The Entrepreneur Podcast

This summer season of The Entrepreneur Podcast kicks off with international DJ duo, Loud Luxury, talking about their origins, partnership, and the intersection of art and business.

We speak to Michael Schmalz, former President of Digital Extremes, on how a Canadian gaming studio, based in London Ontario impacted the global gaming industry. Then, we explore the future of entrepreneurship and investing in Canada with legendary founder and investor, Kevin Sullivan.

The Entrepreneur Podcast is sponsored by Quantumshift 2008 alum, Connie Clerici and Closing the Gap Healthcare Group. To ensure you never miss an episode. Subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast player or visit entrepreneurship.uwo.ca/podcast.

A Technology sector deal maker, entrepreneur, diversity advocate, and community builder. These are some of the terms that describe Mona Sabet.

A Silicon Valley veteran, Sabet combined her expertise in engineering, law, and business to forge an impressive career that has included 100s of tech deals and nearly 50 acquisitions.

Sabet served as Chief Corp Strategy Officer for UserTesting and played a pivotal role in the company’s acquisition in 2022 for 1.3 billion. Most recently, she co-authored Sail to Scale, which examines common mistakes made by entrepreneurs from start-up to exit.

In this wide-ranging discussion, we cover Sabet’s entrepreneurial journey from Canada to California, and uncover insights from her latest book. 

Google, Microsoft, Twitter and The Weather Network, Rory Capern has really done it all. But while he has built a career with some of the most exciting brands around, the art of the possible keeps drawing him back to the world of entrepreneurship.

An alum from Ivey’s HBA and MBA programs, Capern currently serves as the Chief Operations Officer at Redbrick, a B-Corp Certified firm that has built and acquired an impressive portfolio of companies to inspire innovation, encourage sustainable business, and support digital entrepreneurs.

In this fascinating discussion, Capern walks us through his career between start-ups and the world’s largest tech corporations, the importance of mentorship, and how his people-centric view of business has shaped his career.

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

A pioneer, and legend in the banking industry, Arkadi Kuhlmann first introduced the world to direct banking when he founded ING DIRECT Canada in 1996 and ING U.S. in 2000. As Chairman, President & CEO, Kuhlmann created the largest savings bank in the U.S., with more than $88 billion in deposits and 8 million customers. Since then, Kuhlmann has gone on to launch six startups in the banking sector.

A painter, poet, and prolific author, Kuhlmann has gained a reputation for putting together effective teams through his focus on culture and leadership.

In this episode, we explore his illustrious career, lessons learned, and the new challenges he is tackling in today’s business environment.

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

Welcome to a new season of The Entrepreneur Podcast featuring the likes of Arkadi Kuhlmann of ING Direct Canada and US, Silicon Valley veteran Mona Sabet, and tech entrepreneur Rory Capern, whose career has included stints at some of the biggest brands in the world.

In a world filled with information, there’s always something to learn. But how can we learn to learn?

That is a topic right in Scott Young’s wheelhouse.

Young is the author of The Wall Street Journal Best Seller, Ultralearning, and you can discover more insights in his most recent book, Get Better at Anything - 12 Maxims for Mastery.

A blogger, entrepreneur, and author of the Wall Street Journal Best Seller, Ultralearning, Young joined Ivey Professor Eric Janssen to talk about the process of learning new things. Young also addresses his unique career path which he often describes as a “controlled accident.”

We hope you enjoy this episode. To catch more insights from Young’s work, check out his most recent book, Get Better at Anything - 12 Maxims for Mastery.

https://www.scotthyoung.com/blog/getbetter/

Entrepreneurs are always at the forefront of change and innovation, and Ray Sharma certainly fits that billing.

Graduating from Ivey in 1996 Sharma went into the world of investment banking and became the top-ranked technology analyst in his first year after securing the title for five of his eight eligible years, Sharma joined the startup world and set up extreme Venture Partners. Over the years, Sharma firm has led, funded or founded more than 100 startups with exits to a who's who of brands like Apple, Google, Google Electronic Arts, McKesson and Salesforce, with a career spanning the early days of the Internet and the rise of social media.

Sharma joins Ivey lecturer Eric Janssen to discuss his entrepreneurial origins and shift away from the corporate world, how AI will Change what types of skills are important, and other major trends that students and entrepreneurs should note in this season of disruption.

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

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.