Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas - the Rainforest podcast

Scribe National founder, Afton Brazzoni, shares how storytelling and journalism, twists and turns, and no plans for entrepreneurship, led to the creation of a successful content writing studio supporting B2B technology companies with messaging and content strategy. Afton also shares her thoughts on resources for woman entrepreneurs, her experiences and ideas for excellence, and information on trends such as the concept of dark social or private online communities, along with resources she makes readily available.

For the transcription of this episode please visit: https://www.rainforestab.ca/yyc-blog/podcast-episode-153-transcription

Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta. The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta.

Host: Lori Farley - As a connector and collaborator, Lori regards the economy as servant to humanity. She encourages and enhances disruptive and innovative ideas, and promotes next practices that activate, amplify and champion cross-sector social innovation, and socio-economic development. Lori operates at the intersection of five pillars: Community Development, Arts, Disability & Inclusion, Education & Entrepreneurship, and Technology. 

Lori spent over 15 years as a professional bridging gaps between mindsets of nonprofit and corporations. She worked with over 50 boards of societies and professional associations across numerous industries, locally and nationally. In 2015, she co-founded INTONOVUS Canada and Impact Calgary to focus on Business Model Innovation embedding social and environmental priorities into businesses as they develop. Harnessing leading edge technologies, and strongly sustainable business tools and methodologies creates a world where enterprises excel because humans flourish and nature thrives.

Guest: Afton Brazzoni started Scribe National to help B2B companies reach customers with captivating content — the kind that sounds like a human wrote it.  Afton brings twelve years of experience in marketing, communications and journalism to her mission to deliver excellent content that drives business forward. Her work is rooted in developing strategies and content for ambitious organizations worldwide including tech companies and professional services firms, as well as for entrepreneurs. When Afton is not working, she spends time with her husband, hiking with my two French bulldogs where they live in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies (yes, they can hike!) or honing her oil painting skills.

Please be sure to share this episode with everyone you know. If you are interested in being either a host, a guest, or a sponsor of the show, please reach out. We are published in Google Podcasts and the iTunes store for Apple Podcasts We would be grateful if you could give us a rating as it helps spread the word about the show.

Show Quotes:

"When someone can come in knowing their mission, their vision and their values, that's really all we need them to have for us to kind of go ahead and start developing a brand personality for that brand voice and a brand story."

"Entrepreneurial spirit and creativity really go hand in hand."

Credits...

This Episode Sponsored By: Assembly Coworking Space

Episode Music: Tony Del Degan

Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan

From warehouse worker to junior developer to senior technology leader to video game developer, Darren Machalek has had an incredible career journey. Learning that there is more to life than money, Darren inspires us to look at passion above experience when you want to hire good people.

For the transcription of this episode please visit: https://www.rainforestab.ca/yyc-blog/podcast-episode-152-transcription

Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta. The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta.

Host: Al Del Degan I have been involved in software development for more than 25 years. I have started companies, lead companies and worked for companies - doing many different things. I am honored to be considered a leader in Alberta's innovation ecosystem, and I give back as much, and often as I can. When I am not working or podcasting, you will find me pursuing my passions of photography, crypto investing, and wood working along with the occasional round of golf.

Guest: Darren Machalek is the owner and Managing Director of Metawe, an IT Professional with over 15 years of experience in Information Technology, Project Management, and Leadership. A results-driven, collaborative leader who focuses on empowering and inspiring team members to achieve project and business objects.

Please be sure to share this episode with everyone you know. If you are interested in being either a host, a guest, or a sponsor of the show, please reach out. We are published in Google Podcasts and the iTunes store for Apple Podcasts We would be grateful if you could give us a rating as it helps spread the word about the show.

Show Quotes:

"I love creativity, creative aspects. I love being a programmer. I love business. Like I learned so much about business and I'm PMP certified. I love projects. There must be a career out there that does all this. And sure enough, there is... video games"

"Nowhere did I recoup the costs that it took for my personal time. If I did the math on how much I spent, like personal time on it, I would have made about a dollar an hour. So I could go get a minimum wage job and still make, you know, 15 times more than I would as a game developer."

Links:

• Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business
• Achimostawinan Games
• Pe Metawe Games

Credits...

This Episode Sponsored By: Assembly Coworking Space

Episode Music: Tony Del Degan

Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan

This is the first episode of 2022 and I thought it would be fun to share ten of my favorite episodes that aired in 2021.

Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta. The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta.

Host: Al Del Degan I have been involved in software development for more than 25 years. I have started companies, lead companies and worked for companies - doing many different things. I am honored to be considered a leader in Alberta's innovation ecosystem, and I give back as much, and often as I can. When I am not working or podcasting, you will find me pursuing my passions of photography, crypto investing, and wood working along with the occasional round of golf.

Please be sure to share this episode with everyone you know. If you are interested in being either a host, a guest, or a sponsor of the show, please reach out. We are published in Google Podcasts and the iTunes store for Apple Podcasts We would be grateful if you could give us a rating as it helps spread the word about the show.

Credits...

This Episode Sponsored By: New Idea Machine

Episode Music: Tony Del Degan

Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan

50 year old Sunterra Group is putting the finishing touches on a 20 acre high-tech greenhouse in Acme Alberta to locally grow juicy strawberries and four types of tomatoes. Amanda Hehr has a lot to say about AgTech thriving in Alberta and how much more needs to be accomplished to take advantage of one of the sunniest places on earth.

For the transcription of this episode please visit: https://www.rainforestab.ca/yyc-blog/podcast-episode-150-transcription

Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta. The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta.

Host: Lindsay Skabar is the co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer at Bōde, Canada’s first online real estate marketplace. Giving customers choice and access are central to her personal and business philosophy. Before her career in tech and real estate, Lindsay served on the Global Business Development team at Axia, which brought high performing, low-cost fibre optic internet to rural Alberta and globally to the USA, France and Singapore. She participates in humanitarian work around the world and in her hometown of Calgary. She continues to be committed to non-profit work in the form of board engagements. Former Chair of Aids Calgary and Chair of the Branch Out Neurological Foundation for many years. Lindsay now sits on the Mount Royal University Foundation Board. She studied business and marketing at Bishop’s University. Lindsay is focused on scaling Bōde across Canada, and eventually, internationally.

Guest: Amanda Hehr.  After graduating from the University of Calgary’s Executive MBA program in 2014, Amanda abandoned her 15 year career in corporate Calgary to co-found CRU Juice. Along with her partner, Amanda grew CRU from a start up with modest seed capital, to a thriving enterprise including a manufacturing facility, eight corporately owned retail locations, e-commerce and wholesale channels. In addition to providing employment to over 65 Albertans, CRU was proud to have become a part of the local Calgary small business fabric with a strong focus on social consciousness and community building initiatives. CRU was acquired by JUSU Bars Inc. in 2016 and Amanda went on to co-found one of Canada’s premier group fitness experiences, UNDRCARD Fitness Club (Calgary, Toronto). In addition to her positions at Director for UNDRCRD and Kathairos Solutions Inc., Amanda is President of Sunterra Greenhouse, the latest addition to the Sunterra Group of Companies. Located in Acme, Alberta, Sunterra Greenhouse will grow tomatoes and strawberries year round in a 20-acre, state-of-the-art controlled climate glass greenhouse.   

Please be sure to share this episode with everyone you know. If you are interested in being either a host, a guest, or a sponsor of the show, please reach out. We are published in Google Podcasts and the iTunes store for Apple Podcasts We would be grateful if you could give us a rating as it helps spread the word about the show.

Show Quotes:

"So 90% of what you see on grocery store shelves between the months of October and April, you're getting from many, many thousands of miles away by plane, by boat, by truck."

"We're we're using almost no inputs at all. So what we're providing is this very helpful product that has had very little intervention in terms of chemical intervention. Almost none. We use good bugs to fight bad bugs instead of using herbicides and pesticides to spray."

Credits...

This Episode Sponsored By: Assembly Coworking Space

Episode Music: Tony Del Degan

Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan

Coming from a career in finance with Investment Banking and then being coerced into joining the massively successful food delivery company, Myles Shedden learned a lot about how to scale a business.  Also that it is quite different from starting one.  His new company, Chroma was created to solve a big problem in a very under-served market, that of Renters.  Learn how Myles thinks he may just have a great solution for those who don't yet own their own home and still have to deal with monthly rent payments.

For the transcription of this episode please visit: https://www.rainforestab.ca/yyc-blog/podcast-episode-149-transcription

Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta. The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta.

