Mike Gettis is Co-Founder & CEO of Endy, a Canadian-based, e-commerce company that sells sleep products online.

Marketer de formation, Jeff Doucet a cofondé J’Entreprends Québec en 2014, un OBNL dont la mission est de stimuler les échanges entre les grands acteurs de la communauté entrepreneuriale du Québec via des projets rassembleurs et audacieux. En septembre 2019, il a cofondé le Grand Chien, une constellation créative qui offre des services de création d’image de marque et de communication expérientielle adaptée à des clients voulant créer une communauté autour de leur marque. Le Grand Chien a également conçu un écosystème créatif réalisé selon les principes de l’économie circulaire. Ce lieu réunit une constellation d’entrepreneurs visionnaires qui déborde d’énergie et de rêve et qui ont des compétences en communication, web, événementielle, intelligence collective ainsi que tout ce qui touche le développement de la conscience en affaires. Sa plus grande force, mobiliser des talents uniques, dévoués et hors pair autour de projets créatifs et visionnaires. Très sociable, Il adore rencontrer d’autres passionnés, partager ces passions et prendre part à des discussions profondes avec son réseau à travers des activités en montagne. 

Spencer Waugh is the CEO of AceAge, a healthcare technology company creating intuitive products to ease the aging process and improve health outcomes. AceAge’s product Karie is a personal health companion that organizes, schedules, and dispenses pills with easy on-button control. Karie was designed to make medication management as simple as possible to ensure user independence and provide caregivers with peace of mind. Spencer’s background lies in pharma, healthcare technology, and investment industries. He completed his Bachelor’s Degree in International Commerce & Global Development and attended The Bremen University of Applied Sciences for International Economics. In 2016, he was awarded with SmartStart from Ontario Centres of Excellence and with Fuel Injection from Innovation Guelph. Waugh has spoken at a number of Healthcare-Tech conferences including Healthkick, Aging 2.0, MedEdge and Apps4Health.

Entrepreneur à succès, François Lambert a cofondé le plus important centre d’appels au Canada, Atelka, ainsi qu’une entreprise technologique présente dans 75 pays, Aheeva. Il a investi dans plus d’une dizaine d’entreprises en carrière, dont Boostmi, une application d’assistance routière, nGUVU, une plateforme de mobilisation pour employés, les sous-vêtements UNDZ, Acier Saint-Jérôme et divers projets immobiliers. Il a lancé en décembre 2018 sa propre boutique en ligne, www.francoislambert.one, afin d’y vendre les produits provenant de son érablière et quelques-uns issus de ses autres entreprises. Fort du succès rencontré, il offre depuis une plateforme de visibilité à des entrepreneurs Québécois en vendant leurs produits sur son site. Connu du grand public lors de sa participation remarquée à l’émission Dans l’œil du dragon à Radio-Canada, François Lambert est l’auteur de deux livres sur l’entrepreneuriat, À prendre ou à laisser (réédité en 2019) et L’entrepreneuriat, c’est difficile. Point. (traduit en anglais en 2019), dans lesquels il transmet sa passion pour les affaires et déconstruit des mythes persistants sur l’entrepreneuriat. Il a aussi écrit Qu’est-ce que j’en pense ? (2018), un livre d’opinion où il offre son avis sans détour sur 30 enjeux québécois d’actualité. En conférence, il dévoile sans réserve et avec humour ses bons comme ses mauvais coups, révélant du même souffle les hauts et les bas de la vie en affaires. Avec le franc-parler qui a fait sa renommée, il partage son histoire inspirante et transmet aux participants le goût de prendre action aujourd’hui afin de poursuivre leurs rêves, que ce soit dans leur vie professionnelle ou personnelle. Grand sportif, il a réalisé quatre marathons, fait cinq années d’entraînement en triathlon et participé au CEO Endurance World Championship en 2012. Encore aujourd’hui, il maintient un rythme d’activité physique d’au minimum une à trois heures par jour. François partage son temps entre Montréal et sa terre de 600 acres en Outaouais où il cultive du maïs, du soja et de l’avoine, en plus de produire du sirop d’érable et du miel. Il y élève également quelques poules, lapins et moutons, notamment. François Lambert détient un baccalauréat en sciences comptables de l’Université du Québec en Outaouais.

