, and Asana.
Changing How the World Logged In
1Password didn’t just sell software. It sparked a cultural shift.
For individuals, it demystified cybersecurity. Strong passwords and two-factor authentication became mainstream, not jargon.
When it came to businesses, it became the backbone of remote work long before the early 2020s normalized distributed teams.
In terms of the industry, it proved privacy-focused tools could thrive without ads or data harvesting—a model later embraced by rivals like Bitwarden and Dashlane.
A Quiet Canadian Giant
By 2022, 1Password remained headquartered in Toronto, a testament to its commitment to its Canadian roots. This was a rarity in an era of tech acquisitions, where many startups were often absorbed into larger and lost their unique identities.
1Password’s journey from a small, bootstrapped, scrappy Canadian startup to a global security leader was a remarkable one. With a user base spanning millions and a reputation for excellence, the company had proven that its focus on trust, security, and simplicity was a winning formula.
It demonstrated that Canadian companies could compete on the global stage, drive innovation, and create jobs.
1Password’s story stood as a masterclass in building trust—one vault at a time. Its legacy in the tech industry was cemented.
