Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas - the Rainforest podcast

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.  Christopher Drobot is a passionate cheerleader for the potential of the Edmonton region. Although not directly an entrepreneur himself, his extensive experience in business operations and now mortgage lending help focus his excitement on the ideas that can see the city grow. He is involved in the push to bring a world-class aquarium to the city, is completing an MBA, and – together with his wife – homeschools his two children. The parallels between entrepreneurialism and homeschooling have been many, and he sees an overarching lesson in both: you have to create the world you wish to see.

Mike Zouhri is a serial entrepreneur who has applied his infectious energy towards solving problems in fields as diverse as non-profit housing, image processing, publishing, fashion, and now legal services. Mike describes his unifying theme as “projects that are interesting, creative, and that (hopefully) advance the social good”. Mike has received numerous accolades over the years, such as a Top 40 Under 40 Edmonton from Avenue Magazine, the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, and an Edmonton Excellence award. Having graduated from the University of Alberta after studying Neuroscience, and having worked on his projects from here as well, Mike is truly connected to the community. Mike’s current venture is called Painworth (painworth.com), which seeks to streamline and simplify injury law.

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 Summary:

Mike finds himself in the word of injury law by accident, and applies his entrepreneurial flair to what turns out to be a Really Big Problem, and becomes an access-to-justice advocate along the way.

Show Quote:

"Just jump in and do it - there’s no better way to learn!" 

Credits...

This Episode Sponsored By: Levven Electronics 

Graphic Design: Mackenzie Bedford

Episode Music: Tony Del Degan

Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan 

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.

Kevin MacDonald started his first company at 19 years old. Since that time, He has had a very successful career as an entrepreneur in high tech. Today, he balances mentorship and business advising for entrepreneurs looking to raise capital for growth and acquisition. Kevin has been instrumental in many mergers and acquisitions in technology. Throughout his career, and ongoing today, Kevin is a subject matter expert for sales, marketing, communications, and operations for large corporate companies as well as tech startups.

Visit Trail Riders of the Canadian Rockies for a unique and unforgettable adventure of a lifetime.

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:
Kevin takes us through his fascinating career path from being a 19-year-old entrepreneur in university through various roles in communications and marketing for industry leading technology companies, before finally retiring at a young age to become a mentor and investor in the startup and small business community. Kevin has a lot of great advice for new business owners and can tell you what a properly cooked dove tastes like in Texas.

Quotes:

"Don’t drink the Kool Aid"

"You have to get over your own ego"

"Never be afraid to fail"

Credits...

This Episode Sponsored By: Workhaus Core

Graphic Design: Mackenzie Bedford

Episode Music: Tony Del Degan

Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan 

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.  Christopher Drobot is a passionate cheerleader for the potential of the Edmonton region. Although not directly an entrepreneur himself, his extensive experience in business operations and now mortgage lending help focus his excitement on the ideas that can see the city grow. He is involved in the push to bring a world-class aquarium to the city, is completing an MBA, and – together with his wife – homeschools his two children. The parallels between entrepreneurialism and homeschooling have been many, and he sees an overarching lesson in both: you have to create the world you wish to see.

Zachary Storms is first and foremost a scientist, but beyond that he is a builder: a builder of companies, a builder of business, and a builder of community. He is involved with Fitset Ninja as their Director of Growth, and was just recently invited to become the Scientist-in-Residence at TEC Edmonton where he supports the development of world-changing ideas and the creation of world-leading anchors for Edmonton’s innovation community. As part of the latter, Zachary was the organizing force behind the very event where we are recording today, Startup TNT. Seeing an opportunity to bring people together and to grow the community even more, Zachary took the initiative – as he often does - to make something happen.

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 Summary:

Live From Polar Park...it’s Startup TNT! Zack Storms shares his unique path through scientist, Director of Growth for a fitness startup, and community-builder extraordinaire!

Show Quotes:

"I just tried to build something that I wanted to see in the world, and I invited others to share it with me" 

"We as entrepreneurs need to be the ecosystem... we need to do the things that we say we want to see"

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 

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.