Host: Al Del Degan I have been involved in software development for more than 25 years. I have started companies, lead companies and worked for companies - doing many different things. I am honored to be considered a leader in Alberta's innovation ecosystem, and I give back as much, and often as I can. When I am not working or podcasting, you will find me pursuing my passions of photography, crypto investing, and wood working along with the occasional round of golf.

Guest: Myles Shedden loves building products and companies that solve problems, and he gets even more excited when they solve economic and social issues at the same time. His background was originally in finance, starting his career in investment banking with RBC Capital Markets in Calgary, and then moving on to a private equity firm called TriWest Capital Partners, in Calgary as well, before moving to a small food delivery company called SkipTheDishes where Myles ran courier operations and then global operations.  Myles left Skip with some colleagues at the end of 2020 to found Chroma, a platform that makes renting convenient, flexible and rewarding.  

Please be sure to share this episode with everyone you know. If you are interested in being either a host, a guest, or a sponsor of the show, please reach out. We are published in Google Podcasts and the iTunes store for Apple Podcasts We would be grateful if you could give us a rating as it helps spread the word about the show.

Show Quotes:

"...the reality is with housing, price increases, outpacing income growth. It looks like home ownership might not be a reality or not as, as soon for a lot of different people in different families. And we want to play a role in, in trying to at least make rent more convenient, flexible and rewarding experience. "

"For anyone who's on the ground floor of technology in Alberta, something very, very exciting is happening."

Credits...

This Episode Sponsored By: Assembly Coworking Space

Episode Music: Tony Del Degan

Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan

Interested in field piloting your technology with a global energy player, then listen in to Peter Beaudoin's interview with Amy Henry, the CEO of Eunike Ventures as they discuss the opportunity for Canadian companies to work with global customers through this Houston based accelerator. 

For the transcription of this episode please visit: https://www.rainforestab.ca/yyc-blog/podcast-episode-148-transcription

Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta. The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta.

Host: Peter Beaudoin Peter manages strategy and partnerships for an innovative alliance of energy companies committed to reducing environmental impacts through collaborative R&D efforts. Peter worked for more than 20 years in Asia building and investing in a variety of businesses. His most recent role outside of Canada was with the World Wildlife Fund, where he was the Chief Executive Officer of WWF China, based in Beijing. Prior to that, Peter lived in Hong Kong for 15 years working in the technology industry.

Guest: Amy Henry is the CEO/Co-Founder of Eunike Ventures, TiE Houston board member, principal of TiE ATX LLC (Angels of Texas), and owner of Henry CPA Group LLC (local CPA firm for small businesses).  She received the Houston FIVE STAR Investment Professional AWARD in 2020, Committee Member HX (Houston Exponential) SDO Committee (Start-up Development Organizations), and was named by the Houston Chronicle in 2019, “Women Who Take the Lead in Building Houston’s Tech Ecosystem” (related to the launch of Eunike Ventures).

Eunike Ventures is a global energy technology accelerator with a EUNIKE approach to venture capital.  Eunike works with innovative, early-stage companies with high-value added technologies through commercialization, across the entire energy value chain.  This new global open innovation model of ‘Realizing the Entrepreneurial Spirit’ focuses on entrepreneurs, energy companies, paid pilots, and smart capital, which has included backing from large industry players such as Equinor, Hess, TechnipFMC, and Anadarko.

Please be sure to share this episode with everyone you know. If you are interested in being either a host, a guest, or a sponsor of the show, please reach out. We are published in Google Podcasts and the iTunes store for Apple Podcasts We would be grateful if you could give us a rating as it helps spread the word about the show.

Show Quotes:

"Canadian government and provinces spent a lot of money and time on these companies early stage, you know, why aren't they having these pilot opportunities up in Canada"

"sometimes it involves a lot of reframing. And sometimes a little bit of pivoting on that and then looking at their competitor landscape, further defining that."

Credits...

This Episode Sponsored By: Assembly Coworking Space

Episode Music: Tony Del Degan

Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan

Danielle has been through a lot, but she has always had a passion for computer programming. Not making it through traditional means, she had given up on her plans until the end of the road lead her right to the InceptionU Full Stack Developer program.

For the transcription of this episode please visit: https://www.rainforestab.ca/yyc-blog/podcast-episode-147-transcription

Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta. The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta.

