Sean Stephens
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Sean Stephens | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 14, 1974 Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Occupations | Entrepreneur, software developer, musician |
| Known for | Treefrog Inc., Perfect (software framework), viral music |
| Website | seanstephens |
Sean Stephens (born September 14, 1974) is a Canadian entrepreneur, software developer, and musician. He is the chief executive officer of Treefrog Inc., a digital agency, and the founder of the open-source server-side Swift framework Perfect.
Early life and education
[edit | edit source]Stephens was born in Toronto and raised on a dairy farm in Warkworth, Ontario.[1] His family relocated abroad as missionaries during his childhood, living in Portugal, Angola, and Zimbabwe.[2] He was homeschooled during the Angolan Civil War and later attended a boarding school in Harare.[2] He returned to Canada as a teenager, completing high school in Winnipeg and studying at several Canadian universities.[2]
Career
[edit | edit source]Business ventures
[edit | edit source]Stephens became CEO of Treefrog Inc., a web design and digital transformation agency, in the early 2000s.[1] Under his leadership, the company expanded its services to include branding and AI strategy.[3] The Newmarket Chamber of Commerce named him Entrepreneur of the Year in 2015.[4]
In 2015, Stephens founded PerfectlySoft Inc., which launched Perfect, an open-source web framework for the Swift programming language.[5][6] He also acquired and relaunched the Lasso language through LassoSoft Inc.[2] He founded the IoT company Ubiqweus, which launched the qBiq environmental sensor in 2016.[7]
Stephens has pitched business ideas on the CBC television series Dragons' Den and launched a startup accelerator program through Treefrog.[8] In 2024, he received a speaker award from TEC Canada.[9][10]
Music
[edit | edit source]Stephens began recording music in the 1990s.[11] He gained viral attention in 2023 for the song "I Am Rectangular," which he performed in Times Square and which circulated on TikTok and the H3 Podcast.[12][13] He was subsequently invited to perform the song live with the band black midi.[14] He released the album Chasing Butterflies in 2024.[15][16]
Discography
[edit | edit source]| Year | Song title |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Mamkhulu |
| 2024 | Rectangular |
| Square | |
| Lead On | |
| Unicorn | |
| Magnetic | |
| Storm | |
| Hate Me | |
| Circle | |
| Strawberry | |
| Sunrise | |
| Spot | |
| Butterfly | |
| 2022 | Delilah |
| Silver Armor Man | |
| 2005 | Station Identification #1 |
| No Way, José | |
| It's a Miracle | |
| Soul Shock | |
| Inside Your Head | |
| Bike II | |
| Beer Song | |
| Haida Gwaii | |
| 2004 | Figure It Out |
| Silver Armour Man | |
| Pain | |
| Ride My Bike | |
| Code Monkey | |
| 1998 | Come On |
| Verbal Suicide | |
| Horizon | |
| Mistake |
Personal life
[edit | edit source]Stephens is a Latin dance enthusiast and promotes dance events in Ontario.[20] He is the tánaiste (heir-apparent) of the Ó Dubhda Irish heritage clan.[21]
He has volunteered at a homeless shelter in Calgary and received the Sesquicentennial Medal for volunteer service.[22]
In January 2024, Stephens and his two children were kidnapped and assaulted in Mbombela, South Africa, during an incident involving criminals impersonating police officers using blue flashing lights, a method commonly associated with Blue light bandits.[23][24][25][26]
References
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External links
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Category:1974 births
Category:Living people
Category:Businesspeople from Toronto
Category:Canadian chief executives
Category:Canadian company founders
Category:Canadian software engineers
Category:Canadian folk musicians
Category:21st-century Canadian singers