The StartWell Podcast

Som Seif has spent two decades disrupting Canadian financial services — first with Claymore, one of Canada's earliest ETF companies, then as co-founder of Wealthsimple, and now as CEO of Purpose Unlimited, a platform spanning asset management, wealth management, SMB lending, and retirement solutions. In this conversation on the StartWell Podcast, he gets candid about the mindset holding Canadians back, what's broken in how we build wealth, and why he's more energized right now than at any point in his career.

Steven Wang, Rhodes Scholar, Harvard-trained lawyer, and CEO of Venture for Canada, joins Qasim Virjee at StartWell to talk about what it really takes to future-proof the next generation of Canadian workers, why the country has an experience gap (not a talent gap), and why buying a small business might be one of the most underrated entrepreneurial moves of our time.

Canada has no shortage of talent - but according to AJ Tibando, we have a mindset problem.As CEO of Shift Canada, AJ is leading a national effort to reshape how young people think about risk, failure, and entrepreneurship. Starting with students as early as grade five, Shift’s programs challenge one of the most deeply ingrained barriers in Canadian culture: the fear of getting it wrong.In this conversation, AJ breaks down why traditional education systems often unintentionally discourage experimentation. When students are rewarded for being right instead of trying, they learn to avoid risk altogether. That mindset doesn’t just stay in the classroom - it follows them into careers, limiting innovation at a national level.Shift Canada is tackling this head-on by normalizing failure as part of the learning process. By creating “permission structures” where students can try, fail, and try again without judgment, they unlock creativity, confidence, and real problem-solving ability.But this isn’t just about education - it’s about economic competitiveness. AJ connects the dots between cultural attitudes toward risk and Canada’s ability to produce founders, builders, and bold thinkers.This episode is a sharp reminder that innovation doesn’t start in boardrooms - it starts much earlier. And if Canada wants to compete globally, it needs to rethink how it prepares the next generation.

Karim Gillani has had a front-row seat to some of the most important shifts in technology and finance over the past two decades. From early days in mobile payments to leading M&A at companies like Xoom and PayPal, and now as a co-founding General Partner at Luge Capital, his perspective on venture capital is shaped by real operational experience.In this conversation, Karim breaks down how the rules of building and investing in startups are changing - fast.

Naseem Saloojee, co-founder of Suma Capital, breaks down one of the most misunderstood opportunities in today’s market: SPACs - and why they may be making a comeback.In this conversation, we explore how founders, investors, and operators can navigate a market where traditional venture funding has slowed, IPO timelines have stretched, and liquidity has become harder to access.Naseem shares how his team is identifying overlooked companies - profitable, growing businesses that no longer fit the venture hype cycle - and helping them access public markets in a different way.We also unpack:What an “independent sponsor” actually doesWhy mid-market companies are stuck in today’s funding environmentHow public markets differ from private capitalWhat makes a company a strong SPAC candidateThe future of Canadian companies accessing U.S. capital markets

*Recorded at StartWell - Toronto's campus for corporate meetings & events: https://startwell.coGhassan Halazon, Founder and CEO of EMERGE Commerce, joins the StartWell Podcast for a candid conversation about what it really takes to build and operate e-commerce businesses at scale. From his early days leaving Wall Street to launch one of Canada’s biggest daily deals businesses, to building EMERGE into an e-commerce brand portfolio, Ghassan shares hard-won lessons from acquisitions, public markets, debt, restructuring, and the discipline required to survive volatile markets.This episode digs into the reality behind e-commerce rollups, why diversified portfolios can break down in consumer businesses, and how EMERGE refocused around fewer, stronger verticals. Ghassan also explains why brand loyalty, community, and customer trust matter more than ever - and why most people should think twice before launching “just a nice little e-commerce store.”

*Recorded at StartWell, Toronto's campus for corporate meetings & events: https://startwell.co/Partnerships are no longer a side function - they’re becoming one of the most important growth channels in modern B2B.In this episode of the StartWell Podcast, Chris Lavoie - founder of Partnership Mastermind - breaks down why partnerships are having a resurgence, what most companies get wrong when building partner programs, and how partner professionals can ramp faster with better training, community, and real-world practice.

*Recorded at StartWell - Toronto's campus for corporate meetings & events: https://startwell.coBen Wise and Darren Chiu are the founders of Captivate - a newsletter and training platform that turns behavioral science into practical tools for persuasion, communication, and change. In this conversation, we dig into the line between ethical persuasion and manipulation, why emotion drives decision-making more than logic, and how leaders can use simple tactics to run better meetings and offsites.If you plan internal offsites, sales kickoffs, or team gatherings, this episode is a playbook: how to prime people before they arrive, how to open the day so you don’t lose the room, and how “labeling” emotions can instantly reduce tension and increase buy-in. We also explore persuasion in advertising, why small conversion lifts matter at scale, and how AI is best used as a thought partner - not as your voice.

