
Flagship Podcast
The Flagship Podcast brings you inside stories from the Canadian technology ecosystem. You’ll hear from founders, investors, builders and learn about their triumphs, hardships and hard earned lessons.
You’ll learn about strategies and tactics and about the human side and what it takes to build a thriving technology company which will hopefully help you on your journey.
Latest episodes

Feb 20, 2025 • 32min
The Future of Pharma: AI-Driven Research with Marc Bellemarre, co-founder & Chief Scientific Officer @ Reliant
In this episode, we interview Marc Bellemarre, who discusses his work on developing AI software for the pharmaceutical industry. They focus on 'commercial pharma,' which involves everything beyond molecule search and testing, such as marketing and clinical landscape analysis. Marc's software uses AI to expedite the literature review process, reducing a traditionally 400-hour task to half an hour. The software aims for high accuracy by structuring scientific data and helping analysts and researchers make informed decisions. Marc explains the intricacies of integrating AI with user-friendly software interfaces and ensuring transparency in data validation. He also shares his motivations for leaving a secure job at Google to create a startup and highlights the potential of AI to eliminate bureaucratic inefficiencies. The conversation touches on the challenges of combining traditional software engineering with AI research and the importance of founder-led sales for startups. Marc concludes by discussing the future ambitions for his company and the vital role of building robust AI ecosystems.

Feb 14, 2025 • 34min
North Star | Founder Panel
In this panel discussion, Gabriel Sundaram, a co-founder of Attain, hosts successful CEOs and founders to share their entrepreneurial journeys and key strategies for building and scaling startups. Panelists include Andrew from Stay 22, Anna from Dialogue and Coral, Malik from Nesto, and Joanne from PemPem. They discuss the importance of speed, intensity, and obsession in growing a business, the balance between rapid execution and maintaining personal well-being, and the role of mentorship and coaching. The conversation also emphasizes the value of storytelling in media, adapting to market realities, and the significance of teamwork and finding joy in the entrepreneurial journey. The session ends with advice for students on leveraging academic skills in the business world and maintaining a healthy balance while pursuing their passion.

Feb 14, 2025 • 44min
North Star | Harley Finkelstein, President of Shopify
Harley Finkelstein on Entrepreneurship, Grit, and the Montreal Entrepreneurial Spirit Harley Finkelstein of Shopify shares his journey and insights at the North Star event, highlighting the importance of Montreal in his entrepreneurial career. He expresses gratitude for the city's role in his growth and the legacy of his family's market stall. Finkelstein delves into the motivation behind entrepreneurship, stressing both passion and necessity as drivers. He discusses the lowered cost of entry due to modern technology, urging aspiring entrepreneurs to pursue persistent ideas. Emphasizing grit, he argues that failure is part of the journey, and shares personal anecdotes on anxiety and vulnerability as strengths. Finkelstein encourages embracing the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Montreal and the value of staying geographically agnostic in business operations. The session concludes with reflections on personal growth, success, and the importance of having a personal mission aligned with professional goals.

Feb 14, 2025 • 35min
North Star | Student Founder Panel
In this North Star panel discussion, Eleonore Jarry from Brightspark Ventures sat down with student founders. The conversation highlights the experiences of various student founders, their innovative projects, and the challenges they face in the startup ecosystem. Key topics include raising initial funds, the importance of team and mission, navigating the academia-industry transition, pivots and finding product-market fit, and the unique advantages and support systems available to young entrepreneurs. The panelists also engage in practical discussions on retaining talent within Montreal's ecosystem and fostering stronger ties between academic institutions, startups, and the broader venture capital landscape.

Feb 10, 2025 • 32min
Venture building with Amelie Foz-Couture, Partner, Co-Head @ Diagram Ventures
In this episode, we dive deep into the Venture Studio model with Amelie, discussing the varied and often misunderstood landscape of venture studios. Emily explains how their unique approach involves de-risking ideas internally before partnering with an entrepreneurial community to launch startups. The conversation expands into the nuances of their recently closed $80 million Climate Fund, which focuses on leveraging software and business model innovations to solve critical adoption challenges in the climate tech space. Emily shares insights on addressing macro climate problems, the importance of rigorous customer discovery, and navigating the evolving competitive landscape. Listeners also gain a glimpse into the strategic thought process behind their investments and the future of climate-focused ventures

Feb 2, 2025 • 34min
Accélérer votre virage avec François Gingras, Vice-président Innovation @ Investissement Québec
J’ai eu le plaisir d’échanger avec François Gingras, Vice-président Innovation @ Investissement Québec. Nous avons parlé de: La récente initiative d'Investissement Québec « Grand V », dont l'objectif est de soutenir les entreprises québécoises par des améliorations technologiques et durables de leur productivité. L’initiative offre un soutien financier pouvant atteindre 45 milliards de dollars sur trois ans, combinant prêts et capitaux propres, et comprend des services d’assistance technologique et d’innovation. L'importance de l'innovation tant au niveau des produits que des processus Le rôle de la culture organisationnelle et des succès initiaux des projets pour surmonter les obstacles à l’innovation. Comment le Québec peut-il être plus compétitif en matière d'amélioration de la productivité et la vision future de la résilience économique du Québec (très opportun avec la guerre commerciale imminente) Vous pouvez apprends plus à propos de Grand V ici: https://grandv.investquebec.com/

Jan 17, 2025 • 37min
Solving RevOps with Guillaume Jacquet, co-founder and CEO @ Vasco
Guillaume Jacquet is one of the strongest founders I know. He co-founded Chronogolf which was acquired by Lightspeed. He rose to run product & technology eventually leaving to start Vasco. After being in stealth mode, they announced a massive US$8M seed round, led by Inovia Capital, with support from BY Venture Partners, Framework Venture Partners. Vasco empowers RevOps teams to unify their data, processes, and technology to build frameworks and blueprints that actually work.

Dec 13, 2024 • 34min
Surviving and thriving with Andrew Lockhead, co-founder & CEO @ Stay22
Andrew Lockhead, co-founder and CEO of Stay22, shares insights from his journey in the travel industry. He discusses the creation of a platform for travel content creators and navigating the challenges of the pandemic. The implementation of large language models to enhance their business model is explored. Andrew also reflects on leadership lessons learned and his vision for the future of travel in an AI-driven world, emphasizing the need for a balance between technology and human connection.

Oct 30, 2024 • 41min
Strong opinions loosely held with Philippe Beaudoin, Co-founder & CEO @ Waverly
Philippe Beaudoin is a gritty founder and one of the world’s foremost experts on AI. He’s relentlessly focused on his startup Waverly and shared some very candid and inspiring insights. We spoke about: Waverly 3.0 - pivoting and hard lessons Building personalized experiences for enterprises Provocative idea that Data is Dead Why the GPT wrapper challenge is flawed Getting to default alive as a bootstrapped founder His thoughts on the AI landscape

44 snips
Oct 16, 2024 • 1h 55min
Live Podcast @ Espace CDPQ: The State of Early Stage in Canada
(00:00:00) Intro (00:01:39) Research spotlight by Réseau Capital (00:23:08) Investor panel (00:54:26) Founder panel (01:22:28) Fireside chat with Tom Birch