What CEOs Talk About

Mitchell Demeter is a serial entrepreneur and pioneering figure in the cryptocurrency industry. Having gained worldwide attention for launching the world’s first Bitcoin ATM in Vancouver, followed by locations and partnerships in London, Singapore, Bucharest, and Tokyo; Mitchell later co-founded Cointrader Exchange, one of Canada's earliest online digital currency exchanges, which was acquired in 2015.

He currently serves as President of Netcoins, a cryptocurrency trading platform, where he has helped grow the team, operations, and overall topline revenue. His vision is to make it easy and accessible for anyone to buy, sell, and understand cryptocurrency. Mitchell's core belief is that sound money is ultimately more beneficial for society; he is deeply passionate about the crypto industry and its limitless possibilities.

In this episode….

Mitchell Demeter got involved in cryptocurrency in 2013. He had always maintained an interest in gold, silver, economics, and money industries and when he and his friends discovered bitcoin they found their theories translated well into its structure. Mitchell created one of the first in-person crypto brokerages in Vancouver and was one of the first co-founders of cryptocurrency ATMs.

In 2019 Mitchell became President of Netcoins. He has a passion for cryptocurrency and its possibilities and he enjoys that the industry is never stagnant but always evolving quickly. He understands not only the entrepreneurial spirit but also what it takes to survive and thrive in a high stakes and largely-misunderstood industry that is experiencing explosive growth.

In this episode of What CEOs Talk About, host Martin Hunter discusses bitcoin with Mitchell Demeter. They get into the essentials of cryptocurrency but dig deeper to find out the kind of people Mitchell looks to hire, how he himself handles the challenges innate to such a growth-based industry, and his goals for the future. They address fears, ambition, and how to make working remotely a connective experience for all workers.

This podcast is brought to you by URGEO, Operational excellence in action through the Are you Ready Program!

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Are you READY to free up your time?

Optimize your Organization?

Grow revenue and reduce costs?

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Partnering with organizations like yours, we work with you to implement our proven methodology designed to transform your operations, while providing accurate advice and support for real success.

Translating strategy into frontline operations, URGEO helps leaders and the people within their organization excel at safe, on-time, on-budget and on-spec delivery. Let’s touch base so we can learn how we can level up your business. Contact us today: https://www.urgeo.com/contact

Dan Abbate is an entrepreneur, thought leader, and investor with a career-long focus in business process optimization and automation using advanced technology, organizational development, and continuous improvement. 

For the decade leading to 2013, Dan started and developed or acquired and improved then sold eight companies serving various markets and industries with a total market value of over $100,000,000 and were funded using private and public capital markets. From 2013 onward Dan has focused on growing his personal knowledge base to scale his unique value-driving skills and experience as a silent and lead investor and advisor to a number of technology and mainstreet companies. This dedication and focus has placed Dan in a unique leadership position in the cross-section of technology, finance, and business. His book "Automation Manifesto" was published and is available via Amazon and other retail book outlets.

In this episode….

Dan Abbate is a self-described “wandering philosopher” with a background in coding and technology and a lifelong entrepreneurial spirit. Homeschooled after grade five, Dan was a young college graduate and teenaged entrepreneur. He learned firsthand through his father’s business, sitting in with finance teams there.

In his own adult career, Dan applied his technology and automation experience to companies he acquired before reworking his structure to focus on removing himself from actual operations. He is a lifelong student due to his love of learning and is currently working on a Masters of Finance from Harvard University. His current career path is using his experience in what he loves to connect to people as a business advisor/investor.

In this episode of What CEOs Talk About, host Martin Hunter discusses listening to yourself and others with Dan Abbate. Dan shares his philosophy on finding yourself and doing what you enjoy every day. They dig into the importance of focusing on what makes you happy and working to remove the physical or emotional pain from your life and business. Learn Dan Abbate’s secrets to finding your path now.

This podcast is brought to you by URGEO, Operational excellence in action through the Are you Ready Program!

https://www.urgeo.com/

Are you READY to free up your time?

Optimize your Organization?

Grow revenue and reduce costs?

Build your leadership team?

Partnering with organizations like yours, we work with you to implement our proven methodology designed to transform your operations, while providing accurate advice and support for real success.

