By Alan Quarry
5
11 ratings
The podcast currently has 63 episodes available.
Uvaro: Helping professionals have more fulfilling careers
In this episode, Donna talks about the ‘Why Not’ approach that has led her through much of her entrepreneurial career. Taking advantage of opportunities as they come and following your interests to see where they might lead. With Uvaro, Donna and her co-founders saw a hole within the tech industry and came up with a brilliant way to fill it. Learn all about Uvaro, their platform, what they do, and how they got to where they are today.
In this episode, Mallorie talks about the $24M CAD Series B funding that the company has just secured as well as the importance of maintaining the mindset of a start-up. To always be innovating and looking for opportunities within the industry is a crucial component to growing and scaling any business.
More on Bridgit Solutions:
|| https://www.bridgitsolutions.com/
|| https://twitter.com/bridgitsoftware
|| https://www.facebook.com/bridgitsolutions/
|| https://www.linkedin.com/company/bridgit/
|| https://www.instagram.com/bridgitsolutions/
About Our Guest
Mallorie Brodie is the CEO and Co-founder of Bridgit. Along with Lauren Lake, Mallorie co-founded Bridgit in 2014 with a simple mission: to help the construction industry maximize profits and reduce risk by taking a people-first approach. Under her leadership, the team at Bridgit has established Bridgit Bench, the company’s flagship product, as the leading workforce intelligence solution built exclusively for the construction industry. Along with being named to the Top 40 Under 40 in Canadian Construction, Forbes Manufacturing & Industry 30 Under 30, and Best Of Canada Forbes Under 30 Innovators lists, Mallorie has been instrumental to Bridgit being recognized as one of Globe and Mail’s top growing companies in Canada for three consecutive years.
“We can honestly say that every assumption we made about how we thought it was going to work was wrong.”
Iain Klugman has spent the last 16 years bringing together government organizations, businesses, and talent to make Communitech an integral part of the Waterloo Region ecosystem. In this episode, he joins AQ to reminisce on his career of building Communitech to the intentionally collaborative and ambitious environment it is today.
Iain shares how his team worked to keep talent in the region when RIM went through a massive downfall, and how Communitech reviews their strategies yearly to adjust to this ever-changing community.
They discuss the comparison of Waterloo Region to Silicon Valley, the Future of X Initiative, the experiment that became the Corporate Innovation Program, and how the Waterloo Region has the potential to become a healthcare innovation hub.
Time Stamps:
0:21 Background of Iain Klugman and his role at Communitech
3:08 Last 16 Years at Communitech - Focus on Ecosystem
4:13 Comparison – Waterloo Region is NOT Silicon Valley
6:22 Future of X initiative
7:45 Google’s Expansion and it’s effects within the community
9:05 The War on Tent – status
10:43 Where Communitech’s Corporate Innovation Program Started – bringing in organizations as partners and the evolution of those relationships
14:30 Iain’s Public Administration Degree – worked in Government
16:06 Reworking strategies to suit the ecosystem’s maturation
17:48 Top 3 Communitech highlights of Iain’s last 16 years
22:27 When RIM lost its way and the impacts it had on the community and entrepreneurial ecosystem
24:55 Rise of MedTech in Waterloo Region
More on Iain:
|| https://www.linkedin.com/in/iain-klugman-136410/
|| https://twitter.com/iainklugman
More on Communitech:
|| https://www.linkedin.com/company/communitech/
|| https://www.facebook.com/communitechpage
|| https://www.instagram.com/communitech/
|| https://twitter.com/Communitech
In this week’s episode, Alan sits down with Dani Bazely, Director of Marketing for Driverseat, as they discuss the innovative, award-winning business. Driverseat’s franchise-based business model focuses on chauffeur and shuttle assistance, with opportunities for specialized services from accessible transport to tours across wine regions.
With low start-up costs, franchise owners range from young professionals and entrepreneurs to business owners looking to diversify their profile and add another income stream. The entrepreneurial opportunities that come from being a Driverseat franchisee are vast, as the business is scalable and has the potential to grow and expand in an ever-changing industry.