*Recorded at StartWell - Toronto's campus for corporate meetings & events: https://startwell.coJoseph Fung is a 5x founder and CEO with a simple obsession - building places where great people can do their best work.In this conversation, Joseph walks through the real arc of entrepreneurship: bootstrapping companies to the brink, learning how exits actually happen, and why the hardest part isn’t 0-to-1 - it’s building something with longevity. We dig into his journey from an early white-label CMS business (built while in engineering at Waterloo) to TribeHR’s acquisition, and the lessons he learned inside a much bigger machine afterward.Then we get into the messy reality of workforce development and talent - why most companies underinvest in employee growth, why “culture” only matters if it speeds up decisions under stress, and why software companies live or die by alignment and knowledge transfer.We also unpack Uvaro’s pivot from tooling to outcomes, the challenge of government procurement cycles, and how 2025’s macro uncertainty created a sudden squeeze between banks and delayed contracts.And yes - after shutting down a 60+ person company, Joseph went to China for two months of Shaolin-area kung fu training to reset his body, his mind, and his relationship with productivity.

*Recorded at StartWell - Toronto's campus for corporate meetings & events: https://startwell.coMax Tremaine is the cofounder and CEO of Sherpa - the travel infrastructure company helping millions of travellers every week understand what they need to cross borders, apply for eVisas as an add-on inside travel bookings, and validate documents for airlines and travel operators.In this conversation on the StartWell Podcast, Max breaks down how a painful personal travel problem turned into a global B2B platform - and why the travel world is shifting from “visa-free” to “pre-clearance everywhere” (eVisas, ETAs, and arrival systems). We also dig into the COVID-era inflection point that helped Sherpa scale from a couple airline integrations to dozens, the realities of selling into airlines and travel ecosystems, and why “hiring a bunch of people” is rarely the shortcut founders think it is.We also get practical about AI - not as hype, but as a real operational advantage. Max shares how Sherpa uses LLMs to spot changes in government systems earlier and reduce response times from weeks to hours, while still keeping humans accountable for architecture and trade-offs.

In this StartWell Podcast episode, lobbyist Morva Rohani breaks down public policy for founders, the reality of regulation in Canada, and why understanding government priorities can become a competitive advantage.

Goodlawyer CEO Brett Colvin explains why Big Law incentives are broken, how fractional general counsel works, and how scaling companies can modernize legal support with embedded in-house talent.

Collin Stewart has spent the last decade-plus helping founders find customers - but in this conversation, he’s not selling tactics. He’s selling sequence.We talk about Collin’s book, The Terrifying Art of Finding Customers, and why he wrote it in the first place: he didn’t want to regurgitate another “sales development playbook.” Instead, he wanted to name the part founders don’t want to face - that the hardest, most terrifying work isn’t outreach. It’s discovering whether a real, urgent, expensive pain actually exists in the market.Collin shares the classic founder failure mode in one phrase: “show up and throw up” - demoing everything you built before you’ve earned the right to talk about solutions. He learned this the hard way building Voltage CRM: plenty of people told him the idea was “cool,” then none of them would pay. That mistake becomes the foundation for the book’s thesis: the deeper the pain and dissatisfaction you uncover, the easier selling becomes downstream.Then comes the proof point that reframed everything for him: product-market fit strength is a multiplier. Collin tells the story of running campaigns for Uber and seeing performance so extreme it couldn’t be explained by tactics alone - it was demand. From there, we explore product-market fit as a spectrum (not a checkbox), and how founders confuse product-customer fit with product-market fit - finding “Bob,” the one buyer who loves you, instead of a market that needs you.We finish with practical selling discipline (buyer-verified pipeline stages, MEDDICC-style qualification), plus where AI actually helps today: research, signals, and internal enablement - not mass-generated messaging.

What if “networking” is broken - and leadership is lonelier than we admit?In this episode, Christine Song (Founder, 529 Society) breaks down why big conference rooms and name tags don’t create real relationships - and why she believes leaders need a third space outside of work to talk honestly, pressure-test decisions, and build trust without politics.Christine shares how a single LinkedIn post led to 600 applicants in 30 days, why she chose to keep 529 Society intentionally small (and vetted), and how she designs intimate, high-trust dinners and operator-founder-investor cohorts across Canada. We also dig into what founders often miss when they only spend time with other founders, how “character” becomes a business advantage, and why IRL connection is becoming more valuable as online trust erodes.If you’re a founder, exec, operator, investor, or builder who’s tired of performative networking and wants a more real peer network - this one will land and you'll probably want to join her community.

Nayeema Raza believes that success comes from embracing authentic curiosity rather than chasing algorithms. For this episode of the StartWell Podcast, Nayeema joined us in studio in Toronto to discuss her lens on hosting her own show (Smart Girl, Dumb Questions), and what the modern media landscape looks like from her perspective as a journalist, filmmaker and podcaster.

