Between Meetings

In Between Meetings, Steve Larter shares his perspective on academic entrepreneurship, research commercialization, and what it takes to build an entrepreneurial university. Drawing on decades of experience across academia, industry, startups, and university leadership, Steve reflects on how the University of Calgary developed its innovation culture and why grassroots student entrepreneurship has played such an important role. We discuss whether every researcher should be encouraged to commercialize their work, what makes some research groups more entrepreneurial, and how academic incentives could change. The conversation also explores why invention may be a bigger bottleneck than entrepreneurship and what Canada needs to turn more great research into global technology companies.

Takeaways

• UCalgary’s entrepreneurial culture was built gradually over decades rather than through one program, building, or major investment.
• Grassroots student entrepreneurship has been one of the most important drivers of cultural change at the university.
• Universities need people who can bridge the worlds of research, technology, startups, and commercialization.
• More university research should be commercialized, but that does not mean every academic needs to become an entrepreneur.
• Researchers can remain deeply involved in their technology while experienced entrepreneurs and management teams help build the company.
• Canada may be putting too much emphasis on entrepreneurship and not enough on invention and turning research discoveries into technologies ready for commercialization.
• Entrepreneurial research groups often give students and postdocs more freedom, work across basic and applied research, collaborate with industry, and pursue multiple sources of funding.
• Academic systems should reward ambition, collaboration, and imagination rather than tradition, territoriality, and rigid career structures.
• Canada needs stronger integration between universities, industry, government, and capital if it wants promising technologies and companies to grow at home.
• Young academics should not necessarily choose between great research and commercialization. Steve’s challenge to them is simple: why not do both?

Steve Larter is a retired but active professor at the University of Calgary, researcher, inventor, entrepreneur, and startup mentor. His career has spanned academia, industry, university leadership, technology commercialization, and startup development. He has been involved with Innovate Calgary, Carbon Management Canada, Creative Destruction Lab, and multiple technology ventures, with work spanning energy, climate technology, innovation, and research commercialization.

Between Meetings is a video podcast with industry leaders, startup founders, and ecosystem builders. Each episode explores the realities of building, investing, and supporting innovation while catching guests between meetings during a car ride across town. Along the way, they share inspiring stories, personal experiences, industry insights, and practical advice. Since 2023, Between Meetings has been helping tell Calgary's innovation story one conversation at a time.

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In Between Meetings, Musap (Moose) Abdelhag shares his perspective on youth empowerment, entrepreneurship, artificial intelligence, and the power of mentorship. As the founder of Struggle Is Your Success (SIYS) and Mini Techies, Moose has dedicated his career to helping at-risk and underserved youth unlock their potential through entrepreneurship, technology, and education. We discuss the story behind Struggle Is Your Success, why entrepreneurship can be a pathway to opportunity, the misconceptions surrounding at-risk youth, and how mentorship and a sense of belonging can change the trajectory of a young person's life. The conversation also explores AI's growing impact on education, the inspiration behind Mini Techies, and why turning screen time into skill time could help prepare the next generation for an AI-driven future.

Takeaways

• Mentorship and a sense of belonging can transform a young person's future.
• Society often underestimates the potential of at-risk youth.
• Entrepreneurship is a mindset that helps people solve problems, build confidence, and create opportunities.
• AI is reshaping education and creating new opportunities for young people.
• Critical thinking will become even more valuable as AI becomes more capable.
• Technology should empower young people, not replace their creativity and curiosity.
• Mini Techies was created to turn screen time into skill time through AI-powered STEM education.
• Authentic leadership begins with purpose, impact, and serving others.
• Every young person has untapped potential when given the right support and opportunity.
• Dreams become achievable through purpose, planning, and perseverance.

Musap (Moose) Abdelhag is the founder of Struggle Is Your Success (SIYS), a Calgary-based nonprofit that empowers at-risk and underserved youth through entrepreneurship, mentorship, and innovation. He is also the founder of Mini Techies, an AI-powered educational platform that helps children develop STEM skills by turning screen time into learning time. His work bridges technology, education, and social impact, with a mission to help young people build the skills and confidence needed to thrive in the future.