Translating strategy into frontline operations, URGEO helps leaders and the people within their organization excel at safe, on-time, on-budget and on-spec delivery. Let’s touch base so we can learn how we can level up your business. Contact us today: https://www.urgeo.com/contact

Ryan Shortill is the Founder and Executive Chairman of Positive Adventures, LLC – the nation's premier experiential education company providing business consulting, executive leadership training & retreats, team building, and outdoor education to organizations across the country and the world.

In 2003, he was one of the founding members of Excel Academy Charter Schools in Boston, Massachusetts, a school dedicated to closing the academic achievement gap. Since then it has been one of the highest-performing public middle schools in Massachusetts on MCAS tests over the last five years. 

Ryan is also a board member of Entrepreneur's Organization (EO) and travels throughout the country to provide training for CEOs.

In this episode….

Ryan Shortill is CEO of Positive Adventures and a consummate storyteller who can trace his family’s immigration back to the shores of Canada, the USA, and Australia. He grew up the youngest of five kids without a lot of resources but learned a lot of valuable life lessons through that experience. From a background in travel, teaching, and loving the outdoors - he once wanted to study forestry - he started a major business out of his garage while on unemployment.

Ryan founded Positive Adventures to educate and create platforms for personal and professional growth. He believes very strongly in the spirit of business and how investing in people and community ultimately benefits everyone. He shares stories from his years of experience as a CEO inspiring others to do their best and find their purpose.

In this episode of What CEOs Talk About, host Martin Hunter discusses exactly where the spirit of business comes from with Ryan Shortill. They share stories of family history, explore the practical benefits that setting quotas and hosting retreats will have on your business, and discuss the wealth of positivity that giving back brings you. Martin learns a new definition of happiness from Ryan and discovers two books Ryan advises everyone to read.

This podcast is brought to you by URGEO, Operational excellence in action through the Are you Ready Program!

https://www.urgeo.com/

Are you READY to free up your time?

Optimize your Organization?

Grow revenue and reduce costs?

Build your leadership team?

Partnering with organizations like yours, we work with you to implement our proven methodology designed to transform your operations, while providing accurate advice and support for real success.

Translating strategy into frontline operations, URGEO helps leaders and the people within their organization excel at safe, on-time, on-budget and on-spec delivery. Let’s touch base so we can learn how we can level up your business. Contact us today: https://www.urgeo.com/contact

As a John Maxwell Certified Coach, Teacher and Speaker, Tim Dumas offers workshops, seminars, keynote speaking, and coaching, aiding your personal and professional growth through study and practical application of John’s proven leadership methods.

Tim is also the President of Servus Leadership, a Forum Chair with MacKay CEO Forums, a Board Member with the Virtuous Leadership Institute of North America and a partner and the COO of his family business, JAK’S Beer Wine & Spirits. This blend of training and experience allows Tim to coach individuals and their organizations with a unique perspective.

Outside of the business world, Tim can be found feeding his passion for coaching on the football and soccer fields with the South Delta Rams and South Delta United. Tim and his wife, Stephanie, reside just outside of Vancouver, BC in Tsawwassen with their six children.

In this episode...

Tim Dumas started in business early, working in the family business and stocking shelves for his father and uncle. When, years later, his family business was at a crossroads, hiring an executive coach changed not only the business and its culture but Tim’s life forever. Tim went on to become a certified coach with John Maxwell and is now President of Servus Leadership as well as COO for the family business of JAK’s Beer Wine & Spirits.

Tim and his wife have six children and Tim has learned how vital it is to set personal priorities alongside business ones, to ensure that your life aligns with your personal goals. He believes in assisting others in identifying and achieving their dreams and does ‘dream sessions’ with all his employees. He understands what it takes to be personally successful and how to master your time.

In this episode of What CEOs Talk About, host Martin Hunter discusses the importance of changing your mindset, prioritizing your life, and the vital encouragement of coaching with Tim Dumas. They address common CEO struggles and hurdles and share resources that will assist in answering the question “What is the purpose of your business?” and in learning how setting personal priorities assists in finding it.

This podcast is brought to you by URGEO, Operational excellence in action through the Are you Ready Program!

https://www.urgeo.com/

Are you READY to free up your time?

Optimize your Organization?

