Canada’s Entrepreneur

Troy Assoignon has been an entrepreneur for 10 years, starting off as an interior contractor in Winnipeg to working in the technology scene in Vancouver. Now he is a full time strategic marketing and business advisor for business owners & corporations alike. Last year him and his girlfriend spent 8 months in Bali, and this year they are living full time in Thailand. Troy's satisfaction comes from seeing a change and a shift inside people, and that's what wakes him up every single day.

Spencer Sheinin, a CPA, CA, has a unique background with over 15 years as an Entrepreneur combined with extensive financial experience as an investment banker. He is the Founder and CEO of Shift Financial Insights, providing ridiculously simple accounting and financial insights for businesses on the rise. Spencer has previously owned businesses in manufacturing, construction, cold storage and Real Estate. He has also been recognized as winner of the Business in Vancouver’s Top 40 Under 40 awards and finalist for the Surrey Business Excellence Awards. 

Steve Beatty is the founder of cultureONE which in In May 2015 merged with Front Row Insurance Brokers and created Canada’s largest insurance brokerage specializing in entertainment & media, arts & culture having offices in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and Los Angeles, Steve has over 25 years of experience in arts and entertainment and insurance - everything from the performance arts to tv and film.

As a theatre manager himself for many years and then an insurance “entrepreneur”, Steve’s heart is in the arts and he is a valued supporter of many cultural initiatives. Steve knows what it takes to bring an artistic vision to completion as well as make sure the risk factors get covered on the way.

Anthony DeCristofaro is currently President and CEO of Qnext Corp. and has over 25 years of computer industry experience. In his entrepreneurial career he has driven three M&A transactions valued at more than $600 Million. Previously he was President and CEO of iseemedia Inc. which merged with Synchronica in 2010. Anthony was also Founder and CEO of MGI Software Corp. He brought Intel in as an investor into this venture which he co-founded in 1996 and was sold to Roxio in 2002. Prior to MGI, Anthony was a founding board member of Delrina, a VP/GM of AST Computer Canada and NEC Canada. I have known Anthony and worked as an advisor to him throughout many of these ventures and I am excited to have this fantastic entrepreneur and leader here today.

Izzie Egan is the founder of BLANKSLATE Partners. In 2015 Izzie started her company to allow SMBs and scaleups access to enterprise-level management HR services - supporting growing companies with a unique blend of HR, training, recruitment, and immigration expertise. She has extensive experience building fast-paced, high-yield management teams, paying particular attention to the strategic needs of the company. She’s committed to bringing purpose-fuelled employees into businesses that are aligned from both a values and a strategic, bottom-line perspective.