Calgary

Bringing a bold and unorthodox approach to design and business

Amanda Hamilton is the founder and creative director of Amanda Hamilton Interior Design and Palette Archives. An award-winning entrepreneur and Interior Designer based in Calgary, Alberta working across Western Canada, Amanda is celebrated for her tenacious entrepreneurial spirit and vibrant persona. Her bold and unorthodox approach to design and business has made her one of the most sought-after creative minds in Canada.

Her debut satirical memoir, Not That Likeable: And Other Stories I told Myself was published in the fall of 2022. Amanda Hamilton unflinchingly chronicles her childhood exploits and coming-of-age story, in all their cringey glory. Riotously funny and spirited, Amanda balances unflinching honesty and side-splitting wit in this offbeat memoir for the proverbial outsider.

Amanda has been featured in numerous national publications including House & Home, Style at Home, Western Living, Montecristo, Avenue and FLARE. She has appeared on various broadcast programs, such as The Marilyn Denis Show, CTV, Global and Breakfast Television and was a collaborator for two episodes of The Property Brothers. A gifted and spirited speaker and storyteller, Amanda has delivered keynote presentations, acted as the Master of Ceremony, moderated panels and has sat on various panels covering a broad range of topics ranging from design to business.

Notable accolades include the 2020 WXN: Top 100 Most Powerful Women of Canada, 2020 Calgary Influential Women in Business Emerging Leader Award, 2019 Women of Inspiration Trailblazer Award, 2018 AWE Entrepreneurship Upsurge Award, 2017 Avenue Magazine’s Top 40 under 40 Award, 2017 Silver Stevie Female Entrepreneur of Canada, 2017 Calgary Herald’s Most Compelling Calgarians, 2013 Western Living Magazine’s One to Watch and 2012 Mount Royal University Alumni Award.

Committed to supporting and elevating the voices of entrepreneurs, Amanda recently launched a number of internal initiatives including Hard Bar Friday, After Hours Podcast and Office Hours: Open Source Learning.

Amanda received her Bachelor’s Degree in Applied Interior Design from Mount Royal University, received her status as a Licensed Interior Designer through the National Council for Design Qualifications and is also a Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design Accredited Professional. She is a mentor for the Harry G. Schaefer Mentorship Program and chairs the Junior Achievement of Southern Alberta World of Choices event. In 2016, Amanda launched a Travel Scholarship through her Alma Matter to promote design exploration.


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Enhancing lives and creating legacies

Kathy Yuen is an Architectural Technologist and founder of Phase One Design, a residential design firm specializing in designing dream homes for homeowners across Canada since 2006.

Phase One Design has helped over 700 homeowners design their dream homes. They have been recognized for countless awards (26 finalist nominations, 12 awards) and featured in numerous publications across Canada.

Kathy is a recognized business leader, public speaker, and educator for the design and custom home community. She has spearheaded various community initiatives such as educational seminars, and has made regular stage appearances. Kathy has been nominated twice for RBC’s Canadian Woman Entrepreneur of the Year.

You can check out her videos on the YouTube Channel ‘Dream Homes with Kathy’.


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The key to a long career in pharmaceutical R&D

Dr. Allen Davidoff is the founder and CEO of XORTX. Allen has 15 years of drug development experience across a broad range of clinical, regulatory and senior management roles in pharmaceutical R&D. He has led two investigational new drug (“IND”) applications or supplemental IND’s, two phase I studies (four of which were multi-country), seven phase II studies, and one new drug application (NDA). Prior to forming XORTX, Allen was the Chief Scientific Officer, VP Product Development and co-founder of Stem Cell Therapeutics Corp. (seven years) ( Trillium TRIL:NASDAQ) and Senior Scientist and Head of Pharmacology at Cardiome Pharma Corp.


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Elevating mental health through the science of float therapy

Bryce Weeks is the Founder of clear float spa that began in 2016 with a vision of removing pain, anxiety and stress from people’s lives through the science of float therapy. Since that time, clear float spa has facilitated more than 30,000 float sessions for Calgarians. With a heart for the community, the business also donates thousands of floats to dozens of charities and a variety of essential service providers like healthcare workers, veterans and teachers each year, as well as those impacted by stress-inducing crises or states of emergency such as the pandemic, Fort McMurray wildfires, and the Humboldt Broncos hockey tragedy.