Brett Chell is President of Cold Bore Technology in Calgary. The company uses technology that will change the landscape of the oil and gas industry.

Philippe Vennes, un gradué avec distinction de l’Université Bishop’s, est PDG de FLB Solutions Alimentaires, un distributeur alimentaire généraliste œuvrant dans le secteur du service alimentaire à Québec depuis maintenant 4 ans. L’entreprise offre à sa clientèle plus de 7,500 produits et son équipe de plus de 100 passionnés est toujours soucieuse d’offrir un service qui se démarque par la variété et la qualité de des produits ainsi que son service personnalisé. Philippe est un jeune entrepreneur et dirigeant d’entreprise ambitieux et dynamique qui cherche constamment à sortir ses équipes, ainsi que soi-même, de leur zone de confort dans une optique de développement continu. Philippe est un leader axé sur les résultats qui est à l’aise pour analyser et comprendre les chiffres, mais aussi capable de vulgariser des concepts complexes. Il peut ainsi former et conscientiser ses équipes afin qu’ils puissent se dépasser dans l’accomplissement de leurs objectifs.

Jackie Porter is an award-winning financial planner who has been in the financial industry for the past 22 years serving thousands of families, established businesses, and professionals in the Greater Toronto Area. Her practice focuses on cash flow management and tax planning strategies. Jackie is one of Canada’s most recognized financial planners. Her advice and financial strategies have been featured in top financial publications such as, Forum, Wealth Professional, Investment Executive and The Globe & Mail. Many have benefited from her sound and actionable financial advice offered at business conferences, radio interviews, podcasts and television programs such as CBC, Sun News and BNN. Jackie has also been awarded winner of the Mackenzie Investments Award for ‘Female Trailblazer of the Year’ category in the 2019 Wealth Professionals awards. Jackie co-authored "Single by Choice or Chance, the smart woman’s guide to living longer better". Raised by a single mom who passed away when Jackie was in her teens led Jackie to learn important lessons about becoming financially independent very early in her life. Since she had to become financially independent at such a young age she was hungry to learn the principles of real wealth and saw the profession as her golden opportunity. Jackie now shares her journey on how she created a 7-figure net worth out of very humble beginnings. She shares insights and real-life stories on how to build a financial fortress in this age of uncertainty by learning the basic principles of real wealth. Click here to learn more!

Bonnie Lewtas helps islands around the world become self-sufficient and resilient against climate change. She specializes on innovative energy, waste, water, food, and conservation solutions for hospitality. Her work has taken her to many different islands like BVI, Grenada, Dominica, Barbados, Antigua, Azores, Madeira, Sicily, Swedish Islands, Dutch Islands and more. Through her company TurtlCo, Bonnie works with the government of Friesland on the EU-Interreg Islands of Innovation project and several other organizations that support island sustainability. TurtlCo recently partnered with Island Growers to bring the first-ever hurricane-resistant hydroponic greenhouses to Caribbean resorts. Bonnie is a contributor for "The Tipping Guide: Strategies for creative local & regional innovation policies aimed at organizing "probing and learning" projects and programs for the future pathways of islands". The Guide can be used to compare the status quo with a desired future "the dream", create a new or revised policy program with a focus on engagement-oriented projects; and build innovation and teams to develop multi-sector action plans on topics like energy, water, transport, agriculture, circular economy, tourism, emerging technology, and more. You can download the guide at innovationislands.com

Angela Podolsky, is a serial award wining entrepreneur with most recently being nominated for an RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur award. She founded Kinesics Consulting, where she helps companies and individuals master their non-verbal communication skills, which is crucial to any successful business relationship. She is the only Paul Ekman Associate operating in Canada.

Vince Guzzo is a well-known entrepreneur based in Quebec who is owner and President of Cinémas Guzzo. He also owns a pizzeria and construction company. Guzzo, who is also a dragon on the popular Dragons Den CBC TV series, talks about being an entrepreneur - advice for success - and about dealing with the current COVID-19 crisis.

