The Marketing Dept.

In this episode, we're joined by creative entrepreneur Sharad Mohan from Toronto to dive deep into the world of marketing, fashion, styling, and what it truly means to be a modern multi-hyphenate.

Sharad shares his journey of 20+ years across agency, retail, and big brand strategy—including leading campaigns at Nobis, Saks Fifth Avenue Canada, and TIFF. We explore the art (and challenge) of creative entrepreneurship, bridging partnerships between fashion and eSports (with stories about Overactive Media and Harry Rosen), and finding new identity after leaving “big title” jobs behind.From ROI in creative roles, lessons learned in agency and brand life, and how vulnerability, relationships, and community-building matter most in today’s industry, Sharad gives raw, honest insight for anyone hustling in creative fields. You’ll hear about runway firsts, influencer pet peeves, and mental health realities that come with a creative career.

Stick around for our rapid-fire “Tagline Me” segment and get actionable advice on thriving as a connector and catalyst in your own space.

Step into the captivating world of Jordana Goldlist, an unstoppable force who transformed the pain of addiction into a career devoted to advocacy and justice.

In this episode, listeners will hear Jordana’s riveting story, from her earliest struggles with substance abuse and homelessness to the pivotal turning points that set her on a path toward healing and legal triumph. With raw honesty, Jordana opens up about the realities of her fight for survival and the profound impact her mother had on her journey toward recovery.

As a criminal defense lawyer in Toronto, Jordana brings unique insight into the challenges faced by marginalized communities, the flaws within our justice system, and the inequalities that inspired her mission to advocate for lasting change. You’ll discover how her resilience grew stronger in the face of adversity, and how she learned to channel her experiences into defending those society too often misunderstands.Packed with inspiring anecdotes and practical wisdom, this episode is more than a redemption story—it is a call to look beyond first impressions and question how we judge each other. Tune in for a deeply authentic conversation filled with hard-hitting truths, courtroom drama, and the hope that anyone can overcome their past to create a brighter future.

In this episode of The Marketing Department Podcast, Anish & Aziz partners at heyprospekt.com pulls back the curtain on what it really takes to build, scale, and sustain a multi–seven-figure marketing business in today’s world.

Hosted by agency founders who’ve lived every high and low—from getting sued by a partner at 21 to signing global brands and celebrity clients—this show isn’t about theory. It’s about the raw truth of entrepreneurship.

Each episode dives deep into the chaos and clarity of running a thriving agency: client wins and losses, hiring battles, burnout, evolving tech, and the constant pursuit of excellence.

You’ll hear real stories, unfiltered conversations, and tactical advice for creative entrepreneurs, marketers, and founders who want to turn hustle into longevity.

No fluff. No fake gurus. Just the real process of building something that lasts—from the first retainer to seven figures and beyond.

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In this episode of The Marketing Department Podcast, we sit down with Ali Jamal, founder of Northern Touch Vintage, to unpack how he went from working at Apple to building one of Toronto’s most recognized vintage clothing brands—without spending a single dollar on ads.

This story is for you if you’ve ever thought about:

• Quitting your 9-to-5 to start a business.

• Turning a side hustle into a full-time career.

• Building a fashion brand that attracts celebrity clients.

• Learning how to grow a business purely through word of mouth, culture, and community.

Ali shares how he made $5,000 in one night at his launch party—what would’ve taken him 160 hours at Apple—and why he walked away from a safe corporate job to bet on himself. He explains how vintage sourcing really works inside rag houses and textile warehouses, why most vintage shops smell (and how he fixed it), and how he curated a store experience that feels premium, inclusive, and unforgettable.

Along the way, Ali built a client roster that includes Wayne Gretzky, PK Subban, Andre DeGrasse, Fred VanVleet, Scottie Barnes, and even Drake’s circle. But the most powerful part of his story isn’t just the celebrity moments—it’s his mission to use fashion as a tool to give people confidence and transform the way they see themselves.

If you’re an entrepreneur, creative, fashion lover, or someone ready to make a bold move, this episode will give you both inspiration and real-world lessons you can apply right now.

