Startup Canada Podcast

Michelle Zatlyn, Co-Founder of Cloudflare, discusses the importance of building a great team, good vs. great business, and the role of companies in the future of work. She also shares insights on Cloudflare's journey, the power of storytelling in entrepreneurship, adapting to remote work, and building a great team through thought leadership.

Agnes Lan is the Founder and VP of Sales at Change Connect Inc.. Described as influential and inspirational by her clients and peers, Agnes helps organizations grow through change. She has a knack for breaking down complex strategies into tangible business tactics – leading the way in Sales Transformation for SMBs and Enterprises alike. Agnes has considerable experience in the assessment, strategy, design and implementation of business transformations in various industries with a focus on Sales – customer-focused business strategies, organization design, sales efficiency and transformation. Agnes has consulted for clients in Broadcast and Media, Advertising and Marketing, Distribution and Warehousing, Education, Manufacturing, Professional Services and Construction. With degrees from the University of Toronto, Indiana University Kelley School of Business, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and Harvard Business School, her passion for learning contributes to numerous professional designations as a Professional Engineer, Lean Black Belt Professional and ADKAR Change Management Practitioner.  “Just do one thing every day, entrepreneurship is hard but you need to plow through.”  In this week’s episode of the #StartupCanadaPodcast, sponsored by Mastercard, Agnes Lan shares secrets to sales at every stage of business, the plateaus startups reach and how and why she certifies her team in change management. The post Repeatable Processes and Scaleable Revenues with Agnes Lan first appeared on Startup Canada.

Joe Diubaldo, President and Founder of Clarity Recruitment, shares insights on good hiring practices, recognizing the impact of bad hires, and how cognitive biases can affect recruitment. He discusses principles for building successful teams, the importance of understanding biases in hiring decisions, and embracing diversity for growth.

Today’s guest is Nina Tangri, Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for Mississauga-Streetsville and Ontario’s Associate Minister of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction.  Nina is an entrepreneur and small business owner with over 30 years’ experience in financial management. Before entering politics, she successfully ran her own insurance company.  Nina was first elected as the MPP for Mississauga-Streetsville in 2018. In June 2019, she was appointed Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation, and Trade with a mandate to focus on economic expansion and investment in Ontario’s world-class life sciences ecosystem. In her new role as Minister, Nina is committed to growing Ontario’s small business community and supporting the province’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.  Her greatest community achievements include serving as Vice-Chair on the Board of Directors at the Credit Valley Hospital in Mississauga and was a Cabinet Member of ErinOak Kids. She received the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Award for her dedicated volunteer work.  “It is critical to understand that one size doesn’t fit all. We really want to help businesses rebound and support our economic growth across the province.”  In this week’s episode of the #StartupCanadaPodcast, sponsored by Mastercard, we talk to Minister Nina Tangri about spearheading initiatives for job creation and mentorship across Ontario and how the relationships you build are your main ingredient for success. The post Accessing Government Support with Minister Nina Tangri first appeared on Startup Canada.

Jill Schoolenberg is an experienced business leader with a record of accomplishments in delivering revenue, profit and customer satisfaction in multiple B2B and B2C businesses.  Jill graduated with an Honors Business Administration degree from the Ivey Business School and started her career in marketing at Procter and Gamble. She later moved into the technology industry and held several marketing, sales and general management roles in Microsoft. In 2014, Jill joined GoDaddy as the first VP and Country Manager in Canada. In 2019, Jill was appointed as Regional President for Canada, Australia and Latin America at GoDaddy. Jill was also named one of Strategy’s 2019 Marketers of the Year. “Our customers are diverse. If we do not have diversity in skillset, lifestyle, and experience, we aren’t representing our customers who come from diverse backgrounds.” In this week’s episode of the #StartupCanadaPodcast, sponsored by Mastercard, Jill Schoolenberg shares why having a diverse team that represents and reflects your customers is so important. The post Teams That Reflect Your Customers with Jill Schoolenberg first appeared on Startup Canada.

Jeremy is the Founder of MENTORnetwork and the Funding Path program. He helps organizations to improve their capacity to hire, innovate and make an impact by accessing grants, incentives, partnerships and procurement programs. As an entrepreneur, educator and community builder, Jeremy has a vision for Canada’s culture of mentorship and aligning entrepreneurs with social change. In addition to his own business, he is a Senior Grant writer with GetGrants and Funding and Partnerships Manager with TimeSaved.  His involvement in the startup community has included volunteering with Startup York Region, MastermindTalks, Fireside Conference, Techstars Startup Weekend, Enactus and JCI Toronto. Jeremy has previously worked with ventureLAB, Seneca College, BizLaunch, and the Canadian Association of Career Educators and Employers. “Before you start applying to grant programs, spend some time learning about how the system works and speak to other entrepreneurs who have been through this before”. In this week’s episode of the #StartupCanadaPodcast, sponsored by Mastercard, Jeremy O’Krafka walks us through the often tiring and frustrating process of grant writing and applying for funding while reminding us that there can be great rewards and accelerations that come afterward.   The post The Work and Rewards of Funding with Jeremy O’Krafka first appeared on Startup Canada.