Sean Reid is the President and Head Coach of Arrowhead Coaching and Facilitation Solutions, based in West Niagara, Ontario. Arrowhead provides coaching and consulting solutions that help leaders lead with clarity and confidence. They work with individual business and community leaders and with organizations seeking to establish their own internal leadership development programs. Sean Reid has nearly two and a half decades of experience leading and growing high-performance organizations, and helping other leaders lead at all levels of the enterprise. In his career, Sean has worked in politics, high tech, government bureaucracies and start-up not-for-profits. He’s worked for companies with 100,000 employees and companies with 3 employees. He’s had lousy bosses and wonderful bosses, great relationships with co-workers and not-so-great relationships with co-workers, high-performing staff and low performing staff. He’s made a ton of mistakes and experienced some major successes too. He has learned, and grown and become the coach he is today, because of all of these experiences.

Sébastien Fiset, Président, Co-fondateur de Cookie Bluff à démarrer son aventure entrepreneuriale en 2017 avec la création de l’entreprise Cookie Bluff. Diplômé de l’Université Laval en 2014, et ce, en relations industrielles celui-ci à débuter sa jeune carrière en tant que Directeur des ressources humaines. Sans s’y attendre, ayant toujours eu la fibre entrepreneuriale, celui-ci saisie une opportunité d’affaire à la suite de la visualisation d’une vidéo d’un commerce de pâte à biscuits populaire de New-York. Étant déterminé et ayant la capacité de s’allier des meilleurs, celui-ci développa son plein potentiel et amena sa compagnie parmi les plus grands succès du domaine alimentaire en moins d’un an de vente avec plus de 2000 points de vente au Canada. Déjà près de deux ans après la création de l’entreprise, celui-ci s’apprête à percer le marché américain tout en aidant la relève entrepreneuriale par de judicieux conseils ainsi que par diverses conférences.

Devon Dooling lives and works in Vancouver, BC. She is the owner of: On The Rocks Ice Distribution and co-owner of Simply Pure Water in Victoria, BC. On The Rocks Ice makes the coolest and cleanest ice this side of the ice age and specializes in chilling events, hospitality and retail, throughout Vancouver and the Lower Mainland. When Devon is not talking all things ice and water-related, you can likely find her and her puppy Molly sipping on tea at a local coffee shop or on the soccer pitch with her step-kids and husband.

A 3-person small-group podcast on the future of financing for businesses focusing on 'partnerships' and 'collaborations' vs traditional 'loan' lending. With special guests: Jill Earthy, CEO Women’s Enterprise Centre Grant Lawrence, Co-Founder Valhalla Private Capital, President Valhalla Angels Kelowna, Co-President Valhalla Angels Vancouver Mike Winterfield, Founder & Managing Partner Active Impact Investments

Jim Estill is currently CEO of both Danby Appliances and ShipperBee. Danby Appliances manufactures and distributes over 2,000,000 appliances per year, such as bar fridges, freezers and microwaves. Danby is being transformed by their newest product Parcel Guard– a smart mailbox for consumers that stops parcel theft. ShipperBee is a new venture that is ready to revamp outdated shipping channels into a system that is better for consumers, retailers and the environment. Jim started a computer distribution business from the trunk of his car while in university. He grew that business to $2 Billion in sales. Jim has invested in, mentored and advised many technology companies including Blackberry. He joined their board before they went public and served for 13 years. Over the past few years, Jim Estill has been involved in sponsorship efforts to settle refugee families in Guelph. The Financial Times, BBC News, The Guardian, and Toronto Life have all covered his story. Jim’s most recent endeavour is as Co-founder of Ventilators for Canadians, (V4C) a growing team of philanthropists and entrepreneurs who have come together to find solutions to help Canadians through the COVID-19 health emergency. Jim was awarded the Order of Ontario, the provinces highest honour, in 2017. He the was Entrepreneur of the Year 2019 Ontario and has been awarded an Everyday Heroes Award by the Global Hope Coalition. In 2018 Jim Estill was awarded the Order of Canada. Jim lives in Guelph Ontario.

