PROFIT BusinessCast

Just like Justin Bieber's hairstyle and Tiger Wood's dance card, technology is ever-changing. Staying on top of tech trends is thus every CTO's priority---and indisputable challenge. In this podcast, Benoit Bertrand VP and CTO at Avanade Canada---a provider of business technology solutions and managed services---shares his tips on how to do it right. From using "the cloud" and shared services to maintaining an external focus, Bertrand explains why tapping into technology makes good business sense.

Entrepreneurs are a unique bunch. Brimming with optimism and bold vision, they push ahead in face of challenge, determined to defy the odds. Not surprisingly, support in all its forms is a highly valued commodity. Host Robert Gold reports from Startup Grind Toronto, an event series designed to enhance the chance of success for its 700-plus entrepreneur members. In this podcast, attendees share their personal triumphs and tribulations while featured speaker MP Marc Garneau talks innovation, capital, productivity and how Canada can level its entrepreneurial playing field.

Some of the most successful ideas are borne of the simplest frustration. For VP Julie Cole and her three co-founding mompreneurs, it was witnessing their children’s valuable belongings leave home, never to return. Enter Mabel's Labels, an award-winning producer of personalized ''labels for the stuff kids lose!''®. In this podcast, Cole discusses how a simple product can gain invaluable traction when leveraged with the power of brand ambassadors, social media---and disgruntled mothers.

In a world where every obscure need is seemingly met with an app, the interactive digital content industry is evidently booming. From pricing models and marketing to networking, government policy and making the most of limited resources, Interactive Ontario's Donald Henderson discusses all the ingredients every gamer and app-maker should know to succeed in the ever-changing digital landscape.

Talk is cheap? Not to Marianne Gobeil. Words are some of the most powerful tools in an entrepreneur's arsenal, impacting the way people act and think, says the CEO of Leading Communicators. But many speakers miss the mark-and critical opportunities to impress. In this BusinessCast, the guru of speech explains how her company measures an orator's efforts and then helps improve their delivery of this highly influential medium of engagement.

Video may have killed the radio star but according to Mark Campbell, account director at VMG Cinematic, the medium is responsible for producing a bevy of corporate superstars. In this insightful podcast, Campbell discusses what makes video so impactful, how to measure success and determine if becoming a YouTube sensation is the right strategy for you.

Wendy Johannson and Claudia Harvey's booming enterprise can be traced back to a chipped fingernail. In this episode of the PROFIT BusinessCast, the green-thumbed founders of Dig It Handwear talk about how they took a simple idea-protecting their manicured fingernails from the effects of gardening-and turned it into a popular product carried by Home Depot. Covering how they overcome manufacturing and quality control issues, secured sales and distribution channels and built their relationship with a high-profile investor-Kevin O'Leary-their story is a veritable how-to for any consumer-goods startup.

Is your online messaging delivering results you want? Can you do better? Join the PROFIT BusinessCast as email guru Aubrey Stork shares his secrets to effective email marketing. By dispelling common myths and offering up best practices, this podcast will help you steer clear of the email blunders many companies make, and achieve that elusive thing called "impact."