Grow revenue and reduce costs?

Build your leadership team?

Partnering with organizations like yours, we work with you to implement our proven methodology designed to transform your operations, while providing accurate advice and support for real success.

Translating strategy into frontline operations, URGEO helps leaders and the people within their organization excel at safe, on-time, on-budget and on-spec delivery. Let’s touch base so we can learn how we can level up your business. Contact us today: https://www.urgeo.com/contact

Tom is a senior business leader, speaker and International #1 Best Selling author with more than 30 years’ experience helping build and grow companies in Canada and the USA. Tom’s career includes senior roles in many of Canada’s prestigious companies including President and CEO, and Chairman of the Board. He is the host and executive producer of The Quiet Warrior Internet radio show.

As Founder and CEO of KRE-AT®, Tom is the world’s only motive-based leadership expert. In concert with his business expertise, Tom's intense travel and study of the science behind success has enabled him to create a proven coaching and mentorship formula called The Way of the Quiet Warrior®. This dynamic program helps leaders manifest success by discovering purpose, taking action and living life their way. 

Tom has served on a number of industry boards and served as Chairman of the Board for MDABC working to pioneer a change in the Mental Health model. Tom is married to his business partner, Anna, and together they have three children.

In this episode….

Founder and CEO of KRE-AT, Tom Dutta, was born in Fiji to a military father and emigrated to Canada age five or six. He learned a lot from his father, not all easy lessons – from how to play golf with wooden clubs to rising to the high demands of achievement expectations. He became successful at an early age but learned later that he wasn’t what he deems a “success chaser”, he was a “self worth chaser”.  Tom became a CEO by age 31 and understands the demands on executive and CEO brains and health.

Tom’s experience with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and study of the science behind success has led him to create a coaching and mentorship formula called The Way of the Quiet Warrior®. He shares the stories of his foundational experiences with mental health and illuminates many strategies that every CEO can use to unlock their own mental health and create positive relationships and strengths in their business. He reveals his secret for how to spend the first and last hour of every day in order to best care for yourself.

In this episode of What CEOs Talk About, host Martin Hunter discusses secrets of success and how to live a life of good mental health with Tom Dutta, author of ‘The Way of the Quiet Warrior’, as well as how to prioritize care in business. Tom reveals why leaders sharing stories of struggles is a real strength and explains how to avoid falling into negative thinking traps. 

This podcast is brought to you by URGEO, Operational excellence in action through the Are you Ready Program!

https://www.urgeo.com/

Are you READY to free up your time?

Optimize your Organization?

Grow revenue and reduce costs?

Build your leadership team?

Partnering with organizations like yours, we work with you to implement our proven methodology designed to transform your operations, while providing accurate advice and support for real success.

Translating strategy into frontline operations, URGEO helps leaders and the people within their organization excel at safe, on-time, on-budget and on-spec delivery. Let’s touch base so we can learn how we can level up your business. Contact us today: https://www.urgeo.com/contact

Michael Argast is the Co-founder and CEO of Kobalt, a cybersecurity services firm that assesses, develops, and runs cybersecurity programs for small and mid-sized organizations. Kobalt provides continuous monitoring of cloud, SaaS, and corporate environments to ensure security and compliance. 

With over 20 years of experience in telecommunications and cybersecurity, Michael has worked with Global 500 organizations, spoken at international venues, and led teams across various countries and cultures. His specialties include technical and business operations, sales and sales support, consulting, marketing, and more. 

In this episode…

The entrepreneurial journey requires serious commitment, determination, and resiliency. According to Michael Argast, an entrepreneur must take big risks — but, with the right support and passion driving their decisions, they can reap even bigger rewards. 

For Michael, the key to his company’s success is his passion for serving others. By focusing on solving his customer’s problems instead of his fears of failure, Michael was able to grind through his challenges and build a purpose-driven business. As he says, entrepreneurship is about servant leadership and making a difference in your industry. 

Michael Argast, the Co-founder and CEO of Kobalt, joins Martin Hunter in this episode of What CEOs Talk About to discuss his experience building a cybersecurity company from the ground up. Michael explains why CEOs should focus on serving their customers, how to reinforce your company’s values on a daily basis, and the importance of continually developing your professional skills. Stay tuned.

