Business

How this award winning serial entrepreneur is giving back to his community

Larry Hachey and his wife Donna reside in Quispamsis and have been married for 37 years and are very proud of their two children, Shawna and Christopher. Both are UNB Graduates with multiple degrees. Shawna is a Cruise Director for Celebrity Cruise Lines, as well as a fashion entrepreneur. Christopher is a software engineer working in cyber-security.

Larry enjoys woodworking during his downtime while he and Donna enjoy boating in the Summer and travelling to warmer climates during the colder months.

Career
Larry has spent most of his career, before becoming an entrepreneur, in business development roles of increasing responsibility. In 1998, after learning as much as he could from several important mentors, Larry took advantage of an opportunity to start his own business.

Founder of three start-up companies:

  1. First Affinity Capital. Built the company to become the largest small ticket equipment finance broker in Canada. Started in 1998 and sold in 2005.
  2. Gateway Capital Inc. Financial Services company offering retirement advice, services, and products. Started in 2008 and sold in 2010.
  3. Canlease Inc. Leading supplier of equipment finance services for small businesses in Atlantic Canada. Started in 2010 and is very active.

Community Engagement
Larry is very proud of his community, his province and of being a Maritimer. He feels blessed to live here and feels that he owes much back. Larry has severed on dozens of boards and committees of organizations that do good work and relevant work, including:

  • The University of New Brunswick Immediate past Chair (2 terms) of the Board of Governors for Canada’s oldest English Language University
  • Saint John Airport Inc. Immediate past Chair of the Board of the Greater Saint John Airport and its vital link to the world.
  • Enterprise Saint John. Past Chair of the Greater Saint John’s chief Economic Development Agency
  • University of New Brunswick Alumni Association. Past President of the Alumni Association, representing over 90,000 alumni across the world.
  • Greater Saint John Chamber. Past President of Canada’s second-oldest business membership organization.
  • Teen Resource Centre. Past Chair of Great Saint John’s leading youth engagement centre
  • Credit Counselling Services of Atlantic Canada. Past Chairman of Atlantic Canada’s largest debt counselling organization.

Awards

  • Province of New Brunswick Merit Award – Community Service
  • Ernst & Young Atlantic Canadian Entrepreneur of the Year Award
  • Saint John Board of Trade Entrepreneurial Achievement Award
  • Greater Saint John Chamber Business Excellence Award for Community Engagement
  • University of New Brunswick Alumni Award of Honour

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Paving the way for future females in finance

Passionate, forthright and dynamic, Julie Shipley-Strickland builds strong relationships with her valued clients by understanding their goals, supporting their concerns, and providing thoughtful and strategic solutions. As a Senior Wealth Advisor with Wellington-Altus Private Wealth and a Senior Insurance Advisor with Bergh Tatomir & Associates, Julie provides independent investment advice, financial planning, insurance solutions, and clear guidance to entrepreneurs, executives, and their families.

As one of Canada’s few female investment and insurance advisors, Julie is paving the way for future females in finance with her strong leadership and dedication to women-led businesses in the community.


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Transforming how Canadians experience giving

John Bromley is the Founder and CEO of Charitable Impact. After a decade of working in corporate finance and charity law, John founded Charitable Impact to transform how Canadians experience giving. John is a two-time TEDx speaker, Business In Vancouver’s Forty Under 40 winner and a proud father of two kids.


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Keeping up is the biggest challenge for successful entrepreneurs

Alex Coombs has been working in the media industry for the past 12 years. One of Alex’s biggest successes and passions has been teaching classes (Photo, Video, Editing & Graphic Design) at Mohawk College which she started at the young age of 22. With 11 years of experience as a Professor, she has mastered these skills.

She launched Northern Spruce Media Inc. in 2018 and this has become her main priority. Creating a feeling of warmth and beauty through her photos and videos has become her specialty. She is putting every ounce of strength and effort to make this small business into something HUGE. She has a full, professional team to aid her in providing perfect results for clients.


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How this serial entrepreneur amassed $1 billion dollars in commercial real estate development assets

Frank Lonardelli is a “serial entrepreneur” who has been investing and developing Real Estate since he was 25 years old and built and sold two of his former companies to public entities by age 35.

Since launching ASI as his full-time focus in 2012, the company has amassed over $1 billion dollars in commercial real estate development assets and has attracted dozens of articles written about its successful strategy and projects from both regional and nationally recognized business and industry publications.

ASI owns some of the most high-profile development sites on and around Calgary’s 17th avenue corridor. ASI’s focus is the development of “Live, Work and Play” projects within these urban areas.

Committed to innovation, strategic thinking, transparency, accountability and performance, ASI has become a respected and sought-after real estate company. Winning multiple awards including the PCMA Commercial Real Estate Deal of the Year, Frank has also been recognized as one of Alberta’s 2016 Business Leaders of the Year and was recently named as an EY 2016 Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist.

ASI creates projects which generate significantly higher returns than traditional Real Estate investment options. The company exclusively raises private equity from their growing list of accredited investors, family offices and institutional investment houses.

Frank’s proudest achievement to date is the launch of the Arlington Street Foundation Scholarship Program in 2009. He intends to expand the program nationally within the next 5 years.

Frank is a graduate of the University of Winnipeg with a major in Political Sciences and has completed the Executive Master’s Program through the Sloan School of Management.


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Building a real estate empire one property at a time

Bob Dhillon is the Founder, President & CEO of Mainstreet Equity Corp, based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Mainstreet is publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX:MEQ). As of Q1 2023, assets were valued at close to CDN$3B and MEQ reported its 23rd year of consistent, year-over-year, double-digit returns through its continued organic growth.

Year-to-date holdings currently consist of 16,802+ apartments across western Canada (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Winnipeg, Manitoba). Along with its healthy balance sheet success, Mainstreet is a strong and proud champion of affordable housing.

In 2018, Bob gifted CDN$10M to the University of Lethbridge towards the creation of the Dhillon School of Business (DSB). Bob’s strong belief that education and entrepreneurship are the engines of national prosperity, along with his strong desire to give back to the province that provided him with so many opportunities, motivated his decision to make this substantial and transformative contribution. One of the primary areas of study at DSB is a world-class research and emerging technologies. Bob is also very proud of the fact that DSB was the first post-secondary institution in Canada to mandate an indigenous studies course requirement.

Bob is also the owner of National Payments, a Visa and MasterCard-approved merchant-processing business in the financial services sector.


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.

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Treat yourself like a million dollar client

Cynthia Lockrey is a changemaker + communications expert. She shifts people, teams, organizations and cultures to go from overwhelmed to clear and activated. Having worked in public relations for 25+ years, Cynthia is skilled at breaking down communications fundamentals into bite size and easy to implement pieces. She does this in her writing, communications consulting, speaking, training and coaching. While based on Vancouver Island, Cynthia works with individuals, non-profits, businesses and organizations from across North America. She is passionate about helping people share their stories and be heard.


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.

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Using engineering principles to educate homeowners and realtors on their foundations

Benjamin Heninger is a registered professional civil engineer with over 25 years of experience in the construction industry and is the founder of groon construction. He is a born-and-raised Calgarian, who takes pride in operating with integrity, efficiency, practicality and ingenuity. Using his engineering expertise, he solves complex problems and educates his clients. Heninger has been in good standing with the association of professional engineers and geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA) for the past 17 years.

groon construction is a Calgary-based boutique construction company specializing in concrete foundation waterproofing solutions since 2003. They believe that your concrete foundation’s stability, functionality, and integrity are critical for a safe and healthy home.


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.

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Starting up… get some great insights from a start-up master

Matthew von Teichman is a serial entrepreneur and one of the country’s biggest leaders in the Natural Products category (founder of Spore Wellness, GreenSpace brands, Life Choices, among just a few). He’s started 9 companies and it’s obvious he loves the energy and innovation of a startup! and he’s made his entrepreneurial drive pay off. He’s now going back to his roots and doing startups in the e-commerce and food space, as well as helping entrepreneurs with their businesses as an investor, mentor, and advocate to help them avoid some of the many mistakes I’ve made. Check out his latest venture at Purplesful.


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.

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How to grow your business with software

Scott Lionello is the Co-Founder and President of Omnae Technologies a Vancouver-based Supply Ops Automation startup. Born and raised in the lower mainland, Scott has a passion for music, invention, lateral thinking, and entrepreneurship. Through the journey of building Omnae, Scott has learned how destructive innovation within a legacy business can be a path to achieving success with ideas too big for the conventional lean startup model.


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.

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