Dani discusses some of the marketing strategies coming into play for Driverseat in 2020. She also discusses the hurdles Driverseat has faced with their expansion from Kitchener, Ontario, to across Canada and the United States.
Time Stamps:
0:45 What is Driverseat?
2:43 Who might be interested in this type of franchise?
3:53 How important is company culture at Driverseat?
5:15 Chamber of Commerce Award: Being awarded the 2020 Young Professional of the Year
6:50 Lifelong Learning: What’s in the learning pipeline for Dani
8:00 Spectrum Board: Goals for the Spectrum brand in 2020
9:25 University History: From Economics to Communications
11:50 What marketing tactics is Driverseat going to employ in 2020?
13:28 Overcoming the challenges of expanding in the US
15:01 Who are Driverseat’s competitors?
15:51 Launching Driverseat in the Niagara wine region
More on Driverseat and Dani:
|| https://www.linkedin.com/in/dani-bazely-709ba750/
|| https://www.linkedin.com/company/driverseat-franchise/
|| https://www.facebook.com/DriverseatInc
|| https://www.instagram.com/driverseatinc/
|| https://twitter.com/DriverseatFirst
|| https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqRjeY8Bfbfisyevj_WhyVw
What does successfully breaking into an untapped market actually look like? How do you do it? How do you bring a product to market that the market is ready to adopt right away?
You ask the market.
What sets Bridgit apart from so many other companies, and what has made them so successful, is that they went to their customers first. Before they ever had a business plan or a product - before they ever wrote a single line of code - they hit the pavement. Lauren Lake (Bridgit COO) and Mallorie Brodie (Bridgit CEO) would pop by construction sites early in the morning all over the city, with coffee and donuts and they talked to the people that would be consumers of their product. They spent their first 6 months in business “understanding the needs, building simple prototypes and validating those with people before actually investing and building the real product“. And that became Bridgit’s methodology - step by step, one piece at a time, following the research and the needs of those they were serving.
In this episode, Lauren goes into detail about the steps that Bridgit took in order to find a gap and identify the challenges within that gap, and how they turned their research into an incredible product used by over 150 customers across North America.
Bridgit strives to revolutionize the way the construction industry functions, and that’s exactly what they’re doing.
Time stamps of key takeaways from this episode:
0:33 What is Bridgit
1:18 How the founders, Mallorie Brodie and Lauren Lake, met and got started
3:52 Understanding the needs of their customers during the research process
5:45 The harder you work, the luckier you get
10:00 About the Bridgit products
15:15 What does success look like for Bridgit?
18:03 Finding support through incubators and accelerators
20:54 What's next for Bridgit
23:50 How Lauren went from the Stratford arts community to being a Civil Engineering graduate
More on Bridgit Solutions:
|| https://www.bridgitsolutions.com/
|| https://twitter.com/bridgitsoftware
|| https://www.facebook.com/bridgitsolutions/
|| https://www.linkedin.com/company/bridgit/
|| https://www.instagram.com/bridgitsolutions/
|| https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgXxXcVliK6pdOuQZMIkfLQ
Lauren is a civil engineer and the Chief Operating Officer of Bridgit Solutions based out of Kitchener, Ontario. Bridgit is on a mission to revolutionize the way the construction industry functions, and they are doing just that. With over 150 customers across North America, they're uncomplicating the way that construction projects run.
"Innovation Factory Accelerates Success" - who doesn't want that!?
Incubators and accelerators, like Hamilton's Innovation Factory, are the not so hidden gem that entrepreneurs need to know. In this week's episode, David Carter and Alan Quarry discuss the difference between an accelerator and an incubator, why Canada isn't producing enough "mythical unicorns," and how regional innovation centers need to work together to increase the success rates of startups.
