55.6K
Downloads
290
Episodes
Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas - the Rainforest podcast showcases those who are contributing to and / or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta. Rainforest Alberta is a world-class community of dreamers and doers, connected by a common goal of making Alberta fertile ground for building, developing, and growing innovative ideas into sustainable ventures. https://rainforestab.ca
Episodes
Tuesday Sep 10, 2019
Al Del Degan Hosts Brydon Gierl on the LIBI Podcast
Tuesday Sep 10, 2019
Tuesday Sep 10, 2019
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.
I am hosting this episode myself. For more than 20 years I have provided leadership and guidance in technology and software development. When I am not networking, making connections and trying to help out wherever I can, I follow my creative passions of graphic design and photography.
Brydon Gierl has been working in the liquid cooling field for 20 years. Prior to Co-founding CoolIT Systems Inc. he worked in various capacities in construction and fabrication industries learning valuable lessons as a first time business owner operator. Currently in his position as SVP of Product Development at CoolIT Systems he is back to where his creative talents are best exploited and a work ethic born on the family farm serves the company well.
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.
Episode Summary:
Brydon talks about how CoolIT came into existence and the difficulties and lessons learned along the journey from a couple guys trying to solve a problem to an international technology company working with some of the tech giants of data centres.
Quotes:
“Most of the people we have here are far smarter than I’ll ever be.”
“[After being in business for a long time] you can get stuck, you can get complacent, you can think we used to do it this way, and that is a dangerous place to be. You gotta open your eyes and listen to people around you.”
“Never be afraid to be the dumber one in the room.”
Credits...
This Episode Sponsored By: Capturing Legacies Inc.
Graphic Design: Mackenzie Bedford
Episode Music: Tony Del Degan
Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan
Tuesday Sep 03, 2019
Lori Farley Hosts Dustin Poole on the LIBI Podcast
Tuesday Sep 03, 2019
Tuesday Sep 03, 2019
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.
This episode is hosted by Lori Farley. Lori’s business and voluntary commitments curate and facilitate: connections, relationships, and opportunities for social change through entrepreneurship, partnerships, and alliances between various sectors around the globe including Community development, Arts, Disability, Education, and Technology. Lori is involved in numerous ventures related to social innovation and socio-economic development including Intonovus Canada and Impact Calgary.
Lori is involved in supporting cross-sector social and economic development with a mission of sharing and mobilizing time, money, resources, energy, talents, and best practices that align to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), B Corp standards (B Corp) and IRIS metrics (IRIS), all designed to measure the social, environmental and financial performance of companies and investments.
INTONOVUS Canada is a not for profit designed to partner with those advancing social impact, social enterprise, and impact investing:
IMPACT CALGARY is a social business venture launching coworking, ‘impact first’ business development, and access to funding for social entrepreneurs and benefit businesses. These ventures include foci on social impact technologies (such as Virtual & Augmented Reality (VR/AR), Blockchain, and Artificial Intelligence (AI)), parentpreneurship (child and family-friendly professional work spaces), and crowdfunding.
As part of her passion for rural-urban economic corridor development, she is working to replicate economic diversity in Alberta through rural tech hubs.
She is also a partner in business that supports producers, processors, and manufacturers of Alberta agri-food s to access markets in China and Southeast Asia.
Dustin Poole has a passion for going beyond sustainability. With a background in Aeronautical Engineering Technology, he began following his entrepreneurial ability at an early age. He has over 15 years of business experience in the area of solar and sustainable technologies, permaculture techniques, creative thinking, art, and design. In 2014, he co-founded Eclipse Sustainability Projects and opened The Solar Store. The first of its kind in Canada, it provides the solar industry with a wide range of products and services for commercial, residential, and industrial clients available through a retail showroom and training centre.
Dustin has acted as VP of Business Development for Green Metrics since June 2018, and President of The Meta Space, launched in June 2019. Green Metrics is dedicated to catalyzing an energy efficiency market in Alberta through the delivery of a digital platform that supports and enables building data analytics and decision making about building retrofits. The Meta Space is a disruptive technology collaborative environment in downtown Calgary that was formed by a group of companies wanting to work together on large projects, facilitate rapid innovation, and provide business mentorship to support new local talent and integrate them into future projects.
