Tech About Town by Communitech

Today, we’re cracking the code on modern media. If you’ve ever wondered how a YouTube channel hits millions of subscribers or how a business can actually turn a 'Like' into a 'Lead,' this is the episode for you. In the studio, we have Josh, former content director at Hacksmith entertainment  and is now reinventing the game with Breakfast Serial along with Norm Clare , a master of authentic video s...

They say it’s a small world, but in Waterloo Region, it’s even smaller. In this episode of Tech about Town, Alex Kinsella and Alison Piel prove that you’re never more than a few steps away from a tech founder, an Olympian, or a world-class fundraiser. We’re joined by Jennifer Appleby Vines (CEO of Georgette Packaging ) and Troy Murray (Director of Philanthropy at the Waterloo Regional Health Netwo...

In this episode, we are joined by two founders who are taking a sledgehammer to the 'status quo.'  Ren Navarro , founder of B Diversity Group , has spent years changing the face of the craft beer and beverage industry by making space for everyone at the table.  Stefanie Bruinsma , founder of AutoCate , is on a mission to put the power back in the hands of car owners—specifically those who...

We often talk about 'product-market fit,' but we rarely talk about 'people-founder fit' at the executive level. Today, we’re diving into the human engine behind high-growth tech.  Joining us on the podcast is Kristina McDougall , the founder of Artemis Canada . Kristina has spent her career in the trenches of the Waterloo and Toronto tech scenes, helping some of the country’s most successful start...

What does it take to create a hyperlocal internet radio station? We found out when Deren Atkins joined us LIVE in the Communitech Hub to talk about Midtown Radio . The station is a community-building initiative run a small, dedicated group of volunteers. The goal? To develop and grow a community-based, online radio station, that plays local music and podcasts, as well as small amounts of community...

How do you move a medical breakthrough from a lab bench to a hospital bedside? In this episode of Tech About Town , Jill Mills and Alex Kinsella sit down with Elliot Fung , Executive Director of the Medical Innovation Xchange (MIX) . Founded to bridge the gap between startup graduation and commercial scale, MIX is the heartbeat of the Waterloo Region’s med-tech ecosystem. Elliot pulls back the cur...

Ever tried to find the specific bylaws for a backyard fence or the rules for keeping chickens on a city website? If you’ve felt the frustration of digging through endless PDFs and broken search bars, you aren’t alone. Even the experts find it daunting. In this episode of Tech About Town , hosts Alex Kinsella and Matthew Klassen sit down with Kristy Guthrie (Co-Founder & CEO) and Kerry Fraser (...

The physical keyboard is back, and it is arguably cooler than ever. In this episode of Tech About Town , hosts Alex Kinsella and Alison Piel are joined by the minds behind the breakout hits of CES 2026: the Clicks Communicator and the new Power Keyboard. Jeff Gadway (CMO at Clicks) and Joseph Hofer (Founder of Hofer Studio and former lead industrial designer at BlackBerry) discuss how they are cha...

Kick off 2026 by turning the "saddest day of the year" into the loudest! In this episode, host Alex Kinsella sits down with Ruth Casselman (CEO of the Accelerator Center) and Rick Andrade (Senior Communications Manager at Magnet Forensics) to discuss the second annual Battle of the Bands: Tech Edition . Discover how the Waterloo tech community is coming together on Monday, January 19, 20...

How does a city of nearly 300,000 people stay ahead of the technological curve? In this episode of Tech About Town , we sit down with Nicole Amaral , Director of the Digital Kitchener Innovation Lab , to discuss the evolution of Kitchener's digital strategy. Since its inception in 2017, the Digital Kitchener Innovation Lab has served as an experimental hub within the Communitech Hub, bridging...

Commuting by bike helps the environment and is great for your health, but getting from point A to point B isn’t always easy. That was part of the motivation for Mark Connolly and team behind Cycling Guide, a mobile app that shows cyclists the least stressful paths to get where they need to go. Mark joins us on the podcast to talk about the inspiration behind the app, which uses community-maintaine...