The City of Hamilton, often known for its Life Sciences presence, has a significant amount of innovation coming through that stream. But often, when academics and entrepreneurs come up with a brilliant new business idea, they end up thinking one of two ways: "I have this amazing product, so I'll post about it and everyone will buy it. #success"; OR "I have this amazing product, but there are about 85 overwhelming steps between this point and having a viable go to market strategy. I don't know where to start." Whether it's help with marketing strategies, boosting sales, finding investors or raising capital, the Innovation Factory fills in those gaps with workshops, programming and 1-on-1 mentoring.
https://innovationfactory.ca/
The world is currently going through the strangest thing that any of us will likely face in our lives. And there's a ton of fear and anxiety and doom and gloom that comes along with a worldwide pandemic, of course. But in this episode, happiness expert and author Jennifer Moss gives us incredible, tangible advice on how to navigate through this uncertainty with less guilt. But also to accept the many stages of grief that we may be moving through right now, no matter what form the emotion may be taking. It's ok to not be thriving right now, but we don't have to completely sink either.
*This episode was adapted from a Facebook LIVE that was recorded on March 26th, 2020 (if you want to see the video, here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6uLz2hRdqo)
List of Resource Suggestions from this episode:
HERO GEN – https://hero-generation.com/covid19/
Global Happiness Council
Access here: http://www.happinesscouncil.org/
The Global Happiness Council (GHC) produces the Global Happiness and Well-Being Policy Report with the goal of informing policy around Positive Education initiatives, Happy Cities, Societal Well-being Interventions, and more.
The site also includes videos and past reports, which are presented at World Governance Summits in a bid to shape legal and governmental frameworks through science-based findings. The GHC also carries out research into personal happiness and Positive Organizations.
About Positive Psychology: Blogs and News
Greater Good Magazine
Access here: https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/
This is UC Berkeley’s digital magazine of science-based insights on well-being, gratitude, happiness, and more. Here you’ll find podcasts, videos, exercises, resources, and quizzes, along with articles that cover positive psychology themes in current affairs.
Positive Psychology News
Access here: https://positivepsychologynews.com/
This is written and curated by MAPP graduates and coaches, this site is a wealth of information on courses and resources. It’s regularly updated with book reviews, webinars, conference information, and is also a good place to find more background on PP through articles and a few nice frameworks.
The Psychology of Wellbeing (A positive psychology blog by MAPP graduate and author Jeremy McCarthy)
Access here: http://psychologyofwellbeing.com/
Jeremy McCarthy’s blog is actually an endearing mix of personal reflections on and news about positive psychology news. Here, the author applies positive psychology to wellbeing—holistic wellbeing, with a focus on spas and the hospitality industry. It includes transcripts from talks and relevant research on wellness.
The Happiness Institute Blog
Access here: http://www.thehappinessinstitute.com/blog/
Dr. Tim Sharp is an Adjunct Professor in Positive Psychology at the University of Technology, Sydney. On the Happiness Institute Blog, he curates and writes articles on positive psychology topics like stress, self-care, happiness, and mental health. There are plenty of links to academic articles with more information.
The How of Happiness (A positive psychology blog by Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky)
Access here: https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/how-happiness
Author Sonja Lyubomirski’s blog covers the science behind what is potentially the most popular positive psychology topic—happiness—from a scientific perspective. She is a Templeton Positive Psychology Prize winner and Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Riverside.
The Good Life (A positive psychology blog by Dr. Christopher Peterson)
Access here:https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-good-life
Christopher Peterson is frequently cited as the author of A Primer in Positive Psychology and has been an editor at The Journal of Positive Psychology. His Good Life Blog is not frequently updated but is full of opinions and insights on topics like happiness, life satisfaction, and books that are worth reading.
Deeper Learning/Research:
Upenn Positive Psychology Center
Access here: https://www.positivepsychology.org (also available at https://ppc.sas.upenn.edu/)
This is the University of Pennsylvania’s official Positive Psychology Center webpage. Dr. Martin Seligman, one of the founding fathers of Positive Psychology, is the director of this Center. On this site, you’ll find the latest of the University’s programs, an overview of UPenn’s research in various PP fields, and a wealth of resources such as questionnaires and further links to external bodies for therapists.
