Some may find comfort in the traditional day job where you receive a faithful pay-cheque twice per month, but for Paul Stevenson, the repetition and unending routine left him feeling numb. “I have to do something more for myself, that will make me happy and that will transcend into my children and the people around me.” Paul is the proud Co-Owner and Managing Partner of ReferralMortgages.com, Founder of the Orleans Power Team and a Co-Host of GROWcast, a podcast focused on connecting thought leaders around the globe. He has incredible insight and experience in the finance sector having previously worked eight years for TD Bank Financial Group as a financial advisor and investment representative. Paul chose the life of entrepreneurship as he left the banking world, where he is now changing Canada's real estate landscape through creative tools, resources and software. In this week’s #StartupPodcast, host Rivers Corbett talks to Paul about leaving the comfort of his day to day job and start a new life as an entrepreneur.

This podcast is brought to you by Quickbooks Online, Mastercard, Rogers, UPS, PayPal, Rebel.com and Scotiabank – your partners in growing your business.

International Women’s Day celebrates equality, diversity and inclusion worldwide. Championing those working to support women entrepreneurs and business leaders is essential in raising the bar for gender parity. Marissa McTasney, Founder and CEO of MoxieTrades, is passing on the torch to Janice McDonald, Founder of The Beacon Agency to become the new Startup Canada Women’s Ambassador. Janice is preparing to inspire national action with one empowering idea.  “This will be the year of collaboration.”  In this special #StartupPodcast, CEO of Startup Canada and host Victoria Lennox interviews two leaders who are unleashing the inner entrepreneur of women across the nation. Celebrate International Women’s Day with Startup Canada in this special podcast at www.startupcan.ca/women.

 

This podcast is brought to you by Scotiabank – your partners in growing your business.

Pivoting and iterating is a crucial process when starting up. By talking to people, researching and developing a service or product, what your original idea may have been can be something completely different then when you launch. As she worked to create Awake Labs, Andrea Palmer found which niche was right for her. “The more people we talked to in the autism community we learned we could have a huge impact.” Awake Labs is an autism health company committed to empowering those living with autism. Passionate about creating social impact, quantified health care, and democratizing technology, Andrea is changing lives through entrepreneurship. In 2016, she was awarded with the Startup Canada Award Young Entrepreneur Award in the BC & the North Region. Earlier in the year she represented Canada among 30 of the world’s leading startups as the Canadian winner of Start Tel Aviv, a global competition organized in Canada by Startup Canada and the Embassy of Israel in Canada.  In this week’s #StartupPodcast, listen as host Rivers Corbett talks to Andrea about technology applications in healthcare, lessons learned from international investors and how young entrepreneurs can make the most of global opportunities.

This podcast is brought to you by Quickbooks Online, Mastercard, Rogers, UPS, PayPal, Rebel.com and Scotiabank – your partners in growing your business.

Sometimes startups get stuck in the weeds with strategies, plans, and everyday operations. Chris Kowalewski of Fulton Inbound Marketing knows what every entrepreneur needs to remember what makes startups successful.  “There is no B2B, no B2C, only P2P: people to people.”  After ditching their 9-5 jobs to travel across Canada, Chris Kowalewski and Rob Hyrkiel Co-Founded Showstopper Gear and Fulton Inbound Marketing in Toronto. Combining their passion for hockey and personable marketing, Chris and Rob are carving their dreams into new and unique career paths.  In this week’s #StartupPodcast, host Rivers Corbett talks to Chris and Rob about everything from building brands, marketing, and attracting customers to your business. Between the two of them, they have more than ten years of experience building brands for business.

This podcast is brought to you by Quickbooks Online, Mastercard, Rogers, UPS, PayPal, Rebel.com and Scotiabank – your partners in growing your business.

Kylie Toh is an incendiary social entrepreneur igniting the Calgary tech, social entrepreneurship, and women-in-business community. Coming from a background of communications, Kylie was exposed to the energy of entrepreneurship. Since then, she’s transformed her career into one of giving back.  “I’ve always come to it from a place of just absolute curiosity. I kind of stumbled upon this tech and startup scene in Calgary and fell in love with it.”  Kylie is the Founder of Chic Geek, a Calgary-based non-profit building community for women at the intersection of technology and entrepreneurship. She was named Top 40 Under 40 by Avenue Magazine and has been profiled in Metro News as one of "Calgary’s Heroes." She has also been recognized as a "Need to Know" in Alberta Venture. In 2016, Kylie represented Alberta in the prestigious International Visitors Leadership Program hosted by the US Department of State and was a voice for women in STEM on an international stage.  In this week’s #StartupPodcast, host Rivers Corbett talks to Kylie about being a voice for women in STEM and the challenges and opportunities that come with running a non-profit organization.

This podcast is brought to you by Quickbooks Online, Mastercard, Rogers, UPS, PayPal, Rebel.com and Scotiabank – your partners in growing your business.