Between Meetings is a video podcast with industry leaders, startup founders, and ecosystem builders. Each episode explores the realities of building, investing, and supporting innovation while catching guests between meetings during a car ride across town. Along the way, they share inspiring stories, personal experiences, industry insights, and practical advice. Since 2023, Between Meetings has been helping tell Calgary's innovation story one conversation at a time.

Support the show

🎙 Follow the host Marian Danko on LinkedIn.

Find us on YouTube and LinkedIn.

Thank you for listening/watching.

In Between Meetings, Madison Savilow from Carbon Upcycling shares her perspective on scaling climate-tech companies, industrial innovation, and the future of low-carbon construction materials. Joining Carbon Upcycling as employee #5 while still at the University of Calgary, Madison has been part of the company's journey from an early-stage startup to an internationally recognized climate-tech company working with some of the world's largest cement producers. We discuss the challenge of moving from pilot projects to commercial deployment, why solving customer problems matters more than falling in love with technology, how Calgary has helped shape Carbon Upcycling's growth, and the financing gaps that often slow down climate-tech adoption. The conversation concludes with a thoughtful look at what success would look like for Carbon Upcycling and the broader climate-tech ecosystem over the next five years.

Takeaways

• Climate-tech companies succeed when they solve business problems, not just environmental ones.
• Understanding customer needs is often more important than the technology itself.
• Building an industrial-scale company requires a very different mindset than building a startup.
• Resourcefulness and adaptability are essential during the early stages of company growth.
• Scaling climate technologies is often harder than developing the technology itself.
• Calgary's industrial expertise and entrepreneurial ecosystem provide unique advantages for climate-tech companies.
• Growth-stage startups often face financing challenges that are not addressed by early-stage support programs.
• Commercial adoption requires alignment between customers, investors, governments, and industry partners.
• Low-carbon construction materials will play a critical role in reducing global emissions.
• The future of climate innovation depends as much on execution and adoption as it does on technology.

Madison Savilow joined Carbon Upcycling as employee #5 and has helped the company grow from an early-stage startup into a global climate-tech innovator. Throughout that journey, she has worked across finance, operations, communications, partnerships, and business development while helping advance technologies that reduce emissions in the cement and concrete industry.

Between Meetings is a video podcast with industry leaders, startup founders, and ecosystem builders. Each episode explores the realities of building, investing, and supporting innovation while catching guests between meetings during a car ride across town. Along the way, they share inspiring stories, personal experiences, industry insights, and practical advice. Since 2023, Between Meetings has been helping tell Calgary's innovation story one conversation at a time.

Support the show

🎙 Follow the host Marian Danko on LinkedIn.

Find us on YouTube and LinkedIn.

Thank you for listening/watching.

In Between Meetings, Pedro Porto Alegre, VP of Strategy at CULT Collective, shares his perspective on founder-led marketing, authentic content, city branding, and the growing role of AI in strategy. Drawing from his experience in consumer brands, entrepreneurship, and agency leadership, Pedro explains why marketing is more than a business function—it is a way of thinking. We discuss the opportunities and risks of building a company around a founder's personal brand, why raw content often outperforms polished campaigns, how Calgary is perceived as a city and business community, and whether Canadian companies are truly creatively conservative. The conversation concludes with a thoughtful look at AI, judgment, and why human intuition remains essential even as intelligent tools become widely accessible.

Takeaways

• Founder-led marketing is often a necessity in the early stages of building a company.
• As businesses grow, personal brands and company brands should become increasingly distinct.
• Authentic content works because it creates intimacy and trust with audiences.
• Different platforms reward different creative approaches; context matters.
• Calgary's reputation varies dramatically depending on who and where you ask.
• Strong city brands are built through consistent storytelling and shared values.
• Canada's challenge is often risk aversion driven by limited capital, not a lack of creativity.
• Institutions remain powerful even as individuals gain more influence through digital media.
• AI is democratizing execution and access to knowledge.
• Human judgment, taste, and intuition remain critical advantages in strategy and decision-making.