The Dream Founder - Sanjana Kapur Bansal, born in India, molded in America, and made it in Canada! Sanjana brings the ‘DREAM’ seed with her from Texas, United States where she led as the Sr. Commercial Energy Consultant for over five years, procuring energy contracts for all size businesses across United States and maintaining their energy portfolios. Sanjana earned her Bachelors of Business Administration (BBA) in International Business and Marketing from Stephen F. Austin State University (TX, USA) and her Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from University Of Texas at Tyler (TX, USA). Sanjana is a certified Business Energy Professional (BEP), and licensed energy broker in the province of Ontario. She strongly believes in the power of ‘education and empowerment’ that laid the foundation for Dream Energy Solutions. With Dream Energy, Sanjana wants to educate Ontario businesses about energy deregulation, empowering business owners with the knowledge and resources to make better energy decisions and pocket savings.

Food, wellness & personal beauty care is essential Five years ago, Rebecca Rochon founded Pivot & Pilot Creative, a boutique design agency in Vancouver that specializes in branding, packaging design, advertising, and website creation. Pivot & Pilot helps clients in the food, beauty and wellness space capitalize on their first impression. Aside from running her agency, Rebecca is actively involved in the business community in Canada and leads talks and workshops frequently. Pivot & Pilot runs a quarterly "Conversations" panel where Rebecca hosts a conversational interview with business leaders in Vancouver. Some past topics include "Launching Your Brand with Kickstarter", "Working Creatives: Making Creative Your Full-Time" and "Ecommerce vs Brick and Mortar". She also hosts Pivot & Pilot's YouTube channel where she interviews experts and speaks about the way design influences consumer behaviour. In her spare time she's on stage doing stand up comedy, at an art gallery or dancing with her dog, Bernie.

Jenn Harper, founder of Cheekbone Beauty, was born in Thunder Bay, Ontario and relocated to the Niagara Region where she was raised and developed a passion for cosmetics. Over the past ten years, Jenn has had successful career in sales and marketing with two large international corporations. During her first week of training session with one of these companies a questionnaire asked: "What is your dream job?" Jenn wrote "To be the CEO of a major cosmetic brand." At the time, there was no indication that Jenn would eventually set out to build Cheekbone Beauty. During the development of Cheekbone Beauty, Jenn researched the industry as well as charities that are helping close the educational funding gap that exists between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. Jenn found the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society (FNCFCS) and Cheekbone Beauty continues to support the FNCFCS today. During Cheekbone’s infancy, Jenn also suffered a heavy personal loss with the suicide of her brother B.J. This loss, though difficult, has remained a driving force behind Jenn’s desire to see Cheekbone Beauty succeed with its mission. In addition to Cheekbone’s mission, Jenn strives to educate as many Canadians as possible about the Residential School System and the effects it has had on her family and friends through decades of generational trauma. Jenn speaks regularly to university, college and high school students about social entrepreneurship, empathy and the history of her First Nations family. Jenn has also been invited to speak to various entrepreneur groups, women in business associations, Apple Canada and First Nations organizations. Jenn had been featured in media outlets such as Flare.com, APTN News, CBC Radio Unreserved, The Kit and Global’s News Radio. In 2017 Jenn Harper was awarded the "Social Enterprise Award" at the 17th Annual Women in Business Awards by the Women in Niagara (WIN) Council and the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce (GNCC) for her work on Cheekbone Beauty.

Jenn Lofgren is the founder of Incito, an executive leadership coaching firm in Calgary. For the last 15 years, Jenn has been coaching leaders and executives to be the bold, daring and magnetic leaders they know they can be. In this interview, she offers practical advice and resources for leaders who are looking to navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ryan Petrimoulx is the founder & principal at Bang the Drum, a boutique retail agency focusing on Retail, e-commerce and Growth Marketing. After having worked his way up from the front lines of the Retail sector since 2004, Ryan’s path has brought him through every aspect of the Retail industry, eventually leading him to begin working in Retail e-commerce in 2008. Founding his agency in 2013, Ryan has focused on working with both SMEs and Enterprise retailers who are looking to grow customers, build relationships, increase revenues & profitability.