VIA Institute on Character
Access here: https://www.viacharacter.org/www/
This is the official site for the VIA Character Strengths Survey. The non-profit VIA Institute also provides a character strengths list and information about how to interpret the results of their assessment.
There are resources for professional practitioners and quite a wealth of research findings, including survey data, full-text articles, fact sheets, and a blog that is updated weekly.
The Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues
Access here: https://www.jubileecentre.ac.uk/
The University of Birmingham’s Jubilee Centre is involved in research projects aimed at understanding how character, values, and virtues contribute to human flourishing. At the link above, you’ll find more pages for learning about these projects, and multimedia resources for learning, as well as a nice blog on virtues.
In the Library section, there is a further database of articles with numerous open access options.
Science of Generosity
Access here: https://generosityresearch.nd.edu/
This website from the University of Notre Dame has a Research Resources section which includes links to survey data and even the related questionnaire items that have been used in studies on generosity.
Users who are hoping not to dig into hard data will also find reports, literature, and working papers in the same section. The Science of Generosity site also includes background on the Science of Generosity initiative and an overview of its current projects.
Compassion:
Stanford Medicine Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education
Access here: https://ccare.stanford.edu/
Stanford’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) is committed to researching how ‘positive qualities of the human mind‘ benefit society and individuals. These include techniques and approaches for fostering compassion and its promotion in schools and institutions.
On this page, CCARE features some of its own research, a database of other curated academic articles, and resources such as articles and overviews from past events.
CompassionLab
Access here: https://www.compassionlab.com/
CompassionLab is run by organizational researchers, with a goal of encouraging the use of compassion in professional contexts such as leadership and employee engagement. This site includes presentations, journal articles, book chapters, and links to other theory- and practice-related sites on Positive Organizations.
Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence
Access here:http://ei.yale.edu
The Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence is a well-known source of academic information, research, and tools. It is behind the development of the RULER approach, a Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) framework with potential and demonstrated applications in professional development and education.
The Center site thus provides background information on EI for educators, coaches, and therapists alike—here, you can access research on the Center’s science-based RULER approach. It also offers ample RULER documentation and emotional intelligence case studies.
Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations
Access here:http://www.eiconsortium.org
The EI Consortium seeks to progress research into, and practical applications of, emotional intelligence. This website contains a good collection of the publications and news about EI in business settings and leadership, as well as information on dissertations, book chapters, and emotional intelligence questionnaires. It’s a comprehensive source for anyone looking to research EI closely.
Gratitude:
Emmons Lab
Access here:https://emmons.faculty.ucdavis.edu/
Here is Dr. Emmons’ own research website, which provides some background into his work on the Youth Gratitude Project (YGP) with Giacomo Bono and Jeffrey Foh. It includes a list of relevant positive psychology publications on gratitude and links back to other webpages related to the YGP.
Flourishing:
Authentic Happiness
Access here: https://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu
Another UPenn resource that links the user to books, questionnaires, projects and initiatives, academic research, blog posts, and news on happiness as a positive psychology topic. It is full of useful resources for teachers, therapists, and researchers, including videos, study opportunities, and training.
Institute for the Study of Human Flourishing
Access here: https://www.ou.edu/flourish
This University of Oklahoma Institute was created to advance the study of human flourishing, further the scientific study of virtue, and engage with the community to promote flourishing. Here, you can easily find online and downloadable resources, including courses and relevant links for parents.
Global Happiness:
International Research Associates for Happy Societies
Access here: http://www.happysociety.org/
International Research Associates for Happy Societies is a non-profit, independent organization; IRAH started in 1995 as a network for individuals and organizations interested in happiness and promoting well-being in society.
The site itself is in English, though it also includes links to publications in Thai and English. Here, you’ll find news on IRAH’s past activities and links to related sites. It is very much related to happiness in society and features some background on IRAH projects in developing communities.