Dustin is a founding board member of Passive House Alberta and the GO Technology Foundation. Passive House Alberta is part of a global network dedicated to promoting a rigorous, voluntary standard for energy efficiency in buildings. The Generating Opportunities (GO) Technology Foundation is a non-profit social enterprise anticipating and integrating disruptive technologies. Dustin also acts as Co-Lead of EMCO Energy, a local energy company created by GO that reinvests the profits from retailing electricity and gas to Albertans for supporting local tech development and community projects.
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: Capturing Legacies Inc.
Graphic Design: Mackenzie Bedford
Episode Music: Tony Del Degan
Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan
Tuesday Aug 27, 2019
Christopher Drobot Hosts James Kierstead on the LIBI Podcast
Tuesday Aug 27, 2019
Tuesday Aug 27, 2019
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.
Another episode from Edmonton hosted by Christopher Drobot. Having worked and lived across Western Canada, Christopher has recently made a shift out of an 18 year career (with one company) in food retail management to now exploring Edmonton’s innovation ecosystem. His experience launching a store in a new market helped him realize his excitement around bring ideas into reality, and the power of a supportive network in making that happen. His time at Rainforest has been eye-opening in just how much is happening in the community to make things happen.
Christopher is currently involved in the Aquatic Biosphere Project, working on funds development for the push to bring a world-class aquarium to the city of Edmonton; is working towards building a Machine Learning model with retail applications; and is completing the final courses towards his MBA. He is a husband, and a father of two homeschooled children. He sees parallels between the entrepreneurial path and homeschooling and is teaching his children how to unleash their inner entrepreneur as well.
James Kierstead is a lifelong entrepreneur with a commitment to innovation, excellence, and enhancing people’s lives. He has led multiple businesses, and successfully grew a local manufacturing company to a large international presence. His current role as President at Levven Electronics sees him responsible for managing the vision and growth of the company as they carve a new path in wireless, intelligent building systems. James is a member of Entrepreneur’s Organization, the A100, Alberta Women Entrepreneurs, and he was the driving force behind bringing Rainforest AB to Edmonton. James believes in success through collaboration and through giving of himself.
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: Levven Electronics and Alberta Enterprise Corporation
Graphic Design: Mackenzie Bedford
Episode Music: Tony Del Degan
Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan
Tuesday Aug 20, 2019
Peter Beaudoin Hosts Pieter Boekhoff on the LIBI Podcast
Tuesday Aug 20, 2019
Tuesday Aug 20, 2019
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.
This episode is hosted by 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.
Pieter Boekhoff is the 2018 Manning Innovation Award Finalist, 2016 Startup Canada Entrepreneur of the Year (Prairies), one of Calgary’s Top 40 Under 40 (2014), Mount Royal Horizon Award Winner (2014), One of Canada’s 10 “Mentor Rock Stars” (2013), Globe and Mail Top 20 up and coming Entrepreneurs (2012), Breakout Business of the Year Finalist (2012), Small Business of the Year Finalist (2013).
Pieter has a Computer Science Degree with a Minor in Entrepreneurship and is the Founder of Nobal Technologies, a technology company bent on changing the way people interact with their world. Nobal's primary focus is the development, distribution and sale of their flagship product, The iMirror™.
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: Zinc Ventures
Graphic Design: Mackenzie Bedford
Episode Music: Tony Del Degan
Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan
Tuesday Aug 13, 2019
Lori Farley Hosts Stephanie Hackert on the LIBI Podcast
Tuesday Aug 13, 2019
Tuesday Aug 13, 2019
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.
This episode is hosted by Lori Farley. Lori’s business and voluntary commitments curate and facilitate: connections, relationships, and opportunities for social change through entrepreneurship, partnerships, and alliances between various sectors around the globe including Community development, Arts, Disability, Education, and Technology. Lori is involved in numerous ventures related to social innovation and socio-economic development including Intonovus Canada and Impact Calgary.
Lori is involved in supporting cross-sector social and economic development with a mission of sharing and mobilizing time, money, resources, energy, talents, and best practices that align to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), B Corp standards (B Corp) and IRIS metrics (IRIS), all designed to measure the social, environmental and financial performance of companies and investments.
