Huddle Presents: Home Office

Several years ago, I was part of a group in Saint John that started a fundraising initiative called 100 Men Who Care. The idea was to bring together men to fundraise for non-profit organizations in the community. We were inspired by a group of women who had founded a similar group in Saint John in 2013 – the 100 Women Who Care of Greater Saint John.

We had a good run, hosting a series of events over a two-year period.

But we didn’t have the staying power of the women, who are still going strong after nearly 10 years … and close to a million dollars in funds raised for local organizations doing essential work in the community.

But we didn’t have a Debbie Rathwell, one of the founders of the women’s group.

Debbie runs a company called “Red” that does corporate event planning as part of its services – she has the kinds of skills and experience you need to make this kind of initiative successful and sustainable.

I’ve always admired the work of this group and have been planning to have Debbie on the show when they hit the million-dollar mark.

They’re not there yet, but they’re close as Debbie told me in our chat recorded the week after their most recent meeting.

The group voted to give $26,000 to an organization called “The Compassionate Grief Centre”, which works with people struggling with illness, grief, loss and life’s challenges.

That meeting took the 100 Women Who Care group over the nine-hundred-thousand-dollar mark.

In our chat, Debbie talks about the power and inspiration of women coming together to help people in their community.

We also talk about her career journey, which began with her childhood dream of becoming a professional figure skater.

And we discuss our personal connections too. I grew up down the street from Debbie - she was actually one of my babysitters when I was a kid.

The serial entrepreneur from Saint John chats with Mark Leger about her career in business and the fintech company that now employs more than 30 people and has more than 3,000 financial advisors using its platform.

Loir and I work just down the street from each other – me in my home office and Lori in her office in a nearby commercial building. But on the latest episode of the Huddle "Home Office" podcast, we had to connect by video call because of the Covid-19 restrictions. It was probably for the best given how cold it was.

"It gives me a lot of joy," says Lori. "Entrepreneurship is challenging. People think there are these overnight successes...that is very rarely the case, if ever. I still have yet to see it myself, though I'm sure it happens from time to time."

"[Being an entrepreneur] requires a lot of patience for outcomes. At the same time, you have to be planning and making decisions very quickly. You have to be relentless in making them daily. You have to be patient, you have to make decisions with limited information, so your core belief in what you're doing is really what allows you to ride the waves."

In the fourth and final chat about the three-month "Electric Summer Social Tour" of New Brunswick, Jason Gallant and Mylène Theriault about how their journey of discovery would continue long after the tour ended.

Marcel LeBrun is best known as a tech entrepreneur, a former executive at Radian6 and Salesforce. But he’s also a social entrepreneur and joins host Mark Leger for a chat about plans to build an affordable housing community and social enterprise centre on the north side of Fredericton.

LeBrun’s project is focused on the homeless and people in unstable living situations. But their conversation touches on housing issues generally and the challenges people are facing with increased rents across the region.

The Harvest Music Festival in Fredericton has a lot to celebrate this year. It's the 30th anniversary of the popular late summer festival and it's back after a year off because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Meghan Morrison is the chair of the organizing committee. Jeff Richardson is the general manager. They're also longtime fans of the festival and join Mark Leger to chat about their favourite memories of past festivals and what to expect this year. 

On the latest in a series of conversations about their Love For Local New Brunswick "Electric Summer Social Tour," Jason Gallant and Mylène Theriault chat with Mark Leger about their night at an old Dorchester jailhouse turned into an Airbnb; a tour of the lush Kingsbrae Gardens in St. Andrews; and the raucous Acadian Day celebrations in Caraquet.

Huddle is a media partner for the tour that has Jason and Mylène travelling to 104 communities in 104 days. That doesn’t mean Mark gets to go along for the ride, but it does mean he can connect with them on the road and live vicariously through their adventures. On the latest Huddle “Home Office” podcast, I chat with them at the end of a day in St. Andrews, as just as they’re about to leave to catch the ferries to Campobello Island.

Jason Gallant and Mylène Theriault have dream jobs for those of us feeling cooped up during the pandemic. They’re travelling the province promoting small businesses and organizations in 104 communities, as part of Love for Local New Brunswick’s “Electric Summer Social Tour.” Huddle is a media partner for the tour. That doesn’t mean Mark gets to go along for the ride, but he can connect with them on the road and live vicariously through their adventures.

As an elementary school kid, he learned to create prize-winning software. As a teenager in Fredericton, he sold hockey cards and made enough money to buy a car, and then launched an arcade and pool business. On this week’s episode, Mark Leger talks to Jody about how he went on to work for and launch many tech startups. He’s now the founder and CEO of Introhive, a software company that employs around 350 people in the Maritimes, U.S. Europe and India. And it’s poised to grow even more with a recent $100-million (U.S.) investment. 

The Saint John-based company has an innovative product - a tea flash-frozen within hours of being picked that is the best way to preserve freshness and maximize antioxidant properties. Huddle has covered the various stages of Millennia’s growth, from their appearance on Dragons’ Den, to a venture capital raise of more than $500,000, to the tea being sold in Sobeys and Safeway stores across the country. When Mark Leger heard the news that Millennia TEA would be sold in Whole Foods Canada stores, he decided it was time for a chat, fittingly, in the old Red Rose Tea factory in Saint John.