In this episode, Qasim sits down with Katie Zeppieri, founder and CEO of The Mic Drop Agency, a PR and marketing firm working with venture-backed tech startups, reality TV talent and authors across North America. From her new base in Austin, Katie helps founders and executive teams tell their stories, earn trust, and grow faster.The conversation starts by untangling a common misconception: PR is not a guaranteed lead machine. Katie positions PR clearly in the brand awareness and reputation bucket. One launch or one media hit won’t move the needle on its own. Instead, PR is about showing up consistently in the right places so your market becomes familiar with you—and that familiarity compounds into trust.AI has changed the game too. Drafting a press release or basic content can now be done with tools like ChatGPT, but that only gets you part of the way. The real value of an agency lies in strategy and execution: crafting the right angle, timing the announcement, pre-pitching journalists, and tying earned coverage into broader marketing and paid efforts.Katie also talks about the rise of founders as media channels. People often discover a company through its leaders first, so she walks through how to choose your thought-leadership pillars and pick formats that suit you—whether that’s video, newsletters, op-eds, or podcasts.Through a case study with insurtech entrepreneur James Benham, Katie shows how long-term PR, speaking, and owned content can help a founder successfully enter a new vertical and become a recognized authority.The episode closes on a powerful theme: treat content as a sales and relationship engine, not just a broadcast. Repurpose every shoot, test formats using data, and think like an investor about where your time and marketing dollars go.

This episode of the StartWell Podcast delves into the complexities of burnout, distinguishing it from acute stress and exploring the impact of chronic stress on mental health. Duncan So shares personal experiences and insights on recognizing the signs of burnout, the role of workplace culture, and the importance of community support in recovery. Innovative approaches to mental well-being and the intersection of technology and wellness are also discussed, emphasizing the need for a shift towards fulfilling work environments that prioritize emotional health.

In this episode of the StartWell Podcast, Ruslan Nikolaev, co-founder of Float, shares the journey of building a fintech startup aimed at revolutionizing financial management for Canadian businesses. We discuss challenges he faced in the financial landscape, the importance of data in making financial decisions, and the need for localized solutions in Canada. The conversation also touches on the supportive startup ecosystem in Canada and the future of Float as it continues to innovate and expand its offerings!

For this episode of the StartWell Podcast, Peter Hwang shares his entrepreneurial journey - starting from his first business right out of university to navigating various challenges in the startup landscape. We discuss the impact of economic downturns, particularly the 2008 financial crisis, and the lessons learned from such experiences. Peter emphasizes the importance of resilience, community support, and understanding market trends in building successful businesses. He also introduces his venture advisory studio, which aims to support startups in navigating the complexities of entrepreneurship. The talk includes a discussion on rising costs of living in Canada and the implications for individuals and entrepreneurs. Peter's passion for solving problems he sees in the grocery business setup the motivation for founding a company called Tre'dish and we discover why he's excited to still be an entrepreneur - years after finding success through exits from previous ventures.

This episode of the StartWell Podcast explores the multifaceted nature of community building in business as we sit down virtually with Joshua Zerkel; a community-led growth and engagement leader who has done amazing work for technology companies operating at massive scale; including Asana and Evernote.Expect to hear Josh and StartWell founder/CEO Qasim Virjee share their personal journeys which led to work building communities, perspectives on the recent rise of online communities as marketing tools, differentiation between persona-based and company-based communities and a whole lot more.We highlight the necessity of creating value for community members and the implications of community dynamics in the future of work. We consider the importance of community in professional development - especially as the modern workplace evolves so fluidly. The conversation also delves into mentorship plus how to leverage 'content' for community engagement, integrating community into the customer journey, and the necessity of adapting marketing strategies to foster community building. We end with some recommended tools for developing communities online.

This conversation is a deep dive into the Canadian creative industry's untapped potential and challenges. Scott Knox, President and CEO of the Institute of Canadian Agencies (ICA), discusses their "Brands Need More Canada" initiative.Canadian agencies excel at delivering integrated campaigns with smaller budgets compared to larger markets like New York or London. This efficiency, combined with Canada's diverse workforce, makes it an ideal testing ground for global brands.We spend a little time introducing our "Canadians Create" video podcast series, which is a StartWell production being made in partnership with the ICA. The series aims to showcase the depth of thinking and capability within Canadian agencies to a global audience - by telling the stories behind case studies of excellent Canadian creative work.

In this episode of the StartWell Podcast, we sat down with Nik Milanović, founder of This Week in Fintech (the world's largest fintech community with 160,000 subscribers.)Nik discusses the company's first Toronto meetup event and shares insights about fintech ecosystems in Canada, highlighting how Canadian markets are often overlooked by US investors despite having significant potential and talent.For their first ever Toronto fintech meetup, This Week in Fintech received 450 attendee applications - and only had 150 spots available.  Nik believes that Toronto is has a healthy fintech (and tech) ecosystem and this event proved it.In addition to talking about his company and events, we discussed the importance of in-person connections as well as where trust can evolve in the workplace.If you're part of fintech, or interested in this space - we recommend watching this episode and checking out Nik's website.

You're in for a fascinating conversation about rethinking startup strategy with Alistair Croll. For this episode of the StartWell Podcast, we dive deep into his new book "Just Evil Enough," which took seven years to write and challenges everything you thought you knew about building successful startups.This isn't your typical business chat. Alistair brings an incredibly fresh perspective on why startups need to stop obsessing over product features and start focusing on what really matters - getting attention and converting it into profitable demand. He's got over 163 case studies backing this up, from clever marketing hacks to brilliant system disruptions.What we love about this discussion is how Alistair breaks down why the timing for this message couldn't be better. With AI and cloud computing making it easier than ever to build products, he argues that distribution and marketing are now the real differentiators. You'll hear some fantastic examples, including a wild story from the 1300s about a castle siege that perfectly illustrates the power of strategic bluffing in business.The conversation gets particularly interesting when we talk about value chain disruption and how companies like IKEA have revolutionized their industries by simply reassigning steps in their process. We also explore why startups must fundamentally disagree with the status quo - otherwise, what's the point?The book itself is a bit of a rebel - it's got secret Morse code messages, Easter eggs, and a design that looks like classified documents. It's clear Alistair and his co-author practiced what they preach by making the book itself subversive.Whether you're a startup founder, working in tech, or just interested in innovative business strategies, this conversation will challenge your thinking about how to stand out in today's market. Expect to walk away with a completely new perspective on what it really takes to succeed in the startup world - hint: it's not another feature update.

For this second conversation with Carbon6 - 2 years after we last had them in studio, you'll get an insider's look at one of the most dynamic success stories in the Amazon seller software space. Carbon6's journey from ambitious startup to industry powerhouse unfolds through candid discussions with its co-founders, who share both the triumphs and challenges of building a tech company through acquisition and organic growth.The discussion kicks off with a look back at Carbon6's original mission: creating the ultimate toolkit for Amazon sellers by acquiring and combining existing software solutions. But what makes this story particularly compelling is how the company pivoted and evolved. You'll learn how they transformed from a pure acquisition strategy to building their own products and fostering strategic partnerships, all while growing their revenue 7x and maintaining profitability.The conversation takes you behind the scenes of building a unified company culture, as the founders share how they successfully integrated multiple acquired companies into one cohesive organization. There's a particularly interesting segment about their innovative technical architecture – a "central spine" that allows them to efficiently integrate new acquisitions and products.You'll get practical insights into managing rapid growth, as the team discusses scaling to 140 employees across multiple global locations while maintaining a strong company culture. The founders are refreshingly honest about the challenges they faced, including the shift from being "guys with a dream" to running a mature, profitable enterprise growing at 100% year-over-year.What makes this conversation especially valuable is the balance between high-level strategy and practical details. Whether you're interested in M&A, tech entrepreneurship, or the Amazon seller ecosystem, there's something here for you. The founders share specific examples of how they structured their teams, approached partnerships, and made key decisions about resource allocation.

For this episode of the StartWell Podcast, James McKay shares his path from film studies to RevOps consulting in this straight-talking conversation about the Canadian startup ecosystem. If you work in tech or are curious about how Canadian business really operates, there's plenty here to dig into.The chat starts with a clear-eyed look at how Canadian and American entrepreneurship differ, especially when it comes to risk-taking and market dynamics. James draws from his experience at Clearco and other ventures, breaking down revenue operations in a way that actually makes sense.The discussion gets real about B2B sales challenges today. James explains why credibility matters more than ever and why blasting thousands of emails just doesn't cut it anymore. There's a good bit about how LinkedIn has changed the game for professional networking - both the good and the bad.One of the more interesting parts is when James compares bootstrapped and VC-funded companies. Having bootstrapped his own consulting practice, he talks honestly about keeping that direct line between what you do and what you get - something that often gets lost in the VC world.They don't shy away from the tough stuff about Canadian business, including our banking system and those big monopolies we all deal with. The conversation covers how our massive geography and smaller population create unique challenges for scaling businesses here.What works about this discussion is how it mixes big-picture thinking with real, day-to-day experiences. Whether you're running a company or working in sales, you'll probably find something useful in their take on building sustainable businesses in Canada.They wrap up talking about why business should be fun and how to keep relationships real in the corporate world. It's a solid overview of what it's actually like to build and run a business in Canada today - no sugar coating, just straight talk about the challenges and opportunities out there.

