Okiki Podcast: Making Inspirational People Known- Finding Your Purpose and the turning points that Propel You to Success

Okiki Podcast Episode 50: How to strategize for success with Tasemere Gathers   Tasemere is such a gem! We connected on Slack through the Black Professional Network. I had the honor of being her first podcast interview!   Tasemere Gathers has spent a decade working with entrepreneurs in the non-profit sector. Tasemere's focus on community building/commercial revitalization allows her to quickly un...

Brandon Miranjie is a student at the University of Western Ontario. He is a personal finance blogger and runs the RCS Blog on TheRichCollegeStudent.  He wanted to start a blog to be able to document some of his ideas while providing insight into the financial world that revolves around us. He has always had a passion for finance and believes that there is a lack of education for people in the tran...

I met Nataizya through a group called Pitch Better, supporting Black female entrepreneurs all over Canada.   Nataizya Mukwavi is the Founder of Black Women Connect Vancouver, a not-for-profit organization founded in 2017 serving to bridge gaps present in the local Black community, particularly those affecting Black women. Black Women Connect Vancouver has created a community of support based aroun...

I first met Kimberly Evans online! I had just joined The Well Collaborative and she was the first member to reach out to me. She not only reached out to chat, but she also invited me to be a podcast guest on her amazing podcast Celebrating the Simple Life Podcast. We also collaborated together on an outdoor social event where I did the videography. I'm inspired by her story and her true desire to...

What started off as a plan to bring Korean Beauty to the Nigerian market, soon became an open door for Grace Okafor to do something innovative that had never been done before: Create a beauty line for women of colour infused with the expertise behind Korean beauty.   Grace Okafor is the founder of Dr. GIO Cosmetics, Black K-Beauty brand in South Korea dedicated to making skincare infused and cruel...

  MARC BLAIN CEO Founder   Marc grew up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He and his parents and siblings traveled every summer;  He played highly competitive soccer and went on numerous trips for national tournaments. He was 14 when he began using drugs and alcohol to cover up the pain in my heart. This was my coping mechanism throughout my life and was a deep, real struggle for me. In my early 20's, H...

Kristina's Bio: I first met Kristina at the Well Collaborative. She was teaching a working well session that I was attending and I was very intrigued by her background story. I also began to seek out opportunities for collaboration.   Kristina has worked in-house for Twitter designing user experiences for 6 years. She has also worked on design projects for National Geographic, Pandora Radio, Disne...

Nyla is a Virtual Christian Intuitive Eating Coach and founder of the online business "Nutrition with Nyla". She is certified as a Health and Life Coach, and specializes in Intuitive Eating, Intuitive Exercise and body image improvement. Other certifications she has include a Food and Nutrition Management diploma and many other fitness instructor certifications. She helps women heal their relation...

When I first met Tammy Zdunich it was virtually during this season of Covid. I was invited to become a member of the Well Collaborative because someone in the community had recommended me.    I had no idea what The Well was about but I had an on boarding meeting with Tammy, attended my first virtual coffee event and the rest is history. I finally found a wholesome healthy community of women entrep...

Despite her visual impairment, Ashton Smith is a pioneering sports visionary who has overcome adversity to triumph against all odds. She is an accomplished Blind Ex-special Olympic Gold medalist Tri-Athlete, motivational speaker, and a staunch Walk for Reform and Black Lives Matter Activist. Her unpleasant experiences in sports and battling obesity fuelled her desire to speak up against the exploi...

Hello, everyone. Today, I just wanted to do an impromptu solo episode, I have not been doing this a lot since I started the podcast, because, of course, you all know, I very much enjoy interviewing people.   I very much enjoy learning about their process and their journey.   But I couldn't help but notice this very fascinating story with this woman named Tessica and the Gorilla Glue .   And the on...

Black History Month Edition: Started in 2018 by Nigerian-Canadian designer Firdausi "FiFi" Yusuf FiFi X is a contemporary twist on streetwear fashion inspired by the vibrant colour and patterns in various cultures throughout Africa. Producing every collection in Nigeria has helped us stay true to our roots and keep our originality. FiFi X has been a part of various fashion shows around Canada both...

5 Takeaways: Different ways to get private investment. Being flexible as an entrepreneur. Evaluating what is working and what is not, to change the business strategy. Retail needed a change and COVID made it happen. Brands focus more on what the community and each individual needs in a particular time.   I discovered Hillberg and Berk and Rachel Mielke at the same time. She was speaking at a Fuze...

When Amy reached out to me to be a guest on my podcast, I was gobsmacked by her story. We had so many parallels in our stories. Amy's passion is being a performing artist and like Amy, My first love and passion is music, singing and songwriting. Yet, it was during a very intense performing arts program I experienced a major event in both my mental and physical health. Although Amy's story around m...

I connected with Roshni through LinkedIn and she was interested in being a guest on my podcast. I was curious to learn from another fellow marketer who had been in the industry ahead of me and I definitely learned a lot!   Roshni is a trusted marketing leader with 15 yrs of progressive experience helping companies bring brands and products to market. Having started her career working on top consum...

Nkechi was someone I noticed immediately on LinkedIn. When I pictured a women in tech, I believe she flips the definition and appearance of that stereotype on its head. She is an Associate Vice President, Technology at TD  and was nominated for WXN Canada's Most Powerful Women 2020 by TD Bank Group. Yet when you encounter her vibrant personality and amazing and unique hairstyle, you can tell she i...

Allison Ramsey, is the Founder of Empire Life, Tech & Digital Marketing Company. At Empire Life, Entrepreneurs are Guided in Launching & Scaling Their Online Empires. Allison is also a Software Developer & Digital Marketing Professor of Facebook Digital Marketing. The Empire Life Podcast also broadcasts interviews with mega successful empire builders from all around the world. The Empire Life Blog...

Sydney Wong is a young, enthusiastic and ambitious entrepreneur, angel investor and speaker. We actually met through virtual coffee when the pandemic first hit.   So how exactly did she get into tech? She got a one-way ticket to Silicon Valley and quickly immersed herself in the world of tech startups.   Now her goal is to bring the Silicon Valley model to Canada through her company VenturX.   Top...

James Sowers is one of the top 50 angel investors in the world, according to Forbes , with over 65 investments and counting. This is all the more impressive since he came from humble beginnings.  James was adopted from South Korea and he was in an orphanage and the first cohort (who) came over in 1974 with Catholic Charities. A couple from Baltimore, Maryland paid only $300.00 for him, as he expla...

What began as just a hobby — creating zines at my dad's print shop, writing songs, teaching herself how to code websites, figuring out this whole Twitter thing — turned into a lifelong passion for helping people communicate with the masses. Suzanne Yada a Facebook and Instagram advertising specialist, a singer-songwriter and a productivity coach for the creative entrepreneur. She spoken at sold-ou...

I met Latrice Huff through virtual coffee on LinkedIn! Truly what a gem of a woman! LaTrice Huff is a Career & Leadership Coach at Talent Stays. She has over 10 years experience in Human Resources and Recruiting. LaTrice received her bachelor's degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing and Marketing. She has helped hundreds of women land a job they love and earn the money...

On this episode, you get to meet my first guest from Europe Miha Matlievski! He is officially called "The Fail Coach"! *Trigger warning discussions on attempted suicide In 2009, Miha had four companies go bankrupt overnight: landing him $5 million in debt. Contemplating suicide to escape the pain as he looked over the balcony, he had a life-saving AH-HA moment. He realized that failure was a norma...

I don't know about you, but I happen to be a huge fan of the Olympic Games. I would go as far to say an Olympics junkie. I have not missed a single Olympic games, whether it is the Winter or Summer Olympics , since the age of five. I resonate with the journey, discipline and struggle that athletes go through to try an achieve massive goals. I'm always amazed when I see sports like track and field,...

I connected with Melissa Rohlfs through a podcast community called SpotaGuest. She is passionate about wholistic health. She takes the concept weight-loss from simply trying to look great to the doing a deep analysis on lifestyle and habits. Key Takeaways: She started to become her journey to become  a holistic health and fitness coach when she was hitting rock bottom with herself and her family....

Alex Carmeli is the queen of building Facebook communities centred around a great mission. In three months she has built a Facebook community of 650 people from scratch called. " We Build Killer Teams: A Community of Purpose Driven Leaders." She is also the author of two books and like me is a millennial entrepreneur. This episode was a treat for me to record, because not only was I getting to int...