Startup Women Podcast

The world has never been a smaller place than it is today, but making meaningful connections with people of different cultures still has an abundance of challenges – challenges which Yixin Peng, VP of Public Relations, Asia Pacific Youth Entrepreneurship Foundation, is happy to rise to.

Yixin is the VP of Public Relations at Asia Pacific Youth Entrepreneurship Foundation (APYEF). In 2016, Yixin joined as a volunteer and then promoted to the VP of Public Relations. During the past two years, Yixin’s team has been reaching out to US, Japan, China and Australia for new resources for Canadian local startups. From 2017 to 2018, Yixin’s team has organized two rounds of She Loves Tech Global pitch competition – giving a stage to female founders that are interested in Asian markets.

“At a very young age, I have experienced so many issues due to cultural differences in business development, and also professional relationships – now I can overcome this kind of resistance.”

On this week’s THRIVE Podcast, Komal Minhas and Yixin talk about the value of connecting across cultures, and how to see outside the box business solutions outside the country.

The post Connecting Across Cultures with Yixin Peng – December 5th 2019 first appeared on Startup Canada.

When you’re looking to scale help can come from any direction, but as the Founder of LatAm Startups, Miryam Lazarte is very fond of one direction in particular.

A Toronto-based accelerator that brings startups from Latin America to Canada, Miryam and LatAm Startups help scale these companies globally. A serial entrepreneur since childhood in Colombia, Miryam is passionate about building stronger economic ties between Canada and Latin America—and—often—overlooked market of 800 million consumers.

“The impact of LatAm has been to understand other cultures better and to not fear the other person because we don’t understand where they come from. Ninety-two per cent of startups coming into the program changed their business model which has a huge impact on what they are doing right now.”

Lazarte is member of the Program Advisory Committee for Business Administration, Entrepreneurship and Small Business at Seneca College, and works closely with both Canadian and Latin American angels in pursuit of cross-border investment opportunities.

On this week’s THRIVE Podcast, Komal Minhas and Miryam talk about scaling from the south and bringing a Latin touch to Canada.

The post Latin America: Scaling From the South with Miryam Lazarte – November 28th 2019 first appeared on Startup Canada.

It can be easy for entrepreneurs to feel lonely – women entrepreneurs even more so. But if you ask Laura Didyk, Vice President and National Leader for Women Entrepreneurs at the Business Development Bank of Canada, she’ll tell you how to break that spell.

“One of the biggest trends I’ve seen is the magic that happens when women come together to support one another. When women entrepreneurs meet others who have faced the same problems, they feel they have a strong connection, and feel better supported to handle the challenges that they’re facing.”

Laura has always been passionate about entrepreneurship. Since 1994, Laura has held progressively senior roles at BDC across many divisions of the bank. From consulting and finance to branch support and subordinate financing, Laura has worked with all types of entrepreneurs, at all stages of their business.

Through this experience, she consistently saw one gap: a lack of women. Since 2015, Laura has been an ally and advocate for female business owners and leaders. She began as the regional Women Entrepreneurs Lead in the prairies helping drive the bank’s and securing local champions. Today, Laura drives the bank’s mandate to support women entrepreneurs across Canada.

The post Bridging the Gap for Female Entrepreneurs in Canada with Laura Didyk – November 21st 2019 first appeared on Startup Canada.

Ever feel like there’s no way to shut the voices in the back of your mind up that say “you’re not ready yet”, “you’re not good enough”, “that was just luck”? Enter Tanya Geisler, Leadership Coach at Tanya Geisler Coaching.

A certified Leadership Coach, TEDxWomen speaker, and writer, Tanya has taught hundreds of women and women-identified folks, how to step into their Starring Roles, own their authority, and overcome the Impostor Complex with Unshakeable Confidence.

“I always call myself a reluctant expert, it didn’t matter how successful I was I always had this shadow of a doubt that someone would find out I’m not as capable as they believed I was. High-achieving women over-identify with their failures rather than their successes, and I think it’s important to know that the imposter complex will prioritize those failures over the successes.”

Tanya is passionate about helping these individuals shake off their self-doubt so they can own their success instead of being afraid of it, reminding them that their lives are theirs to live and that their success is theirs to own.

On this week’s THRIVE Podcast, Komal Minhas and Tanya show entrepreneurs how to shake off self-doubt and step into the limelight that’s yours to shine in.

If you like the material covered in this podcast, Tanya invites you to join her “Overcoming the Imposter Complex” Facebook Group.

The post Shaking Off Self Doubt with Tanya Geisler – November 14th 2019 first appeared on Startup Canada.

What do you do when you’re faced with life-changing circumstances? If you’re Cydney Mar, former figure skater, fashion designer, and Product Development Strategist & Creator of Cydney Mar Wellness, you reinvent, reinvigorate, and redirect all the best things about you to bring about something new and beautiful.

Cydney believes that lessons and skills teach you to be your best multi-faceted self. When a tragic accident ended her career as a National Level competitive figure skater, and a serious case of mono threatened Cydney’s health and immune system, Cydney pushed through these challenges and leveraged them to be the best she could be, and build two businesses built on her passions.

