The Entrepreneur: Pino Di Ioia, CEO, BeaverTails

As Canada's political and business class unpack the Prime Minister's dramatic speech at Davos amid ongoing trade negotiations, Dan and Mike profile one of the most "elbows up" Canadian brands imaginable, the iconic BeaverTail.

Though it's discussed, this isn't an episode about the fried doughnut-like delicacy but about one man's pure entrepreneurial journey from summer job to CEO. Pino, who went to college with Mike in Montréal, explains how his first real job became his career, and how to find meaning and growth in all work.

Join us about every other Sunday for stories of founders, innovators and leaders of all sorts who embody Canada's entrepreneurial spirit. Since 2009, we are Canada's longest-running broadcast profiling entrepreneurs, now in your podcast feed. To support the show, please subscribe, rate us or share an episode.

Inspiring Entrepreneurs is a TNKR Media Original Production.

The Guest of Honour: Dr. Philippe Couillard, former Premier of Québec (2014-2018) and senior consultant, StrategyCorp

From Montréal's controversial but innovative REM light rail project to balancing four consecutive provincial budgets, Dr. Couillard opens up about governing with private sector partners, modernizing public infrastructure with PPPs and embracing political risk.

The former provincial Liberal leader reflects on how to ensure infrastructure projects are built to last and how bureaucratic overload is threatening innovation. He also challenges conventional views on profitability in public projects and calls for smarter, more collaborative models, drawing on lessons from European healthcare and public transit.

For this special 2025 finale, Mike and Dan also get practical advice from Dr. Couillard for business leaders hoping to partner with government—and why understanding Québec culture is essential to any fruitful collaboration.

Inspiring Entrepreneurs is a TNKR Media Original Production.

The Entrepreneur: Justin Herlick, CEO and cofounder, Pine

As the Prime Minister narrowly passes a record-setting budget and embarks on trade missions abroad, Mike and Dan wonder if the federal government is doing enough to stimulate business growth domestically, starting with interprovincial trade. Then, a zoom-out on the global economy, the risk of an AI bubble-burst, and why a burst won't necessarily shake the tech sector to its core. Speaking of tech, our profile this time is a Canadian startup founder disrupting the traditional mortgage lending model.

Justin Herlick's Pine is quickly gaining traction after recently surpassing the $1 billion mark in mortgages managed, and there's some speculation that the platform is moving the numbers at a macro level as well, where traditional lenders are losing some market share to new competition. Justin speaks about novel concepts in mortgage lending: speed, efficiency and a customer experience. The real estate and finance platform was named the #1 Canadian startup in 2025 by LinkedIn (congratulations to Pine as well as IE alum Manmade which placed third).

Inspiring Entrepreneurs is a TNKR Media Original Production.

The Entrepreneur: Dr. Clarissa Desjardins, CEO, Congruence Therapeutics

Mike and Dan are back with some federal budget analysis, a check-in on the national business climate and a fascinating conversation with an innovative biotech entrepreneur building her fourth and most ambitious venture.

​Based in Montreal​, Dr. Desjardins develops small molecule drugs using AI-driven computational platforms. She discusses her journey from grad student to serial entrepreneur, highlighting the vibrant Montreal biotech ecosystem and the crucial role of venture capital in advancing high-risk, long-term scientific innovation.

Inspiring Entrepreneurs Canada is a TNKR Media Original Production.

The Entrepreneur: Davide Pisanu, CEO, ClearEstate

Mike and Dan return for a succession-themed show following the election, the Liberals' near-majority win, and a Throne Speech read by the King Charles III that has Canadian investors and even some critics reacting with cautious optimism.

After breaking down what Canadian businsesspeople should expect for the coming months on tariffs, recessionary conditions and other X factors, ClearEstate's co-founder and chief executive joins the conversation to describe how the well-funded Montréal startup is optimizing arguably some the most painful bureaucratic tasks of all, estate planning and settlement.

Inspiring Entrepreneurs Canada is a TNKR Media Original Production.

Inspiring stories from outstanding Canadian businesspeople, since 2009.

The Entrepreneur: David McMillan, proprietor, Hayfield Farms

With only days to go in an anxiety-inducing Canadian election campaign, Mike and Dan share top line impressions of the Liberal and Conservative fiscal platforms, and then chat with one of the country's most accomplished restaurateurs, the co-founder of the Joe Beef group, about his evolution in Montréal's fine dining scene, the secrets to operating a successful restaurant and his departure from the iconic eateries in favour of a simpler life down on the farm.