International Society for Quality of Life Studies
Access here:http://www.isqols.org/
Founded in 1995, the ISQOLS goal is to advance research into happiness, well-being, and quality of life. ISQOLS hosts an annual conference on Quality of Life and publishes an official journal on the same, Applied Research in Quality of Life.
Their official page includes a range of videos, webinars, access to their bibliographic database, and information about events.
Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations
Access here: http://www.heirs.it/
HEIR combines economic and positive psychology in its research, which focuses on understanding how individual relationships relate to societal happiness and subjective well-being. The team applies economic theory to the positive psychology topics of SWB and interpersonal relationships, and hosts workshops however, the site itself is not designed to be a source of literature or tools.
Harvard University Center for Health and Happiness
Access here: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/health-happiness/
The Center for Health and Happiness at Harvard shares recent publications on topics like positive interventions, well-being, optimism, and health. The official site features links for students and researchers and also provides happiness resources and tools for use in a variety of different contexts. At this site, you can also find out more on the Center’s Seminar Series page, or watch seminar recordings from past events.
OECD Better Life Index
Access here: http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/
In 2013, the OECD released its Guidelines on Measuring Subjective Well-being, to encourage a more holistic approach to studying SWB. These subjective indicators include constructs such as Life Satisfaction and Work-Life Balance, and the OECD considers them alongside objective measures of well-being on a national scale. This link will take you to the global country data that exists to date. According to the OECD, these statistics are being updated as different countries create more assessments of subjective well-being.
Mindfulness:
UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center
Access here: https://www.uclahealth.org/marc/
MARC carries out education and research to encourage mindful awareness for well-being. The Center provides workshops, tools, and classes for the public and publishes studies on its site. These cover mindfulness topics such as MBSR, mindful awareness practices in education and the elderly, and also provide a little background on upcoming publications.
Education:
International Positive Education Network
Access here: https://ipen-festival.com/what
IPEN has an extensive online learning library of resources for schools and educators. You’ll find articles, activities, handouts, worksheets, lesson plans, case studies, and downloadables such as posters for use in class. The link above takes you to a sister site which will lead you to the main site (currently under maintenance). On the site, you’ll see a map of where the IPEN community is distributed across the world and there is also considerable background materials about Positive Education.
Positive Education Schools Association
Access here: https://www.pesa.edu.au/
PESA is an Australian peak body dedicated to encouraging evidence-based approaches to well-being. The PESA site is a source of information on events, with a calendar of summits and conferences. Practitioners and educators can find out more about PESA’s state chapters to access support and resources for teachers and schools.
The Positive Psychology Project: Character Strengths
Access here: https://posproject.org/character-strengths/
This is an official page for research and resources on the 24 Positive Psychology Strengths identified by Drs Chris Peterson and Martin Seligman. The mission of the Positive Psychology Project is to train and equip educators and schools for helping children become their best selves through their strengths.
The Resources section, therefore, includes playbooks, videos, character strengths, PPTs, and lesson plans for users to download.
Character Lab
Access here: https://characterlab.org/
A non-profit organization centered on Positive Education, Character Lab was set up by Angela Duckworth, UPenn’s Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Psychology, and two educators, Dave Levin and Dominic Randolph.
Character Lab provides strategy playbooks for schools and educators, including the Kindness Playbook, Social Intelligence Playbook, and Gratitude Playbook. These also offer downloadable worksheets and links to further supporting research.
Positive Emotions and Psychophysiology Laboratory
Access here: http://peplab.web.unc.edu/research/
The University of North Carolina’s PEP lab promotes and conducts research into how positive emotions impact on their health, social behavior, thinking, and physiology. Its research page provides a link to the Lab’s publications and outlines various positive psychology theories of emotion. These include frameworks, articles, and ‘read more’ material on hypotheses in the field.
