Canada’s Entrepreneur

Julie Blais travaillait en comptabilité depuis 15 ans, lorsque l'idée de fonder sa propre entreprise lui est apparue nécessaire. Elle adore relever des défis et est motivée par le dépassement et l’accomplissement de soi. Elle a développé les nappes éducatives à colorier BiMoo pour enfants et maintenant pour répondre aux besoins des adultes et des aînés.

Sa mission est d’offrir aux parents et aux professionnels un outil pédagogique novateur et ludique ainsi qu’une alternative à la médication et au numérique. Je considère l’humain comme étant le cœur d’une entreprise, et je vois la mobilisation, l’écoute et la collaboration comme des éléments essentiels à la force d’une équipe et de l’entreprise en soi.

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Driven by a need to connect people in the throes of pandemic-life, Dawn O’Connor built a virtual community for individuals to work ‘separately-together’ inside a Focus Bubbles. Since formally launching in January 2021, Focus Bubbles has supported over 1000 hours of productive outcomes in 175 sessions. Participants work on small tasks and big projects, ranging from administrative to creative, while overcoming procrastination and immersing into deep work mode with the support of a committed community of Bubblers.

When not inside a Focus Bubbles, Dawn is a productivity trainer and facilitator with over 25 years experience. She has helped more than 10,000 clients around the world enjoy being more organized and less stressed. She is also the Chair of 2 Women’s Presidents Organization chapters in Calgary. Dawn has built and sold two businesses in the past and is excited to end her entrepreneurial journey with Focus Bubbles, which she plans to grow for the next 5 or so years before retiring.

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Loren Maisels, CMP is Founder & President of LOMA Marketing Agency – an events experience firm that creates holistic strategies for events that meet the strategic, creative and experiential goals of their clients and partners.

As a detail-oriented and results-driven leader, Loren has focused her 15+ year career on B2B events marketing and demand generation! With experience in both agency and corporate environments, Loren has planned numerous ROI-driven events for companies including Vision|Co, Accenture, Achievers and Great Place to Work.

A Toronto native, Loren found herself in San Francisco, California in 2011, spearheading SaaS company Achievers’ events expansion strategy. Among other key tactics, results-driven events paid off and the company was ultimately acquired by Blackhawk Networks in 2015. Upon returning to Toronto in 2016, Loren founded LOMA Marketing Agency.

Loren graduated from Ryerson University in 2004 with a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Marketing and minoring in International Relations. She achieved her CMP (Certified Meeting Planner) designation in July 2011 and continues to stay active and current on all global issues and trends within the marketing and event communities.

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Dan Bergeron is a 25-year veteran of the marketing industry and leads Everbrave, a Calgary based growth marketing agency founded in 2015 by Dan and his two savvy business partners. With a passion for creativity and an instinct for business, Dan brings a strategic outlook to the most pressing challenges business face when trying to scale opportunity and stimulate growth. Recognized internationally for achievement in brand strategy, Dan is continually looking for opportunities to help companies disrupt the status quo, differentiate and stand out from the pack while employing cutting edge strategic, creative and technological solutions. When not obsessing over complex growth challenges, Dan can be found spending time with his family of five, camping, skiing, mountain biking and golfing throughout western Canada.

Everbrave is a Calgary based growth agency specialized in helping organizations scale up. Through a unique approach that blends creativity with brand, marketing, sales and customer experience, Everbrave takes a more comprehensive approach to the challenge’s businesses face in a high-paced competitive marketplace. Originally founded in 1999, the company became known as Everbrave Branding Group in in 2015 after the merger of RFX Brand + Communications & Squeeze Creative into one unified team. Everbrave serves a diverse group of clients ranging from start-ups to fortune 1000 companies across a broad set of verticals, including technology, health care, non-profit, hospitality, construction and many others. With a growing team of 13 specialists that span the talent spectrum, Everbrave is continually growing to serve new and existing clients throughout North America and abroad.

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Wayne Beamish is a problem solver. As an Army Brat born in Marville, France, Wayne is no stranger to transition. His family moved a few times during his upbringing, but desiring his own adventure, ended up in Banff, Alberta after high school. Wayne worked in the booming restaurant/industry for a stint and ended up soon after in Lake Tahoe, California where became a Certified Millwright, husband and father. He then moved to Ottawa, Ontario, working in the cabinetmaking/millworking industry for over 10 years. In 2001, after energy deregulation occurred in Ontario, one of his clients asked him if he could prepare a white paper on the impact deregulation will have on the industry. Wayne researched, studied, and read up on the issue, yielding a document that landed him his first client. Powerhouse Management was born. It began as a consultancy firm, now it’s a facility maintenance and data utility management company with multiple national clients (Rexa ll, Staples, SmartCentres).