INTONOVUS Canada is a not for profit designed to partner with those advancing social impact, social enterprise, and impact investing:
IMPACT CALGARY is a social business venture launching coworking, ‘impact first’ business development, and access to funding for social entrepreneurs and benefit businesses. These ventures include foci on social impact technologies (such as Virtual & Augmented Reality (VR/AR), Blockchain, and Artificial Intelligence (AI)), parentpreneurship (child and family-friendly professional work spaces), and crowdfunding.
As part of her passion for rural-urban economic corridor development, she is working to replicate economic diversity in Alberta through rural tech hubs.
She is also a partner in business that supports producers, processors, and manufacturers of Alberta agri-food s to access markets in China and Southeast Asia.
Stephanie Hackert is Growth Manager Western Canada at VanHack. Stephanie has worked over 10+ years in the career management field, Human Resources and Business Development, ultimately gaining experience in Intercultural Management, Corporate Consulting and Coaching. She supports change management processes and takes pride in leading projects. She is a huge people-person, and value connections while building long-term relationships.
She has always been focused on putting her passions and skills to good use by supporting organizations and projects she really cares about; whether it’s volunteering in Bolivia, discovering people's dreams and empowering them to reach their goals or driving diversity and inclusion initiatives to create greater cultural awareness and inclusive workplaces.
Stephanie is always striving to bring 100% to the work she does while thriving in growing, and innovative organizations. She loves taking on new challenges and exploring the world. She has had the opportunity and privilege to have lived in 3 different continents and travel through more than 40 countries. In her spare time, you will find her outdoors, travelling or meeting new people.
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: Zinc Ventures
Graphic Design: Mackenzie Bedford
Episode Music: Tony Del Degan
Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan
Tuesday Aug 06, 2019
Christopher Drobot Hosts Saher Ghattas on the LIBI Podcast
Tuesday Aug 06, 2019
Tuesday Aug 06, 2019
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.
Another episode from Edmonton hosted by Christopher Drobot. Having worked and lived across Western Canada, Christopher has recently made a shift out of an 18 year career (with one company) in food retail management to now exploring Edmonton’s innovation ecosystem. His experience launching a store in a new market helped him realize his excitement around bring ideas into reality, and the power of a supportive network in making that happen. His time at Rainforest has been eye-opening in just how much is happening in the community to make things happen.
Christopher is currently involved in the Aquatic Biosphere Project, working on funds development for the push to bring a world-class aquarium to the city of Edmonton; is working towards building a Machine Learning model with retail applications; and is completing the final courses towards his MBA. He is a husband, and a father of two homeschooled children. He sees parallels between the entrepreneurial path and homeschooling and is teaching his children how to unleash their inner entrepreneur as well.
Saher Ghattas Saher is a leading sales and marketing strategist focused on pioneering new marketing methodology. He is an author, speaker, member of the Forbes Council, and the Co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer for Flawless Inbound – where he helps entrepreneurs shift the way they think about marketing their companies. Saher finds value in the Rainforest through the collisions that occur between people from all industries, and all stages of their entrepreneurial journey.
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: Levven Electronics and Flawless Inbound
Graphic Design: Mackenzie Bedford
Episode Music: Tony Del Degan
Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan
Tuesday Jul 30, 2019
Lori Farley Hosts Victoria Bennett on the LIBI Podcast
Tuesday Jul 30, 2019
Tuesday Jul 30, 2019
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.
This episode is hosted by Lori Farley. Lori’s business and voluntary commitments curate and facilitate: connections, relationships, and opportunities for social change through entrepreneurship, partnerships, and alliances between various sectors around the globe including Community development, Arts, Disability, Education, and Technology. Lori is involved in numerous ventures related to social innovation and socio-economic development including Intonovus Canada and Impact Calgary.
Lori is involved in supporting cross-sector social and economic development with a mission of sharing and mobilizing time, money, resources, energy, talents, and best practices that align to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), B Corp standards (B Corp) and IRIS metrics (IRIS), all designed to measure the social, environmental and financial performance of companies and investments.
INTONOVUS Canada is a not for profit designed to partner with those advancing social impact, social enterprise, and impact investing:
IMPACT CALGARY is a social business venture launching coworking, ‘impact first’ business development, and access to funding for social entrepreneurs and benefit businesses. These ventures include foci on social impact technologies (such as Virtual & Augmented Reality (VR/AR), Blockchain, and Artificial Intelligence (AI)), parentpreneurship (child and family-friendly professional work spaces), and crowdfunding.
As part of her passion for rural-urban economic corridor development, she is working to replicate economic diversity in Alberta through rural tech hubs.
She is also a partner in business that supports producers, processors, and manufacturers of Alberta agri-food s to access markets in China and Southeast Asia.
Victoria Bennett ran her first successful crowdfund campaign over six years ago, a long time in crowdfunding years. A strategic marketer by training, she has worked on many major brands including Tide, Pampers, ENMAX and TD. She has used her skills as a marketer, to identify the solution the product or service provides, the target market, the so-what, and to communicate clearly, effectively and consistently to the crowd; all skills vital to crowdfunding. She has run successful campaigns in Canada and in Europe and her team is currently consulting for a number of Canadian equity and rewards crowdfund campaigns, and has spoken at the Global Crowdfunding Conference on women in crowdfunding.
Victoria loves the democratization of capital that comes with crowdfunding, allowing businesses access to capital, and allowing the population access to invest in private companies. As an Ambassador for the National Crowdfunding and Fintech Association, she has sought to raise awareness of crowdfunding. Working with the Impact Hub in Calgary she is launching The Crowdfunding Hub to provide education and self-service tools for all types of crowdfunding, from donations and rewards to equity.
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: Zinc Ventures
Graphic Design: Mackenzie Bedford
Episode Music: Tony Del Degan
Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan
Tuesday Jul 23, 2019
Jeff Glasier Hosts Dinesh Advani on the LIBI Podcast
Tuesday Jul 23, 2019
Tuesday Jul 23, 2019
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.
This episode is hosted by Jeff Glasier. Jeff is the Managing Partner of Loxley Financial a Private Capital Market Investment Bank that provides investment opportunities in, and funding for Western Canadian businesses including start-ups and early stage companies with high growth potential.
Dinesh Advani is the founder and CEO of Innowaytion. Innowaytion has created DialogLoop, a revolutionary audience engagement and networking platform for live events. Dinesh has spent the last 23 years delivering innovative technology solutions used and loved by millions globally. Dinesh has created and delivered large complex systems for industry leaders such as BlackBerry, Corel, and SMART Technologies.
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: Zinc Ventures
Graphic Design: Mackenzie Bedford
Episode Music: Tony Del Degan
Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan
Tuesday Jul 16, 2019
Peter Beaudoin Hosts Luke Krueger on the LIBI Podcast
Tuesday Jul 16, 2019
Tuesday Jul 16, 2019
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.
This episode is hosted by 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.
Luke Krueger is a co-founder of Valhalla Private Capital. Valhalla is a full service corporate finance firm, focused on early start startup companies. They have placed over $60M into 200+ companies across Western Canada. Personally, Luke is a 4 time founder, GP, Angel Investor, Board Member and is active in the impact investment community after working with the Novel Price Winning Grameen Bank in Bangladesh and across Asia.
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: Zinc Ventures
Graphic Design: Mackenzie Bedford
Episode Music: Tony Del Degan
Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan
Wednesday Jul 10, 2019
Amanda Hall Hosts Steven Vaivada on the LIBI Podcast
Wednesday Jul 10, 2019
Wednesday Jul 10, 2019
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.
Amanda Hall, Co-Founder & CEO Summit Nanotech, is a professional geophysicist with 11 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, 4 years in the mining industry and 4 years as a laboratory scientist. Amanda is passionate about growing a human centric company, employing innovative, resourceful people who feel responsible for rapidly creating the change that is needed in our industrial landscape using wisdom, technology and adaptive solutions.
Steven Vaivada is the President of Scout Engineering & Consulting Ltd., a "next-generation" Indigenous-company created, wholly-owned, and operated by First-Nations Professionals seeking to support Indigenous communities across Canada. Steven has industry-leading experience developing relationships and building corporate processes to support projects in Indigenous communities.
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: Work Nicer - Roxbury
Graphic Design: Mackenzie Bedford
Episode Music: Tony Del Degan
Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan