A Dealmaker's DNA with Ilan Jacobson

How does a person become an entrepreneur in the entertainment verticals? Today’s guest can share his experience. Allen Lau is the executive advisor for WEBTOON and Wattpad. He’s a serial entrepreneur, a speaker, and an authority on entrepreneurship, the innovation economy, and the benefits of a diverse workforce. He’s also a leader in Canada’s tech community.

Listen to the episode to hear what Allen has to say about how an introvert can succeed as an entrepreneur and leader, how Wattpad came to be in the first place, and what lessons Allen has learned about very high growth. 

 

Topics Discussed in This Episode

Allen’s origin story and what led to his entrepreneurial journey

How an introvert can be a leader or entrepreneur

What Allen’s startup journey looked like

What happened after Allen left IBM

How Wattpad came to be

What network effect means and what people get wrong about it

When Allen transitioned Wattpad from a mobile reading app

The first lessons Allen learned about really high growth

Why some people are great at storytelling but others are not

 

Related Links

Allen Lau

There are a lot of buzzwords out there. One that you may or may not be familiar with is “proptech” what does it mean? You’ll learn more about it by listening to today’s guest, John Asher. John is the president and co-founder of Konfidis. Listen to the episode to hear what John knows about self-teaching, what brought him to the world of startup tech, and what Konfidis is all about.

 

Topics Discussed in This Episode

 

John’s origin story

How John’s childhood growing up on a farm shaped him

How John was taught to self-teach

Why John decided to study accounting

When John concluded that accounting wasn’t for him

What big companies do well

Why John decided to move into the world of startup tech

What Konfidis is all about

The big goal for Konfidis

What John is seeing gain traction in the proptech world

Sorting through the different factors that affect housing

Shifts in who owns residential real estate in Canada

 

Related Links

 

John Asher

Konfidis

 

Quotes From the Show

 

“You’ve got to put in the work if you ever actually want to see output.” 

 

“This company is my midlife crisis, how about that?”

 

“Whatever happens in the U.S. seems to find its way to Canada eventually.”

Why are you working? That’s something that Michael Brown has been thinking about lately: what he’s working for and what his legacy is going to be.

 

In today’s episode, you’ll hear from Michael Brown, the CEO and co-founder of Swept. Michael has a somewhat unusual background as an entrepreneur and has managed to do many different things with it. Listen in to hear what Michael has to say about where he got the motivation and determination to hustle, why he decided to go into the kinds of companies he chose, and what his background as a mechanic has to do with his entrepreneurial career.

 

Topics Discussed in This Episode

 

Michael’s origination story

Where Michael’s hustle came from

Understanding the value of a dollar

What Michael did after high school and studying abroad

Why Michael decided to go into the kinds of companies he did

Whether Michael’s background in mechanics impacts his entrepreneurial career

Michael’s purpose right now

What Michael wants his legacy to be

 

Related Links

 

Michael Brown

 

Quotes From the Show

 

“My summer was very different from everybody else’s” 

 

“It’s very rare to have a professor who’s actually done it, successfully, who is teaching you. One of her classes is: You have to start a business for $10”

 

“I want to work hard so I can give more.”

When Drew started out, he had goals of creating things and finding good people to work with, and he’s managed to achieve those goals and more. He’s the CEO and president of INDOCHINO and a serial entrepreneur, and today he brings his story to the podcast.

 

Listen to the episode to hear what Drew has to say about building confidence from childhood, learning lessons from fear, and connecting with people in an authentic way that’s not all about networking.

 

Topics Discussed in This Episode

 

Drew’s origin story

How to build a child’s confidence

Lessons that can be learned from fear

How to hack the skillset for meeting and connecting with people

What Drew’s first few years as an entrepreneur looked like

Drew’s thesis for what he’s doing and how he spends his time

What Drew learned about finding fraud

Why gratitude is so important

Embracing the feeling of uncomfortableness

Economic themes to double down on today

 

Related Links

 

Drew Green

 

Quotes From the Show

 

“Luckily, I just had the most wonderful grandparents in the world.” 