Workplace:
Center for Positive Organizations
Access here: https://www.bus.umich.edu/positive
In 2010, the Ross School of Business-based Center was awarded the Joanne Martin Trailblazer award for its work in Positive Organizational research. Here you’ll find Positive Organizational studies and scholarship on the topic, along with teaching resources, research, and tools for professionals. There are also links to talks in the Center’s Speaker Series and events listed, including conferences and Positive Research incubators.
APA Center for Organizational Excellence
Access here: http://www.apaexcellence.org/
Psychologically healthy workplaces are the goal of this APA Center. Here, employees, leaders, and psychologists will find tips for putting Positive Organizational theory into practice. As well as articles and tools for employers, there are also events and awards for companies.
Resilience:
The Resilience Research Centre
Access here: http://www.resilienceresearch.org/
This is Dalhousie University’s Center for Research, the research featured on this site approaches resilience as a contextually- and culturally-embedded concept. Resources available on this site include tools, methods videos, publications, and approaches. The Resilience Research Centre (RRC) also offers case studies, workshops, and evaluations—the latter being initiatives that integrate some RRC measures in action.
Master Resilience Training Skills
Access here: https://www.usar.army.mil/MRT/
This page gives an official overview of the US Army’s Master Resilience Training (MRT) skills and competencies. This gives some background and detail on the approaches used in MRT to develop resilience in soldiers and their families, such as Energy Management, Problem Solving, and Real-Time Resilience.
Harvard University Resilience Consortium
Access here: https://resilienceconsortium.bsc.harvard.edu/
This Harvard University site presents a huge array of resources on research for students, educators, and individuals. You can browse resources by type or topic to find assessments, frameworks, interventions, handouts, and research on resilience. Or, you can watch videos, read the blog, listen to podcasts, or learn about the events that the Consortium supports.
Positive Psychology Research: Articles and Journals
If you are looking for a list of peer-reviewed academic journals and special issues on the topic, hopefully, the following will be of help:
The Journal of Positive Psychology: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/17439760.asp
Journal of Happiness Studies: https://link.springer.com/journal/10902
Emotion: https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/emo/
Journal of Positive Psychology and Wellbeing: https://www.journalppw.com/php/JPPW
International Journal of Applied Positive Psychology: https://www.springer.com/psychology/journal/41042
Journal of Wellbeing Assessment: https://www.springer.com/social+sciences/wellbeing+&+quality-of-life/journal/41543
Journal of Applied Positive Psychology: https://www.org/
Applied Research in Quality of Life: https://link.springer.com/journal/11482
The British Psychological Society (2003 Special Issue): https://thepsychologist.bps.uk/volume-16/edition-3/positive-psychology-special-issue
American Psychologist (2002 Special Issue): https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/special/4015501
Find out more about Jennifer:
Website: https://www.jennifer-moss.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JenLeighMoss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jleighmoss/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenleighmoss/
90% of B2B purchases are influenced by word of mouth. Fewer than 1% of companies have an actual “word of mouth” strategy.
Jay Baer knows that one of the best ways to grow a business is for your customers to do it for you. In this episode of AQ’s Blog & Grill, Jay shares where to start when building your “word of mouth” strategy. We all know word of mouth is important, but we don’t realize how important or how to accomplish this. Jay gives us direct examples businesses are using today to get the word out, and explains the five types of Talk Triggers: Talkable Generosity, Talkable Speed, Talkable Usefulness, Talkable Empathy and Talkable Attitude.
Jay dives into why he allows event organizers to pick the suits he wears for keynotes - and the funny story of when this has backfired. They discuss the difference between Influencer Marketing and Talk Triggers, as Jay suggests that it's wise to not do one without the other.
“The idea here ultimately is for your current customers to recruit the next generation of customers on your behalf.”
Pick up Jay’s latest book, Talk Triggers, and if you don’t love it he swears to buy you any other book of your choosing! Talk about a talk trigger!
