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In many ways, Rockwood is making good on that dream as the founder and CEO of CapIntel. With offices across North America, the wealth-tech company specializes in proposal-building tools that help financial advisors explain investment opportunities to clients so they can plan for their financial futures. Since its launch in 2017, the company has grown rapidly; its products, are used by more than 20,000 financial advisors across North America, and it has signed strategic partnerships with five major Canadian banks and several insurance companies.

“Our products enable advisors to show clients how intangible products can help them achieve tangible life goals, such as retiring on time, purchasing a house, or affording childcare,” he says.

“There are approximately three-and-a-half million people being served by financial advisors who use our platform.”

But the path Rockwood forged for himself is somewhat different from the one he initially envisioned. “I made a pivot along the way,” he says.

Destined to make an impact

Growing up in Halifax, Rockwood was destined to do something with an impact. His favorite childhood game was inventor—essentially hammering something together in his father’s woodshop. But he also drew inspiration from his parents, Dal professors Dr. Ken Rockwood (PGM’91) and Dr. Susan Howlett—both widely renowned for their research in aging and frailty.

“They’re the reason why I wanted to lead a business that helps people,” Rockwood explains. “I felt I could mirror the impact they’ve had.”

Rockwood’s plan for doing that involved completing a CPA degree in the Management Faculty at Dal and a job in investment banking, followed by an MBA from Harvard and running a public company. But a stint in investment banking made Rockwood realize he wasn’t suited for work in a corporate environment. Seeing the rise of online robo-advisor tools, he had an epiphany.

“There was a ton of articles in the media about how people were unhappy with the wealth management industry,” Rockwood says. “Given the impact it has on people and their goals, I thought there has to be a better way to do this.”

Rockwood’s solution was CapIntel, but he struggled to find the advice and investment he needed to thrive until he heard about (CDL-Atlantic), a business accelerator program at Dal. “I knew they had people like John Risley, Jim Spatz and (notable alum) George Armoyan () giving feedback to companies, and that was all I needed to know,” Rockwood says.

The program was a great fit for Rockwood. He liked that the onus was on him to prove himself, that his business plans were heavily scrutinized, and that he had access to a wide range of perspectives through his mentors.

“Up until that point, I was getting haphazard advice,” he says. “At CDL-Atlantic, I got to spend hours with several mentors and gain a broad-based consensus on my goals, priorities, and challenges. None of the achievements I’ve made would have been possible without the transformation I went through in the program.”

Inspiring a new generation of entrepreneurs

Now, Rockwood is doing his part to help a new generation of entrepreneurs thrive. He is mentoring CDL-Atlantic participants as an alumni associate and he delivers an annual lecture on the industry and his experiences to students in professor Maria Pacurar’s introduction to fintech course.

“I have a section called things I wish I knew when I was at Dal,” Rockwood says, laughing. “It’s meant to be mainly about wealth-tech, but these real-world lessons are just as useful. I hope that they carry that forward in case they decide to make a similar pivot.”

As for Rockwood, he is securing more investors and drawing up plans for CapIntel that go beyond anything he could have imagined at the age of four.

“There is so much more we can do,” he says. “Not just growing this to be as big as it can be through new markets, but also the impact we can have. I think we’re just at the beginning of our trajectory.”