POV Hamilton Podcast

Interested in entering Hamilton's wild housing market? Have concerns about expansion and development in our downtown and beyond? This week on POV we're featuring a fascinating discussion with Mike Collins-Williams about housing affordability and city building in Hamilton.  Mike is the new Chief Executive Officer of the West End Home Builders' Association, which represents over 300 regional me...

In this podcast, we dive into Hamilton’s immigration community and chat with Sarah Wayland and Mohammad Araf from Hamilton Immigration Partnership Council (HIPC). HIPC is a community table that seeks to create a seamless settlement experience for immigrants in Hamilton. With partners from various sectors – including settlement, education, business, health, social services, municipal affairs, and p...

For our final Black History Month special episode, we're sharing the stories of Black youth in #HamOnt doing amazing things in the arts! Tune in to meet Eddie Lartey from Hamilton YOU Poets, learn all about the organization, the power of poetry in connecting youth across the city, and hear some poetry performances from Eddie and fellow poet Amani. Then stay tuned to meet inspirational 12-year-old...

We're continuing our celebration of #BlackHistoryMonth with Faith Ogunkoya of the Black Student Success Centre at McMaster University! Listen to this week's #podcast to learn how and why the BSSC was founded, what they offer to help Black students at Mac succeed, and the guiding principles that are driving all their actions. Faith also shares her thoughts on what needs to happen within the communi...

February is Black History Month, and we're partnering with McMaster Innovation Park to celebrate business and culture in Hamilton's Black community. In today's episode, meet Leo Nupolu Johnson, Executive Director of Empowerment Squared. This local organization is dedicated to supporting newcomers through the education system. Leo has a fascinating story to share about his own journey to Canada and...

Cyrus Tehrani is Hamilton’s Chief Digital Officer and Director of Innovation, so there’s no one better to speak about what #HamOnt is doing to strive toward excellence in innovation & technology. Don’t miss this episode if you’re interested in digital pilot programs using AI, CityLab programs bringing innovative opportunities to students, Hamilton’s success in being a globally recognized “Inte...

Start-up founders have a challenging journey ahead of them. In today's podcast, we're talking to Chris Buttenham, founder of Obie (now Lessonly Knowledge), a knowledge management software tool that has seen all the amazing highs and lows of start-up life.  From founding the company and realizing he didn't know a thing, heading to the Innovation Factory for help, searching for co-founders, par...

The POV Hamilton podcast is back for 2022 with a fantastic episode featuring the one and only Maestro Boris Brott! A symphony and opera conductor and founder of the Brott Music Festival and National Academy Orchestra (among many other orchestra and opera programs across the world), Boris has made his home in Hamilton and has a mission to provide world-class education and training opportu...

On this week's POV Hamilton Podcast we dive into the educational scene by chatting with Jordan Rakowski! Jordan started his tutoring business, Brainstorm Academy, after graduating from McMaster University. He is now one of the lead educators and principal for Brainstorm Academy.  In this episode, Jordan talks about how he got into education and why it's an interesting space to be in and...

We're thrilled to share our first-ever musical episode of the POV Hamilton podcast, featuring the songs, stories, and wisdom of legendary soul musician John Ellison! Best known for writing the classic song 'Some Kind of Wonderful', John has made his home in Hamilton for decades and his love for the city has grown alongside his song's fame.  Listen in to hear John share stories from his fascin...

On this week’s POV Hamilton podcast we’re learning all about the LIVELab, a combination concert hall / research lab that is unique in the world for how it can study the physiological and psychological effects of music, dance, and performance on artists and audiences. Dr. Laurel Trainor, a professor of NeuroScience and Behaviour at McMaster University, joins us to share fascinating info on some of...

Hamilton's catalyst for Tech Innovation, the Innovation Factory, is taking over the POV Podcast again this week to bring you the story of Altus Assessments. This company, which started at McMaster University, delivers program management and data analytics solutions specifically for healthcare education. Listen in to hear Altus co-founder Kelly Dore and Innovation Factory CEO Dave Carter talk...

The POV Hamilton #podcast is diving into the #HamOnt arts scene! In our newest episode, we sit down with Tim Potocic, owner of Sonic Unyon Records, founder and director of Supercrawl, and a lifelong Hamiltonian and community advocate. Tim’s point of view is unique and you don’t want to miss this special episode! Listen in to find out what’s been going on behind the scenes for Supercrawl and Sonic...