“My coach taught us how to really accomplish things. When my skating accident happened, I was able to apply those life lessons to what was next – a career in fashion. Maybe when you face near-death experiences, you become unafraid because it’s like, what else can happen?”

Cydney took her love for sewing her own figure skating costumes and attended fashion school where she received many design and merchandising awards. This recognition led her to launch her own couture line, Cydney Mar fashion. Cydney sold this line in high-end stores across North America and later, Cydney launched her collections with QVC, across 8 countries for 15 years.

Cydney then turned her attention to her family ancestry and history in natural medicine, herbalism and the art of healing to develop her own all-natural vitamins and supplements line, Cydney Mar Wellness.

The post Reinventing & Reinvigorating Yourself & Your Business with Cydney Mar – November 7th 2019 first appeared on Startup Canada.

What’s more important than drafting, pitching, and launching your product or company? The research that shows it will work – something Mallorie Brodie, CEO and Co-Founder of Bridgit can attest to.

A Richard Ivey School of Business Graduate, Mallorie launched Bridgit in 2014 with Co-Founder Lauren Lake, a Civil Structural Engineering Graduate from the University of Western Ontario. With non-technical founders found a tech company, what’s the first thing they need to do?  

“Our initial intuition was to get as much user feedback as we could before actually writing a lot of code – part of that was driven by the fact we didn’t have a software engineer on our team.”

Since then Mallorie has overseen the development of products that have had a remarkable impact on the way construction projects are happening today, and are used by national companies like Moss Construction Management, Benson Industries and more, who believe that adopting technology brings new value, productivity and efficiencies to their projects.

On this week’s THRIVE Podcast, Komal Minhas and Mallorie discuss how researching is step one of figuring out step one, and how to see that through to the end product.

The post Researching for Real Solutions with Mallorie Brodie – October 31st 2019 first appeared on Startup Canada.

It’s a hard truth, but the fact that the majority of startups fail is a real problem – and it’s one Sydney Wong, Founder and Chief Hustler at VenturX, is addressing with a real solution.

Sydney went to Silicon Valley in 2015 with a one-way ticket with no job, no VISA, and no apartment. After meeting, learning and absorbing everything she could from the “startup battlefield with few winners”, she returned to Canada with a mission for her company – what would it take to produce more winners?

“When entrepreneurs ask ‘can you help me with funding?’ I always ask them first, are you sure you need it? Are you sure this is the path you want to go to? If the answer is even slightly no, investors will see right through that. The next thing I ask them is how do you know this is the right time? Timing is one of the most important things when it comes to any company.”

On this week’s THRIVE Podcast, Komal Minhas and Sydney Wong discuss finding the funding that fits your startup best.

The post Finding Your Funding, Effectively with Sydney Wong – October 24th 2019 first appeared on Startup Canada.

It’s true you won’t attract much with vinegar, but when you make locally sourced, sustainable food production the guiding principle of your raw honey business, you’ll certainly attract more than flies. Aja Horsley is the Founder and Queen Bee of Drizzle Honey, and is focused on changing how the world uses honey.

“If you do what you’re passionate about and you do it the right way, even when nobody’s watching you, you’re going to attract people to that. You’re going to be able to align yourself with consumers and people that think the same way as you, and bring your passion into the world.”

On this week’s THRIVE Podcast, Komal Minhas and Aja discuss making a product sweeter than most, with everyone’s interests at heart.

The post People, Planet, Profit: Local Liquid Gold with Aja Horsley – October 17th 2019 first appeared on Startup Canada.

Is technology annoying? Painful? Terrifying? According to Liva Graudina, Senior Coordinator of IT at Sovereign Insurance, tech should be fun and nothing but!

Having grown up in the era of chat rooms, Liva was no stranger to learning shortcuts quickly and sharing them with others. She takes that passion to work, and even back home with her as she’s known as Tech Support in her family.

“You don’t want to do all the hard work. Your tech is there for you – it doesn’t have you, you have it.”

On this week’s THRIVE Podcast, Komal Minhas and Liva discuss her sharing her passion for streamlining others’ lives with tech.

The post Time to Take Back Your Tech with Liva Graudina – October 10th 2019 first appeared on Startup Canada.

Nilufer Erdebil has worn many hats – saleswoman, software designer, innovation expert. But as the CEO of Spring2 Innovation, she knows what’s under the hat is the most important thing.

Spring2 Innovation uses the principles of Design Thinking, a process for creative problem solving that encourages organizations to focus on the people they are creating goods or services for, to bring insight, expand operations, and re-tool approaches companies take to dealing with problems all too human in nature.

“Sometimes we think about pulling back and analyzing what the problem really is. Design Thinking is pulling back a little more and understanding who the people involved in the problem are, and trying to solve the problem.”

The strides Nilufer has made with Spring2 Innovation have landed her on the TED X Ottawa stage, gave her the 2014 Ottawa Business Journal Top 40 Under 40 Award, and a 2016 recipient of the WCT Leadership Award from Women in Communications and Technology.

On this week’s THRIVE Podcast, Komal Minhas and Nilufer discuss her drive to make innovation spring eternal.

The post Design Thinking: Intelligent Innovations for your Business with Nilufer Erdebil – October 3rd 2019 first appeared on Startup Canada.