Chapters

00:00 Cold open: $5K night and quitting Apple

03:15 Starting Northern Touch Vintage in a condo during COVID

07:40 The inside story of rag houses and sourcing vintage

14:10 How Holt Renfrew discovered the brand on Instagram

19:35 The launch party that changed everything

24:50 Walking out on Apple for good

29:20 Lessons from the first pop-up and business partnerships

36:00 Finding and designing the house boutique store

42:45 Why most vintage stores smell and how Ali fixed it

48:20 Building confidence through styling customers

54:40 Celebrity clientele: Gretzky, Raptors, Drake’s circle

1:02:00 Running a brand with $0 ad spend

1:09:15 Tagline Me: Ali’s rapid-fire answers

1:14:00 Final reflections on contentment, hustle, and confidence

#VintageClothing #Entrepreneurship #TorontoFashion #Streetwear #MarketingPodcast

Roger Sholanki on the Book4Time journey, why vertical beats horizontal, lessons from bad money, and how Seed Two Capital funds SaaS founders with operator-led support across GTM, metrics, and exit readiness.

Episode Notes:

• SeedTwo thesis: vertical SaaS and AI, seed to “second round”

• What Seed Two looks for: founder integrity, clean cap tables, credible roadmaps

• Scaling past the founder and building repeatable sales

• Enterprise integrations, hotels, and the Blue Ocean moment

What does it take to go from being “too junior” for a job… to becoming CEO of the same company two decades later?

For Greg, the answer was equal parts resilience, creativity, and relentless consistency. In this conversation, Greg shares how he built his career at Bilingual Source, Canada’s largest bilingual-specific recruitment company, starting as a 25-year-old recruiter and ultimately becoming its President & CEO.

Greg’s story is filled with powerful lessons:

• The Rejection: Why being turned down for his first recruiter role became the spark that drove his career.

• The Customer Service Years: How defusing high-stakes calls taught him the art of turning angry customers into brand advocates.

• The DJ Life: What years of spinning house and trance music in Toronto nightclubs taught him about creativity, flow states, and problem-solving.

• The Rise Through Recession: From surviving the 2008 downturn to leading his team through the 2020 pandemic, Greg reveals how focusing on what you can control builds resilient organizations.

• Recruitment Principles: Why attitude outweighs skills, why cultural adds matter more than cultural fits, and how standardized hiring frameworks improve decision-making.

• Leadership Values: Why relationships matter more than money, why loyalty is non-negotiable, and why consistency is the greatest predictor of success.

Greg also shares candid thoughts on the future of work, the power of bilingualism in Canada, and the hidden costs of hiring the wrong person.

This isn’t just a story about recruitment. It’s a story about persistence, clarity, and the power of saying: I’ll be back.

In this episode of The Marketing Department Podcast, we sit down with Agnes Land, founder of Change Connect, to talk about the evolution of her award-winning Small & Mighty business community, how she helps companies scale from $5M to $30M, and why sales and marketing alignment is critical for growth.

Agnes shares her journey from an engineering background to becoming a sought-after management consultant, dives deep into the biggest mistakes small businesses make when hiring sales teams, and reveals her take on AI’s role in professional services.

Expect candid stories, practical sales wisdom, and a behind-the-scenes look at building connections that truly matter.-- Follow TMD podcast www.themarketingdeptpod.comIG - @themarketingdeptpodTiktok - @marketingdeptpodYoutube - /themarketingdeptpod

This episode is a no-BS conversation about what it really takes to build a brand in today’s attention economy.

We sit down with Ernesto Gaita—entrepreneur, podcast host of Money Buys Happiness, and co-founder of Neighborhood Creative—to talk through how he went from Toronto nightlife to running a media empire that’s produced nearly 500 episodes, signed with Full Send, and generated 1+ billion views. But this isn’t just about his story—it’s also about ours.

We dive into:

• Why most creators and agencies fail to monetize

• How personal brand filters the right (and wrong) clients

• What it actually means to build community online

• Why short-term thinking is killing your growth

• The mental toll of always asking “what’s next?”

• How to play the content game without selling out

This one covers everything from giveaways and Discord growth loops to tough love for clients and hard truths about the marketing industry in 2025. Whether you’re building a brand, running an agency, or trying to stay consistent with content—this episode hits.

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Marketing isn’t just ads — it’s the hidden force running your entire life.

In this raw, no-filter debut episode, two ex-DJs turned brand masterminds (Anish and Aziz) reveal how your mind is constantly being hacked by colors, sounds, and stories — and you don’t even know it.

They spill untold stories from wild Montreal party days, break down why most people hate marketing departments, and expose the real reason brands keep you hooked. They even share how they turned luxury caviar into a viral Toronto party that had the city buzzing for weeks.

Why does the “marketing department” secretly control everything?

Can AI ever truly replace human creativity — or is it just a fancy shortcut?

What personal branding lies do even the biggest entrepreneurs tell to make you believe?

Get inside the minds of the guys shaping what you see, feel, and buy — and find out what really makes people fall in love with a brand.

Listen now before you’re marketed to again… and again… and again.

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