Pedro Porto Alegre is Vice President of Strategy at CULT Collective. Originally from São Paulo, Brazil, he built his career across entrepreneurship, consumer brands, and agency strategy. His work focuses on helping organizations understand customers, build stronger brands, and make better strategic decisions through a combination of business insight, creativity, and systems thinking.

Between Meetings is a video podcast with industry leaders, startup founders, and ecosystem builders. Each episode explores the realities of building, investing, and supporting innovation while catching guests between meetings during a car ride across town. Along the way, they share inspiring stories, personal experiences, industry insights, and practical advice. Since 2023, Between Meetings has been helping tell Calgary's innovation story one conversation at a time.

Support the show

🎙 Follow the host Marian Danko on LinkedIn.

Find us on YouTube and LinkedIn.

Thank you for listening/watching.

In Between Meetings, Phil Robertson, co-founder of Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters, shares how an engineering mindset shaped the way he builds coffee systems from green coffee preservation to roasting precision to café execution. We dig into why “radical consistency” is the real product, why the hardest part is protecting the raw ingredient across global supply chains, and how freezing green coffee became the key to stable quality. Phil also breaks down the thinking behind building a custom 45kg roaster with an unusually wide batch-size range, what “direct trade done properly” looks like in real negotiations, and the culture lessons that come with scaling from one café to many.

Takeaways:

• Radical consistency is built through systems and discipline.
• The hardest part of coffee quality is the raw ingredient and the supply chain before roasting.
• Coffee is a living seed; preserving viability is a quality strategy.
• Freezing green coffee “locks in” consistency and reduces quality decay over time.
• Building a custom roaster was about rejecting artificial constraints.
• Direct trade is ongoing dialogue: cost of production, margins, and value for customers.
• Scaling culture is a daily discipline including hiring, clarity of values, and protecting the team dynamic.
• Early mistake: chasing perfection while sacrificing customer experience and empathy.
• Recovery and growth came from diversification, stronger leadership, and rebuilding the company better.

Phil Robertson is the co-founder of Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters in Calgary. Trained as an engineer, he applies systems thinking to sourcing, green coffee preservation, roasting, and café operations with a focus on consistency, quality, and long-term partnerships.

Between Meetings is a video podcast with industry leaders, startup founders, and ecosystem builders. Each episode explores the realities of building, investing, and supporting innovation while catching guests between meetings during a car ride across town. Along the way, they share inspiring stories, personal experiences, industry insights, and practical advice. Since 2023, Between Meetings has been helping tell Calgary’s innovation story one conversation at a time.

Support the show

🎙 Follow the host Marian Danko on LinkedIn.

Find us on YouTube and LinkedIn.

Thank you for listening/watching.

In Between Meetings, Max Schramm, President & CEO of Lufthansa Technik Canada, shares how growing up in Eastern Germany shaped his resilience and leadership, and what brought him to Canada. We dig into why Lufthansa Technik expanded in Calgary (not the obvious choice in a Montreal-dominant aerospace country), what it takes to build a world-class engine maintenance operation, and how the SAIT partnership aims to solve a skills and accessibility gap, not a “labour shortage.” Max also compares Calgary’s ecosystem to Montreal’s, explains what’s still missing locally, and paints a vision for what a thriving aerospace and MRO hub in Alberta could look like over the next decade.

Takeaways:

• Canada doesn’t have a labour shortage, it has a skills and accessibility shortage.
• Quality, reliability, and safety are non-negotiable operating principles.
• Calgary’s edge is collaboration, agility, and a can-do mindset.
• SAIT partnership builds a direct pathway into engine maintenance skills.
• Accessibility matters: tuition, salary, and tools remove invisible hurdles.
• Montreal remains critical; Calgary adds new capacity and westward coverage.
• Calgary needs stronger ecosystem connection and a unified industry voice.
• A thriving future means world-class MRO density and stronger airline networks.