This podcast is brought to you by URGEO, Operational excellence in action through the Are you Ready Program!

https://www.urgeo.com/

Are you READY to free up your time?

Optimize your Organization?

Grow revenue and reduce costs?

Build your leadership team?

Partnering with organizations like yours, we work with you to implement our proven methodology designed to transform your operations, while providing accurate advice and support for real success.

Translating strategy into frontline operations, URGEO helps leaders and the people within their organization excel at safe, on-time, on-budget and on-spec delivery. Let’s touch base so we can learn how we can level up your business. Contact us today: https://www.urgeo.com/contact

Ute Preusse is the Co-founder and Director of Strategy at Will Creative Inc., a contemporary communications agency that specializes in building brands rooted in strong emotive strategy. Will’s client list includes lululemon, Nature's Path Foods, the Vancouver Art Gallery, and many more. 

With over 20 years of experience in marketing and branding, Ute has worked with a number of high-profile national and international brands. Her career started at the Adidas headquarters in Germany, where she was responsible for planning and managing global brand strategies and campaigns. 

In this episode…

What does it mean to be the CEO of your company? How can you effectively grow a business while staying true to your values and intentions as a leader?

Since starting her company in 2014, Ute Preusse has learned that one of the most powerful elements of a successful business is its team. While she has worked hard to build her agency, Ute knows that she can’t efficiently or effectively run it on her own. That’s why she hires the best employees and always makes a point to put people over profit. By letting go of control and focusing on humility and humanity as a leader, Ute has created a strong company culture and a prosperous business. 

Ute Preusse, the Co-founder and Director of Strategy at Will Creative Inc., joins Martin Hunter on this episode of What CEOs Talk About to discuss what it means to be the leader of your business. Ute shares the people-first philosophy behind her agency, how being courageous helped her build a stronger company culture, and why she doesn’t refer to herself as a CEO. Stay tuned for more.

This podcast is brought to you by URGEO, Operational excellence in action through the Are you Ready Program!

https://www.urgeo.com/

Are you READY to free up your time?

Optimize your Organization?

Grow revenue and reduce costs?

Build your leadership team?

Partnering with organizations like yours, we work with you to implement our proven methodology designed to transform your operations, while providing accurate advice and support for real success.

Translating strategy into frontline operations, URGEO helps leaders and the people within their organization excel at safe, on-time, on-budget and on-spec delivery. Let’s touch base so we can learn how we can level up your business. Contact us today: https://www.urgeo.com/contact

Luke Aulin is the Co-founder and CEO of RTOWN, a full-service digital marketing agency focused on helping mid-market businesses grow. Luke is the recipient of Business in Vancouver’s Top 40 Under 40 Award and has grown RTOWN into one of the largest digital marketing companies in BC.

As a thought leader in the world of entrepreneurship, Luke has delivered keynote speeches at a range of events, including CIMC, one of Canada’s largest marketing conferences. He is a people-first leader who is deeply passionate about helping other entrepreneurs create successful companies that serve all stakeholders.

In this episode…

As the leader of your organization, how can you cultivate a company culture that not only boosts your team’s morale, but effectively improves their performance, as well? For CEO Luke Aulin, he likes to start the day with good news. 

According to Luke, creating a culture of positivity helps leaders easily correct problems and boost high performance as opposed to playing the blame game. That’s why his team at RTOWN holds daily cultural huddles, where they reflect on the company’s core values and celebrate the successes of their team members. So, what are some of his strategies for building a work environment based on trust, gratitude, and ownership?

In this episode of What CEOs Talk About, Martin Hunter is joined by Luke Aulin, the Co-founder and CEO of RTOWN, to talk about why everything works so well - or not in an organization. They discuss the importance of cultivating a company culture based on trust and collaboration, the value of daily gratitude in the workplace, and the strategies Luke uses to maintain his team’s high performance. Stay tuned.

This podcast is brought to you by URGEO, Operational excellence in action through the Are you Ready Program!

https://www.urgeo.com/

Are you READY to free up your time?

Optimize your Organization?

Grow revenue and reduce costs?

Build your leadership team?

Partnering with organizations like yours, we work with you to implement our proven methodology designed to transform your operations, while providing accurate advice and support for real success.