Host: Al Del Degan I have been involved in software development for more than 25 years. I have started companies, lead companies and worked for companies - doing many different things. I am honored to be considered a leader in Alberta's innovation ecosystem, and I give back as much, and often as I can. When I am not working or podcasting, you will find me pursuing my passions of photography, crypto investing, and wood working along with the occasional round of golf.

Guest: Danielle Barker is an avid Scrabble enthusiast and software developer.  After years of mostly creating software as a hobby and as a volunteer, they took the leap of making a career out of it.  She is now one of the technical facilitators of the InceptionU Full Stack Developer program as well as doing contract development work for projects she is passionate about.  Besides scrabble, they enjoy playing many other games including Magic the Gathering and the Fallout video game series.

Please be sure to share this episode with everyone you know. If you are interested in being either a host, a guest, or a sponsor of the show, please reach out. We are published in Google Podcasts and the iTunes store for Apple Podcasts We would be grateful if you could give us a rating as it helps spread the word about the show.

Show Quotes:

"I lost my, my job as a school bus driver. That was my last job I had. Kind of just a bunch of other bad things happened at the same time and just kind of hit this point where I just wanted to give up, so I didn't want to go find another job. So I just ended up, taking what money I had and buying a van, and I just lived in the van for six months."

Credits...

This Episode Sponsored By: Assembly Coworking Space

Episode Music: Tony Del Degan

Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan

Ross Plattel is a really interesting guy.  He is involved in a lot of different things, many of which involve giving back as a volunteer.  He is into technology, urban planning and smart cities.  He knows a whole lot about many things, and in this episode Al Del Degan explore the Internet of Things, education, city planning and much more. 

For the transcription of this episode please visit: https://www.rainforestab.ca/yyc-blog/podcast-episode-146-transcription

Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta. The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta.

Host: Al Del Degan I have been involved in software development for more than 25 years. I have started companies, lead companies and worked for companies - doing many different things. I am honored to be considered a leader in Alberta's innovation ecosystem, and I give back as much, and often as I can. When I am not working or podcasting, you will find me pursuing my passions of photography, crypto investing, and wood working along with the occasional round of golf.

Guest: Ross Plattel has been an avid Rainforester since 2019 and has regularly attended Lunch w/o Lunch along with volunteering to help Rainforest Alberta manage and facilitate online events. In his day job, he works for both the University of Calgary and SAIT in supporting their online courses and online webinars. After starting with SAIT he has also worked on the development, testing, and initial deployment of SAIT's first micro-credentials. Outside of work, Ross volunteers as one of the Co-Leads for CivicTechYYC ( https://civictechyyc.ca/,  https://www.meetup.com/CivicTechYYC-Tech-for-Good/), organizing events monthly for the group of volunteers who work together on urban-related technology projects. As a graduate from the UofC in Urban Studies, Ross continues to research smart cities and the impacts of technology on the urban fabric. Other more recent research has included the impacts of climate-induced human migration. Ross loves going on walks exploring and ideating about the ever-changing urban environment and enjoys biking through Calgary's bike lanes and pathways.

Please be sure to share this episode with everyone you know. If you are interested in being either a host, a guest, or a sponsor of the show, please reach out. We are published in Google Podcasts and the iTunes store for Apple Podcasts We would be grateful if you could give us a rating as it helps spread the word about the show.

Show Quotes:

"A lot of the architecture firms had no idea what I was talking about. I even asked them about, uh, VR and augmented reality integration within their design processes. And there was one firm that said like, oh yeah, we have like a computer. We couldn't get working in the back room. And we don't think it's going to be a big thing."

"When you have a sensor that's embedded inside of a concrete wall, it's not really that easy to fix, but at least it gives five years that they can monitor what that's looking like."

"And also we're noticing in university with teaching online that the introverts are the ones that are doing better in the online environment. And it's the extroverts that are having a really hard time."

Credits...

This Episode Sponsored By: Community Now! Magazine

Episode Music: Tony Del Degan

Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan

Peter Beaudoin discussed with Liz Nilsen how Strategic Doing can be used to support the Alberta innovation ecosystem

For the transcription of this episode please visit: https://www.rainforestab.ca/yyc-blog/podcast-episode-145-transcription

Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta. The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta.