For this episode of the StartWell Podcast, we discover how StackAdapt grew from a 3-person startup to a global force in programmatic advertising, now operating in 16 countries. CEO Vitaly Pecherskiy shares insights on bootstrap funding, sustainable growth, and building a customer-centric global tech company.---The interview offers fascinating insights into the early days of bootstrapping a tech company. You'll hear how they found their technical co-founder through a now-defunct website called techcofounder.com – talk about serendipity! Vitaly candidly discusses the challenges of starting with minimal seed funding and how they managed to turn that initial constraint into a strength, forcing them to build a sustainable business from day one.What makes this conversation particularly valuable is Pecherskiy's practical wisdom about product development. He dispels the myth that you need a perfect product to succeed, sharing how StackAdapt started with basic features and evolved through constant customer feedback. There's a great section about how they approached solving the complexity in programmatic advertising by focusing on creating an intuitive, comprehensive platform.The discussion takes an interesting turn when exploring global expansion. You'll learn how StackAdapt grew beyond Canada, now operating in 16 countries with a truly international team. Vitaly offers valuable perspectives on the challenges of breaking into different markets, particularly in Europe and Asia, and how they learned to adapt their North American approach for global success.Throughout the interview, there's a recurring theme of sustainable growth and customer-centricity. You'll appreciate Vitaly's honesty about the stresses of early-stage entrepreneurship – he even jokes about his graying beard! The conversation provides real, actionable insights about expanding your total addressable market and the importance of thinking globally while acting locally.Whether you're an entrepreneur, working in tech, or just interested in business growth stories, this interview offers a refreshingly honest look at building a successful global technology company. It's particularly relevant for anyone interested in bootstrapping, enterprise software, or international business expansion.

In this episode, we explored the transformative work King's Trust Canada is pursuing to improve youth employment outcomes with the organization’s CEO Farah Mohammed. Our conversation traced the Trust's remarkable ~50-year evolution - including the recent transitions as Prince Charles III became the King of England, highlighting their innovative approaches to tackling youth unemployment in Canada.  We delved into critical discussions about leadership transformation and organizational culture, especially in the post-COVID landscape where we all have to deal with fundamentally altered workplace dynamics and community connections. A significant portion of our conversation centered on Canadian identity and the King's direct engagement with indigenous leadership - a testament to the organization's commitment to meaningful change. The discussion included perspectives on entrepreneurship, relating tales from Startwell founder Qasim Virjee’s pioneering work enabling internet connectivity in East Africa to building community spaces at StartWell over the past seven years. Throughout our exchange, despite addressing serious challenges facing Canadian youth, there remains a persistent thread of optimism about future possibilities and the power of community-driven solutions.

Companies need to focus on more understanding their customers - a great way to achieve this understanding is for sales and customer support to be integrated functions. Kyle Norton joined us for this episode of the StartWell Podcast to explain his perspective on the best way to develop revenue operations with systems and a team that is truly committed to holistically helping customers through the product/service they are selling. In his current role as CRO at Owner.com, Kyle leads sales, partnerships, onboarding, success, support, revenue operations and enablement - which has enabled him to develop tightly knit systems for optimizing value the organization and its customers. With 15 years of experience under his belt (and multiple belts at that - he used to own a mixed martial arts academy), Kyle's perspective is informed through experiences running large teams at rapidly scaling companies including League and Shopify. In this conversation, you'll learn about a systems approach to revenue operations plus Kyle's thoughts on work ethic, the Canadian context for entrepreneurship and much more! Watch the full episode as a video here: https://startwell.co/blogs/business/the-fearless-approach-to-scaling-revenue-operations-kyle-norton

70% of people in Canada don't feel like they have the skills to be successful at their job. That number is massive - and is one of the motivating factors behind Mac Gebara's work with Emma-Jean Pride at Atrium; a boutique consultancy focused on developing leaders at fast-growing companies. According to Atrium's market research, over $300B is spent annually on corporate training yet 75% of managers and leaders say they are dissatisfied with the training they receive from their company. This episode of the StartWell podcast digs into how Atrium is solving the problem of leadership development through bespoke mentorship programming. *Watch the full episode here: https://startwell.co/blogs/business/defeat-self-doubt-the-power-of-mentorship-in-leadership-development-mac-gebara

There are few people in Canada more knowledgeable about employment in Canada's tech sector than Lighthouse Labs' co-founder and CEO Jeremy Shaki. Jeremy joined us for this episode of the StartWell podcast to recap changes in tech since the pandemic - how education has shifted online and how companies are actively pursuing up-skilling and re-skilling workers to future-proof their existing workforce. This episode will be enlightening to anyone working in HR/People & Culture as well as startup founders and team leads. Lighthouse Labs is one of the country's first tech educators - now offering coding bootcamps for topics from web development to cybersecurity and data analytics. *Full episode in video here: https://startwell.co/blogs/business/the-future-of-coding-jobs-and-tech-education-jeremy-shaki-from-lighthouse-labs