 

“In order to grow, in order to make stuff happen, there has to be movement.” 

 

“I don’t want to meet people inauthentically.”

 

"I’ve embraced the desire to be uncomfortable, because when you’re uncomfortable you have to figure things out, you have to solve, you have to create."

Today we revisit an interview with Mo Lidsky that took place in early 2020. Mo is the CEO of Prime Quadrant and is a man with many accomplishments. He is an entrepreneur, an investor, advisor, and author. In a replay of this episode, Mo takes the time to explain how he got to where he is today and what his views are on nature vs. nurture. Listen to the episode to hear what Mo has to say about self-awareness, inspiring children, and promoting alignment among critical people inside of an organization. 

Topics Discussed in This Episode

What Mo’s early life was like

Mo’s first business

Mo’s view on whether success boils down to nature or nurture

Times when some influence or shift changed Mo’s trajectory

Mo’s views on self-awareness

Tools that young people can use to figure out what they should be doing

How Mo puts his ideas into practice with his children

Tools that promote alignment among the most critical people in the organization

How Mo got into his current business

What Mo loves about what he does

What is enough

How philanthropy has influenced Mo’s non-philanthropic ventures

Today’s guest invented the concept of the top-line royalty fund after years of experience in his field. He explains today that entrepreneurship is just in his DNA.

 

Sean Morrison is the President and CEO of Diversified Royalty Corporation. In more than 20 years working with franchises and finance, he has a lot to say about his experiences, skills, and how he’s operated in various roles. Listen to the episode to hear what Sean has to say about transparency, how to access skillsets related to door-knocking and cold-calling in the modern environment, and how he developed the idea of a top-line royalty fund.

 

Topics Discussed in This Episode

 

What Sean does

Sean’s childhood and background

The value of transparency

The ways to hack the skillsets of door-knocking and cold-calling

Sean’s CFO role and what came after that

Sean’s desire to use his fact-based sales pitch skills

Sean’s idea for a top-line royalty fund

When Diversified Royalty Group really got started

How the advisory council Sean was a part of connected to Boston Pizza

Lessons Sean learned from dealing with the government in 2008

What Sean thinks about government spending in the past few years

The best way to find Sean online

 

Related Links

 

Sean Morrison

Diversified Royalty Corporation

 

Quotes From the Show

 

“I think entrepreneurialism has always been in my DNA.” 

 

“I’ve always wanted to be the institutional salesperson versus the retail salesperson, and the institutional one has to have a fact-based sales pitch.” 

 

“I would say that if they didn’t spray the firehose, we would have been doomed. Did they overspray? Of course, cause it’s not their money, who wouldn’t overspray?”

What drives a person to begin a private equity firm? How do you come up with a name for a business like that or work with partners within it? These are all topics that today’s guest will touch on in his interview.

 

Listen to the episode to hear from Rob Normandeau as he discusses his degree and previous business experiences, what it’s like to partner with other entrepreneurs, and whether money is the best motivator, as well as what other types of effective motivators for success exist, as Rob discuss his journey, his business, and the future of his industry.

 

Topics Discussed in This Episode

 

What Seafort Capital does

Where Rob grew up and what his childhood looked like

Where Rob’s law degree came in

When Rob thought about leaving law

The transition to a publicly listed company

Why Rob left Clarke

Rob’s move to Halifax

How Rob ended up starting a private equity firm

Why Rob wanted to expand

Where the name Seafort Capital came from

What it means to partner with entrepreneurs

Whether money is a good motivator

Good motivators for Rob

What Rob has learned about the East Coast

What Rob thinks about the future of his industry

 

Related Links

 

Rob Normandeau

Seafort Capital

 

Quotes From the Show

 

“I used to always joke that since I studied law, I wanted to get admitted, do my articles, and get admitted so that my mom could tell the ladies at Bingo her son was a lawyer, and then I could move onto business which I thought was more interesting.”

 

“What we recognized from the start was that if we were successful, if this thing really grew and developed, we would reach a point where it made sense to bring in other investors.”

