Kurtis Funai – Science, Technology and Engineering Award 2026

Alumni of Distinction Awards > 2026 > Kurtis Funai

Chief Technology Officer
Fullscript

Internet Application Programmer, 2011

Kurtis Funai is, by his own admission, a “proper nerd.” A software engineer at heart, he’s fascinated by the ins and outs of his craft and always curious about the latest developments in the field. When he’s coding, he’s in his element. Put him in a room with others like him, and he can talk tech for hours on end.

Yet, as Fullscript’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Funai is clear that what really drives him isn’t the technology itself. “A few moments in my career made me much more mission-driven: a family member’s cancer diagnosis, and my own experience with whole person care,” he said. “Fullscript builds software that helps health-care providers deliver the kind of care I’d want for my own friends and family. That’s what I’m here for. I feel a real responsibility to build software that makes it easier for providers to deliver personalized care and for patients, including myself, to stick with their health goals.”

Funai grew up obsessed with computers, video games, and art. When he was in elementary school, he was already building his own computers and making websites to share his art online. His parents, both of them entrepreneurs, encouraged his interests and showed him what it takes to run a business. As a teenager, he worked as a website designer for local businesses and volunteered at his high school as a teaching assistant.

Despite loving computers, Funai wasn’t sure what to do after high school. He worked in restaurants as a short order cook for a while until a friend encouraged him to explore Algonquin College. They said Algonquin College would help him turn his talent as a web developer into a career. In 2009, Funai took his friend’s advice and enrolled in the Internet Application Programmer program (now known as Web Development and Internet Applications).

“My time at Algonquin College gave me the skills I needed to go from hobbyist to professional developer, one who uses technology to solve real problems,” he said. “Jerome Mizon in particular, the professor who started the program, was fantastic and so supportive throughout my entire academic journey.”

Funai did his co-op at the Canada Revenue Agency, an experience he credits with “kick-starting” his career, and obtained his Algonquin College diploma in 2011. After a brief stint at a local company, he was hired by Rentview, a tech startup from Ireland, in late 2011. Being in a startup environment energized him. He enjoyed the breadth of his responsibilities, which ranged from software architecture to DevOps and everything in between. Above all, he loved the challenge of making the company grow and the freedom he had to experiment and build products to accomplish that.

Funai’s positive experience at Rentview prepared him for the next chapter in his career. In 2013, he joined Fullscript, a health tech startup based in Ottawa. Back then, Fullscript was known as an “online supplement dispensary.” They focused on simplifying how people got the natural health products (e.g., vitamins and minerals) their health-care providers recommended. But Fullscript had bigger ambitions. Their goal was to give providers a platform to deliver personalized, preventive, and integrative care to patients. They wanted to help people better manage chronic conditions and prevent disease so they can lead healthier lives. They called this approach “whole person care,” and Funai would help them get there.

He started out as a software developer at Fullscript. He knew that to grow, he needed to connect with and learn from other developers. He got involved in Ottawa’s tech community and started attending meet-ups with like-minded developers. He was particularly active in the Ruby, Go, and JavaScript circles, co-organizing the meetings of Ottawa Ruby and Ottawa Gophers between 2014–2019 and 2015–2017, respectively.

An Ottawa Ruby meeting at Fullscript in 2018. Source: Ottawa Ruby (X).

Ottawa Ruby helped shape Fullscript’s trajectory: many group members were or became employees, and Fullscript still hosts the group’s meetings today. The company continues to sponsor many local meet-ups, Ruby and Ruby on Rails conferences, and the Rails Foundation.

“My best recommendation for early-career developers is to get involved in their local developer communities,” he said. “In my opinion, it’s one of the best ways to develop a network and grow. It was transformative for me.”

It’s no coincidence that Funai’s meteoric rise at Fullscript—from developer to CTO in six short years—happened in tandem with his participation in these communities. The people he met at these meet-ups became some of his strongest professional and personal relationships. They helped him elevate his skills, which helped him to scale Fullscript’s technology through rapid growth in the mid- to late 2010s.

When Funai was appointed CTO in 2019, Fullscript had recently merged with US-based Natural Partners and doubled in size. The next five years would bring two additional acquisitions, Emerson Ecologics and Rupa Health, substantially expanding Fullscript’s offering of wellness products, diagnostic tools, and laboratory testing. This growth continued to attract investment from financial sponsors, and Fullscript today has an annual revenue of over $1B USD and more than 1,000 employees in hubs across North America.

Throughout all of these developments, Funai has overseen Fullscript’s technology strategy and execution while fostering a healthy developer culture that enabled the company’s sustainable scaling.

“By far, my biggest career accomplishment is seeing the people I work with grow and scale with Fullscript,” he said. “For example, Patrick Vice started as an intern on my team back in 2014. Now, he is our Vice President of Engineering, Product and Platform and one of the best software engineers I’ve ever met. There are many stories like Patrick’s at Fullscript. We invest in and learn from each other. We help each other reach our full potential.”

Funai (back row, fifth from the right) and some of his Fullscript colleagues at the company’s annual signature event, Fullhouse 2026. Source: Dennis Richter (LinkedIn).

Over the years, Funai has stayed connected with Algonquin College and continues to supports the College’s programs. He understands how important it is to mentor the rising generation of developers. Additionally, Fullscript employs dozens of Algonquin College alumni in its two Ottawa locations and is a key sponsor of the College’s Women in Tech and Trades (WiTT) program.

Funai has found success and fulfilment by being both a dedicated technologist and a business leader who lives and breathes his company’s mission. Ashley Cannon, Fullscript’s Executive Business Partner to the CTO, believes this is quite unique for someone in his position. “Kurt is the CTO, but his focus goes well beyond the technology,” she said. “It’s all about his personal connection to Fullscript’s mission and the people behind it. That’s how you get to the heart of who Kurt really is.”