Entrepreneurs are always looking to improve to become the best they can be. This ideology often translates into their work, and into their business. Edwin Frondozo, Co-Founder and CMO of Slingshot VoIP, knows what it takes to be the best and incorporates this skill into his business, his hobbies, and his life.  “Communication is the key to everything.”  Edwin is a passionate supporter of entrepreneurship and SMEs and helps them grow and scale in the Cloud by enabling them with simple tools to communicate. An avid runner, Edwin has participated and finished in both the Toronto and New York City Marathons. He has his sights on the Chicago Marathon in 2017. When he is not running, he is working on mastering the handstand, hosting #StartupChats, or bonding with his new family addition, baby Jade.  Today, we’re talking to Edwin about how to bootstrap a Cloud-based business and adapting to the changing environment of business communications. We’ll also learn how to balance daily parenting life by running.

This podcast is brought to you by Quickbooks Online, Mastercard, Rogers, UPS, PayPal, Rebel.com and Scotiabank – your partners in growing your business.

Shyra Barberstock is the Founder, CEO, and President of Okwaho International Inc., a global Indigenous communications and consulting firm. She is also the co-founder of the Okwaho Network, a social network for Indigenous business. Stuck at a crossroads, Shyra and Co-Founder Rye Barberstock decided to fill the gap.  “Let’s stop talking about it and actually do something… Why don’t we build an Indigenous social network for business?” Shyra is the Startup Community Lead for the newest Startup Community, Startup Kingston. Over three years ago, Shyra Founded Okwaho International Inc., one of the most influential advocates of Indigenous business in Canada and around the world. In this week’s #StartupPodcast, host Rivers Corbett talks to Shyra about her successes and failures as a social entrepreneur, the connection between innovation and reconciliation, and she’ll share some top Indigenous business success stories we should all know about.

This podcast is brought to you by Quickbooks Online, Mastercard, Rogers, UPS, PayPal, Rebel.com and Scotiabank – your partners in growing your business.

It isn’t every day you encounter a young entrepreneur with insight quite like Swarochish ‘Swish’ Goswami, a 19-year old serial entrepreneur and the 2016 winner of the Startup Canada Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Whether he’s fearlessly speaking to hundreds of people about his passions and experiences, writing for big-name publications, or managing his day-to-day, Swish is an inspiration for the leaders of today and tomorrow.  “We’re the leaders of tomorrow, but you don’t need it to be tomorrow to lead.” Swish juggles his life as a sophomore at the University of Toronto studying Peace, Conflict, Justice Studies and Ethics, Society, and Law, with being a TEDx and United Nations speaker, Canada's UN Youth Ambassador, a Youth editor at Linkedin, and an award winning entrepreneur who has started seven high-impact ventures.  In this week’s #StartupPodcast, host Rivers Corbett talks to Swish about what it takes to be a young social entrepreneur primed to become a Canadian legend.

This podcast is brought to you by Quickbooks Online, Mastercard, Rogers, UPS, PayPal, Rebel.com and Scotiabank – your partners in growing your business.

Kelsey Ramsden is a born serial entrepreneur. With the success of her two multi-million dollar businesses in the construction industry, Kelsey knows what really makes someone rise to the top. “Relationships are the thing that have allowed me to grow and carry forward, spin off to other businesses, and get investors.” Kelsey is the founder of Belvedere Place Development and Tallus Ridge Development, as well as SparkPlay and kelseyramsden.com where she runs her signature program The Manifesto Sessions. She is an internationally recognized keynote speaker and Richard Branson Centre mentor. Kelsey contributes to the Huffington Post and Entrepreneur Magazine and has twice been named Canada’s #1 Female entrepreneur by PROFIT and Chatelaine. In this week’s #StartupPodcast, Rivers Corbett talks to Kelsey about her strategies for success in today’s business landscape.

This podcast is brought to you by Quickbooks Online, Mastercard, Rogers, UPS, PayPal, Rebel.com and Scotiabank – your partners in growing your business.

Leading Canadian serial entrepreneur and VC Mark Skapinker has tough love for entrepreneurs looking to expand on their big idea. “If you’re going to succeed in this business, you need to dedicate 24 hours/day for the next 5 or 10 years of your life. You need to throw absolutely every piece of energy into it so you may as well take on a big idea, because it’s as hard to do a small idea as a big idea.” Mark Skapinker is a Managing Partner at Brightspark Ventures, a Canadian venture capital firm focusing on early-stage tech companies. He has been an entrepreneur and seed investor in the Canadian software industry since the inception of the personal computer in the 1980’s. Mark is on a mission to help grow the best early stage companies in Canada, and pivot the traditional VC model to open new opportunities for individual accredited investors. In this week’s #StartupPodcast, host Rivers Corbett talks to Mark about new sources of capital and how to give back to the community.

This podcast is brought to you by Quickbooks Online, Mastercard, Rogers, UPS, PayPal, Rebel.com and Scotiabank – your partners in growing your business.