 

“It’s important to try to aspire to success and to wealth, but you can’t be short-term in your thinking.”

Firepower Capital – Christen Daniels

 

What does a head of customer success and corporate development do? What is it like to work for a fintech company? Today’s guest is Christen Daniels, and she’s the Head of Customer Success & Corporate Development at the fintech company, Georgian.

 

Listen to the episode to hear what Christen has to say about how she ended up in this position, why she’s not a natural risk-taker, how she thinks about risk, and what she has to say about the psychology of transactions.

 

Topics Discussed in This Episode

 

What Christen’s childhood looked like and how she ended up where she is

Christen’s experience studying in another language

Why Christen says she’s not a natural risk-taker

Why Christen wrote for the LSAT

When Christen decided to focus on corporate law

The psychology of transactions

What Georgian does

Recommendations Christen has for entering her field

Defining and building community

Christen’s view on the future of evaluations

 

Related Links

 

Christen Daniels

Georgian

 

Quotes From the Show

 

“I like having a clarity of path, a clarity of purpose, kind of understanding how the pieces are going to come together, and having a little bit of certainty.”

 

“It was really clear to me that I’m fairly passionate about transactions.”

 

“Deals are really different when you own the results.”

What do you know about the intellectual property laws in the Metaverse? Probably not much, but somebody has to, right? Julie MacDonnell is an intellectual property lawyer by trade, which is a more traditional field, but she’s doing things to disrupt that space.

 

Listen in to learn about Julie’s company, Halloo, what roles that she believes accelerators and incubators have played in her journey and why she recommends them to others, and why she believes that giving back is so important.

 

Topics Discussed in This Episode

 

Where Julie is from and what her upbringing was like

When the chip on your shoulder goes from positive to negative

The role that accelerators and incubators played in Julie’s journey

The importance of taking the right money

How to start finding a network

Starting relationships with an authentic desire to get to know each other

Metaverse IP law

Areas of law that young lawyers should be paying attention to right now

Why Julie believes that giving back matters

 

Related Links

 

Julie MacDonnell

Halloo

 

Quotes From the Show

 

“I’ve got this theory that many problems, business problems even, should be approached through a trauma lens.

 

“Any accelerator program that gives you money and doesn’t take equity, I strongly, strongly encourage.”

 

“The barrier to entrepreneurship is so, so low, because what we’re selling and trading and buying in this space is intellectual property.:

How does someone wind up going from a Jewish private school and university, to working in the adult entertainment industry, tp becoming a serial entrepreneur?  

Josh Garellek is the co-founder of Arctic Leaf Inc and PartnerPortal.io. He’s interested in teamwork, passion, and camaraderie, bringing people who share those things and what they can do together, and how partnerships and relationships affect business and brands. Listen to the episode to hear what Josh has to say about his role in bringing a fraternity to his university and how frat life affected his entrepreneurial path, how Josh identifies his strengths and plays to them, and what Josh thinks about the Metaverse and online risks to children.

 

Topics Discussed in This Episode

 

How Josh grew up, what he’s like, and what he’s doing

Whether Josh got his entrepreneurial instincts from his home growing up

Whether Josh’s frat played a role in shaping his entrepreneurship

The reaction Josh got when he went to work for PornHub

Why the adult industry is an early adopter of new tech

What interests Josh about the concept of partnerships and relationships

What Josh has done to identify his strengths and double down on what he’s good at

What e-commerce brands get right and wrong

What brand is really effective

How seriously brands are taking the Metaverse

What Josh is doing with his children to mitigate online risks

What brands need to do to evolve over the next 15-20 years

How Josh would advise a young person entering the marketing space

 

Related Links

 

Josh Garellek

Josh on Twitter

Josh on Instagram

Arctic Leaf

Partner Portal

 

Quotes From the Show

 

“I like sitting down and playing video games with a console controller and all that stuff, but to build the games just wasn’t fun for me.” 

 

“Fun fact about the adult entertainment industry is that they created online transactions.” 

 

“We’ve gotten to that point where the brand is bigger than my name.”