Max Schramm is President & CEO of Lufthansa Technik Canada and has spent 16 years in aviation within the Lufthansa group. He leads growth, workforce development, and ecosystem-building initiatives designed to expand Canada’s aerospace maintenance and engine repair capabilities.

Between Meetings is a video podcast with industry leaders, startup founders, and ecosystem builders. Each episode explores the realities of building, investing, and supporting innovation while catching guests between meetings during a car ride across town. Along the way, they share inspiring stories, personal experiences, industry insights, and practical advice. Since 2023, Between Meetings has been helping tell Calgary’s innovation story one conversation at a time.

Support the show

🎙 Follow the host Marian Danko on LinkedIn.

Find us on YouTube and LinkedIn.

Thank you for listening/watching.

In this Between Meetings episode, Lisa Davis shares how STEM Innovation Academy went from idea to Alberta’s first new charter school in 25 years, the policies and facilities that made it possible, and how a clear instructional model keeps culture consistent across campuses. She details the UCalgary MOU, the MIT partnership that enables advanced STEM content for teachers and students, and how industry-aligned projects build confidence and career clarity. Looking ahead, Lisa calls for more ambition in education, expansion to meet demand, and a provincial STEM Centre of Excellence.

Takeaways:

• Opened Alberta’s first new charter school in 25 years, built for innovation.
• Charter schools are the entrepreneurs of public education.
• Turned an office tower into a “Charter Innovation Hub.
• Clear model, shared assessments, and data keep culture consistent.
• Partnerships (UCalgary MOU, MIT) tighten the school-to-university transition.
• Real industry projects make learning relevant and practical.
• Multiple on-ramps (robotics levels, biomedical) help close participation gaps.
• Call for more provincial ambition and a STEM Centre of Excellence to share playbooks with any Alberta school.

Lisa Davis is the Founder of STEM Innovation Academy and STEM Collegiate two of Alberta’s top-ranked STEM charter schools. Her schools lead the province in Math and Science achievement and hold Canada’s only K–12 partnership with MIT’s Beaver Works. She’s passionate about expanding access to STEM education and building Alberta’s future innovation talent.

Between Meetings is a video podcast with industry leaders, startup founders, and ecosystem builders. Each episode explores the realities of building, investing, and supporting innovation while catching guests between meetings during a car ride across town. Along the way, they share inspiring stories, personal experiences, industry insights, and practical advice. Since 2023, Between Meetings has been helping tell Calgary’s innovation story one conversation at a time.

Support the show

🎙 Follow the host Marian Danko on LinkedIn.

Find us on YouTube and LinkedIn.

Thank you for listening/watching.

In Between Meetings, Adam Cragg, Partner at Osney Capital, shares lessons from building entrepreneurship programs at MIT, NYU, and the University of Calgary, his time at Innovate Calgary helping researchers move from lab to market, and why Osney is focused exclusively on cybersecurity. We get into portfolio construction, what he looks for in founders, how he builds relationships months before a round, and why the UK and Canada are primed to grow in cybersecurity amid shifting global dynamics.

Takeaways:

• Entrepreneurship builds self-reliance in an increasingly insecure job market.
• University systems still bias toward academia; commercialization needs new incentives.
• Tight industry–lab connections shorten the path from novel IP to real products.
• Cybersecurity fits seed investing: faster cycles and robust M&A (vs waiting for IPOs).
• Portfolio lens: earlier entry, sensible paths to £300–500M outcomes can be strong wins.
• Top founder signal: deep problem insight + precise go-to-market against incumbents.
• Meet founders early; help with design partners and avoid common first-time mistakes.
• AI adoption is surging—and so are security risks; securing AI workflows is a major theme.

Adam Cragg is a Partner at Osney Capital, an early-stage VC focused on cybersecurity. Previously, he helped build university entrepreneurship programs (MIT, NYU, University of Calgary) and worked with researchers at Innovate Calgary on moving innovations to market.

Between Meetings is a series of on-the-go interviews featuring industry leaders, entrepreneurs, and corporate innovators. In these interviews, we delve into the latest trends and developments in innovation, technology, and entrepreneurship, catching our guests between meetings in a car ride across town. Along the way, they share inspiring stories, personal experiences, industry insights, and practical advice on how to scale your way to success. Each interview is packed with valuable information and inspiration for anyone looking to make an impact in the tech and innovation world.

