Float or Founder: Toronto Startup Business Stories

Think you've got what it takes to run a company and host a podcast? It may sound overwhelming, but not to long-time entrepreneur, Edwin Frondozo. He tells us how he's balanced family and achieved happiness during his fifteen year tenure as an entrepreneur. He takes us on the beginning of his journey and tells us where he's at now. Edwin was the co-founder and CEO of Slingshot VoIP and is now the founder and host of the Business Leadership Podcast, as well as a trusted advisor in the startup community.

If you have ever wanted to run a company or a podcast (or perhaps both!) but wondered how it will balance with your family life, Edwin has some great advice for you.

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Rachel Kelly started the co-working space, Make Lemonade, for women downtown Toronto to give them a space - a community - to grow their businesses. Rachel had to endure the skyrocketing Toronto property market, work with different types of contractors, hire a team, and grow her membership numbers all at once. As a result of her hard work, she has created a bustling co-working space, a partnership with Instagram HQ, has played host to master classes and incredible speakers, and has learned some lessons about running a company along the way. Rachel gets to witness other founders launch and scale their companies and takes away the lesson of resilience and having a good attitude.

Vote for Make Lemonade in the TELUS Pitch Competition - they're in the finals! https://telus.wishpondpages.com/vote/entries/182396295

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Making any product is no easy feat. Making a customer-facing business comes with its own set of challenges but Shira Yoskovitch has it handled. 😉 Shira is the founder of Handled, a concierge service for our busy lives. She tells us how her corporate operations background, her ability to put a product out there and accept feedback, and her love of really improving someone's day and helping them has allowed her to succeed.

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Nadeem Nathoo and his co-founder, Navid Nathoo started The Knowledge Society with a mission: to re-think how people learn and create the next generation of innovators, thinkers, and problem solvers that will tackle the big problems our world faces. Nadeem discusses founding a company with his brother, the problems he believes we will conquer next, and the importance of teaching wisdom and adaptability to the younger generations to help them succeed. Tune in to find out where The Knowledge Society will be launching next, what the kids in the program are building, and how you (or your kid) can get involved!

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Founding and building a community is no easy feat. Jeanette talks about launching her community organization in the early days, the double-edged sword of being both a user and creator of a product, and taking a backseat in decision making when moving from active founder to board member. Simon Mills walks us through his involvement and how he became co-chair of Venture Out, a community that connects LGBTQA+ people in tech and how your company can get involved.

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There are many ways to give back through your time, financial contribution, or sharing about your favourite initiatives. While Jennifer Couldrey has given back to non-profits, she sees the Upside Foundation as a way to make a broader impact. The Upside Foundation provides tech or startup companies the ability to pledge 1% of their equity to a cause of their choice upon IPO or exit, locking in that commitment and ensuring social responsibility is part of a startup's broader strategy. Jennifer Couldrey talks about how to contribute, scale your contribution, and why it matters that companies give back.

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We sit down at home with Zack Yassin, Creative Director of Taizu’s latest album. Zack talks about the Toronto versus LA music scene, diversity in music, and how the music industry is today.

Yes, you can hear our dogs in the background. 

Check out Taizu's new album! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpBs3XYA9Ag&app=desktop

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Fatima Zaidi, CEO and Co-Founder of Quill, sits down with Samantha and Lisen of Float or Founder to discuss raising seed capital, sourcing an advisory board, finding a CTO, and swimming with the sharks.

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