Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas - the Rainforest podcast

This is the first in a series hosted by Brigitte Legault, which features women role models in Alberta Tech. 

This series will explore how women experience the tech sector in Alberta. Women hold 60% of STEM degrees, however only hold 25% of ICT roles and 57% of women in mid-level tech roles are leaving their positions. 

Through this series we will explore what unique challenges they are facing, what inspires many to stay, and we will highlight their innovations, initiatives, and contributions to women's equity in our sector. 

In this episode, April Hicke shares her journey as a woman moving through corporate roles and how these experiences led her to co-found, TOAST. 

TOAST exists to help women do the work that they want, for the pay they deserve, and with a community that supports them. 

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: Brigitte Legault leads the Rainforest Alberta movement in Calgary as the Community Manager and also serves the startup community through strategy and growth consulting services. She is passionate about growing the tech sector upon a culture of trust, diversity, and collaboration and activates this work through strategic ecosystem initiatives, learning experiences, storytelling, and community engagement.

Guest: April Hicke serves as the Chief Growth Officer at Toast with over fifteen years of experience in leadership, mentoring, and strategic team development at the senior level. She has a proven record of accomplishment in business process improvement, talent planning and strategies, digital transformation, change management, and building psychological safety. April is the founding Calgary City Director for WNORTH, an organisation that aims to develop more women to leading positions in business, and recently transitioned from VP to Strategic Advisor for Young Women in Business (YWiB), a community for emerging female leaders and young professionals who want to create their own success. April is also a career path mentor at Chic Geek, an organisation that provides mentors to women in tech, and sits on the women upfront committee at the United Way.

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 Links:

• TOAST 
• Purpose Med 
• Harvard Implicit Association Test (IAT) 
• International Women's Day LWOL
• "Be one of many" Mercedes Benz

Show Quotes:

April speaks about the importance of women having a sponsor. Her sponsor at PWC "was the epitome of 'we lift as we rise'." April further explains that this sponsor "reached back and pulled me up with her, which is exactly what we should be doing for other women."

"Being open and honest about where my goals are, what I want and finding the people that could help me along the way with that, that was sponsorship to me."

Credits...

This Episode Sponsored By: New Idea Machine

Episode Music: Tony Del Degan

Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan

Andrew and Shawn discuss fractional services in the YYC tech space and how important it is for startups to consider professional help very early on.

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: Andrew Platten is VP of Finance for StoreToDoor, and has more than two years experience in finance leadership roles for software start-ups in the tech industry. In addition, he has over 17 years experience in oil and gas and professional services.

Guest: Shawn Ryan, CPA, CA is a founding partner of r2 accounting LLP. Shawn is a Chartered Professional Accountant with over 15 years of accounting, finance and tax experience both in public accounting as well as industry. He has worked with a number of public and private companies, in various roles from Controller to Chief Financial Officer, gaining experience in budgeting and forecasting, operational analysis, business strategy, tax compliance, and financial reporting requirements. Shawn has been a Chartered Professional Accountant since 2007 and graduated from the University of Regina with a Business Administration degree in 2004.

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 Links:

• R2 Accounting LLP 
• StoreToDoor 
• Goodlawyer 

Show Quotes:

"There's a certain point where reconciling the bank, and looking after all the sort of nitty gritty transactions is not where you should be focused."   

"it's typically harder to do cleanup than it is to be proactive and just get things in the right spot upfront."

"the more comfort they have on the fact that you are running a tight ship right from the start, the more comfort they're gonna have on how you're gonna handle their money."

Credits...

This Episode Sponsored By: New Idea Machine

Episode Music: Tony Del Degan

Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan

In an industry that is not typically a quick adopter of new technology, Matt helps Graham Construction explore technological innovations that help to increase efficency and improve productivity.

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: Val McCarty is in the business of helping organizations visualize, communicate, and execute strategy in real time. Her studies were acquired at both University of Alberta and Grant MacEwan University, and encompassed Management, Education, and Human Services, with an aim to continue learning. Her previous experience includes the Financial Sector, Fitness Sector, and Early Childhood Education.  When Val is not at work you can find her outside with her grandkids, or looking forward to the next live jam.

Guest: Matt Gramblicka has dedicated his career to finding innovative and cost effective IT and enterprise application solutions to support business challenges. His focus on system thinking, integration, and business value has led to a proven track record of delivery and continuous improvement. As VP of IT & Enterprise Applications at Graham Construction, he is looking to foster a startup mentality to deliver next generation digital solutions.

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.

Links:

• Graham Construction 
• Rainforest Alberta  

Show Quotes:

"everyone treats it like it's their money when money's being spent and looking for efficient ways to do things. So if you save a dollar, part of that dollar goes into your pocket as a shareholder."   

"Making the lives of field employees more efficient."

Credits...

This Episode Sponsored By: New Idea Machine

Episode Music: Tony Del Degan

Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan

Messele Ghebreslassie, a self-proclaimed geek, found success as a software developer after enrolling and completing an upskilling program through InceptionU. Taking nearly a year to find a full-time job, he never gave up and eventually landed a remote software development position that he really enjoys. Messele is now focusing on Java programming but is also exploring the world of AR and VR.

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: Messele Ghebreslassie grew up with a love for computers from an early age. He was fortunate enough to have access to a family computer while growing up. His love for technology and computers never completely faded away but did fall to background. He later found an appreciation for cars and decided to pursue that as a career. 

Messele learned to appreciate the nuances of a seasoned professional over an eager beginner when it comes to completing any procedure. The professional uses foresight, attention to detail and plans for failure before even beginning a repair. That was one of the major takeaways he learned from his peers while working as a mechanic and he carries that with him in all that he does. 

Messele stumbled across some programming e-books on reddit and that started me down a rabbit hole of self-study for almost a year. Later discovering the InceptionU Full Stack Developer Program he felt he was ready to take the plunge. Messele is extremely grateful to staff at InceptionU for providing such a great learning environment, and helping him become the developer he is today.

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 Links:

• InceptionU 

Show Quotes:

"So for me it was kind of like joining led Zeppelin or something like that. Like I could kind of try and keep up with them, but it was good to be surrounded by so much talent" 

Credits...

This Episode Sponsored By: New Idea Machine

Episode Music: Tony Del Degan

Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan

In this episode we have Shannon Phillips back to talk about innovation management and what it means to be an innovative company. Shannon is fascinated by people and how they think and he wants to challenge everyone to look at how they innovate and why.

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: Shannon Phillips with a Bachelor of Biomedical Science, thinks like a scientist to better understand human behavior and decision making. 

He’s your go-to for innovation management, organizational change management and organizational behavior strategic planning, and innovation. He’s also trained in different psychology concepts, such as behavioral psychology, emotional intelligence, and personality psychology.   

Shannon loves thinking outside the box and challenging others to do so. He’s people-focused and is always trying to understand why people do what they do.

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 Links:

• Unbounded Thinking
• Innovation Forecasting Podcast
• Episode 161 of the LIBI Podcast with Shannon & Tristan 
• Episode 181 of the LIBI Podcast with Shannon & Tristan 

Show Quotes:

"we love saying it when we talk about what it is or how do we actually approach it, it's a trickier thing to answer. I think of that in terms of the growth cycle of a business. So whenever we're in a startup, we think everything is innovative because everything is new"   

"All these people who are leaving these large organizations to go start their own company because they didn't feel like they could go to work and push that rice down the slide and make life easier."

Credits...

This Episode Sponsored By: New Idea Machine

Episode Music: Tony Del Degan

Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan

From web developer to seasoned police officer and back to a focus on digital strategy and software solutions, Ryan Hnetka has travelled the world as a digital nomad. With his unique team of remote geniuses, Ryan remains passionate about helping companies take their idea and bring it to a successful reality. 

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: Ryan Hnetka has been building websites and more since '96! That's over 23 years of experience of watching the technology and options grow into useful tools to build new ideas and solve business problems. During those 23 years, like most entrepreneurs, he went and got a side hustle to help pay the bills...unlike most entrepreneurs, his side hustle was being a Police Officer in Regina, Saskatchewan.

After spending most of the pre-pandemic time travelling around the world working on some amazing projects, his post-pandemic location is now Airdrie (Calgary) and focus has turned towards the startup and local community in Alberta.

SaaS HQ, which Ryan is the Founder & COO, offers a comprehensive range of digital solutions, including consultation services for SaaS platforms, mobile app and website development, Enterprise middleware integration services and support, as well as digital marketing services to help you effectively promote your business online.

He would love to join you on your next adventure from idea to a successful reality.

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 Links:

• The SaaS Headquarters
• Work Nicer 
• Running Remote Conference (digital nomads) 
• Time Doctor 
• Dan Martel 
• Digital Nomad conference 
• Arthur Digital 

Show Quotes:

"I call it a workcation. It's like a vacation, but there's always some work involved and work has to come first."   

"I felt like I was the car salesman on the lot. Someone walked onto the lot, said here's a brief case of $40,000. I want that car. I sell them the car and gave them the keys. They smashed it into the wall across the street and then they come back, tell me they didn't actually have a driver's license and it's my fault for selling them the car."

Credits...

This Episode Sponsored By: New Idea Machine

Episode Music: Tony Del Degan

Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan

Debbie is a passionate Calgary innovation ecosystem community member. Her curiosity and willingness to give back led her to building a valuable curated event calendar to help people get out of their comfort zone and experience the value of relationship building while networking.

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: Debbie Butt is an accountant by day, YYC Tech community Builder and technology enthusiast by night. For the first 20+ years of her career she was an accountant in the oil/gas industry but 6 years ago she attended her first datathon hosted by Data for Good YYC and that set her on a path of attending events and meeting people in Calgary's Innovation Ecosystem.

She is the founder of  INTHEKNOWYYC, a website that informs technology & business owners, employees and enthusiasts of the popular tech, business and energy related events being held in Calgary. Debbie has earned her credibility by participating in 100's of technology and business events over the last 4 years. Her passion is communicating to interested parties the value and benefits in attending these events.

During the day she works as an accountant at Neo Financial and in the evenings she is uploading relevant events to her website. If you see her at an event please come up to say hello but be for warned.....she might talk your ear off about Calgary's Innovation Ecosystem or what it like to work at Neo Financial and how much she loves it.

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 Links:

• In The Know YYC
• Neo Financial
• Data For Good YYC
• Chic Geek
• Civic Tech YYC
• Calgary UX
• Product Calgary
• Platform Calgary
• Alberta Women Entrepreneurs
• Business Link
• InceptionU
• Rainforest Alberta
• NPower Canada
• ATB Entrepreneur Centre

Show Quotes:

"But the main thing I think that I didn't realize until years later is relationship building is so natural and so easy to me, and I never really understood the importance of it."   

"I really believe that Calgary has a gem of a city, and I totally believe that we are the place to live and to be. Especially if you want to be in this city and all the resources that we have and the people that are here that wanna help out."

Credits...

This Episode Sponsored By: New Idea Machine

Episode Music: Tony Del Degan

Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan

Join Meghan and I as we chat about how open conversation can help people be more aware of how they interact with others to make everyone feel safe and welcome.

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: Meghan Donohoe has spent her career creating learning experiences that help leaders unleash the potential of their teams. She especially loves to reimagine the way we work, and has been afforded the unique opportunity to build and launch the full lifecycle of employee talent and development programs across Oil & Gas and Post-Secondary organizations. Propelled by a quest to find meaningful ways to transform the experience of work and learning, Meghan pivoted her career in 2021 from Human Resources to the world of advanced digital technology. She spends her time exploring ways for humans and technology to collaborate, to enhance the way we learn, lead, and live.
 
Meghan completed her MSc in Industrial Organizational Psychology at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, NS and is (endlessly) pursuing a PhD in I/O Psychology on the topic of leadership and well-being. In her spare time, Meghan engages leaders and entrepreneurs in developing the leadership characteristics needed for the future, is exploring facilitation in the metaverse, and also enjoys baking cookies and having dance parties in princess costumes with her two young daughters.

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 Links:

• Rainforest Circles 
• Industrial Organizational Psychology 
• James Rhee: The value of kindness at work 
• Organizational Citizenship 

Show Quotes:

"how do we make this environment more inclusive for all different types of people and so people feel safe and included and we're going to screw up sometimes and that's okay, but how do we make it a safe place for people to sit to share to say Actually this is not okay"   

"You can't just take cocoa and say you are going to act like salt today, like it just doesn't work"

Credits...

This Episode Sponsored By: New Idea Machine

Episode Music: Tony Del Degan

Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan

Peter has a conversation with Erin Pisko the VP of IP Strategy at the Innovation Asset Collective. They discuss the value of intellectual property and how founders should approach protecting their core differentiator. 

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: Erin Pisko is the VP of IP Strategy at Innovation Asset Collective, providing strategic leadership centered on innovation strategy to member companies with the objective of building intellectual property (IP) roadmaps aligned with business objectives.  Erin is an experienced IP Strategist and a registered patent agent with decades of experience working both in-house, building out ecosystems for innovation and at top-tier Canadian law firms, assisting companies from diverse industries in building/transforming their innovation strategy. Throughout Erin’s career, her passion has been to help companies of all sizes find value in going beyond the ‘a-ha’ moment of their initial discovery and building on that moment to drive value in the everyday aspects of the business. Erin also holds Master and Bachelor degrees in Civil and Environmental Engineering and stumbled across IP while wrapping up her Masters degree and has never looked back.

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 Links:

• The Innovation Asset Collective 

Show Quotes:

"What we're really looking to do is use IP to build Canadian success stories and help drive the Canadian economy. We do this by supporting small to medium enterprises and scale them up when it comes to understanding and leveraging IP and developing IP strategy."   

"Where we fall down, I would say, are on those innovation outputs. So how are we turning those inputs into value propositions we can build on? And I think one of the huge opportunities we have available to us is to really build better understanding around intellectual property and the value it can provide amongst our business community."

Credits...

This Episode Sponsored By: New Idea Machine

Episode Music: Tony Del Degan

Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan

Growing up Ezra Santos wasn't interested in the traditional career options that his parents expected him to follow. Instead, his entrepreneurial mindset and passion lead him to join his friend to create a business that helps companies achieve their digital transformation goals using the Argyle Fox platform.

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: Ezra Santos is a Devil’s advocate with a knack for discovering the obvious, intuitive and deceptively simple.

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 Links:

• Argyle Fox

Show Quotes:

"a lot of times we would run into a problem that required a tech solution and the solution didn't exist. So we'd create it, we'd build it from scratch."   

"I think we're gonna unleash the power of a lot of dreamers and entrepreneurs, and I think that's where the real power is, not the software itself, but unleashing the capability of dreamers and entrepreneurs to do what they want in this free economy that we have."

Credits...

This Episode Sponsored By: New Idea Machine

Episode Music: Tony Del Degan

Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan