Steal From the Best

In this episode of Steal From the Best , we sit down with Steven E. Orr, the Founder and CEO of Quasar Markets and one of the most distinctive voices in fintech, trading, and digital assets. With more than 34 years of experience in finance, media, government, and sports, Steven brings a uniquely broad perspective to the future of markets and technology. Steven shares the story of his career, from...

In this episode of Steal From the Best , we sit down with Adam Olenn , Founder of Rustle & Spark and a leading expert in story-driven branding, communication, and human connection. Adam brings over 25 years of experience helping organizations around the world craft powerful narratives that inspire action, build trust, and elevate brands. Adam shares the early influences that shaped his storytellin...

Katie Duarte is the founder of Action Potential Solutions and is a leading expert on feedback dynamics and organizational psychology.  She's on a mission to revolutionize how feedback is handled in the workplace. Leveraging an MSc in Organizational Psychology, where she conducted her own research on feedback dynamics, and professional certifications in both training and development and organizatio...

Mark Brender is National Director of Partners in Health Canada, a global health and social justice NGO relentlessly committed to improving the health of the poor and marginalized.  Starting from a one-room clinic in Haiti more than 30 years ago, Partners in Health today serves millions of patients each year across 11 countries, working to deliver high quality health care, address the root causes o...

Coach Joey Greany has over two decades of experience working with elite professional athletes.  He's currently one of the Major League Strength and Conditioning Coaches with the Tampa Bay Rays where he's been for almost 7 years.  Outside of the Rays, he provides performance coaching for athletes and teams, executive fitness coaching, and corporate fitness consulting services.  With the Tampa Bay R...

Tim Bakker, a former professional football player discusses his transition from a competitive athletic career to the corporate world.  The Discussion touches on the specialization of sports in youth, the challenges of balancing multiple sports, the pressure on young athletes, the CFL draft experience, the business aspect of professional sports, and the adjustment period from Canadian collegiate to...

Raymond, a multi-talented individual, embraces the roles of an entrepreneur, musician, and co-founder of Podcast Connection.  When the COVID pandemic led to the indefinite suspension of live music shows, Raymond faced the necessity to shift away from the music entertainment industry. Undeterred by his lack of prior experience and capital, he embarked on a bootstrapped journey to establish a compan...

We chat with Eric Saumure, Principal at Zenbooks, an online accounting firm.  He's not your traditional accountant.  While he's formally trained as an accountant (CPA, CA), he has experience advising C-Suite executives and business owners on all areas of business finance, including succession planning, restructuring, building processes, and managing remote teams.  Eric was tired of the big firm fe...

Matt Haycox's story is one of a mistake-maker turned hugely successful entrepreneur.  From starting in business at age 16 to becoming the UK's biggest strip club owner by 27, with businesses in leisure, property, retail, and finance, then bankrupt by 28!  Matt went on to rebuild his life and business as a lender and investor using lessons learned from his failures and now provides funding to SME b...

Christopher is the President and CEO of Storewise, Inc., a technology company that builds automation software for food retailers.  Christopher authored the book, "8 Steps to Overcoming Everyday Adversity," which was endorsed by several leaders including the former Vice Chairman of the US Join Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Bill Owens.  In 2022, Christopher's book received The Maxy Award's runner-up in t...

Chris Dreyer is the CEO and Founder of Rankings.io, an SEO agency that helps elite personal injury law firms land serious injury and auto accident cases through Google's organic search results.  His company has the distinction of making the Inc. 5000 list 5 years in a row.   In addition to owning and operating Rankings, Chris is the Wall Street Journal and USA Today best-selling author of "Niching...

Carl Orsbourn is a global retail executive and board member whose experience spans blue-chip companies, disruptive start-up ventures (Juicer Pricing & Kitchen United), and restaurants (Alfa Co).  Carl has been recognized as a power player by Nations Restaurant News and Business Insider for his thought leadership in supporting restaurants to adapt to the challenges and opportunities offered through...

Maggie Kolkena, MSOD is the author of Today for Tomorrow: A Field Guide to Scenario Planning.  She is the founder of Third Thought Consulting and brings over 25 years of expertise in providing leadership development experiences.  Enabling innovation has been a strong theme in Maggie's work.  Her first career was in performing arts which helped shape her entrepreneurial journey. Maggie has a distin...

In this follow-up episode, we again talk with Mike Orr.  The first episode with Mike was released back in January 2020.  Since then, lots has changed for Mike as he's currently enjoying a sabbatical after a 10 year run co-founding, building and successfully exiting Grapevine6 the SaaS leader in Social Selling in the Wealth Management, Banking and B2B Sales Space.  In his last role at Seismic, the...

Lindsay Knowlton has a long history in golf.  Her dad got her interested in the sport when she was 14 (because he needed a friend to play with!).  Shortly after taking up the game (and finally getting the ball off the ground), Lindsay got the golf bug.  Lindsay started playing in competitive events which earned her a full scholarship to Ohio State University where she was the captain of the team a...

Alyson Walker is the Chief Commercial Officer at OverActive Media, a global esports company focused on building winning franchises and creating unrivaled fan experiences.  Alyson has extensive experience in the sports & entertainment industries and a proven track record for success and leadership as demonstrated in her previous roles.  Alyson was part of the team that brought the 2010 Vancouver Ol...

Wylie McGraw is a former Star Pitcher, Competitive Bull Rider, and 3-Tour Combat Veteran.  It was through those intense experiences that he discovered his crazy superpower of being able to expose blind spots, erupt and eradicate stress, and fully unleash the untapped potential of high achievers.  He's the founder of Radical Performance Acceleration and for well over a decade now he has built his b...

Jonathan Fodera is the Founder, Director, and CEO of Integrated Business Financing.  He primarily works with small businesses helping owners grow and scale their businesses.  His experience took him from Wall Street to the world of entrepreneurship and he shares the tales of his journey.  Jonathan is highly skilled in banking, business development, entrepreneurship, and business planning.  We talk...

Jacob was the 9th overall draft pick in the 2009 MLB draft by the Detroit Tigers.  He spent the next 11 years playing professional baseball and spent time at the MLB level with 5 MLB teams.  Upon transitioning out of baseball, Jacob founded JL Strategic Wealth.  They focus solely on helping clients such as athletes, entrepreneurs, and second-generation navigate sudden wealth.  We discuss Jacob's b...

Since 1988, Hal Johnson has been encouraging Canadians to lead a healthy and active lifestyle under the umbrella of BodyBreak.  Anybody who grew up watching television in the 80s and 90s would be familiar with both Johnson and his wife, Joanne McLeod.  They recorded over 300 90-second episodes of BodyBreak.  The show focuses on how exercise can be incorporated into daily life.  The program was con...

Steve Holmes is the President and CEO of ICL Management Inc. which provides executive management to numerous operating companies around the world.  One of the key investments is Goba Sports Group where Steve serves as Chief Activity Officer.  Goba's first investment was Springfree Trampoline where Steve serves as Chief Bounding Officer.  Steve is actively involved in charitable services and invest...

Carl English is a former professional basketball player who had stints across various leagues including the NBA.  Carl represented Canada on the National Team from 2004-2016.  Following the completion of his professional basketball career, he moved back to his roots in Newfoundland and founded CE23 Academy, a leading basketball academy committed to the development and progress of youth in Newfound...

Clive Caldwell is the President and CEO of Cambridge Group of Companies which include the Cambridge Club, Adelaide Club and The Athletic club located in the heart of the financial district in downtown Toronto.  He has established a highly successful company that has continued to improve and flourish after 40+ years. Clive has an incredible entrepreneurial journey that started with real estate inve...

Our discussion with Greg Brady was so good, that we had to break it into 2 episodes to share all of the wisdom that Greg shares with his well-grounded opinions.  If you haven't listened to the previous episode with Greg, you should hear it before proceeding with this one.  This episode contains a candid conversation where we talk about some of the current events that we're all facing.  Greg is a t...

One of Toronto's most recognized radio voices, Greg has been with CORUS and AM640 hosting Toronto Today since 2019 when he crossed over from SPORTSNET 590, The Fan after 9.5 years. He shares his journey through media and the challenges he has faced along the way.  Greg talks about the importance of living for the moment and how he has hustled throughout his career to obtain the success that he see...