Education

Connect to purpose, be curious and find a community

Carolyn Cooper-McOuatt brings a deep passion and purpose to nurture, guide and lead each person to their unlimited human potential and to build the business they have always dreamed it to be. She has been learning and leading people to “Live above the Line” for more than 3 decades. The focus is to build a positive business future with a crystal-clear vision, meaningful direction, purpose and plans of action as well as experiencing a community of support. Through her Grand Connection meaningful mastermind groups and inspired business planning programs, people transform their businesses and become the leaders they are meant to be, set strategic goals, take bigger risks, and have a community to celebrate their wins!

She brings a spirit of energy that is contagious, uplifting, and inspiring.

Carolyn was the captain of her cheerleading team in high school and continues her mission to lead by contributing to business owners as an advocate, mentor, cheerleader and sounding board to support them to move and grow towards their Grand Potential.

Her commitment is to always be curious, open-minded and intentional in life and business and go after her Grand adventures.

Carolyn feels honored and blessed to be the Co-Founder of the Grand Connection virtual networking community along with Susan Jarema. She knows it is their true calling to create the place and the space for businesses from around the globe to have the Grand Connections, create new opportunities, and collaborate to grow together and impact the world in meaningful ways.

Carolyn is grateful to live in beautiful Kelowna British Columbia where each morning she appreciates hiking her dog Tucker and enjoying her yoga.


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The power of philanthropy, civic responsibility, public service & the promotion of multiculturalism

Muraly Srinarayanathas is the Executive Chairman of 369 Global Inc., a rapidly growing business conglomerate based in Toronto with interests in education and training, financial services, creative and entertainment, venture capital, and more. Having lived and worked in North America, Europe, South Asia, and Southeast Asia for over 25 years, Muraly possesses not only a strong business acumen but also a unique global perspective and the ability to bring together diverse groups of people around a common goal, which he has termed “The Maestro Mindset”.

Muraly is a strong believer in the power of philanthropy. Ever since he launched his first social purpose business under the guidance of Dr. Muhammad Yunus, the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Muraly has continued to harness his networks to create social change. Inspired by nearly a century-old tradition of philanthropy that first began with his grand-uncle in Jaffna, Sri Lanka and continued with his father, Muraly also oversees the Srinarayanathas Foundation, which supports a wide variety of causes in education, health, and economic empowerment – both in Canada and around the world.

Muraly has a B.A. from the University of Manitoba, an M.B.A. from Southeast University (Bangladesh), an LL.M. from the University of Toronto, and has studied Digital Strategy at the Harvard Business School. In 2017, the Canadian Board Diversity Council named Muraly in its Diversity50 cohort as individuals with the greatest potential to impact Canada’s corporate boards and improve global competitiveness.

Muraly firmly believes in civic responsibility, public service, and the promotion of Canadian multiculturalism. Married with two children, Muraly hopes to build a strong future for his family and community; one where young Canadians (and new Canadians) can fulfill their goals and dreams together.


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How One Entrepreneur Has Been Supporting the Canadian Food Industry

Ted Grant was born and raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the son of a “gourmet cook.” Educated at Dalhousie University, Holland College, University of Prince Edward Island, and the Stratford Chefs School, he spent eight years working as a chef in Calgary, London, New York and Toronto. Ted left the professional kitchen to teach at the Culinary Institute of Canada for three years, and while in Charlottetown he joined the product development arm known as Canada’s Smartest Kitchen. He became a leading expert in developing products for the Atlantic Canadian seafood industry, representing brands on missions to Asia, Europe, and throughout North America. Ted’s passion for Nova Scotia and education brought him home to complete his Masters in Education in 2013 and join the Nova Scotia Community College as Director of Hospitality Programming. In 2016, Ted left the college to join Truleaf Plant Science and GoodLeaf Farms as Chief Product Officer. In 2018, he could not resist the opportunity to create his own entrepreneurial dream, co-founding VIVEAU, which works with local farmers in the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia to create the perfect balance between fruit and water.


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 one social entrepreneur designed his business to have a positive impact on the world, with Matt Wittek

Matt Wittek, Founder and CEO of Fill it Forward is a social entrepreneur on a mission to inspire the world to reuse. Based in Guelph, ON, The Fill it Forward Company has helped eliminate millions of single-use items from landfills and our oceans. Since 2012, Fill it Forward has helped fund hundreds of clean water projects benefiting communities across the world in an effort to alleviate the global water crisis. Matt has worked with many leading retailers, foodservice operators, universities and brands to promote the use of reusable products. His products and programs are used by millions of people around the world, helping to eliminate plastic bottles and disposable cups from our landfills. His work has been featured on Canada AM, CBC’s The National, Breakfast Television and the Globe and Mail.


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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Best Friends Turned Business Partners Ahsan Raza and Kumail Meghani Are Joining Forces to Make IDEA Lab Kids a Household Name in the GTA!

Ahsan Raza and Kumail Meghani join Devina Bhojwani, CEO of IDEA Lab Kids to chat about their goals.

After seeing a need for more hands-on education for kids to explore science, technology, engineering, art and math subjects (#STEM), they decided to bring IDEA Lab Kids, a household international franchise, to the Greater Toronto Area. At the time, both men were on their own career journeys. Raza in real estate, Meghani in accounting and education. But they both saw a need and demand in the market for premium #STEAM education. So they bought the rights to become area developers for all of #GTA and now after 2 years, have sold 2 locations (Richmond Hill and Oakville) that are up and running and 2 more scheduled to open in 2021 (in Pickering and Stouffville). The duo now plans to open up 15 locations in Toronto through strategic franchise expansion.

Raza and Meghani still hold their full-time jobs but have carved out time on the weekends, evenings and every other hour of free time to work on IDEA Lab Kids and expand it further. They discuss why they chose to fuel this concept in a crisis, and how they will help the community. IDEA Lab Kids’ CEO Devina Bhojwani can discuss bigger picture plans the brand has to continue pivoting and growing across Canada.

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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Brandy Gallagher, ‘Place-making’ entrepreneur invites communities across Canada to ‘Go Village’

Brandy Gallagher (BSW, MA) is one of the original founders and developers of O.U.R. ECOVILLAGE, Shawnigan Lake (Vancouver Island) BC. She is one of the designing ‘creatixes’ dedicated to outreach projects (local and International), and the development of O.U.R. ECOVILLAGE as a demonstration/model sustainable village. Her sustainable land management planning and ecological design work has made her the main proponent behind the Canadian precedent setting rezoning which has allowed for the legal/political/community framework containing multi-use allowances for ecovillages and shared land projects across Canada. Born and raised in community her life work has been focused around the development of ‘Sustained Community’. She is also the developer of TOPIA: The Sustainable Learning Community Institute which operates onsite at OUR ECOVILLAGE. With a deep compassion for people and place Brandy works with other communities/projects to find their way through regulatory and legal processes which challenge the development of legitimate models of land use, alternative building, ownership and governance. The intention to have individuals & communities step aside from their rank & roles to enter into a more connected sense of community building is at the heart of her work. She provides these services through her business “Sustainable Community Solutions Consulting – SC2”.

Her published work is a documentary titled “Creating TOPIA: The Journey of Developing a School of Sustainable Community Building.” She is also featured in the movie “Escape From Suburbia” and the documentary “Peak Moments: Creating the Impossible”. Look for the wide variety of articles written, and web based interviews documented in relation to her work.

Visit www.ebay.ca/upandrunning to open your online shop.

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Nancy Wood is a creative writer who has written five non-fiction essays, prose and books for little kids and recently published The Magical Power of Color

Nancy Wood was a senior business communications specialist in Toronto for several years. In her “rewirement” years in B.C. she has toiled to transform her business-style writing into more creative writing – non-fiction essays, prose and books for little kids. She has written five books for kids, but it was not until an interesting opportunity came her way last year, that the first one of her books, The Magical Power of Color was published.

Nancy prefers writing to marketing and so getting the book in the hands of kids has been a bigger challenge. If anyone thinks it is a piece of cake to write a short book for kids, Nancy has learned that the old adage, “If I had time, I would have written a shorter letter,” really applies when it comes to books for kids.

Visit www.ebay.ca/upandrunning to open your online shop.

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

Alexandre Vézina, auteur de 6 livres, entrepreneur-conseil, conférencier et cofondateur de la Clinique d’accompagnement entrepreneurial du Québec

Sylvie Bougie a eu la chance de s’entretenir avec Alexandre Vézina (www.alexandrevezina.com), auteur de 6 livres, entrepreneur-conseil, conférencier et cofondateur de la Clinique d’accompagnement entrepreneurial du Québec. Dans ce podcast on aborde notamment son meilleur conseil aux entrepreneurs, sa routine et son processus d’écriture! A écouter et partager dans vos réseaux” #entrepreneur #Quebec

Alexandre Vézina est résident de Pont-Rouge au Québec et est entrepreneur-conseil. Il est actuellement associé principal et cofondateur de la Clinique d’accompagnement entrepreneurial du Québec qui offre des programmes d’accompagnement structurés pour les entreprises en développement et en croissance de moins de vingt employés.

Depuis près de quinze ans, Alexandre a accompagné et conseillé des milliers d’entrepreneurs de la francophonie canadienne. Sa mission : propulser les entrepreneurs et améliorer leur situation, que ce soit lors du démarrage, du développement ou de la croissance de leur entreprise.

Il est également l’auteur de six livres d’affaires qui outillent les entrepreneurs au quotidien.

Allez au cafr.ebay.ca/toujoursenmarche. L’offre est valide jusqu’au 22

Meti Basiri, CMO of ApplyBoard, Discusses How He’s Grown His Company During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Coming to Canada from Iran for post secondary studies, Meti Basiri, Co-Founder and CMO of ApplyBoard, Massi, and their eldest brother Martin, experienced the challenges international students face trying to access education. ApplyBoard was founded—out of these shared experiences—to streamline the student application process. Meti and Massi were recently featured on three Forbes Top 30 Under 30 Lists. Since ApplyBoard’s founding in 2015, the staff has grown to nearly 400, raised CAD $172 Million and last year were named Canada’s fastest-growing technology company by Deloitte. They have helped over 100,000 students around the world with their academic journey, and have grown to become the world’s largest platform for international student recruitment to Canada, The United Kingdom, and The United States.

Gary Parmar Discusses why Cleaning is an Essential Service During the COVID-19 Pandemic

In 2015, Gary Parmar and his brother, with a long family history of expertise in cleaning services, decided to put their skills, knowledge and determination into a company that could truly impress. From helping their parents with their own cleaning business even at a young age, EcoGiants has grown into a large crew of professionals – offering up to 50 workers per project available to their clients 24/7.