Startup Canada Podcast: Canada's Entrepreneurship

Rachel Wong is the Co-Founder of Monday Girl. Rachel shares her journey from a successful corporate career at Uber to building a vibrant community for women professionals. Tune in to hear Rachel’s journey from corporate to entrepreneurship, the evolution of networking for women and maintaining integrity while scaling. This series is hosted by Mallory Rowan and powered by CIBC Business Banking. Learn more about CIBC’s Women Entrepreneurs Hub. 

Rae Hill is the Founder and Owner of Origami Customs, a custom-made swimwear and intimates brand designed for all bodies. The Startup Canada Podcast is revisiting some of our favourite conversations with 2SLGBTQIA+ entrepreneurs from across Canada, and checking in on where they are now. Enjoy our conversation with Rae and learn what has changed since we last spoke. 

Laura Tolhoek of Essential HR shares her journey from HR professional to founder, emphasizing the importance of proactive, relationship-driven HR support for small businesses. Discover practical strategies for flexible HR solutions, effective hiring, and leveraging AI in HR processes.

Janine Felst is the Founder of Hooky. In a world obsessed with hustle, Janine is selling the permission to rest. Tune in hear about developing products from scratch, building a brand around comfort and self care and why founder led storytelling leads to business growth.

Emily O’Brien is the Founder of Comeback Snacks, a specialty popcorn company that challenges the status quo. After being sentenced to a four-year federal prison term following her arrest at Pearson International Airport, Emily set out on a mission to transform herself and make her time in prison as meaningful as possible. 

Bhargavi Varma is the Founder of Brown Girl Angels, a global collective of South Asian women angel investors, venture capitalists and founders. Too often we only celebrate the latest milestone, project or our most recent success metric, but on this show we know there is so much more to the journey. This series is hosted by Mallory Rowan and powered by CIBC Business Banking. Learn more about CIBC’s Women Entrepreneurs Hub.  Want more from Bhargavi? Listen to her podcast Brown Girls, Money Moves

Tune in to this mini epiosde as we chatted with Barb Stegemann before she took the stage as our Startup Canada Halifax Tour keynote speaker. Barb Stegemann launched The 7 Virtues from her garage on a Visa card, armed only with a dream to help communities in war ridden nations rebuild. Today, The 7 Virtues is an award winning social enterprise and the only Canadian perfume brand sold at Sephora, now available in over 2,100 stores worldwide across 19 countries. It is also the only B Corp certified perfume brand at Sephora, committed to paying employees a livable wage and leaving a better footprint on the planet.

Warren Thompson is the Founder of Olo Metrics. Warren shares insights on building scalable, autonomous businesses, the importance of measurement in marketing, and how authenticity helps strategy.

Hunter Scharfe if the CEO of Juno Industries. Hunter discusses Canada’s defence technology sector, the importance of passion in entrepreneurship, and the strategic opportunities in national defence innovation. Learn more about Canada’s first Defence Industrial Strategy 

Lily Bond shares her inspiring journey from starting Spyce Girlz Seasonings at age 13 to overcoming legal challenges and rebranding. Tune in to hear about authentic branding, product innovation, mentorship, and giving back in entrepreneurship.

In 1990, Sandra made history as Canada’s first female infantry officer. Today, Sandra is the Founder and President of the Pepper Pod, a nonprofit supporting women veterans. Discover how her personal experiences, leadership qualities, and strategic funding have shaped a transformative space for healing, community, and empowerment. This series is hosted by Mallory Rowan and powered by CIBC Business Banking. Learn more about CIBC’s Women Entrepreneurs Hub. 

Andrew Cordssen-David if the co-founder and CEO of Headfirst. Andrew emphasizes the importance of passion in entrepreneurship, the challenges of funding and product development, and the role of accelerators in supporting startups.

It’s not just about LEGO. Jenn Just has created products that adults were missing and can now collect and love. Jenn Just is The Brick Chick, this conversation covers Brick Chick’s business model, the importance of authenticity, navigating cross-border logistics, and embracing neurodiversity as a strength in entrepreneurship. Shop custom LEGO at The Brick Chick

Kathy Tran-Riese is the Founder of Kay Tran Eyewear. In this episode, Kathy shares her journey of creating stylish and inclusive eyewear designed specifically for individuals with low nose bridges. She discusses the importance of embracing niche markets, the challenges of launching a product, and the evolution of her business.

Connie Lo is the co-founder of Three Ships Beauty. Like many founders, there are moments along the way that are pivotal. In this episode, Connie shares her journey of starting a clean beauty brand with $4,000, the significance of trust, communication and shared values with your co-founder and what they decided to do when their holidays sales were threatened by a major supply chain challenge. This series is hosted by Mallory Rowan and powered by CIBC Business Banking. Learn more about CIBC’s Women Entrepreneurs Hub.   

Staci Millard is the CEO of Thrive Accounting. She emphasizes the importance of financial awareness for entrepreneurs and discusses how understanding financial strategy can lead to business growth and freedom for founders.

Navdeep Parmanand is the Founder of Celebrate Your Curves. She discusses the importance of starting a business with passion and purpose, the cultural influences that shaped her vision, and the gaps she identified in the fashion industry for adaptive clothing.

Merveille Mukoko is the co-founder of Yekola. In this episode, he shares insights from his journey in the startup world, particularly focusing on the importance of preserving African languages and cultures through technology.

Merveille Mukoko is the Co-Founder of Yekola which aims to teach and preserve African languages. In this episode, hear why language is the gateway to culture and how Merveille is committed to pursuing and preserving it.      

Meet Tammy Watson, Founder of Canadian HandyWoman. Tammy shares her inspiring journey from a civil service career to becoming a DIY coach and mentor. Tammy discusses her experience in the Startup Canada Equal Slice Pitch Competition, highlighting the importance of community and collaboration among entrepreneurs.