Sue Abu-Hakima is a serial entrepreneur, inventor, and innovator with more than 30 international patents. These patents have been recognized by more than 40 companies including Google, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft as pioneering in their industries. “The things that drove me to where I am today,...

Atlantic Canada’s Shawn Smith was diagnosed with ADHD Inattentive Type at age 30. Prior to his diagnosis, Shawn struggled at every level of the public education system. Now, he’s working to transform the system. “We’re not machines, were people. We don't need fixing, we need nurturing.” Prescribed medication gave Shawn’s brain the jump-start it needed to wake from a 30-year slumber, taking his thought process from dial-up to fiber-op. In 2010 Shawn was accepted to the Master of Education in Counselling Psychology program at the University of New Brunswick on Academic Probation and graduated in 2011 at the top of his class. With his amazing story of his, Shawn won Startup Canada’s National Resilient Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2017.In this week’s #StartupPodcast, host Rivers Corbett talks to Shawn about challenging the notion of normality while championing neurodiversity.

Margaret is the Managing Director of GroYourBiz, an organization that builds peer-to-peer advisory boards for women entrepreneurs. It offers training, support, advisory services and strategic alliances for women ready and committed to taking their business to the next level.“Stop doing the fifteen dollar an hour...

Chris Prendergast, a Canadian science teacher dubbed “Guitar Chris” throughout his college career, was inspired by his own pain-point as a musician. And the idea became a hit. The campaign has raised more than eighty thousand dollars in Kickstarter and is working towards to reach just as much in Indiegogo currently. “You must have a large audience waiting to buy, you cannot expect an organic audience to purchase.” Jamstack is the world’s first attachable guitar amplifier that is not only lightweight but sounds incredible with an unlimited number of effects you can connect directly to your smartphone. You can also see his pitch in CBC Dragon’s Den, where he awed the dragons, and successfully broke a two hundred thousand dollars investment deal. Now, the company preparing for its first shipment, and the excitements cannot get more amplified. In this week’s #StartupPodcast, host Rivers will talk to Chris about the success he has had through crowdfunding, his pitch in CBC Dragon’s Den and how he is preparing for Jamstack’s first shipment.

Sophie Forest is an incendiary angel investor and venture capitalist, a combination that is sure to make sparks fly. As managing partner, along with her team made up of diverse skill sets and strengths, Brightspark ventures is the leading early-stage internet, media, and software venture capital firm in Canada.“ I think we make better decisions because we are very different, we look at problems, solutions, and decision making differently, making us better as a firm and better as a company.” During her career as venture capitalist, she has led and overseen more than 50 investments in technology companies in Canada. Sophie also played a pivotal role in growing Radian6, which was acquired by Salesforce in 2011 for US $326M. Sophie sits on the Board of Directors of a number of companies, including Hopper, Jewlr, nGuvu, Classcraft and more! In this week’s #StartupPodcast, host Rivers Corbett talks to Sophie about making investment decisions and the power of diverse teams.

Fudica is Canada’s most successful traditional funding identification and connection platform, which matches entrepreneurs, private investors, public funders and advisors through an award-winner crowdsourcing technology.“Funding is not something that should be a big mystery or something you should spend so much time looking for.”Mike Lee...

Patrice Mousseau is the Founder and CEO of Satya Organic, a company built on intention and purpose.“I knew that the company I created was going to have more attention than profit.”With the onset of her daughter’s eczema, and a refusal to use steroid creams, Patrice began researching natural and organic ways to treat her daughter’s condition. Beginning in her own kitchen using a crock pot, Patrice’s recipe has turned into a flourishing business as her products have landed on hundreds of retail shelves across Canada. Patrice Mousseau is a member of the Fort William First Nation and in 2017 she was the National recipient of the Startup Canada’s Indigenous Entrepreneur Award.In this week’s #StartupPodcast, host Rivers Corbett talks to Patrice about being a conscious entrepreneur, the growth of her business, and being a single mom.

What is the future of Canada’s entrepreneurs? Julia Deans, CEO of Futurpreneur is building the foundation upon which Canada’s youth will become innovators and global leaders. “We help a young person with any kind of idea turn it into a plan, into a viable business.”Julia...

What does an entrepreneur with a skill set in psychology, product design, marketing and business development do? They scramble up their expertise and deliver a one-of-a-kind digital agency rooted in human-centered innovations, immersing users in holistic experiences. “I was fascinated by how people work, think and learn, but also how we don’t work and how we can help people with that, the entry point was psychology.” Jason is one of Canada’s top design and UX trailblazers and is the Founder of You X Ventures, a Toronto-based startup to accelerate social-impact ventures to reach their goals through design, incubation, and investment. In this week’s #StartupPodcast, host Rivers Corbett talks to Jason about how he’s bridging the gap between doing good while making a profit and how he’s driving his mantra, people over pixels.

To make waves as a Canadian entrepreneur is something to be proud of. Now, imagine being the youngest investor on CBC’s Dragons Den while starting three companies before you’re 28 years old. “Setting big goals is the first thing. You have to not want to be a little business anymore.” Michele Romanow is the Co-Founder and President of her latest venture, Clearbanc, that makes accessing funding simple and affordable for entrepreneurs. She’s a celebrated entrepreneur who’s made WXN’s 100 Most Powerful in Canada and is listed as the only Canadian on Forbes Millennials on a Mission list. In this week’s #StartupPodcast, host Rivers Corbett talks to Michele about her strategy behind starting multiple high growth companies and how she’s taking Canada’s tech scene to higher places.