For this episode of the StartWell Podcast, 5andVine founder Rahul Raj and Qasim Virjee (CEO, StartWell) engage in a thought-provoking conversation about challenging traditional views of capitalism, emphasizing the importance of caring deeply about how one wins and balancing profit with ethical considerations. They discuss the impact of social media on consumer behavior and the need for a more holistic approach to business, prioritizing the needs of people and the planet alongside profits. This engaging discussion provides insights to anyone in marketing or running their own companies in competitive markets! *Watch the full episode as video in the StartWell Magazine

Mark Evans is a Fractional CMO and advisor to scale startups. He's previously been a news reporter and launched his career as a consultant since 2008. For any online marketer, this episode will definitely be insightful and fun! *For the full video version of the interview, check out the StartWell Magazine

For over 15 years Jean has worked on Strategy and Marketing - at agencies (incl BBDO, Cheil, Taxi, VML and most recently at The Hive) and for startups. In this episode of the StartWell Podcast we hear Jean's career history (which began in fashion) and perspectives informed by her work driving strategic approaches in advertising - including anecdotes from client work; including a recent project to help the Canadian Olympic Committee connect their mission with young Canadians. *View this episode as a video in the StartWell Magazine here.

In the post-pandemic era, marketing faces challenges such as declining efficacy and escalating costs. Brands must take calculated risks and create spectacles to capture attention. Differentiation and establishing an identity are crucial, as is prioritizing customer needs. For this episode of the StartWell Podcast, we sat down with Saul Colt of the Idea Integration Company - and discussed the challenges of creating a distinct brand personality in the digital age, navigating tensions between identity and expression. You'll hear shared insights on leading a creative agency, including the importance of hiring trustworthy employees and striking a balance between creative and strategic expertise. There are also nuggets of wisdom offered on the challenges of managing client scope and the significance of thorough planning and preparation in content creation. *Watch the video recording of this session here.

Dan Park has had a colourful career so far - 20 years ago he was at McGill with Qasim, StartWell's founder/CEO, and since then has worked in investment banking and venture capital before taking the helm at Uber to define their UberEats business across Canada. Through his experience at Uber, Dan learned a lot about transportation and when he was approached to further develop Canada's first online retailer for used cars, he jumped at the opportunity - and has since grown it into the largest operator in segment. This is a fun and insightful conversation for anyone interested in the Canadian business landscape - from startups to scaleups, and comprises the 60th episode of the StartWell Podcast. *Explore more via The StartWell Magazine: https://startwell.co/pages/magazine & the full show page for this episode here: https://startwell.co/blogs/business/from-venture-capital-to-running-ubereats-and-building-canadas-premier-online-car-store-dan-park

Roy Pereira's history in tech started in the 1990s - he saw the first boom-bust cycle and has since founded and exited a few startups. For this, the 59th episode of the StartWell (https://startwell.co/) Podcast, Roy shares his experiences and perspectives as a startup founder, tech innovator, investor and Torontonian. His current occupation is as a cofounder of https://unified.to/ - a simple way for companies to unify data between multiple SaaS applications. *View a full film of this episode in the StartWell Magazine here.

At this roundtable we feature the perspectives of three guests who work within the Canadian cannabis industry - including a grower and two gentlemen who have previously owned a production/processing facility and now help new brands enter the market working with Wellcann - the only cannabis gum manufacturer in Ontario. Startwell Podcast Episode 57 is hosted by Qasim Virjee as always - this time with guests Michael Lanzalone, Rahul Rajan & Darryl Rosalin

Cato Pastoll is the co-founder and CEO of a Toronto based fintech startup called Loop. Loop bills itself as Canada's #1 bank for entrepreneurs - with a cross border banking platform that includes corporate cards, payments, FX, capital and more in multiple currencies. Founded about a decade ago as Lending Loop - the company launched as a platform for equity crowdfunding, before pivoting to focus on how their customers used money in addition to providing ways for them to source it. In this episode, Cato: - Tells us about the history of his company - Relates the evolving need for financial services from agile young companies who operate internationally - Explains his passion for technology and finance as a youth and how that has led to founding this company - Compares Canada to other countries in the world who have greater flexibility and lower barriers to entry for the banking sector - like the UK - Much more...

Andrew Ingham has had an interesting career - he started working in his youth in plumbing and then spent years building markets for beer companies before becoming an alcohol buyer for large grocery chains and hospitality companies around the world. Recently, his conscience weighed on him and he decided to roll up his sleeves - reducing the wine industry's massive carbon footprint became his goal and a new type of wine company was born called Interpunkt. Interpunkt Wines makes simple wines with an easy taste profile packaged in eco-sensitive, recyclable and biodegradable packaging in the shape of a conventional bottle and the company is based in Toronto at StartWell.

Jasmine Daya developed a successful injury law practice in downtown Toronto leading up to the pandemic - in the down-time when courts were closed and business was slow, her entrepreneurial spirit saw opportunity in hospitality. Today, Jasmine still practices the law but has reduced her hours on cases to focus on her nightlife establishments, and she's actively developing new projects in real estate. This interesting conversation has a lot of insight for professionals considering leaving their professions to pursue entrepreneurialism and forms episode 54 of the StartWell Podcast.

Nick DenBoer is a film and music video director based in Toronto who has worked with a wide array of high profile clients - including ad agencies like Wieden+Kennedy, media personalities like Conan O'Brien and artists like deadmau5, The Neptunes and even Tommy Lee. His creative style remixes aesthetic elements to craft new narratives and on this episode of the StartWell podcast, filmed at our Event Studio, we dig into his experiences discovering whats possible with a career and review some of his work together.

Alan Smithson co-invented the world’s first touchscreen DJ system called 'Emulator'  - an award winning piece of performance kit used by some of the top DJs on the global dance music circuit. In a twist of fate, the company was taken from him the night his pitch on Dragon's Den for it aired. Since Emulator, Alan has built a company to make XR experiences more easily available to anyone, anywhere in the world. MetaVRse is a proprietary, code-optional web platform that makes it easy to create and share interactive 3D experiences instantly. In this episode of the StartWell Podcast, you'll hear from Alan's career history and get a sneak peak into the world's largest virtual shopping mall which his company built using their web platform that already has some interesting tenants like Starburst's Juicyverse space.

For the 51st episode of StartWell's Podcast, we sat down with Lisa Mattam - the Toronto based founder of Sahajan. This unique clean skincare company develops Ayurveda based products with the rigor of scientific testing to ensure best in class performance from plant based ingredients. Inspired when her daughter covered herself in makeup one day, Lisa's entrepreneurial journey has seen the foundation of a category-leading brand that has taken immense commitment and effort to take to market. In this conversation, you'll hear these amazing things, and much more: - Some of the career background she had before embracing her path as an entrepreneur - How Lisa was inspired to use her cultural heritage in creating a line of clean skincare products - How she was accepted into Sephora's first accelerator program - The effort involved in getting her products onto shelves and into homes of her customers - including personally convincing retailers to carry Sahajan to going live on television to convince shoppers to take a chance on a new brand - How Oprah's wellness editor discovered Sahajan during the pandemic through their Turmeric mask and took to using it every Sunday as a ritual, calling it out as a recommended Canadian company with a founder of Indian heritage - Some news about Sahajan's products now being available at luxury hotels

As with most pharmaceutical drugs, Adderall comes with side-effects which make it undesirable for a lot of people - including addictiveness, something which inspired the team behind Gwella, a Toronto based company to launch vegan non-prescription edibles that boost energy levels, focus, mental clarity and positivity. Founded in the pandemic, Gwella is a remote-first company with 3 co-founders. We sat down in studio with Stefany Nieto, the company's COO and one of its founders for this, the 50th episode of our StartWell Podcast. In this episode of the StartWell Podcast you'll a wealth of information which relates a unique foundation story valuable for anyone interested in Consumer Packaged Goods or startups in general - including: The company's foundation story How Gwella is positioned to take advantage of legalisation when it eventually happens for psychedelics Why MOJO had to reposition its brand early on, and how it has found a groove which is allowing it to sell globally Why selling product through Amazon was initially difficult and how Stefany's team changed things to acquire a great product review rating and ensure better supply management. Why the company has high value for content and community.

Originally a written series of interviews with male celebrities and athletes published online through a website called Gents Post, Gents Talk was launched in 2022 as a video podcast to better articulate the depth of experiences interviewees were expressing to Samir Mourani. Now joined by podcast cohost Matthew Chapman, Gents Talk is shot at StartWell and published weekly - featuring well known men sharing intimate perspectives and experiences which aim to express their definition of masculinity in the modern age. For this episode of StartWell's own podcast, we invited the Gents Talk hosts to share their experiences behind the mic and catch us up on how they are distributing their content. Recently they began showing the first season of their series on Air Canada's in-flight entertainment system globally and are already receiving great feedback from passengers. So far Gents Talk has featured guests that include the 'King of Bay Street' Wes Hall, professional athletes Jonathan Osorio and Dan Dearing, actor Nick Bateman, director Justin Wong, artist Diego Snow and many many more.

Accomplished Toronto Chef Jagger Gordon joined us in studio to share the inspiration behind his philanthropic endeavours to battle food insecurity and reduce food waste. In this engaging conversation you'll hear about a new app which lets people share extra food with people in need as well as how Jagger made his way to the Ukraine through Poland recently and fed citizen soldiers fighting Russian forces; with José Andrés World Central Kitchen and then his own exploration of the interior. *About Chef Jagger Gordon's Charity, Feed it Forward Feed It Forward is a Toronto based Canadian not for profit organisation with two main goals; to feed Canadians that are food insecure and to reduce food waste. Our mission is to make a difference in the lives of our fellow Canadians who are in need of assistance in securing nutritious food and a regular balanced diet. Feed It Forward donated over 1.7 million meals during the course of the pandemic helping to provide food security for people throughout Ontario. In this uncertain time, he went mobile with his new Food Truck program bringing thousands of hot and frozen meals to communities around Ontario, including Humber College, U Of T, George Brown College and Ryerson University. He believes a hungry stomach is a hungry mind and no student or person should worry about where their next meal is coming from. Feed It Forward.ca has a new free food sharing app created by Chef Gordon that gives everyone the opportunity to help eliminate food waste and reroute it onto tables all around the world while helping people be socially responsible.

Entrepreneurs come from all backgrounds - so it was refreshing this time around to take a break from high tech startups and hear the story of this award winning Toronto based makeup and hair artist. Elizabeth Taylor, works for personal and commercial clients under the company name 'Faces by Pureness.'

Purposeful Intent is a series of curated in-person Corporate Real Estate and Workplace events to have open discussions and thought leadership around the future of work. For this episode of the StartWell Podcast we sat down with Simon Davis to learn about his impetus for founding the series, experiences hosting it through 2022 across North America and expectations for the year ahead.

With people buying things increasingly online the back end logistics required for not only shipping product out to consumers but then receiving back returns can be a nightmare for SMBs - that's where ReturnBear comes in. This Canadian company helps sellers manage their product returns; with central product drop depots in shopping malls and much more - including product sorting and re-packacking to speed up the path to resale. For this, the 45th episode of StartWell's podcast, Qasim Virjee sits down with Robert Domagala - the Head Of Business Development & Marketing at ReturnBear.

Camille Moore joins us in studio on campus at StartWell to relate her founder story and share perspective on Third Eye Insights' approach to enabling professional services through branding. The conversation is fun and far reaching - touching on some of StartWell founder Qasim Virjee's own experiences as one of the first people online in East Africa, digitising a methodology for Placemaking and experiencing corporate politics at IBM. [expand title="Podcast Transcript"] Qasim Virjee 0:28 Welcome back to the Start world podcast. Once again, I am Qasim in studio on King Street West here in Toronto at start Will's campus. Today for the 44th episode of our podcast, I'm joined in studio by the lovely Camille Moore from Third Eye insights. And I'm very, very interested to hear all about what you guys do and more importantly, what you do. Because I've seen you're on campus, we've talked, we've bantered a little bit. But we haven't really dug into kind of like the state of marketing, and how you guys are like ahead of the curve, and what you know you want to be doing with your company. So all that is stuff that we can talk about. Welcome to the studio. Thank you. Awesome. So let's start with introductions. Camille, who are you? What do you do? Camille Moore 1:18 Wow, that's a deep question. My name is Camille more i co own Third Eye insights. Third, eye Insights is a very cool marketing agency that we kind of define as an agency that specializes in branding, strategy and experience. We specialize in marketing professional services. So that's anyone or any business that sells a service opposed to a product. So I I tend to not mark it a mug, I would mark it Qasim Virjee 1:58 like I do you This is my job. Market struggle mugs. Camille Moore 2:04 So that's kind of the niche that we got into and apparently it's working, it's doing well. Qasim Virjee 2:12 Well, it's interesting, because professional services people, accountants, lawyers, doctors, doctors, the furthest thing from from what they want to be thinking about and wasting to them their time on is like talking to people that are not their patients or clients. And figuring out why it's important to do. Camille Moore 2:30 It's a really interesting personality that gets into sort of like professional services, because they tend to not be very creative. So the whole concept of marketing themselves or their business is totally abstract to them. But it's also really interesting because the same professions are Creedence professions. So they tend to have they're at the kind of the the upper end of society, you know, lawyers and doctors are, or were once very well looked up to. It's very hard to become a living in the 50s. Ma'am, exactly. But that's but that's the most interesting thing about digital marketing and what we do, because it was so it had so much credibility before the advent of the Internet. So what made a doctor or a lawyer, so prestigious is that they held all the information, right? So they were attended to attract encyclopedic brains, people who could just memorize and textbooks of information test well, and then the average person wouldn't have access to the information. But what changed was Google, and how the average person is educated. And we require information before hiring, to make a decision. So think about the last time you went to a doctor's office, you've pre diagnosed yourself, you're just going in to get the corroboration on your pre diagnosis. Qasim Virjee 4:02 A funny example because you know, my wife's a family practice, doctor, she's a doctor, a GP. So yeah, in some ways, that's true for me less than others, maybe yes, I like to. I like to think I have a doctor in the family. But that also means I don't have a doctor in the family. They're like, that's the furthest thing from what I want to be talking about right now. Go away w