More on Jay Baer:
|| https://www.jaybaer.com/
|| https://twitter.com/jaybaer
|| https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaybaer/
|| https://www.instagram.com/jaybaer/
Jay is an inspirational, plaid suit-wearing, hall of fame marketing and customer experience keynote speaker, emcee, and trusted advisor to the world's most iconic brands. Jay is a NY Times best-selling author of six books and the Founder of consultancy Convince and Convert, a strategy consulting firm that helps prominent companies gain and keep customers through intersecting technology, social media, and customer service.
From her demanding and successful career in sports marketing as the VP of Business Development for the KW Titans to balancing being a single mom to three busy children, Melissa Melnychuk has mastered the art of balancing it all. And it’s not all spreadsheets and Pinterest and spreading yourself so thin that you can barely function, like you may think. Instead Melissa takes the approach that “sometimes it’s ok to float”
A certified life coach, Joga instructor, personal trainer, holistic nutritionist as well as a social media influencer, accomplished sales manager at RIM (when BlackBerry was known as such) and “endless buckets of passion” for her community, Melissa knows a thing or two about juggling many balls and wearing many hats. And her advice, to herself and to her clients, who often struggle with the elusive ‘balance’ that everyone seems to be striving for has always been “It’s ok if you float. You don’t need to sink, you can just float. Sometimes it’s about surviving and being ok in the moment of where you are and accepting that. And being kind to yourself. And being gentle. And loving yourself a little harder.”
From the moment Melissa came on board with the KW Titans, her goal, and the goal of her team, has been to create an incredible game day experience for the Titans fans and to impact the community in the biggest ways possible. The minute someone decides to go to a game and they leave their home and lock their door until the moment they walk back through the door when they get home from the game, Melissa wants that person to have an incredible and memorable experience. An experience that will keep them coming back. Getting the community to love and buy into the team is how they’re able to impact and do so much good in Waterloo Region.
As a single mom, who has struggled through difficult months herself, several of the charities that the KW Titans choose to support are near and dear to her heart. Through the community’s support of the Titans, already this year, they’ve been able to impact 14 local charities in the first 7 games of the season.
So what’s next for Melissa?
Honestly, probably lots! As Alan mentions at the start of this interview, Melissa is a going concern and always has her hand in many things. She has a passion for this work with the Titan’s and puts her heart and soul into everything she does. And in the future, who knows! Because, as she so eloquently says “Tomorrow’s never promised. And we’re foolish if we try to plan our future. We can play a part in it and we can try and direct it and be working towards a certain future. But I think there is such beauty in the unknown”
If you’ve not been out to a Titan’s game yet – or if you have been debating whether it’s worth it – it is.
Website: https://www.kwtitans.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kw_titans
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kwtitans/
Melissa’s Personal Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/its.me.melis/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KWTitans/
Link to YouTube: https://www.facebook.com/KWTitans/
ABOUT: The KW Titans are a professional basketball team, competing in the National Basketball League of Canada (NBLC) based in Waterloo Region. The franchise, which has only been around for 3 years, has already made a huge impact within the community. The Titan’s main goal is to positively engage and impact the KW community by providing a professional basketball experience and support of many local charities and events.
“I wanted to do something global and make an impact” - Peter Whitby
What started as a leisurely trip in China has become a global product and a growing team. With intensive research, O2 Canada has truly innovated the face mask - creating a product with top notch functionality and unprecedented aesthetic ability.
From airline travel and city pollution, to natural disasters and global epidemics - O2 Canada’s mandate is to help people breathe clean air. As CEO of the company, Peter Whitby makes sure this mandate is at the forefront of everything they do - including giving away their very first stock during the Alberta/BC wildfires.
In this interview, Peter discusses the O2 line of products, what sets their premium face masks apart, and how they’ve grown with the help of the Accelerator Centre and Ontario Government. He shares how they are keeping up with demand as the COVID-19 Virus continues to spread, and how this global epidemic has both helped and challenged their business.
Get to know more about O2 Canada:
website: https://www.o2canada.com/
twitter: https://twitter.com/O2Canada
linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/o2-canada
instagram: https://www.instagram.com/o2canada/
The podcast currently has 63 episodes available.