Support the show

🎙 Follow the host Marian Danko on LinkedIn.

Find us on YouTube and LinkedIn.

Thank you for listening/watching.

In Between Meetings, Andrew Browne, co-founder of Thin Air Labs, explains how founders can use non-dilutive capital to extend runway and keep ownership. Andrew reflects on Calgary’s maturing startup ecosystem, unpacks why venture capital is a specific tool for a specific job, and shows how to build a capital stack that fits your goals. He defines non-dilutive funding, shares common founder mistakes, and explains how to balance equity, grants, tax credits, and debt to move faster with fewer tradeoffs.

Takeaways:

• Non-dilutive funding is not free money, it’s strategy and leverage.
• Venture capital is one tool, use it when speed or deep-tech risk demands it.
• Plan funding early, don’t react to programs at the last minute.
• Don’t bend your business to fit grants, customers are your customer.
• Map capital type to use of proceeds; equity is flexible, grants are scoped.
• Use equity to unlock grants and credits; extend runway with less dilution.
• Think in 12- to 24-month objectives; build the mix that gets you there.
• Calgary’s ecosystem is maturing fast, with founders aiming global from here.

Andrew Browne is the co-founder of Thin Air Labs. He helped raise and deploy a 20M dollar seed fund and built the Funding Catalyst practice that supported startups in securing more than 80M dollars in non-dilutive capital. With more than a decade across startups, venture building, and ecosystem work, he helps founders design, fund, and scale companies that solve real problems.

Between Meetings is a series of on-the-go interviews featuring industry leaders, entrepreneurs, and corporate innovators. In these interviews, we delve into the latest trends and developments in innovation, technology, and entrepreneurship, catching our guests between meetings in a car ride across town. Along the way, they share inspiring stories, personal experiences, industry insights, and practical advice on how to scale your way to success. Each interview is packed with valuable information and inspiration for anyone looking to make an impact in the tech and innovation world.

Support the show

🎙 Follow the host Marian Danko on LinkedIn.

Find us on YouTube and LinkedIn.

Thank you for listening/watching.

In Between Meetings, Chris Edwards, Managing Partner at Tall Grass Ventures, shares how his background in large-scale capital projects shaped a hands-on approach to early-stage investing in ag and food tech. We talk about TGV’s values-in-action model, its pre-Series A focus, how Chris evaluates founders beyond the deck, and why longer diligence builds stronger partnerships. He also explains how a diverse LP base shapes strategy, how agtech portfolio math differs from typical VC, and why he believes exits are picking up—a positive sign for new founders entering the space.

Takeaways:

• Values to actions: help-first, shoulder-to-shoulder support
• Clarity first: problem, solution, model—no fluff
• Longer diligence, better partnerships
• Portfolio math: reduce failure rates; returns can compound
• LPs as strategy partners and customer access
• Agtech is global: build for Canada, source globally
• Exits picking up: signals of a new cycle

Chris Edwards is the Managing Partner at Tall Grass Ventures, a Calgary-based agri-food tech venture firm investing pre–Series A across Canada and select global markets. With two decades of experience allocating capital to multi-million-dollar projects, leading M&A, and managing international teams, Chris brings a rigorous, empathetic, and hands-on approach to helping early-stage founders commercialize and scale.

Between Meetings is a series of on-the-go interviews featuring industry leaders, entrepreneurs, and corporate innovators. In these interviews, we delve into the latest trends and developments in innovation, technology, and entrepreneurship, catching our guests between meetings in a car ride across town. Along the way, they share inspiring stories, personal experiences, industry insights, and practical advice on how to scale your way to success. Each interview is packed with valuable information and inspiration for anyone looking to make an impact in the tech and innovation world.

Support the show

🎙 Follow the host Marian Danko on LinkedIn.

Find us on YouTube and LinkedIn.

Thank you for listening/watching.