Startup Canada Podcast

In a world of so many uncertainties, one of the main reasons founder’s avoid strategic planning is because it seems like a waste of time. Warren Coughlin, business coach at JumpStart Coaching, believes if you learn to play the probabilities, you’ll have an edge up on competition when navigating adversity. Warren helps principled entrepreneurs build a Business That Matters. That is one that delivers to you, the owner, attractive profits and a fulfilling lifestyle while also creating positive impacts on customers, team and the larger community.  In other words, it is one that helps make the world – or just your corner of it – a better place. This requires a combination of solid business skills and disciplines guided by deeply held values. He’s been helping entrepreneurs do this since 2002. They have experienced everything from 8 figure exits, to 7 figure salaries, from rapid expansion to minimized operational work because of the development of great leaders and high performance values-driven cultures. Warren’s also a recovering lawyer, a serial entrepreneur, college professor, actor, theater director and Dad to a wonderful daughter who constantly challenges him to be a better person.   “A rookie poker player can beat a professional in any given hand, but the pro player is always going to win the game. Strategic business planning works like the discipline of the pro player.” In this week’s episode of the #StartupCanadaPodcast, sponsored by Mastercard, Warren discusses finding the root problem, and the need for execution and accountability in strategic planning. The post Strategic Planning: Playing the Odds with Warren Coughlin – April 20, 2021 first appeared on Startup Canada.

Greg Kiessling, founding chair of Canadians for Clean Prosperity, discusses the potential of cleantech and the impact of carbon pricing on profitability. He shares insights on the clean tech space, strategic hiring, transitioning to social entrepreneurship, and the importance of green energy initiatives. The conversation also highlights Inmotive's innovative two-speed transmission for electric vehicles and the shift towards a net-zero carbon future.

Sunny Fong and Jess Chow talk about the importance of a healthy co-founder relationship, curiosity, and creativity in entrepreneurship. They discuss blending luxury and creativity in watch design, navigating challenges during product launches, the significance of the brand name 'Viren', strategies for brand expansion, and the entrepreneurial journey through listening and mentoring.

Community is incredibly powerful when building a company and when attempting to solve a pain point in someone’s life, just ask Ravina Anand, Co-Founder of FLIK! Ravina Anand is a social-tech entrepreneur and the COO of FLIK, the first female-identifying apprenticeship portal. In a hyper globalized world, Ravina aims to advance women’s economic participation and help women from remote and underserved communities. With experience in municipal politics and community advocacy, she promotes diversity by encouraging people to fight injustices and challenge stereotypes.  On a global level, Ravina advocates for women and creates conversations around the trends and procurement for scaling social innovation situated in inclusivity, diversity, and equity. She has had the honour of speaking across North America to industry leaders, students, and creators about shattering expectations and breaking barriers.  “People want to be a part of something bigger than themselves. As entrepreneurs, one of the most important things we can do is connect with our community.” In this week’s episode of the #StartupCanadaPodcast, sponsored by Mastercard, Ravina discusses her journey in social impact entrepreneurship and the power of community.The post The Power of Community with Ravina Anand – March 30, 2021 first appeared on Startup Canada.

Creating new value for our customers and our communities is vital as we scale the impact of our businesses – enter Debbie Motilewa, Sustainable Business Leader at Afro-hub Market! In the past nine years, Deborah Motilewa has helped several entrepreneurs across three different continents – North America, Africa and Europe create shared value – focusing simultaneously on the community and business profit (triple bottom line). At 25, she was the youngest PhD graduate from Covenant University, Africa’s most prestigious University. In the startup world, Deborah is the sustainable business leader of two social enterprises: The VolunteerNG and Afro Hub Community – both focus on creating sustainable communities in line with a number of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. The VolunteerNG has partnered with over 70 volunteers, mentored over 800 young adults, and is sponsoring 30 kids through elementary and high school. In the research world, she writes peer-reviewed articles and makes contributions on corporate social responsibility, business sustainability and human capital development. Deborah has over 30 published articles and has contributed to academic books. She is also the author of “SMART Goals: Making habits work for you”, and is currently working on her second book on sustainable business management. “Think value, always. Creating new value for our communities and people. People always remember businesses that make an impact.” In this week’s episode of the #StartupCanadaPodcast, sponsored by Mastercard, Debbie discusses sustainable business management, the art of creating new value, and her work with Afro-hub Market.The post Creating New Value with Debbie Motilewa – March 23, 2021 first appeared on Startup Canada.

