The Entrepreneur Podcast

In our continuing series spotlighting female entrepreneurs, we wanted to talk to a few founders who are just beginning their journey.

Part of the Summer Entrepreneurial Internship program at Western University, Lily Yang, Maura Selvakumar, and Madeline Noftle are current students who are spending the summer working on elevating their start-ups.

Ivey entrepreneurship faculty member Janice Byrne sat down with the three of them to uncover their journey into entrepreneurship, and the unique challenges they navigate as women and student founders.

Lily Yang is the founder of BsafeKC, which creates stylish and discreet non-lethal safety products designed for daily wear or carry.

Maura Selvakumar is the founder of Masca Vintage, a sustainable fashion brand specializing in women’s vintage clothing and accessories.

Madeline Noftle is the founder of The Starfish Studio, which creates nature-inspired handmade art pieces typically made out of resin and pressed flowers.

The Entrepreneur Podcast is sponsored by Connie Clerici, QS ’08, and Closing the Gap Healthcare Group, Inc.

Building a high-growth business is like launching a rocket! The founder is the engine builders and venture capital is the rocket fuel. It is a two-sided relationship where priorities are different, but the goals are the same. But what does it take to get lift off and break through the atmosphere? How can entrepreneurs and investors work together to discover the full potential of their ventures?

In this special episode recorded at the Western Angels’ Demo Day, we hear from two Western Alumni on both sides of the table.

Entrepreneur Navin Kaminoulu, and Investor Scott Kaplanis have worked together for the past five years, building ventures, raising capital, and exiting.

Kaminoulu was the co-founder & COO of INDUS.AI, a computer vision & machine learning company that interprets construction documents and images to provide valuable insights for builders. The company raised $11M in venture capital and was acquired in 2021 by Procore Technologies, the world’s largest construction SaaS company.

Kaplanis played a major role in that story as the managing partner of Groundbreak Ventures, a seed and series A property technology fund that focuses on finding the next generation of founders in the industry.

Together, they discuss what to look for in a company and investment firm, the do’s and don’ts of raising capital, what keeps them up at night, and the process, pros and cons of the exit.

The Entrepreneur Podcast is sponsored by Connie Clerici, QS ’08, and Closing the Gap Healthcare Group, Inc.

Kristine Beese of Untangle Money talks about her experience pitching at CBC's Dragons' Den.

Watch her pitch on Dragons' Den here:
https://www.cbc.ca/dragonsden/pitches/untangle-money

Catch the full episode with Kristine Beese here:
https://entrepreneurship.uwo.ca/services/ondemand-learning/podcasts/2024/06/untangling-the-gender-wealth-gap-with-kristine-beese/

The Entrepreneur Podcast is sponsored by Connie Clerici, QS ’08, and Closing the Gap Healthcare Group, Inc.

While there has been rising awareness of the gender wage gap over the past few years, another important gender issue - the wealth gap between men and women – often goes unacknowledged.

In 2020, for every 1 dollar men had in Net Wealth, women had only 32 cents.

Financial plans are an option, but they are expensive and out of reach for many women. More importantly, most plans are created without taking the life trajectory of women into account. That is where Untangle Money comes in! Led by Kristine Beese, Untangle Money creates financial plans for women and helps them figure out how to optimize their finances in line with their life goals and personal plans. Untangle Money is a tool that Beese hopes to get into the hands of a million Canadian women in the next four years.

In this conversation, Beese talks about how the magnitude of the gender wealth gap became real for her, the company's unique women-centric approach, and the struggles and joys of building a venture that isn’t all about the money.

The Entrepreneur Podcast is sponsored by Connie Clerici, QS ’08, and Closing the Gap Healthcare Group, Inc.

Jaymie Crook didn’t start off thinking he would be an entrepreneur. He married one.

But even the two of them couldn’t have guessed that their luxury dog kennel would branch off to a dog cookie empire stretching across the United States.

Co-Founder of Bosco and Roxy, Crook has had to learn entrepreneurship on the go; from pivoting during a pandemic, and building a corporate culture, to taking the leap to expand operations - this episode has all of that and more.

The Entrepreneur Podcast is sponsored by Connie Clerici, QS ’08, and Closing the Gap Healthcare Group, Inc.

CEO of Hotspex, Shane Skillen, HBA '00, talks about the importance of partnering up well in business and in life.

To view Brene Brown's list of values from "Dare to Lead," visit:
https://brenebrown.com/resources/dare-to-lead-list-of-values/

Catch the full episode with Shane Skillen here:
https://entrepreneurship.uwo.ca/services/ondemand-learning/podcasts/2024/05/improving-your-luck-with-brand-guru-shane-skillen/

The Entrepreneur Podcast is sponsored by Connie Clerici, QS ’08, and Closing the Gap Healthcare Group, Inc.

Whether you’re talking about Greek philosophers or Silicon Valley tech entrepreneurs, success can often hinge on luck.

But what if you could improve your luck? What if you can bend the forces of fortune just enough?

That’s exactly what Ivey HBA 2000 grad Shane Skillen was eager to share with our community of entrepreneurs.

For over 20 years, Skillen has been leading the award-winning market research firm, Hotspex. Working with a who’s who of international brands, Skillen and his team have been helping companies connect better with their target audience through decades of change that have seen the rise of the internet, social media, and now artificial intelligence.

In this episode, Skillen shares lessons from his journey, and what we can do to improve our chances in an increasingly competitive world.

The Entrepreneur Podcast is sponsored by Connie Clerici, QS ’08, and Closing the Gap Healthcare Group, Inc.

The Entrepreneur Podcast is launching a new series, handing the microphone to women entrepreneurs doing exciting things in a wide array of industries.

In this series, we hand them the microphone to share their stories, experiences, trials, tribulations and successes.

And we kick it off with Bryn Davis Williams and Jessica Bosman, two Ivey HBAs, who’ve joined forces to disrupt the women’s undergarment industry. Their venture, DOUBL is driven by the conviction that women’s shouldn’t have to settle for “good enough.”

With the help of technology, and recycled material, DOUBL offers women custom bras that are made to fit just right! Williams and Bosman talk about balancing their careers, reframing their brand to male investors, and the importance of a supportive community.

Find out more about DOUBL's Kickstarter Campaign starting on April 30th at https://www.mydoubl.com/

The Entrepreneur Podcast is sponsored by Connie Clerici, QS ’08, and Closing the Gap Healthcare Group, Inc.

Entrepreneurs are at the forefront of innovation. They change the way industries work and impact the global, the local and the personal.

Christopher Misch embodies that innovator ethos. As the CEO of ChargerQuest, a pioneer in the electric vehicle industry in Canada, Misch is on a mission to change how Canadians travel and impact their world.

In this episode, discover Misch’s surprising late entry into the world of entrepreneurship and how he has been able to tie his passion for sustainability and innovation to change the world, one charging station at a time.

The Entrepreneur Podcast is sponsored by Connie Clerici, QS ’08, and Closing the Gap Healthcare Group, Inc.

Most kitchen experiments end up as unedible dead ends.

But every now and then something new captures a niche and graduates to grocery stores all across America. That is the story behind Margaret Coons, founder and CEO of Nuts for Cheese. Coons, an English literature grad talks through her journey with Ivey faculty member Dave Simpson, on how a young vegan chef selling products at farmer's markets grew to managing Canada's leading artisan organic plant-based dairy manufacturing company, which recently became the second best-selling plant-based cheese in the United States.

The Entrepreneur Podcast is sponsored by Connie Clerici, QS ’08, and Closing the Gap Healthcare Group, Inc.