Invested in our New Reality

Shavonne Hasfal-McIntosh chats with Nick Quain, Vice President of Venture Development at Invest Ottawa, where he leads all programming and support for start-up, early stage and scaling companies. Previously, Nick was co-founder and CEO at CellWand, a company which pioneered the use of abbreviated dialing codes in North America. Tune in to hear Nick talk about why he’s committed to supporting Ottawa’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Alida Burke is the Co-Founder of Growcer, a company that sells plug-and-play hydroponic systems that grow fresh produce year-round in any climate, with a focus on schools, universities, non-profits, and northern and Indigenous communities. COVID-19 has affected many things, including our relationship to food. Alida joins the podcast to chat about how Growcer is helping communities rebuild and re-think their local food supply.

Shavonne Hasfal-McIntosh chats with Tunch Akkaya, an entrepreneur and former University of Ottawa Gee-Gees football player who runs his own innovative sports software company called GameStrat. Tunch shares how his software helps coaches around the world improve their team and player performance in real time and how they’re revolutionizing the use of video for coaches and their players.

Kirsi Maharaj is the Manager of People at Rewind, a company that builds apps that protect critical SaaS and cloud data. Kirsi joins Shavonne on the podcast to chat about the growing importance of human resources in the modern world, and how companies can strategically adapt to the future of work to cultivate increased mental and physical wellbeing of employees as well as foster equitable and inclusive internal work cultures.

Debbie Owusu-Akyeeah is the Executive Director at the Canadian Centre for Gender & Sexual Diversity (CCGSD), a national 2SLBTQ+ organization that focuses on empowering gender and sexually diverse people through education, research, and advocacy. Debbie joins Shavonne on the podcast to chat about how Ottawa’s business community can create truly progressive, inclusive, and equitable workplaces that make our broader community better for everyone.

Don Liberty, GM at You.i TV (now WarnerMedia Ottawa), joins the podcast to chat about the company’s growth and what it means for the future of streaming. You.i TV, now WarnerMedia Ottawa, is an Ottawa-based technology company that prides itself on helping media companies build better streaming apps and enhance user experience. Having recently been acquired by WarnerMedia Ottawa, Don chats about the company’s transition and what the acquisition means for the future of WarnerMedia Ottawa and the streaming industry.

We’re turning the tables on our hardworking host, Shavonne Hasfal-McIntosh, for an extra special episode. Michael Tremblay, the President and CEO of Invest Ottawa, takes the mic for a one-on-one interview with Shavonne herself. We look back at the many Invested in Our New Reality milestones and guest highlights since its inception.

Mathias Ganzmann, Vice President of Manufacturing with Siemens Healthineers, talks about the company's planned expansion of its Ottawa, Ontario manufacturing facility. He explains what makes Ottawa the ideal place for such an expansion, what it will mean for the company and the local economy, as well as his hopes that some effects of the pandemic continue on in the future.

Lisa Aucoin is the CEO of Spring: Cheer, Dance & Tumbling an international instructional cheerleading company and choreography business. In this episode Lisa tells listeners about how her business’s transition to digital and adoption of creative and practical solutions helped them leap forward during COVID-19.

Hoppier, began in 2016 as a platform to provide healthy snacks to workplaces across North America but recently Hoppier reinvented its business model to account for unexpected changes in consumer behaviour brought on by COVID-19. In this episode Hoppier CEO, Cassy Aite, joins the podcast to chat about how his business was able to adapt during these unprecedented times.