Fear of criticism, judgement, and failure – fear is something founders are all too familiar with. Keturah Osinde, CEO of Fittedfast, thinks instead of avoiding fear, we should harness it. When Keturah was a kid in high school, the last thing she thought she would want to take on was entrepreneurship and the world of creation. In fact, she wanted to be an orthodontist. Fast forward a few years later and Keturah was applying for her undergraduate degree at the University of Toronto — thankfully realizing that her passion was not with mitochondria or chlorophyll cells: but with justice, writing, creativity, and development of the city through technological means. Keturah is currently a 4th-year student at the University of Toronto double majoring in Ethics, Society + Law, and Urban studies; minor Women’s Gender studies. Fittedfast was created out of her love for technology and the city. In the era of social distancing and COVID19, local business closures were becoming more common within the city of Toronto. When Keturah recognized these trends, she created Fittedfast to bridge the gap between online and in-store shopping with hopes of levelling the playing field for local businesses against giants like Amazon. “We can choose to see fear as an opportunity – something we look straight in the eye and attack.” In this week’s episode of the #StartupCanadaPodcast, sponsored by Mastercard, Keturah discusses the science of fear, navigating fear as an opportunity, and choosing to become “the person that makes it happen”.The post Harnessing Fear with Keturah Osinde – March 16, 2021 first appeared on Startup Canada.

Ashley Werhun, CEO of Mentorly.co, shares insights on making mentorship accessible. She discusses the power of diverse mentors, the impact of mentorship on entrepreneurs, and the importance of resilience in entrepreneurship. The podcast delves into Mentorly's future plans for expansion and highlights the value of maintaining a positive mindset in entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurship is often seen as a great way to work flexible hours and forge your own future, but it can also be used to heal communities. Just ask Dawn Setford, founder and president of the Indigenous Arts Collective of Canada!  Dawn Setford, she who keeps the feathers, is Mohawk Bear Clan whose familial territory is St. Regis/Akwesasne. Dawn is the founder and president of the Indigenous Arts Collective of Canada – home base for over 250 Indigenous artists. She is the facilitator for the Indigenous Women’s Arts Conference and IndigenARTSY.com – a multivendor Indigenous Arts Marketplace. Dawn has dedicated herself full time to protecting endangered Indigenous art forms to empower Indigenous women and the next generations of traditional Indigenous artists. She is the owner of Pass The Feather.ca. She is a Feather Keeper and artist; practicing and sharing traditional bird medicines. Her extensive knowledge and collection of feathers are showcased at passthefeather.ca. When she’s not sharing her feathers, Dawn is a graphic and web designer whose focus is on Indigenous business and organizational branding and marketing. “When Indigenous women are confident, they teach their children to be confident – and that is intergenerational healing.” In this week’s episode of the #StartupCanadaPodcast, sponsored by Mastercard, Dawn discusses her work helping to create artistic identities for Indigenous women, the importance of women in community healing, and entrepreneurship as a marriage of money and happiness. The post Entrepreneurship as Healing with Dawn Iehstóseranon:nha Setford – March 2, 2021 first appeared on Startup Canada.

Great leadership is a vital piece of the puzzle for founders. Bruce Poon Tip, Founder of G Adventures and Planeterra, believes leadership is a continuous transformation, not a final destination.  Passionate about the power of travel to change the world for the better, Bruce Poon Tip is a global leader in social entrepreneurship, leadership, immersive travel, and innovation. He is best-known as the founder of G Adventures, the world’s largest small group adventure travel company and pioneer of community tourism. Bruce’s first book, Looptail: How One Company Changed the World by Reinventing Business, became a New York Times Best Seller.  In 2018, Bruce was honoured as one of Canada’s Most Admired CEOs in the category of social entrepreneurship, and in 2019 he made his top 10 debut on Glassdoor’s Top CEOs in Canada list. Bruce has also been granted three honorary doctorates – two in laws from Capilano University and the University of Victoria, and an honorary doctorate of business from Johnson and Wales University in Rhode Island, United States. In 2020, he was honoured as one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business and released an instabook titled Unlearn: The Year the Earth Stood Still. “Everything starts and ends with great leadership. It should be something all founders study. Because when your leadership stalls, the entire business starts slowing down.” In this week’s episode of the #StartupCanadaPodcast, sponsored by Mastercard, Bruce discusses the travel industry during COVID-19, redefining the limits of social enterprise, and the importance of measuring good leadership.The post The Art of Leadership with Bruce Poon Tip – February 23, 2021 first appeared on Startup Canada.

Raising capital is an age-old problem for founders – but what if there was a free matchmaking service that connected startups and funders? Enter Raymond Luk, Founder and CEO of Hockeystick! Raymond Luk is a serial entrepreneur and investor. He is the founder of Hockeystick (a matchmaking system for startups and funders), Flow Ventures (a financial consultancy for startups), Year One Labs (an early-stage micro-VC fund), and others. He is passionate about entrepreneurship and removing barriers to raising capital through technology.  He currently lives in Toronto with his wife who is the founder of Zvelle, a fashion company. “It’s easy to get caught in the weeds when building something new. The “easy button” model forces you to strip away all of the features, buttons, and crazy business models – because none of it matters if your customer can’t hit that big red button.”  In this week’s episode of the #StartupCanadaPodcast, sponsored by Mastercard, Raymond discusses the founder mindset, the “easy button” model, and his mission to solve the global problem of private-market funding.The post Funding the Future with Raymond Luk – February 16, 2021 first appeared on Startup Canada.