As the Vice President of Small Business, Strategy & Partnerships at RBC, Don provides strategic oversight and leads a team that is responsible for delivering marketing-leading solutions, partnerships and client experiences that go beyond traditional banking to help Canadian entrepreneurs successfully start, manage and grow their business. Don also manages the development of RBC’s strategy for the broader Business Financial Services portfolio, including the group’s client experience, CRM, and data analytics strategies.  Don joined RBC in 2001 and has 20 years of experience within the financial services and banking sector. He was most recently the Regional Vice President of the South Western Ontario Region, leading a team of RBC Advisors to support the growth of small and commercial business clients in the community. Prior to joining RBC, Don served as an Infantry Officer in the Canadian Army where he led soldiers on a number of domestic and international operations and worked in both staff and training roles.  “Where there is challenge, there is also opportunity. The pandemic disrupted our lives but it also allowed people to look through a new lens, and find new opportunities, and the potential for new business ideas.” In this week’s episode of the #StartupCanadaPodcast, sponsored by Mastercard and powered by RBC, Don shares how the pandemic has accelerated certain business trends and the support RBC offers to help entrepreneurs through both challenges and growth opportunities on their business journeys. The post When Challenge Meets Opportunity with Don Ludlow first appeared on Startup Canada.

Coming from a family of accountants, Ava values hard work and compassion above all. She became one of the youngest award-winning agents at REMAX and was unstoppable thereafter. Fearless and ready to write her own story, she moved to Vancouver, where she built a strong network of real estate investors. She continued to learn and grow with resilience and persistently gained knowledge in the field of real estate investments. Realizing the pain points many investors have when looking to passively invest in real estate, Ava pivoted her focus to real estate private equity. She co-founded CPI Capital, a uniquely innovative company allowing investors to invest in Multifamily investment opportunities and benefit from passive income, above-market returns, monthly cash flow, and limited liability. Ava is a public speaker and has been featured in publications such as Forbes and numerous Podcasts and YouTube shows. Ava helps busy professionals to earn passive income through smart Real Estate investments.  “You need to be a master of delegation to succeed in this space, there are so many moving parts. You also need to be humble and partner with experts and incredible operators.”  In this week’s episode of the #StartupCanadaPodcast, sponsored by Mastercard, Ava shares CPI Capital’s disruptive model that is changing the way Canadians access real estate and create better passive income streams for themselves, and encourages you to chase solutions, not money. The post Disrupting Real Estate Investing with Ava Benesocky first appeared on Startup Canada.

Eva is a well-respected entrepreneur-turned-investor and one of the few women leading a venture fund in Canada. She is the Founding Partner of Two Small Fish Ventures, a venture fund that invests globally in early-stage, transformative tech companies. Before starting Two Small Fish Ventures, she worked alongside the co-founders of Wattpad in the company’s early days. She helped nurture and scale the company from its infancy, and grew it to tens of millions of monthly users around the world. Eva is also involved in many incubators and accelerators, such as Creative Destruction Lab at Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto’s Entrepreneurship Hatchery, Ryerson’s DMZ, University of Waterloo’s Velocity and Techstars. With a sharp focus on investing in companies with strong network effects as their defensibility, Eva has created the ASSET framework that many entrepreneurs and accelerators have adopted in their developing business strategies. Eva is regarded as an expert in this area. Allen Lau is the CEO and co-founder of Wattpad, a global multi-platform entertainment company and the world’s leading social storytelling platform, where he leads the company’s vision to entertain and connect the world through stories. A leader in Canada’s technology sector and startup ecosystem, Allen is a member of the Canadian Council of Innovators, a lobby group that advances the interests of Canadian technology companies at all levels of government. He is also the co-founder of Two Small Fish Ventures, alongside his wife Eva.  “We listened to our users and understood their intrinsic needs. We allowed them to be our ambassadors and our marketers and it worked out beautifully.”  In this week’s episode of the #StartupCanadaPodcast, sponsored by Mastercard, Eva and Allen join us and we cover a ton! Tune in to hear how the two met and what the early days of Wattpad looked like for them, Allen’s first advertising cheque from Google, what excitess Eva as an Angel Investor and why your partners in business (and life) must bring out the best in you.   The post An Appetite for Risk with Allen and Eva Lau first appeared on Startup Canada.

Megan Leslie, CEO of NanoTess, talks about the importance of focusing on one problem, her company's mission to revolutionize diabetic foot ulcer treatments, and the power of determination in entrepreneurship. She also discusses navigating regulatory approvals, crafting a compelling company pitch, and the value of networking in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.