Vancouver

Understand who you are first

With 30 years of experience in the industry, Deneen Allen understands the unique challenges of Indigenous, rural and remote tourism development in Canada. She’s deeply committed to making stories of place and culture come alive for guests and their hosts. Lodges, camps, glamping, parks, hotels, food concepts, Indigenous cultural spaces and places – these are just some of the businesses that Deneen has contributed her experience to.

Her extensive industry knowledge in tourism and hospitality design, product development, operations, marketing and finance has been parlayed into her two business ventures: Pure North Canada, a leading tourism and hospitality consultancy, and Firecircle, an innovative digital business accelerator and mentorship platform that has helped dozens of individual tourism entrepreneurs in their business start-up and growth.


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Build trust and relationships to grow your business

Kerri Isham is a knowledgeable, experienced, and passionate educator, coach, and facilitator dedicated to excellence and committed to the empowerment of people of all ages. Her primary goal is to make exploring sexual health fun and meaningful and alleviate the shame and embarrassment sometimes associated with this topic.

Kerri runs Power Up Education, based out of Nanaimo, specializing in sexual health education for preschool to Grade 12. Her three main areas of focus are sexual abuse prevention, supporting children, youth, and adults with support needs, and the impact of pornography viewing on children and youth. Kerri completed the Sexual Health Educator’s Certification program in June 2011 with Options for Sexual Health in Vancouver.


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Don’t be afraid to fail

Alex Clark discovered his natural talent for programming at a young age, crafting his first video game code at age 12. By 27, he became Chief Technology Officer at Navio Systems Inc.

Alex later started Bit Stew Systems which helped companies within the industrial internet efficiently manage and analyze data from interconnected devices before being sold to GE in 2016.

In 2020, Alex created Quantum Pigeon, Inc. (QP), a platform allowing creators to monetize content, community, and access. By nurturing a direct relationship built on authenticity, QP empowers creators to own their audience and earn a meaningful income. QP’s ultimate aspiration is to become the premier social media platform for creators and influencers seeking to monetize and authentically engage.

Alex’s strong passion, enthusiasm, expertise, and relentless drive for innovation is what powers his entrepreneurial journey.


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Aligning your values with your business

Dustin Serviss (http://www.servisswealth.com) is a financial advisor who has been working with high-net-worth business owner families since 2005. Winner of numerous awards throughout his career, and years of community focus, has earned him a Court of the Table seat in the Million Dollar Round Table. He and his partners have generated over $400M in wealth for their clients across Canada.

With a background in civil engineering, he uses a combination of science and psychology to help his clients realize their dreams. Dustin enjoys an active lifestyle with his family and participates in outdoor adventures. He’s an advocate for Fridays off and living in the NOW.


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Inspiring imaginations that will change the world

At the core of Ken Merkel‘s work lies a profound mission—to inspire imaginations that will change the world. As Founder of Unlimit and SciFiHive, Ken empowers individuals and organizations to uncover remarkable opportunities they never imagined possible on their own. Now more than ever, we need to rally together to create a better future. Using a pioneering approach – known as the SciFiHive, participants of all ages and places can explore, get excited, imagine, storytell and prototype solutions. If you are clear on the problem you want to solve, you can participate in, sponsor or lead local, regional or global sprint with engaged experts and enthusiasts.

In today’s podcast, Ken Merkel will provide insights on his story, what exponential growth is, the magic of a sprint process – what makes it unique, what results you can expect, use cases, and how you can get engaged to imagine then build your future.


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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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Get great on the areas of life you’re most passionate about

Growing up John Krik‘s dad was a pitchman. You could see him slicing and dicing at the country fairs, PNE or home shows throughout Canada. That business grew from shows to television or products being sold on television and then mass distribution in major retail stores like Walmart. John has followed in his father’s footsteps. He’s developed several products that have gone from concept to millions in sales all based out of his home office in Surrey, BC. This is where he conceives the products, brings them to consumer shows, proves the salability, develops a pitch and from there brings it to mass distribution via direct response television.


Get the low-cost insurance protection you need from Canada’s small business insurance experts! For a free business insurance quote visit https://zensurance.com/save35


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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Creating transformative change in 66 days

Olia Stasiuk is a book author who is a certified Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR®️), and the Founder of four different businesses including 360 Transformers & Transformers Academy.

Olia found her passion in education and development and her mission in making people happier by elevating their lives and careers. She has dedicated many years of her professional career to exploring the inevitable impact of learning and development within personal and professional life, helping reputable global companies boost their operational efficiency by establishing forward-thinking employee experience and development strategies learned around the globe.

Olia is always exploring possibilities with technologies and innovation and is currently conducting research with her team on the impact of Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence practices on the soft skills of adults in the workplace to accelerate their careers.


Get the low-cost insurance protection you need from Canada’s small business insurance experts! For a free business insurance quote visit https://zensurance.com/save35


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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Brand Strategist & Business Performance Catalyst

Isabelle Mercier and Margarita Romano are ‘no-nonsense’ dynamos, born to catapult heart-centred entrepreneurs and business leaders to build impactful brands, businesses and lives.

Together, Isabelle and Margarita co-founded their first business venture a few years out of their teens, which quickly escalated to become one of Canada’s most awarded branding and creative firms; from prestigious international design awards to national entrepreneurs of the year. They are true pioneers in brand positioning, and to this day still continuously re-establish the way people do business. Throughout their careers, they’ve had the opportunity to work with more than 500 companies, including some influential and iconic brands like A&W, Robeez Footwear, Earls Restaurants, IMAX Corporation, and HSBC Investments just to name a few. With over two decades of hands-on experience in branding, marketing and business growth, as well as extensive learnings from traveling the globe, Isabelle and Margarita are more determined than ever to help entrepreneurs and thought leaders all over the world become The First, The Best or The Only.


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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Creating a Culture for Success

Marcus New is a pioneer in the pre-IPO asset class, with a career that spans over three decades in the private and public financial markets. He is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of InvestX, a firm headquartered in Vancouver, that delivers access and liquidity to the growth equity asset class and empowers the sell-side to invest and trade in institutional quality private equity. Marcus is also the Founder and Chair (and previously CEO) of Stockhouse Publishing – one of North America’s leading online financial communities and a global hub for accredited investors. Prior to launching Stockhouse, Marcus built Stockgroup Media, an online information company whose client base consisted of the top Canadian brokerage firms, global institutional sales desks, and hedge funds.

Marcus is passionate about entrepreneurship and has made it his life’s mission to be at the forefront of innovation and leadership in the financial markets. He has served as the past President of the Vancouver Chapter and Canadian Conference Chair for the Entrepreneurs Organization (EO) and was a finalist for Ernst & Young’s “Entrepreneur of the Year” Pacific Region. Marcus is an alumni of MIT’s “Birthing of Giants” program and holds a B.A. with a Business Major from Trinity Western University.


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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