Business

PLAY is the new frontier of creativity and innovation

Once upon a time, there was a little girl whose childhood was full of mud pies and leaf soup, snow castles, and swings. The little girl believed very much that anything was possible and spent much of her time imagining worlds filled with magic and mystery.

As she grew up, people told her that “life was not a fairy tale” and “in the real world it was different,” and she started to believe this was all true.

Yet, no matter how she painted the picture, it was never complete.

So the girl decided to change the script and became the Master of Play.

The tools we need for navigating change and challenge have been in our back pocket our whole lives, but we left them on the playground long ago. We traded imagination and discovery for stability and steady.

But we know that when creativity and innovation intersect people thrive, and profits dramatically increase. COVID has left little space for new, bold, ideas and actions. Now more than ever businesses face larger hurdles in complex problem solving, employee engagement, retention, communication, and ideation.

PLAY is the new frontier of creativity and innovation.

Play is the catalyst for, undefeatable resilience, increased employee engagement, and empowerment. It’s not ping pong tables and pool tables, it’s knowing and understanding whole people, what motivates and inspires them and drives them to share ALL of their strengths at work.

Brandi Heather is a respected award-winning, passionate trailblazer powered by 25+ years of success developing, directing, and optimizing innovative strategies and programs for education and industry leaders. She is well known for spearheading, influencing critical organizational change initiatives. As the co-founder and co-owner of AMPED2PLAY INC., and best-selling author of Return to Play: Rebuilding Resilience, RIsk, and Reconnection she is helping organizations get back “in play”. She is a member of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers (CAPS) and frequently speaks about using the power of PLAY for navigating diversity, inclusion, change management, communication, self-care, mental and physical health.


This podcast is brought to you by Schneider Electric. Supporting Canadian businesses with innovative energy management and automation solutions. Schneider Electric…your digital partner for Sustainability and Efficiency. Click here to learn more.

Entrepreneurs are the backbone of Canada’s economy. To support Canada’s businesses, subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us on FacebookInstagramLinkedIn and Twitter.

Want to stay up-to-date on the latest #entrepreneur podcasts and news? Subscribe to our bi-weekly newsletter

Learn how to get your head around strategy

A globally active strategist, executive coach, and board advisor, Alex Brueckmann partners with corporate leaders, entrepreneurs, and (small) business owners. He coaches them on designing intentional strategies with measurable impact, and on shaping cohesive teams able to implement strategy faster and more successfully (http://www.brueckmann.ca/).

Alex Brueckmann has been in the trenches as a strategy manager for a global media company, and later as a management consultant. His academic background is in General Management with degrees from EBS University (Germany) and Universidad ORT (Uruguay), as well as certificates from INSEAD (France) and Harvard Business School (USA). Today, he lives in Vancouver, Canada.

Clients include industry leaders in healthcare, finance, tech, engineering, and retail, as well as high-growth / late-stage startups, not-for-profits, and (E)NGOs. They value Alex’s hands-on approach of combining the strategic side of business and the human aspect of transformation.


This podcast is brought to you by Schneider Electric. Supporting Canadian businesses with innovative energy management and automation solutions. Schneider Electric…your digital partner for Sustainability and Efficiency. Click here to learn more.

Entrepreneurs are the backbone of Canada’s economy. To support Canada’s businesses, subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us on FacebookInstagramLinkedIn and Twitter.

Want to stay up-to-date on the latest #entrepreneur podcasts and news? Subscribe to our bi-weekly newsletter

Second-hand fashion is growing 15 times faster than ever before!

From her earliest memories of playing dress-up in her mother’s closet, Courtney Watkins has always loved fashion and finding creative ways to showcase her style for less. She got her start in fashion pursuing a degree in Merchandise Marketing in Los Angeles. From working as a celeb stylist to a trend forecaster, she ran and scaled a Saw Mill to start her entrepreneurial journey. She then went on to create a company that values sustainability, interpersonal relationships and luxury fashion. Watkins has nearly a decade of experience running Canada’s fastest-growing luxury e-commerce + retail resale boutique, Mine & Yours, based in Vancouver BC.


Entrepreneurs are the backbone of Canada’s economy. To support Canada’s businesses, subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us on FacebookInstagramLinkedIn and Twitter.