In this week's new POV Hamilton #podcast, we talk with the team behind CoMotion on King, Hamilton's largest co-working space and a fantastic environment for companies of all sizes to join a thriving community in the heart of downtown #HamOnt. Listen in to hear Abigail and Larissa chat about the changing nature of work and how coworking empowers remote workers to make the most of their time and spa...

In this week's podcast, we're talking with the winners of Innovation Factory's 2021 Lions Lair competition! Ron Galaev, founder and CEO of EmergConnect and Amy Ding, founder and CEO of Requity Homes, pitch us their businesses, reflect on their Lions Lair experiences, and share advice to anyone looking to start their own business. Head to www. LionsLair.ca to learn more about the show, re-watch thi...

It's almost time for Lion's Lair! This competition, put on by #HamOnt's Innovation Factory, allows innovators and entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas to a panel of investor 'Lions' to help kick-start their business. Tune into the POV podcast this week to hear us chat with four contestants from the top 16 in this year's Lion’s Lair: Yuri Kaplin and Daniel Lasek from AdMass, Jessica Lunshof from Tamv...

The Forge is McMaster University’s start-up incubator. Working with companies from Mac and the wider community, they help start-ups develop their ideas, grow their businesses, reach new markets, raise capital, and expand right here in #HamOnt. In this podcast episode, we chat with Dr. Gay Yuyitung, Acting Director of The Forge, all about the origins of The Forge, their programs (including the shif...

This week Hamilton's catalyst for tech innovation, the Innovation Factory, is taking over the pod, and if you have a business in the food processing space, you won't want to miss it! In this episode we meet Arvid Rimkus of Pretto's Pasta, who has taken a 50-year old local recipe for lasagna and turned it into a rapidly-growing business thanks to the mentors and services at the Innovation Factory....

The POV #podcast is back this week with the founders of BLK OWNED HamOnt - sisters Ashleigh & Alexandria Montague (their third sister Abygail couldn't make it for recording but was there in spirit!) Listen in to hear the story of BLK OWNED; from its original launch after 2020's BlackOut Tuesday when they saw a lot of performative activism online, to putting together a list of 150+ Hamilto...

Erin Dunham and her colleagues are trying to change the restaurant industry for the better. In this week’s #podcast, we sit down with the Co-Owner & CEO of The Other Bird, a restaurant group which owns and manages The Mule, Rapscallion, Burro, and popular restaurants in London and Paris (Ontario!) In this episode Erin, a born-and-raised Hamiltonian, talks about her journey through the restaura...

Lisa Knap entered the world of education after 20+ years as a TV and radio journalist. With decades of experience teaching and mentoring, she joined Barclay Educational Services to bring a new perspective and an innovative mindset to this local guidance counselling firm, which is located at the McMaster Innovation Park and helps hundreds of students every year. At Barclay, Lisa and the team help C...

In this week’s new episode we were thrilled to speak to Monika Yazdanian, CEO of ToeFX, a company on a mission to rid the world of onychomycosis. A former director of The Forge and a central figure in Hamilton’s start-up ecosystem, we talk to Monika in this episode about her own story and ask her to reflect on the rapid growth of the start-up ecosystem in Hamilton, how to measure this growth, and...

It's another #MadeInHamilton start-up success story on the pod this week as we talk to Brandon Aubie, Co-Founder & CEO of QReserve. This ever-growing software platform started when Brandon solved a scheduling problem he & his colleagues had in their McMaster University lab, and realized that many others likely had the same problem too.  In this episode, Brandon talks about his own his...

Karen Mossman is VP of Research at McMaster University, Chair of the Board of McMaster Innovation Park, and an accomplished virologist and researcher herself. She joins us on the pod this week to discuss McMaster’s research excellence and why research is so fundamental to what the university does every day when it comes to creating global citizens and global impact. In this episode Karen explains...

A business and innovation leader in Hamilton since the 1980s, Mark Chamberlain has played a pivotal role in the development of our innovation ecosystem. From his role as the head of technology companies Wescam and later, Trivarus, and his position on the boards of organizations like the Ontario Centres of Excellence and McMaster University, he helped develop the Innovation Park, Innovation Factory...