Dig In

Hilton Barbour, seasoned marketer and perhaps the most eloquent guy we’ve ever spoken to, is back for our first episode of Dig In in 2022. This 30-minute episode is a transparent and honest look at what positive corporate culture should mean for today’s workforce. Tune in to hear Hilton and Ian discuss:- How to show genuine empathy to employees in our new working reality- How to turn what used to be implicit to your organization (because we were all together) into explicit decisions and actions- Why it’s important to recognize that workplace culture means something different for introverts versus extroverts- Why a lot of positive company culture comes down to trust, and how you can build that trust remotely- The importance of aligning business strategy to your company culture- How the rhetoric that leadership uses around remote working breaks employee trust- The silver lining of Covid’s impact on businesses- The importance of purpose and vision when it comes to building positive company cultures

Ajit Ghuman is the author of bestselling book, Price to Scale, and currently leads Product Marketing at Narvar. We brought him on to pick his brain on how technology companies should approach building their SaaS pricing. It's a fascinating episode. Tune in to learn:Who should be involved in crafting SaaS pricingHow to assess which pricing strategy makes sense for your businessHow and when product marketing and sales should be involved in pricing strategyWhy the GBB (Good, Better, Best) model for SaaS pricing doesn't always workThe approach that Ajit takes to researching which features matter within which pricing packagesHow the cost implications of usage-based pricing means experimentation is crucialWhy you should be charging for trial plans

We chatted to Sam this week about his current business and his experience as an entrepreneur. Tune in to learn:how goodmorning.com is fixing the "suboptimal" experience of mattress shoppinghow Sam's team creates customer personas based on their specific jobs to be donewhat it was like to be in the DTC mattress game in 2017 - where 2 competitors were entering the industry each week ('Peak mattress')Why goodmorning.com offers 7 brands as opposed to one so that they can serve "every bedroom, body, and budget"the impact of the pandemic on consumer durables' share of wallet, and how goodmorning.com is adaptingthe 'swarming of the puck' analogy for business: how to approach management strategies at different company sizes

We invited one of our briliant clients Eric Chue, Director of Research & Industry Insights at Interac, onto the podcast this week to learn about it all. We chat changes in shopper behaviour, how to merge transactional and human insights, and ultimately how to succeed in an industry that's so heavily impacted by adjacent industries.Tune in to learn:Tactics that Eric's team uses to add a human dimension to transactional dataWhat a payments diary is and how it gives his team a leg upThe importance of employing caution and rigour when merging different types of dataThe blurred lines between retail, technology, and payments industries (and how Eric thinks payments can facilitate innovation)Why payments has become less of a discrete action and more of an embedded part of our day-to-day experiencesWhat Amazon Go might mean for the future of shopping and payments

This episode of Dig In is a beauty. Anie Rouleau's founder's story is particularly compelling because she knew what her mission was before she knew how she'd make it happen. Fast forward 10 years and she's built one of the fastest growing businesses in the country, as recognized by the Globe & Mail's Report on Business.Tune in to learn:the good and the bad of being single-minded about the business' missionwhy Anie doesn't take note of how global CPG brands are innovatingabout the ripple effect of fostering an organic, grassroots community on Instagramwhy her team didn't rely on paid endorsements from influencers on socialthe challenge of getting investment as a mission-driven business just a few years agowhat having B-Corp status means for Anie and the team

In this week's Founder's Spotlight, Ian sat down with Mark Baltazar, the Co-Founder of Peak MultiFamily Investments. Mark has had an interesting career, spending the last couple decades as a brand researcher before flexing his entrepreneurial muscles as a Co-Founder of a residential business.Mark will speak to the opportunity he couldn't pass up in real estate, how his background in research and brand strategy has helped him build his brand, the surprisingly limited impact of Covid-19 on his business, and more.

Adam is a President and CEO, board member, best-selling author, and Forbes Business Council member. Through his experience executing a buy-and-build strategy, he has bought and sold more than 100 companies ranging in size from $1M to $1B. Not to mention his private equity cult classics - both of which are #1 Amazon Best Sellers.In this week's episode of Dig In, Ian sits down with Adam to demystify common stories around private equity, connecting these myths to the insights industry at large. Tune in to learn:Why private equity is not a win for investors and a losing battle for entrepreneurs/business ownersThe good, the bad, and the ugly of private equityIn Adam's words, "the different flavors of ice cream" in private equityThe sustainable growth rates that attract private equity partners to a businessThe signals a CEO should look for when joining a particular industry or companyThe value private equity brings (beyond $!) to a growing businessThe differences and similarities behind strategic and financial private equity

Thigh Society's founder Marnie Rabinovitch Consky is sort of obsessed with thighs. And over the last decade or so, she's made it her mission to perfect a breathable, comfortable, anti-chafing shorts line.Not for nothing: Thigh Society was recognized as one of Canada's fastest growing companies by the Globe & Mail this year, and they've got a cult-like customer base that can't get enough of what they're doing.We love to spotlight customer-obsessed founders doing something different in their industry. In this month's Founder's Spotlight, Meagan sat down with Marnie this week to chat all things building a business. Tune in to learn:How Marnie bootstrapped the businessWhere the vision behind Thigh Society came fromHow she leveraged industry forums to validate her business qualitativelyThe thoughtful fabric and manufacturing choices that make the products unique (and durable!)The issue with shape wear marketing today, and how TS is doing it differentlyWhere the brand hopes to go next

Risa Duesing is the VP of Consumer Insights, Analytics, and Sensory at Tyson Foods. Tune in to learn:why getting an MBA helped her be a better researchthe ways in which Risa fosters creative and strategic thinking in her team membershow she trains her team to be better storytellershow to effectively choose a research methodology through risk assessmentthe ways she's attempting to 'predict' the future for her customer, in a world that's entirely unpredictable

John, Co-Founder of Civil Pours, is back again to update us on his entrepreneurial journey. Tune in to learn:-  how he's leveraging Upsiide to build a strong business case for distributors- how they're leveraging the Civil Liberties brand in their new venture- the way he and his partner are differentiating amongst a crowded market- what next steps look like for the brand