Want to stay up-to-date on the latest #entrepreneur podcasts and news? Subscribe to our bi-weekly newsletter

How to 100x your mindset and your business in 100 days

Edwin Frondozo is Co-founder & CEO of Slingshot VoIP. He is a fellow podcaster and social buzzer, who has built an awesome company on his 100 x goals. He shares his audacious goal of 100xing his tech business within 100 days. Something, he publicly declared on Sept 22, 2020, during a global pandemic. Before the pandemic hit, he was already questioning his decision, whether he should leave his tech business and pursue a life around impact and purpose. Like many entrepreneurs, he started to look for collaborations, partnerships and projects. The buzzword in the community was pivoting. Don’t stay still; look for opportunities. He ended up joining different startups, initiatives and partnerships. Almost all failed, which brought him to a dark place, looking within to find out who he was. Realizing that was the answer, he faced fear and took the plunge to make an audacious goal publicly. In this podcast we share why he did it, what happened, and some of the tools and frameworks he developed on his journey to 100x. As an award-winning podcaster, Edwin gives some key takeaways for us.


Entrepreneurs are the backbone of Canada’s economy. To support Canada’s businesses, subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us on FacebookInstagramLinkedIn and Twitter.

Want to stay up-to-date on the latest #entrepreneur podcasts and news? Subscribe to our bi-weekly newsletter

Dominic Goulet ou l‘éloge du parcours atypique

Suivre ses passions, écouter son intuition et saisir les opportunités, voilà quelques unes des pistes de réflexion abordées avec Dominic Goulet lors de ce podcast.

Programmeur de formation. Entrepreneur par passion. Éternel optimiste en recherche constante de solutions innovantes. Dominic Goulet est un fier représentant de la communauté numérique du Québec.
Entre sa carrière de consultant en technologies pour des entreprises internationales, son parcours d’entrepreneur et ses postes en gestion, Dominic cumule plus de 17 ans d’expérience dans le monde du numérique. Ces dernières années, il a principalement consacré son temps à guider les entrepreneurs vers la réussite en tant que mentor, ange investisseur et membre actif de la communauté entrepreneuriale de Québec. Depuis 2018, il est au service de la communauté numérique du Québec à travers son rôle de directeur général de Québec numérique.


L’équipe de la Banque Silicon Valley au Canada peut vous aider à faire avancer vos idées audacieuses – rapidement.

En apportant une expertise mondiale aux fondateurs, investisseurs et innovateurs.

Visitez svb.com/fr/canada pour en savoir plus.

Les entrepreneurs sont l’épine dorsale de l’économie canadienne. Pour soutenir les entreprises canadiennes, abonnez-vous à notre chaîne YouTube et suivez-nous sur Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn et Twitter.

Vous voulez rester au courant des derniers podcasts et actualités #entrepreneur? Abonnez-vous à notre newsletter bimensuelle.

Change your life in 90 days

With over 20 years of qualified experience in the health and fitness industry, Curtis Christopherson is the Founder & CEO of WRKOUT, the first connected fitness brand to deliver live, face-to-face personal training optimized for the virtual experience. He is also the owner of Innovative Fitness, North America’s largest network of premium personal training studios.

Based out of Vancouver, Curtis leads over 300 virtual and in-person trainers and was recognized as “Canada’s Top Trainer” in 2020 by Impact Magazine. He has also been featured in notable publications such as Forbes, The Globe and Mail, and SGB Magazine – and was also a former Ernst and Young Canadian Entrepreneur of the Year finalist!

While leading the businesses, Curtis has completed extreme adventures and some incredible physical feats. As examples, Curtis has competed in a 100km Del Sahara desert run, several Half Ironmans, over 15 marathons, been on the podium for multiple adventures, and knocked off some international hikes such as the West Coast Trail (in 21 hrs), Machu Picchu, and Kilimanjaro. He has also been a part of a team that cycled across Canada (which set a Guinness Book of World Records) and Australia to raise over a million dollars for Juvenile Diabetes.

Beyond his years, Curtis will undoubtedly leave an indelible mark on the health and fitness industry and he has no qualms about bringing others along for the journey.


Entrepreneurs are the backbone of Canada’s economy. To support Canada’s businesses, subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us on FacebookInstagramLinkedIn and Twitter.

Want to stay up-to-date on the latest #entrepreneur podcasts and news? Subscribe to our bi-weekly newsletter

Accomplished entrepreneur, angel investor, and venture capitalist explains how venture capital works

Nick Findler is an accomplished entrepreneur, angel investor, and venture capitalist.

Mr. Findler is the CEO and Founder of GoPublic.AI, a fin-tech, go-public investment bank that unites world-changing businesses with $1M-$50M of growth capital, shell vehicles, and know-how to go public both in Canada and on major stock exchanges around the world.

Over the past decade, Nick has advised and helped raise over $58M+ for growth companies and has been involved in structuring 20+ IPOs/RTOs in the public markets (primarily the TSX & CSE) and multiple private exits.

Nick also sits on the board of Plantable Health Inc. Plantable is the first plant-based program that is clinically proven to transform human health easily, sustainably, and enjoyably – all in 28 days. Plantable is currently active in 4 clinical trials at Memorial Sloan Kettering, Johns Hopkins, and Weill Cornell to prove its effectiveness in reducing chronic diseases by lowering inflammation, cholesterol, blood sugar, and altering gene expression.

He is also the President and Co-Founder of Grantus.ca, a company that enables Canadian entrepreneurs, artists, musicians, and not-for-profits to access government funding. The company has now helped Canadians receive over $10M in grant funding.

Deepening relationships, connecting with new people, and helping more strangers become friends is deeply important to Nick and a lens through which he sees the world. This passion and curiosity led him to study the neuroscience of human connection in 2021.


Entrepreneurs are the backbone of Canada’s economy. To support Canada’s businesses, subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us on FacebookInstagramLinkedIn and Twitter.

Want to stay up-to-date on the latest #entrepreneur podcasts and news? Subscribe to our bi-weekly newsletter

Blockchain visionary and cryptocurrency evangelist explains moving into the NFT world

Russell Korus is a blockchain visionary and cryptocurrency evangelist. His recent move into the NFT world is something we can all learn from.

Russell is Co-Founder & CEO for of EZ365 a digital ecosystem that combines the best aspects of NFTs, online gaming, digital asset trading and blockchain education. In this podcast you can meet Russell Korus and learn from a Crypto visionary some of the insider knowledge of bitcoin – like how in 2017 it went from $1000 in January to just under $20,000 in December of that year. His recent move into the NFT world is something we can all learn from. Russell is Co-Founder & CEO for of EZ365 a digital ecosystem that combines the best aspects of NFTs, online gaming, digital asset trading and blockchain education.


This podcast is brought to you by Schneider Electric. Supporting Canadian businesses with innovative energy management and automation solutions. Schneider Electric…your digital partner for Sustainability and Efficiency. Click here to learn more.

Entrepreneurs are the backbone of Canada’s economy. To support Canada’s businesses, subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us on FacebookInstagramLinkedIn and Twitter.

Want to stay up-to-date on the latest #entrepreneur podcasts and news? Subscribe to our bi-weekly newsletter

Réussir dans un contexte d‘entreprise familiale

Né à Saint-Georges en 1964, Marc Dutil a terminé ses études au Boston College en 1987 pour ensuite fonder une entreprise en technologie de l’information.

En 1989, il se joint à Le Groupe Canam Manac inc. tout en poursuivant sa formation dans diverses universités canadiennes et américaines.

En 2001, il est nommé vice-président exécutif et, en 2002, membre du conseil d’administration. Il est nommé président et chef de l’exploitation en 2003 et président et chef de la direction de Groupe Canam inc. en 2012.

M. Dutil a été président du conseil d’administration de l’Institut canadien de la construction en acier (ICCA) de 2001 à 2003. Il est membre du Cercle des présidents du Québec et le président-fondateur de l’École d’Entrepreneurship de Beauce.

En 2013, il reçoit le titre d’Entrepreneur de l’année EY pour le Québec et est nommé membre de l’Ordre du Canada pour ses implications communautaires et entrepreneuriales.
M. Dutil a accompagné plusieurs organismes communautaires au chapitre de la gouvernance et du financement. Il est l’auteur de l’essai « Nos faux combats » publié en 2021 et il est fréquemment invité comme conférencier au Canada et à l’étranger.

Marc Dutil est marié à Catherine Larochelle depuis 1989 et père de cinq enfants.


Les entrepreneurs sont l’épine dorsale de l’économie canadienne. Pour soutenir les entreprises canadiennes, abonnez-vous à notre chaîne YouTube et suivez-nous sur Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn et Twitter.

Vous voulez rester au courant des derniers podcasts et actualités #entrepreneur? Abonnez-vous à notre newsletter bimensuelle.

Comment démarrer une entreprise en alimentation

Alexane Thiffeault est co-fondatrice de Les Snorôs; une entreprise qui offre des gaufres congelées à base de légumes aux parents voulant favoriser les saines habitudes alimentaires de leurs enfants. Diplômée du baccalauréat en science et technologie des aliments, Alexane est reconnue pour son sens de l’organisation et son dynamisme contagieux.


Les entrepreneurs sont l’épine dorsale de l’économie canadienne. Pour soutenir les entreprises canadiennes, abonnez-vous à notre chaîne YouTube et suivez-nous sur Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn et Twitter.

Vous voulez rester au courant des derniers podcasts et actualités #entrepreneur? Abonnez-vous à notre newsletter bimensuelle.