Host: Peter Beaudoin Peter manages strategy and partnerships for an innovative alliance of energy companies committed to reducing environmental impacts through collaborative R&D efforts. Peter worked for more than 20 years in Asia building and investing in a variety of businesses. His most recent role outside of Canada was with the World Wildlife Fund, where he was the Chief Executive Officer of WWF China, based in Beijing. Prior to that, Peter lived in Hong Kong for 15 years working in the technology industry.

Guest: Liz Nilsen is associate director at the Agile Strategy Lab at the University of North Alabama. She guides the growth of Strategic Doing, managing the network of affiliate colleges and universities that are teaching Strategic Doing in undergraduate, graduate, and executive education programs. She also leads the development of new offerings and oversees the training sequence used with faculty and Strategic Doing practitioners worldwide. Formerly in the Purdue Agile Strategy Lab, she has led work in the transformation of engineering education, as well as work with NASA. Prior to coming to Purdue, Liz was part of an initiative to embed innovation and entrepreneurship in undergraduate engineering education. Under Liz’s guidance, 50 university teams from around the United States learned Strategic Doing and used the discipline to launch more than 500 collaborative efforts in under three years. Liz has an extensive university background and began her career in nonprofit management.

Please be sure to share this episode with everyone you know. If you are interested in being either a host, a guest, or a sponsor of the show, please reach out. We are published in Google Podcasts and the iTunes store for Apple Podcasts We would be grateful if you could give us a rating as it helps spread the word about the show.

Show Quotes:

"So the university is in, what's called the Shoals area of Alabama, which is best known for music, actually Aretha Franklin and Rolling Stones and all those other people recorded there."

"So the first question is what could we do? So what could we do with the assets we already have at our disposal? We try to get rid of those questions that say, oh, if only we had a million dollars, oh, if only we had, you know, a bunch more people, what can we do with what we already have? That's the first question."

Credits...

This Episode Sponsored By: Community Now! Magazine

Episode Music: Tony Del Degan

Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan

Aaron is a visual scribe and digital storyteller. We talked about Art as Innovation. How visual storytelling can be applied to solve complex wicked problems. And what's possible in Alberta if we can create, through visual facilitation, an environment where everyone is heard and understood.

For the transcription of this episode, please visit: https://www.rainforestab.ca/yyc-blog/podcast-episode-144-transcription

Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta. The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta.

Wunmi Adekanmbi immigrated 10 years ago from Nigeria where she was a post-secondary instructor and researcher, and led a youth empowerment non profit. Wunmi is passionate about people, information and solutions - in that order. She is a strategist and a connector. Her greatest motivation is creating coherent value streams across organizational functional units using a systems thinking approach. She strives to inspire confidence and intentionality in leadership, equip teams to execute from a big picture perspective, and harness community inter-dependencies. Wunmi is the Organizer and host of Immigrant Techies Alberta, a tech enthusiast group for skilled immigrants who are in or are interested in pivoting to tech careers and startups.

Aaron Russell is a Graphic Recorder, Media Producer and Designer. Graphic recorders are visual scribes who listen and take notes at meetings. They tell visual stories. 

Aaron graduated from The Alberta University of the Arts in 2004 with a Degree in Visual Communication. He works as a Media Producer for Alberta Health Services and also as a freelance Graphic Recorder. Aaron especially enjoys illustrating at events involving addictions and mental health. He also enjoys drawing for Indigenous Communities and the Energy Sector.

You can find him at: http://ConferenceDoodles.com

He is a member of the I.F.V.P (International Forum of Visual Practitioners) 
https://ifvp.org/users/aaron-russell

Please be sure to share this episode with everyone you know. If you are interested in being either a host, a guest, or a sponsor of the show, please reach out. We are published in Google Podcasts and the iTunes store for Apple Podcasts We would be grateful if you could give us a rating as it helps spread the word about the show.

Show Quotes:

"Creating for its own sake is as important as creating to solve problems."

"Art makes complex information more digestible, more memorable, more fun."

"...ever since then, I've thought of saying, you know what fonts look like wood cut, or do you know what actually looks like wood cut? Woodcut."

"it's a blissful process to be captured by that creative process. You don't care if you've eaten, you don't care if you've slept, you just become possessed to execute. But the energy associated with that is absolutely intoxicating."

Credits...

This Episode Sponsored By: Community Now! Magazine

Episode Music: Tony Del Degan

Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan