In this episode of the Prosperous Prairie Founders Podcast, host Brian Ludwig sits down with Dale Verran of Fortune Bay Corp to talk about the future of gold mining in Saskatchewan and why the province may be entering a new era of mineral development.

Dale shares his journey from South Africa to Canada and how he became involved in the exploration and mining sector in Saskatchewan. After moving to Saskatoon more than a decade ago, he worked with Denison Mines during the discovery and early development phases of uranium projects before joining Fortune Bay Corp. Today, the company is focused on advancing its Goldfields Project near Uranium City in northern Saskatchewan.

The conversation explores the surprising history of gold mining in the province. Dale explains that gold was actually discovered in the region in the 1930s and led to the development of the town of Goldfields along Lake Athabasca. While mining activity slowed during World War II and uranium later became the dominant resource in the region, the underlying geology still holds significant potential for new gold discoveries.

Dale also discusses Fortune Bay’s strategy for developing the Goldfields Project and the economic potential of the deposit. A recent preliminary economic assessment outlined strong project economics and highlighted the importance of keeping the project’s scale below a certain threshold to maintain provincial permitting. This approach allows the company to move forward more efficiently while working closely with Saskatchewan regulators and communities.

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In this episode of the Prosperous Prairie Founders Podcast, host Brian Ludwig sits down with Beth Wanner, founder of Mother Cover, to talk about a challenge many companies face but rarely plan for—how to handle key employees going on parental or temporary leave.

Beth explains how her company helps organizations solve this problem by providing experienced interim and fractional professionals who step into roles while employees are away. These professionals, called “leave partners,” help maintain continuity in areas such as marketing, HR, finance, and operations. Unlike traditional consultants or contractors, Mother Cover specializes in temporarily stepping into a role and then handing it back smoothly when the employee returns.

The idea for Mother Cover came from Beth’s own experience working as a senior marketing leader in the tech industry. After years of building her career, she became pregnant and soon faced job loss and discrimination during that time. The experience opened her eyes to the challenges many women and families face when balancing career and caregiving responsibilities.

Beth began to wonder whether companies’ fears about employee leave were part of the problem. Many managers worry about how projects will continue or how workloads will be handled while someone is away. Mother Cover aims to remove that fear by helping companies plan ahead and maintain stability during leave periods.

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In this episode of the Prosperous Prairie Founders Podcast, host Brian Ludwig sits down with Kyle Moffat, the owner of Dixon Doodles in Regina. Kyle shares the story behind his unique business that creates personalized wooden artwork, ornaments, plaques, and custom gifts. What began as a small creative project in a condo bathroom has grown into a thriving local business with a team, a showroom, and customers who value meaningful, handcrafted products.

Kyle explains how Dixon Doodles specializes in turning photos, names, and personal moments into detailed wooden keepsakes. These pieces often mark life’s most important moments, including weddings, births, retirements, memorials, and business milestones. By designing and producing everything in-house using precision equipment like lasers and CNC machines, the business provides highly customized products with quick turnaround times.

One of the most inspiring parts of Kyle’s story is how the business began. His wife originally started experimenting with a craft cutting machine during maternity leave. Soon after, Kyle began cutting wooden name signs for their children using a scroll saw in their condo bathroom. Friends and family started placing orders, and the demand slowly grew through social media. When the COVID pandemic arrived, Kyle made the bold decision to leave his job and focus on the business full time.

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In this episode of the Prosperous Prairie Founders Podcast, Brian Ludwig sits down with Katrina German, founder of Ethical Digital, to talk about digital marketing, AI, and why trust may be the most important business asset in today’s uncertain world.

Katrina shares how her journey into tech started in an unexpected way. With a background in history and as a single mom navigating life changes, she discovered the power of early social media platforms and began helping businesses understand how to use them. What started with Twitter in its early days evolved into founding multiple tech companies and becoming a leader in Canada’s technology sector.

Today, Katrina works with organizations across Canada, including membership groups, associations, cleantech innovators, and small businesses. Her company provides digital marketing strategy, LinkedIn marketing, advertising, websites, social media planning, and AI consulting. She helps businesses cut through the noise of millions of online marketing options and build strategies that actually connect with the right audience.

A key theme in this conversation is trust. Katrina explains that we are living in a “trust crisis,” where many people feel disconnected from institutions and skeptical of what they see online. When it comes to AI, she encourages business owners to ask a simple question: Will this increase trust in my business, or decrease it? That gut check can guide decisions around automation, data use, and transparency.

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In this episode of the Prosperous Prairie Founders Podcast, Brian Ludwig sits down with Mehmet Tulbek, President of the Saskatchewan Food Industry Development Centre (Food Centre), to explore the growing opportunity in specialty crops and food product innovation in Western Canada.

Mehmet shares how the Food Centre helps founders, startups, farm producers, and large food companies turn ideas into market-ready products. From a family recipe to a scalable commercial product, the Food Centre provides contract research, product development, pilot-scale manufacturing, and full production support.

With three CFI-approved facilities in Saskatoon totaling over 75,000 square feet, the Food Centre works on approximately 160 projects annually. Their team of more than 90 professionals includes food scientists, engineers, chefs, operators, and industry experts who support everything from formulation and packaging to extrusion, fermentation, and process authority services.

A key takeaway from this conversation is that food innovation truly “takes a village.” Mehmet explains how collaboration across Saskatchewan’s ecosystem helps companies scale efficiently while retaining full ownership of their intellectual property.

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In this episode, Brian Ludwig sits down with Richard Ehret, founder of Magnum Fabricating in Maple Creek, Saskatchewan. What started in an 8x20 garage on a dairy farm has grown into a highly respected manufacturing company serving major fuel suppliers, mining companies, oilfield operators, and construction firms across North America.

Richard shares how he began by building stronger cattle panels for his own farm. When neighbors started buying them, he realized he was onto something. From there, he expanded into oilfield equipment, designing innovative wellhead fencing that saved companies time and money. His breakthrough came when he simply “showed up” to meet with a mining executive — a moment that changed the direction of his company.

During the 2009 oilfield downturn, Richard faced one of his toughest challenges. Orders stopped. Payroll remained. Certifications were expensive. Banks pulled back. Instead of quitting, he leaned into new industries, pursued CWB, ISO, ULC, and Transport Canada certifications, and redesigned his business around fuel tanks and custom pumping systems.

Richard speaks candidly about cash flow struggles, relying on customer prepayments during tight times, and the stress that nearly cost him his health. He explains how shifting from micromanaging to empowering his long-term employees transformed both his company and his personal life.

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In this episode, Brian Ludwig sits down with Muhammad Shabaz, founder of Zevk Cultivation Inc., a craft cannabis cultivation company based in Weyburn, Saskatchewan.

When most people think of Weyburn, they think of agriculture or oil. But Muhammad has built something very different — a state-of-the-art cannabis cultivation facility serving partners across Canada and even reaching international markets.

Originally from Pakistan, Muhammad completed his PhD in hydroponics and worked internationally in the Netherlands and the United States before landing in Saskatchewan. After a large cannabis project in Estevan fell through, he took a bold step. He pitched his own business plan to local investors, purchased land to prove his commitment, and launched Zevk Cultivation in 2019.

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In this episode of the Prosperous Prairie Founders Podcast, Brian Ludwig sits down with Chris Rothecker to talk about a topic that every business owner needs to take seriously: cybersecurity.

Chris is part of mPowered Technologies, where he works in the world of data protection, encryption, and cybersecurity strategy. He explains how his company developed its own cryptographic cipher called Sotocipher and how they are using it in specialized projects, including securing drone communications for Saskatchewan Polytechnic. But this conversation goes far beyond technical details.

Chris shares why small businesses are just as vulnerable to cyber threats as large corporations. Many business owners assume they are “too small to target,” but Chris explains that most cybercriminals are opportunistic. They are simply looking for an open door. If your systems are not protected, size does not matter.

The discussion covers common threats like social engineering attacks and ransomware. Chris explains how ransomware can instantly lock a business out of its own data and bring operations to a halt. Even with backups, recovery can take days or weeks. Beyond the direct financial cost, there can also be reputational damage that lasts for years.

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In this episode, Brian Ludwig sits down with Barb Stefanyshyn-Cote, co-founder of Black Fox Farm and Distillery just outside Saskatoon. What started as a 5,000-acre grain farm has evolved into an internationally recognized, ultra-premium distillery producing award-winning whiskey and gin.

Barb shares the bold decision she and her husband John made to sell the family farm and pivot toward a customer-focused, value-added business. Rather than scaling up commodity grain production, they chose to build something closer to the consumer—literally and strategically. That move led to the creation of Black Fox, a Saskatchewan distillery rooted in prairie agriculture and driven by quality over volume.

Barb explains the unique challenges of selling alcohol in Canada, where interprovincial trade barriers can feel like exporting to 13 different countries. While their products are available in Saskatchewan and Alberta, and expanding into Manitoba and BC, Black Fox has also built an impressive international presence in the UK, Germany, China, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi.

The conversation dives into lessons learned about leadership and growth. Barb openly shares that she has likely made every management mistake in the book—but emphasizes the importance of consistency, integrity, and continuing to show up. She speaks about the value of a long-term vision, seeing Black Fox as a legacy distillery that could stand for 200 years.

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In this episode of the Prosperous Prairie Founders Podcast, Brian Ludwig sits down with Nicholas Hayduk, founder of Engineered Code Consulting based in Regina, Saskatchewan.

Nicholas shares his journey from working at ADX Studio, a Regina-based software company later acquired by Microsoft, to launching his own business in 2014. What started as consulting work around Microsoft technologies has grown into a thriving tech company offering web development, customer databases, and a learning management system called EC Learn.

Nicholas discusses what motivated him to step into entrepreneurship and how his early experience helped shape his business today. He explains how Engineered Code Consulting serves organizations of all sizes, including government and healthcare clients, with a niche specialty in Microsoft technologies.

A major theme of this conversation is leadership and company culture. Nicholas talks about the importance of flexibility, long-term thinking, and creating a strong team environment. With eight employees and over ten years in business, he reflects on the lessons he’s learned about delegation, letting go of perfectionism, and trusting others to solve problems in their own way.

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