David is also the co-host with Lesley Chesterman of Salt Lick, a new TNKR Media podcast series about food and the restaurant business, and the co-author of Spilled: Natural Winemakers Stories & Recipes.

Inspiring Entrepreneurs is a TNKR Media Original Production.

Inspiring stories from outstanding Canadian businesspeople, since 2009.

The Entrepreneurs: Dax Dasilva, founder and CEO, Lightspeed Commerce + Myriam Belzile-Maguire, co-founder and designer, Maguire Shoes

On our Holiday Retail Spectacular, we catch up with two returning retail champions who preach "focus" in these turbulent times: an e-commerce and point-of-sale innovator who recently returned to his executive role, and a hybrid online-storefront shoe designer who surprised us by doubling down on Brooklyn brick-and-mortar.

In the news, Mike and Dan break down big-picture economic uncertainty in Canada with Trump's tariff threats, an abrupt change at the head of the Finance Ministry and an unknown timeline for the Prime Minister's expected resignation; Québec's heavily-subsidized electric vehicle transition plans face hurdles, public sector workers go from a minority to a majority of in-office workdays, and the ongoing debate on how to be remote and professional.

Happy Holidays from the Inspiring Entrepreneurs team: Mike, Dan, Marjorie and Fernando. We'll be off for a few weeks but stay tuned for more wisdom from outstanding Canadian businesspeople, and the latest #cdnbiz news and analysis.

For more information about Inspiring Entrepreneurs programming in the new year, contact TNKR Media.

Inspiring stories from outstanding Canadian businesspeople, since 2009.

The Entrepreneur: Brett Huneycutt, CPO and co-founder, Wealthsimple

Founded by friends aiming to democratize investing for a new generation of Canadians, Wealthsimple has shown remarkable growth over the past decade with three million users and is arguably already one of the country's top ten financial institutions. Mike and Dan wanted to delve into the product and tech with co-founder Brett Huneycutt, an Oxford graduate and Rhodes Scholar who still isn't certain the company will ever need a brick-and-mortar branch.

Mike also wonders if the US President-elect is bluffing, and Dan shares a story about Canadian brain drain in tech with the sudden departure of chipmaker Tenstorrent; the duo also discuss content marketing and PR amid a chaotic media environment, preview the holiday Movers & Shakers Alum show, and talk about a pivot toward more podcasting and other online content for the new year.

For more thought leadership and advice from the BDO team, visit www.BDO.ca.

For more information about Inspiring Entrepreneurs programming in the new year, contact TNKR Media.

Inspiring stories from outstanding Canadian businesspeople, since 2009.

The late Harry Rosen started a menswear boutique from a modest 500 sq. ft. retail space in Toronto's Cabbagetown, growing it to a national luxury retailer that remains among Canada's most iconic brands. His son Larry Rosen and grandsons are now running the operation as the family remains a market leader amid mounting e-commerce competition. Mike and Dan also unpack the latest trade news, in particular the US president-elect's threat to impose a heafty 25% tariff on Canadian goods if policy demands are not met; a new Gallup poll also reveals some concerning statistics on employee engagement.

The Entrepreneur: Larry Rosen, CEO, Harry Rosen Inc.

For more thought leadership and advice from the BDO team, visit www.BDO.ca.

Inspiring stories from outstanding Canadian businesspeople, since 2009.

Monsieur Cocktail took off in the early days of the pandemic when at-home mixology was a popular trend, but then the elixer business was targeted by a sophisticated and costly form of fraud known as the President's Scam. The scam nearly sunk the business but Patrice Plante persevered and pivoted toward B2B. Mike and Dan explore what it took to identify the scam, repair the damage, and get back on track, with the help of Sacha Blasiak-Priestley, Director, Cloud Security for BDO Canada's cybersecurity team; they also discuss whether or not temporary sales tax holidays can stimulate the economy, and signs of optimism in Canadian tech and IPOs, with positive news from Shopify and Dynamite.

The Entrepreneur: Patrice Plante, founder, Monsieur Cocktail

For more thought leadership and advice from the BDO team, visit www.BDO.ca.