Translating strategy into frontline operations, URGEO helps leaders and the people within their organization excel at safe, on-time, on-budget and on-spec delivery. Let’s touch base so we can learn how we can level up your business. Contact us today: https://www.urgeo.com/contact

Cam MacDougall is an International High-Performance Coach based out of Toronto, Canada. Cam is the CEO and Founder of Inbody Fit through which he has been coaching and training mission-driven professionals on how to tap into the body's internal energy reserves and boost vitality. Through Inbody Fit's Breathe, Flex, Feel, Transform method, he not only gets folks extremely fit, he fosters newfound connection with mental, emotional, energetic and spiritual bodies as well.

Cam was a 2 times Regional CrossFit Athlete, has been a 4 time President's Club award recipient (top 5% sales executive) as Assistant Vice President of a financial firm, and built and sold his first online business.

In this episode….

After growing up involved in drugs, gangs, and violence, Cam MacDougall turned his life around, graduated high school as an adult, then went to business school where he fell in love with business. From working in finance as a sales rep, being a CrossFit athlete and achieving great success, he realized that he had changed externally but not internally. He left finance, found breath work and meditation, and began a journey that would lead to where he is today, teaching spirituality and consciousness along with fitness through Inbody Fit. 

“It’s all about mindset, it’s all about re-wiring our system into a right state of being that’s conducive to us creating extensions of our being.” Cam believes success can be achieved by learning to trust our bodies, by listening to what our bodies are telling us, and by finding ways to combine internal growth and awareness with fitness and productivity. 

In this week’s episode, Cam MacDougall, CEO and Founder of Inbody Fitness, sits down with Martin Hunter discuss why the act of getting into the body involves a lot of learning what we’ve forgotten and how to develop the right practices so we can work as a fine-tuned machine to achieve success in life, business, and everywhere.

This podcast is brought to you by URGEO, Operational excellence in action through the Are you Ready Program!

https://www.urgeo.com/

Are you READY to free up your time?

Optimize your Organization?

Grow revenue and reduce costs?

Build your leadership team?

Partnering with organizations like yours, we work with you to implement our proven methodology designed to transform your operations, while providing accurate advice and support for real success.

Translating strategy into frontline operations, URGEO helps leaders and the people within their organization excel at safe, on-time, on-budget and on-spec delivery. Let’s touch base so we can learn how we can level up your business. Contact us today: https://www.urgeo.com/contact

James Struthers is a practicing lawyer and the Founder of Macushlaw, a firm that provides corporate, commercial, and real estate legal services to small and mid-sized enterprises, nonprofits, Indigenous groups, and individuals. 

James is also the Founder of 253 Columbia, a company that offers private workstations, meeting rooms, and office services tailored for legal professions. In addition to this, he is a Director at Mission Possible and a retired vocal and guitar artist.

In this episode…

Most new businesses are started with the intention of making sales and earning big profits. While CEOs must be profit-oriented, it is also becoming increasingly important for them to be socially and environmentally conscious, as well. In other words, today’s CEOs should be focused on developing benefit companies.

For James Struthers, the decision to start a benefit company was inspired by his desire to make the world better through his business and the legal services he provides. He believes CEOs should be conscious of the impact their businesses have on people and the planet. So, how can you take a more active role in minimizing your company’s negative impacts and developing its positive benefits today? 

James Struthers, the Founder of Macushlaw and 253 Columbia, joins Martin Hunter in this episode of What CEOs Talk About to answer the question: what is a benefit company? James shares what a socially responsible company looks like, how to take a more active role in giving back to people and the planet, and why he transitioned from the music industry to the legal field. Stay tuned for more.

This podcast is brought to you by URGEO, Operational excellence in action through the Are you Ready Program!

https://www.urgeo.com/

Are you READY to free up your time?

Optimize your Organization?

Grow revenue and reduce costs?

Build your leadership team?

Partnering with organizations like yours, we work with you to implement our proven methodology designed to transform your operations, while providing accurate advice and support for real success.

Translating strategy into frontline operations, URGEO helps leaders and the people within their organization excel at safe, on-time, on-budget and on-spec delivery. Let’s touch base so we can learn how we can level up your business. Contact us today: https://www.urgeo.com/contact