Wayne is a member of ConnexFM, a multi-site Facilities Management network bringing together FM’s as well as supplier professionals in North America. Wayne has contributed to their publications through articles and has been part of their ‘Daily Grind’ program.

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Douglas Vermeeren is an author, filmmaker, and founder of the YouTube channel and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.

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Ashley Short and Tijen Yalchin are the founders of Earth Kisses Sky. Earth Kisses Sky aims to provide you with high-quality all-natural cannabis topicals—developing next-generation products to support your wellness journey. Tijen has had a long career in holistic health practices, is a Registered Massage Therapist and an Acupuncturist who additionally is certified in a number of other approaches to wellness such as Reflexology and Reiki. Ashley is a Certified Holistic Nutritionist & Clinical Herbalist. EKS services the growing cannabis wellness & lifestyle community through competitively priced and enviro-conscious cannabis-infused topicals.

Entrepreneurs are the backbone of Canada’s economy. To support Canada’s businesses, subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.

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Marty Furse has a BASc in Engineering Physics from UBC, was General Manager of International Business at Creo Inc (now Kodak), and subsequently co-founder and CEO of two successful high-tech imaging companies, QImaging Corp. and Prosilica Inc., both of which were sold to their leading competitors achieving excellent returns for investors. Marty’s broad experience includes strategic management, technology development, manufacturing, design, project management, sales and marketing, and international distribution.

Jason Elliott holds a BASc in Systems Engineering from the University of Waterloo and a MASc in Mechanical Engineering from UBC. Jason has extensive product development experience in various industries including fuel cell technology, laser optics, precision mechanics, and solar energy. He has worked many products from concept through manufacturing and sales. Jason also has many years’ experience managing large global product development and manufacturing teams to achieve challenging product delivery goals.

Perfectly Snug Inc. was founded November 18, 2018 to develop a product solution for people who experience temperature-related sleep problems. They developed an air-conditioned mattress topper that both cools and heats each side of the bed using smart sensors and controls to regulate sleep temperature. Their patent-pending Smart Topper is placed on top of the customer’s bed and is designed to preserve the underlying character of the bed (whether soft, or firm, etc.), and is provided with low voltage DC power to safely operate the fans and heaters embedded in the topper and controlled by either a smartphone app, or by manual controls located on the sides of the topper.

Entrepreneurs are the backbone of Canada’s economy. To support Canada’s businesses, subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.

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With over 20 years in the fitness industry, Chris Smith has watched the industry grow, becoming an essential part of peoples’ lives year after year.

Starting his career early in the fitness industry, Chris has been involved in the operations and logistics of many clubs — from sales to managing and everything in between. With a Bachelor of Science degree in Community Health and Promotion from Portland State University, Chris has brought his passion, dedication and perseverance to many clubs throughout North America. Based in Vancouver, BC, Chris now acts as the Chief Executive Officer and President of Fitness World, leading the charge to launch 15 clubs across B.C. in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Fitness finds its way into all aspects of Chris’ life — from his career to his personal life and staying active with his five kids in tow.

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Nikhil Sonpal is the Founder and CEO, of Mobility Quotient (MQ), a full-service digital agency, that provides business strategy, software development, marketing, advertising and design services to a wide range of industry-leading companies around the world. MQ has been operating for over 10 years and their clients come from various industries including automotive, retail, media, publishing, tech and finance.

MQ has worked on an array of projects, ranging from small WordPress websites for start-up businesses to large-scale, connected digital ecosystems (comprised of massive websites, mobile apps, numerous properties, multiple third-party platforms, and custom-built features) for global digital publishers who serve millions of daily viewers. They have also worked with Private Equity teams to help manage the technical aspects of their mergers and acquisitions. SokoLocal is Nikhil’s newest business venture, developed by MQ. It is a product search engine (online and app-based) that streamlines the online shopping experience for consumers by showcasing local products on an easy to search database.

Entrepreneurs are the backbone of Canada’s economy. To support Canada’s businesses, subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.

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