Anthea Sargeaunt is a driven entrepreneur who constantly strives to learn and improve. She has alternated between entrepreneurialism and more traditional employment in industries such as accounting, insurance, and engineering. She holds a Bachelor of Japanese Language and Literature from the University of Alberta, and an MBA through Athabasca University. Her current venture, 2S Water, is focused on developing and implementing high-quality water sensor systems with easy to understand user-interfaces, to make water quality accessible to everyone.

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 

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 Allan Marston.  Allan is a Father, Husband and innovator. Mr. Marston is a successful corporate executive heading up departments in Business Development, Sales, Marketing and Human Resources. As a serial entrepreneur Allan has over 18 years’ experience in the technology startup space and was the CEO of his own Silicon Valley company.  Previously Allan spent 25 years in the retail business and was with a company when it created Canada's first loyalty reward card program.  He has had several start-ups and successful exits and is currently the founder of Zenoshi.io where he is building a universal rewards program on the blockchain. 

Neeraj Gupta is an active angel investor, mentor and serial entrepreneur in Deeptech domain. Neeraj is an expert on Entrepreneurship, Angel Investment, Startup Ecosystem Building, Patent Consulting and Innovation Management. He advises several provincial and federal governments on cross-border trade, innovation and entrepreneurship.

He is Founder and Managing Director at Lawcubator, Founder & CEO at FormulateIP, Cofounder at Chapter.AI, co-founder of PanIIT Mentors,

Neeraj holds Bachelors of Technology degree from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Metallurgical and Material Sciences and Masters of Science Degree from Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Sweden in Scientific Computing and Mathematics. Neeraj is PGPX in General Management from UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Neeraj is author of the book "Creating & safeguarding a strong Intellectual Property Portfolio" which was written in collaboration with SIDBI, Adelphi and KFW Bank Germany.

Quote(s):
"Canada is in the top 10 for both entrepreneurship and innovation."

Summary:
Discussion on patents and saving money using provisional patents. Also some insight into when and how startups should engage with angel investors. 

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: Workhaus Core

Graphic Design: Mackenzie Bedford

Episode Music: Tony Del Degan

Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan 

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. 

Jim Gibson is an Entrepreneur, Innovation Strategist, and author.  Jim is passionate, experienced, and an infinitely curious entrepreneur, Jim shares his cautionary tale of innovation and disruption in a human world in his book: Tip of the Spear, the product of his life’s work - spanning over 30 years at the forefront of technology and change.

Jim has an MBA from the Schulich School of Business in Toronto, a B.Comm from the University of Toronto, and holds his Certified Management Consulting Designation. Jim lives in Calgary, Canada with his family, and travels the world sharing his experience, business acumen, and startup wisdom.

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:
This episode is loaded with content from a summary of Jim Gibson’s life history through to the origin story of Rainforest Alberta through to why Jim Wrote his first book “Tip of the Spear” and a look at the future of technology and digital disruption.

Quotes:

"I will never forget, being in Shanghai doing simultaneous translation of Mandarin and English announcing our new product and I just had this out-of-body experience thinking... what the heck am I doing here?"

"What we have to be much better at, and exponential at, is the innovation of ways"

Credits...

This Episode Sponsored By: Workhaus Core

Graphic Design: Mackenzie Bedford

Episode Music: Tony Del Degan

Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan 

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.

Carol Sun epitomizes integrity, energy, hard work and creative service in every detail in the networking and communication realm. As a graduate in communication from Royal Roads University, Carol finds her self tapping into her skills in helping businesses in the Calgary area grow and become success stories within their industries. As a connector, an executor, and a communication specialist, she is responsible for implementing and streamlining business marketing, funding and operations strategies.  She also helps clients increase brand awareness, generate leads, and acquire new customers. When Carol isn’t working, she takes her passion even further by working with new entrepreneurs to develop their business ideas, organize their operations, connecting them with a solid foundational network and mentoring them to be successful! She provides sweat equity to small tech start-ups, which speaks loudly to her love for her community. Carol is most known for her great motivational and inspirational support.

*Assets – Business Development, Strategic Management, Operation Management, Human Resources, Project Management, Marketing and Design and a passion for entrepreneurs.

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 

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 

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 

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