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Developing market intelligence tools for the construction industry

Chloe Smith is the CEO and Co-founder of Mercator AI, a construction intelligence platform that delivers project insights for general contractors, engineering firms, real estate firms, and building project manufacturers. Prior to launching Mercator, Chloe developed market intelligence tools for business developers in the marketing and advertising space, where she helped reduce time spent on gap analyses.

With a strong background in data strategy, big data, AI, and data monetization, Chloe was able to leverage her expertise to create Mercator. Today, Mercator analyzes millions of construction data activities—from conception to post-construction—to enable early project detection, uncover risk signals and surface competitive and client insights in real-time.

Together with her Co-founder, Hogan Lee, who has a background in building high performing multi-disciplinary teams, Chloe is building a company that is at the forefront of industry intelligence and innovation.


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How to be a badass superstar seller

Jackie Rainforth (https://rainmakersgroup.ca/) is a highly sought-after international speaker, trainer, author, and consultant specializing in B2B sales, leadership, and business growth. As a trusted partner to business leaders and decision-makers, she possesses extensive knowledge of various industries and best practices, offering customized and cutting-edge training, keynote presentations and workshops to her clients helping them improve their efficiency, revenues and growth. With her award-winning career in top sales performance spanning decades, she has earned the nickname “The Rainmaker”; Recognized as a Global Top 200 Power Voice of Leadership 2023, one of the 10 Most Innovative Business Leaders Making Change 2022, and a Global Thought-Leader and Influencer to Watch 2021. Nominated as RBC Woman Entrepreneur of Canada and RBC Women of Influence Award, she is also a Top 500 LinkedIn All-star Influencer and Navigator Influencer with a Social Selling Index Top 1%. Let her help you MAKE IT RAIN RESULTS IN YOUR BUSINESS!


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Sharing successful entrepreneurial stories

Faisal Karmali is an author, business expert and media personality, business and market expert for 770CHQR and CTV Morning Live in Calgary, and an entrepreneur. He brings his passion for helping people succeed in their businesses to his interviews and advice straight to you.

The Karmali Exchange with Faisal Karmali is a monthly web show and podcast, featuring successful entrepreneurs sharing their stories about how they achieved their goals, some of the challenges they have had along the way, and their advice that can help other business owners learn and grow their own companies.

He describes his mission this way:

“No entrepreneur does it by themselves. Every day, I speak to entrepreneurs about their businesses, and analyze and report on dozens of companies for thousands of people. I’ve noticed a pattern: what makes the basic building blocks of a successful business.

“I also know that entrepreneurship is a difficult, and often lonely endeavour. The best way to find solutions for your business is to talk to other entrepreneurs for insight and unique perspectives. But it’s hard to find those people to talk to when you are working so hard.

“That’s why I’ve decided to create a community to share advice, ideas and insights from experts, as well as the things I’ve learned from decades of studying successful businesses. Join us today to get the help you need to take your business to the next level.”


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A passion for transformational businesses

Robert Price is a founder and the CEO of Bōde, an online real estate marketplace that launched in Alberta in 2019 and recently expanded to Toronto, Greater Vancouver and the Okanagan. A member of Avenue’s Top 40 under 40 Class of 2022, Rob has brought together an all-star team that is turning the traditional real estate industry upside down. Bōde directly connects buyers and sellers to work out a deal on their own time, their own schedule and on their own terms, while saving them tens of thousands in commission fees. Previously, Robert was a senior executive at telecom leader and disruptor Axia, which provided next generation fibre-based networks to customers in Canada, the US, France, and Singapore. Robert is also an Advisor to one of Canada’s fastest growing tech companies, Symend, and has a land development partnership building high tech, sustainable communities. Robert has a passion for transformational businesses that empower customers with choice through exceptional experiences.


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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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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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