Imagine a 10th century Viking TED Talk. Warrior, leader, motivational speaker, Ingrid Larsdöttir, reveals the untold truth of Viking shield maidens and what it takes to go to battle. Her presentation is a clarion call that that spans the centuries. She empowers women to claim their inner warrior and invites men to be allies in the battle for equality. Melanie Teichroeb wrote this solo show during the birth of the #MeToo movement. Shield Maiden addresses sexism, gender bias, sexual freedom, and trauma. It does so with irreverence, empathy and humour. The dance between strength and vulnerability is explored as the warrior character Ingrid works to recruit new warriors while inadvertently revealing her own dark and violent personal history. Melanie lives and works on Gabriola Island, British Columbia. Her day job is Chalk It Up Signs. The business, co-owned with husband and artist in his own right, Dave Teichroeb, creates hand drawn chalkboard art that ships worldwide. Shield Maiden is Melanie's first solo show. In addition to performing to sold out crowds in Canada, she has been honoured to perform in Austin, Texas and off Broadway in New York City. Canadian tour coming soon (once the pandemic ends and theatre lives again).

Diplômé en communication graphique de l’Université Laval, Francis Drolet est un entrepreneur en série. Il a fondé Click Contact en 2003, et est également le cofondateur de l’entreprise Slow Cow, qui distribue à l’international la boisson relaxante du même nom. Débordant d’énergie et d’idées, Francis Drolet est un leader naturel, mais surtout un créateur de génie depuis plus de quinze ans. Il exploite son talent au sein de l’entreprise Yankee Média dont il est le cofondateur.

Dr. Laura Hambley is a Workplace Psychologist, Speaker and Author. She describes herself as a serial entrepreneur with businesses including Calgary Career Counselling, Canada Career Counselling, Synthesis Psychology and WorkEvOHlution. Hambley talks about being an entrepreneur and how to cope with the COVID-19 crisis.

Coming to Canada from Iran for post secondary studies, Meti Basiri, Co-Founder and CMO of ApplyBoard, Massi, and their eldest brother Martin, experienced the challenges international students face trying to access education. ApplyBoard was founded—out of these shared experiences—to streamline the student application process. The three brothers were featured on three Forbes Top 30 Under 30 Lists. Since ApplyBoard’s founding in 2015, the staff has grown to nearly 300, raised USD $54 million (CAD $72 million) and last month was named Canada’s fastest-growing technology company. They have helped over 70,000 students around the world with their academic journey, and have grown to become the world’s largest platform for international student recruitment to Canada and the United States.

Responsible for leading Edgewater Wireless, Andrew Skafel's broad strategic perspective comes from his work with both multinational equipment vendors and a number of start-up network operators. Andrew has significant multinational experience. He was based in Asia for seven years where he worked for Newbridge Networks/Alcatel; Silicon Valley-based, InterWAVE Communications and the Commercial Division of the Canadian High Commission (Malaysia). His roles included strategic marketing, international business development, and business planning. A proven telecom innovator and leader, Andrew founded an innovative GSM operator in Brasil, taking the project from concept to fundraising, license acquisition and launch phases. Mr. Skafel holds an MBA from INSEEC (Paris), a graduate diploma from the McRae Institute of International Management (Vancouver) and a BA in Economics & Politics from the University of Western Ontario. Andrew is a Senior level international business development and strategic marketing executive with multi-faceted telecommunications experience. Demonstrated innovative and results-oriented approach to start-up and listed companies on both vendor and service provider aspects of the telecom industry. Specialties: International business development; strategic marketing; telecommunications; data communications; contract negotiations; channel management; strategic planning; GSM; CDMA; IP; VoIP; hosted key systems

Brett Wilson is a well-known Canadian entrepreneur and former dragon on Dragons' Den on CBC TV. He is an investor, owner of several businesses and a part owner of the Nashville team in the National Hockey League. He talks about the impact COVID-19 has had and will have on the economy.

A community leader, Dr. Mohamad Fakih regularly participates in fundraisers and community events, supporting multiple causes and organizations including the Canadian Cancer Society, Islamic Relief worldwide, Sick Kids Hospital, the Make a Wish Foundation in Toronto and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency in Canada. Both Paramount and Mohamad have donated generously to these charities and other non-profit organizations. Across his restaurants Mohamad offers discounts to all Emergency Service Workers in uniform to show appreciation for their service in our communities. Mohamad opened the doors of Paramount restaurants to the skills and drive many refugees bring to Canada by providing up to 150 jobs for the newcomers in his restaurants in year 2017. UNHCR recognized Dr. Fakih’s vision and commitment to building, a Canada that is strengthened by diversity and a global leader on refugee issues, based on his contribution in promoting the economic and social integration of refugees into our communities, he is the voice and the face of UNHCR Canada. Dr. Fakih has received numerous awards for his business excellence and for his charitable works including a few mentioned below: Toronto’s Life Most Influential – He is on Toronto Life’s list of the 50 Most Influential Torontonians. Business Person of the Year Award, 2019 – He was nominated and won the prestigious Business Award of Excellence 2019, by the Mississauga Board of Trade. Key to the City of Mississauga, 2019 – He was awarded the key to the city of Mississauga by Mayor Bonnie Crombie. It is bestowed upon esteemed community members, former residents and visitors whom the Mayor wishes to honour. Canada’s Most Admired CEO 2019, Mid market category – He was recognized as a national winner for fostering high performance corporate cultures that help sustain a competitive advantage.

Jamie Salé, former Olympic gold medalist and world champion in figure skating, is a motivational coach and speaker in Edmonton. She talks about being an entrepreneur, the connection between sports and business, and dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2015, Gary Parmar and his brother, with a long family history of expertise in cleaning services, decided to put their skills, knowledge and determination into a company that could truly impress. From helping their parents with their own cleaning business even at a young age, EcoGiants has grown into a large crew of professionals – offering up to 50 workers per project available to their clients 24/7.

Sweta Regmi teaches the do's and don'ts to job seekers through her company Teachndo. She helps people searching for new employment to avoid ATS tools & reach hiring managers directly, learn effective networking via course & templates, build resume & cover letters, optimize their LinkedIn, develop job search strategies, develop a personal brand and be comfortable during an interview.

Steve Monk prides himself on being a failed engineer and a failed lawyer who finally found something he can do when he began working in business. Once in business, he worked for some huge companies before becoming a reluctant entrepreneur. His business, CEO Law, is built on the promise of unbeatable lawyers delivering unbeatable value with attention to customer service. Traditional law is broken. Steve is trying to fix it!

Olivia Wong is a former emergency disaster responder living in Vancouver, BC. She was one of the first international aid workers deployed to the frontlines of the Fukushima nuclear radiation disaster in 2011. She has shared essential lessons learned from managing a crisis through hands-on examples from her past work with the UN, UNHCR, International Rescue Committee, and the US State Department. Since leaving nonprofit work, she has merged her past experience in the field of crisis management with Prototype Thinking Labs, a breakthrough innovation method born at Google X, and has trained large corporations such as Google, General Mills, Capital One, Mastercard, L'Oreal, Lululemon and more. In Vancouver where she resides, she has been a mentor to startups in the Vancouver startup community and during COVID-19 has been helping other entrepreneurs and small business owners launch new income streams in 36 hours. Prototype is offering a free 75-minute training to help small business owners & entrepreneurs launch new income streams in 36 hours. To date, they have helped 400 people in less than 3 weeks! Free 75-minute Interactive Webinar: www.prototypethinking.io/webinar.

After 4 years competing as a varsity athlete, and simultaneously earning her Bachelor of Commerce degree at Queen’s University, Erica Pearson spent several years on the RBC Capital Markets trading floor in Toronto. She held Analyst positions within Debt Capital Markets, Foreign Exchange Institutional Sales, Institutional Equities Trading, Money Market Sales, and Interest Rate Derivative Solutions. Erica then worked as an Analyst for the CEO Office of Investor and Treasury Services. At the end of December 2016, she informed RBC of her intention to resign to start her own company. The idea for Vacation Fund, a Toronto-based startup, was born from Erica’s upbringing. Her family was very frugal, but prioritized spending time and money on travel and experiences. By the time she turned 22, Erica had visited over 40 countries.

Brent Willis is CEO of Voyageur Pharmaceuticals Ltd., building a new pharmaceutical industry in Western Canada. Voyageur owns three barium projects in B.C., including one with a resource estimate, Iodine properties in Utah, has a Joint Venture with privately held Chief Medical Supplies Ltd. (a Canadian pharmaceutical manufacturing and distribution company) to manufacture and market contrast agents (made with barium and/or iodine compounds) used for radiology digital imaging in the healthcare industry. In this podcast, Brent discusses the challenges of operating his business during the COVID-19 pandemic and how remote working actually increased efficiency and will become the new norm for his business.

Michael Zahra is a seasoned CEO who has worked with many of the larger corporations in Canada. Drone Delivery Canada is a publicly traded, disruptive, pioneering, technology company focused on designing, developing and implementing commercially viable, drone-based logistics systems for government, commercial, industrial & retail customers globally. This podcast episode focuses on what to do as entrepreneur when you are past start, well-funded and ready to take on a major market change. Bringing the right leader/operator onto the mix is often the sign of a wise entrepreneur -- and we address this during this interview.

Dr. Kristina Zakhary, a facial surgeon in Calgary, is an entrepreneur, mom to twins and a cancer survivor. She is one of only a few in Canada who are able to perform closed Rhinoplasty.

Scott Stirrett is the Founder and CEO of Venture for Canada, a national charity that develops entrepreneurial leadership skills in young Canadians. In 2019 over 350 young Canadians from coast to coast accelerated their careers through Venture for Canada's programs. Previously, Scott worked on a cross-product client experience team at Goldman Sachs & Co. in New York City. He was recognized by The Inspire Awards as the 2018 Telus LGBTQ Innovator of The Year and last year was named by Future of Good as one of its 21 Young Impact Leaders. Scott is a graduate of Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service.

Mario Toneguzzi, our Calgary host, talks about some of the lessons he's learned working in quarantine with COVID-19. Great perceptions which we can all learn from.

Lilly Wang of Lilly Wang Coaching in Edmonton is driven to help people take an entrepreneurial, creative, and still a systematized approach to achieving their goals. She works as a consultant and coach include partnerships with the World Health Organization (the United Nations), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and multiple startups and grassroots projects around the world. In addition to this corporate, or "serious" background, she has also trained with top thought leaders in the realm of personal & business development and quantum physics (universal laws).

Patricia Conlin is founder and CEO of Global Consulting Group which working in technology recruitment, training and lifestyle coaching across North America. In this podcast we find out how she is responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and get some thoughts on how we might stay positive and work together to make things better.

"Canada's Prince of Piano" – that's how the Beijing Times, China's leading English-language newspaper, described Canadian pianist and composer Martin Mayer. His music has been defined as instrumental fusion – a combination of smooth jazz, classical, pop, and rock. Mayer's European roots add a good share of thoughtful and longing soul, his North American education contributes a healthy dose of high-octane energy. An explosive mix. After Mayer realized musicianship was who he was, he would study at Royal Conservatory of Music, major in piano performance at Grant MacEwan University and win the Rachel McKeown Memorial Award for composition. A Chinese Arts Agency took Martin Mayer on a 16-city six-week long concert tour in mainland China in 2001. It would become the biggest tour of any artist in China's modern history, and all of his tour dates since then would be sold out. He entertained thousands in concert, and millions on Chinese TV. The "Outstanding Alumnus" winner at the Alberta Provincial Awards Celebrating Excellence was also featured by the Czech National Radio Orchestra in a live concert of his music, recorded and broadcast live from one of Prague’s most historic music venues. Mayer’s latest album, Unbreakable, was listed as one of the Top 25 New Music Critiques of 2018 (Music Connection Magazine, December 2018), attracting radio airplay from across the globe. It is one of the few independent Canadian records available on Chinese music-streaming platforms QQ, NetEase, QianQian and Kuwo. Canada's National Post predicts that Martin Mayer is "poised to take over the world stage," while VOGUE of Taiwan opines that the pianist's "passion for music ... can only be described as breath-taking," and an A&R Factory Music Blog concludes: "Thankfully there are artists such as Martin Mayer to inject a bit of excitement and panache into the format of the pop-piano.

Jeffrey Doucet is CEO of Thrive Career Wellness Platform, a software company that helps job seekers manage their job search. Jeffrey just announced that his company is opening up their Career Wellness Platform to all Canadians who have lost their jobs due to COVID-19.

Lesley Dumlao is the Director of Engagement at Perceptible Group Inc., a marketing and technology agency based in Burlington, Ontario. Lesley leads Perceptible’s business development, client engagement, social media marketing, and is also a host on Canada’s Podcast in Toronto! She and her husband are business partners and part-owners of Perceptible Group Inc. Having grown up within an entrepreneurial family, Lesley always knew that she would end up starting her own business. She also is confident in the fact that entrepreneurs have a certain make-up that sets them apart– a higher tolerance for risk and innate creativity. Lesley holds a Bachelor of Applied Health Sciences from the University of Waterloo and a Project Management Certificate from Humber College. With education in Recreation and Project Management, she spent most of her career working in government sector roles, and took the leap into entrepreneurship only two years ago.

Pierre Cleroux, Chief Economist with BDC (Business Development Bank of Canada), talks to Canada's Podcast about the devastating impact COVID-19 (coronavirus) is having on small businesses across the country, how the bank is helping out and advice for entrepreneurs to survive this crisis.

With a partial BCIT degree, investing 7 months working in the corporate world with Rogers, several years working hospitality with the Vancouver Canucks, Evan Gilbert set his mind on living life as a Digital Nomad traveling around the world while engaging technology to establish a niche helping real estate professionals invest wisely in their online content, presence and sales process. He is on a mission to revolutionize the advertising industry by delivering the best online resources for you to succeed in paid traffic! Within his digital marketing agency in Vancouver, he is also developing an education and training program to help other business decision makers & entrepreneurs get started with their own successful advertising campaigns on social media. Learn more about his business on the Block E Media website.

Sean Shaeffer is CEO of Zoomaway Travel. He has spent the last 30 years in the Gaming and Hospitality industries. He has worked in various areas of the hospitality sector including hotels and large casino operations. His entrepreneurial spirit led him to create his own companies that specialized in technology that assisted hotels and the resort community in better engaging their clientele. In his previous work he has helped pioneer technologies that have changed how booking rooms and activities benefit customers and the hospitality industry as a whole.

Andrew Gordon is a shareholder of Kiaro, which is a cannabis retail brand, and derives from the Italian "Chiaroscuro", meaning to emerge from darkness into the light. He currently serves as Senior Vice President of Retail Operations and Community. He specializes in organizational development, public affairs, community partnerships and industry performance. Andrew has a degree in Political Science from UVIC, and is a graduate of BCIT’s Non-Profit Management Program. Andrew has successfully led the community integration efforts for a number of private retailers across Canada, and has worked with a diverse array of patients, consumers and regulators to build accountable, community-responsive and financially sustainable cannabis retail models. Galvanized by the prospects of cannabis legalization in Canada, Andrew is passionate about working with community stakeholders across the country to help reduce social stigma, and abate pharmaceutical drug dependence within communities.

Shrad Rao is CEO at Wagepoint – Simple Payroll Software backed by the World’s Friendliest Team. He is focused on “building the kind of company I’ve always wanted to work at.” In fact Shrad has always known he would be an entrepreneur. And he has been really successful — building a startup in Canada into an international operation, He has some great insights — especially regarding positive approaches to building businesses in tough times like the current COVID-19 pandemic.