One of the things we talk about constantly on this show is that 'tech' isn't just about code or hardware—it's about the people who build it and the community that supports them. And if you’ve been part of the Waterloo Region ecosystem for any length of time, you know that building a truly inclusive community takes work, passion, and boots-on-the-ground leadership. That is exactly w...

Ask Dinah Davis about the state of women in tech, and she’ll tell you we’re moving forward, but not nearly far enough. It’s a perspective shaped by her own path, from computer science student at the University of Lethbridge to founder of Code Like A Girl ( Medium and Substack ), a community built to elevate the stories of women and non-binary people in tech. On this episode of Tech About Town , Di...

You can learn a lot from your successes, but you can learn even more from your failures. Mike Kirkup joins us for his record-breaking third appearance on the podcast to talk about lessons learned from his experience launching and folding his last startup, Arlo. Over the last few weeks, Mike has been sharing stories on LinkedIn, from why avoiding a Salesforce integration was the wrong decision to w...

When most people think about innovation, they think startups or software. But at KidsAbility , innovation is happening inside a non-profit — reshaping how therapy and rehabilitation services are delivered for kids and families across Waterloo Region. We’re joined by Brendan Wylie-Toal, the Director of Research and Innovation at KidsAbility and KidsAbility Rocket Research Centre , to talk about how...

Tourism might not be the first thing you associate with tech—but it should be. In this episode, we talk with Ashley Lansink from Explore Waterloo Region about the unexpected connection between tourism and tech and why both are critical for economic development in our community. Ashley walks us through how the team markets Waterloo Region to leisure travellers, sport organizers, and business event...

Every founder needs trust and connection. So does every community. In this episode, we sit down with Eric Avner , President and CEO of the Waterloo Region Community Foundation , to explore what it means to build a thriving community—socially, financially, and systemically. Eric explains how WRCF is investing in long-term, intergenerational impact: from managing over 420 community funds and endowme...

What does it mean to be community-first in a tech ecosystem? In this episode, we check in with Communitech CEO Sheldon McCormick to reflect on his first five (LinkedIn says six!) months on the job and look ahead to what’s next. From AI adoption to KW Oktoberfest lederhosen, we talk about building momentum, reconnecting the region’s tech community, and why Sheldon believes the “return to office” is...

There are over 71 million people acting as caregivers for their parents in North America, spending an average of 26 hours a week with everything from grocery shopping to health and wellness care.  It’s a burden that we all should take on with grace, but a little help wouldn’t hurt. In this episode, we sit down with Jacqui Murphy and Mike Kirkup , two of Waterloo Region’s most respected tech leader...

When you’re building a startup, resources are scarce. Time. Money. People. Unfortunately that means founders make trade offs that might hurt them in the long run. One of the first things to be put on the “...we’ll get to it list” is branding and marketing. But building a great product isn’t enough, especially in a crowded space or a new category where customer education is critical to success. Our...

Whether you're navigating return-to-office policies, figuring out how to adopt AI safely, or rethinking your total rewards strategy, HR leaders are facing more complexity than ever. That’s where SocialHRCamp KW comes in. It’s a one-night event bringing together HR and People & Culture professionals for honest conversations, actionable insights, and community support. In this episode, we’re joi...

Originally released on May 28, 2025 He's six weeks into the job, and  ⁠Communitech's new CEO, Sheldon McCormick,⁠  has some thoughts. On this episode of Tech About Town, we've got Sheldon in the studio with hosts Alex Kinsella and Rosie Del Campo to talk about what startups need, what the community needs, and what the 27-year-old organization needs to do differently to help tech companies start, g...

Waterloo Region's tech community is built on events. From founder meetup to hardtech hikes to panel discussion (yeah, even panel discussions), getting together IRL is back and better than ever. On this episode of Tech About Town, our own events specialist Victoria Harrison joins us in the studio with Shriaa Sheth , Events & Communitiy Engagement Specialist at the Accelerator Centre, to dig int...

Whether it was a PSA on TV or inside a bus, we’ve all learned the FAST method for detecting a stroke. Each year, 12 million people suffer a stroke—and unfortunately, six million of those end in death.  Kevin Macwan and Purvish Soni quit their day jobs to launch Sensible Vascular . They are developing a faster, safer, and more effective thromboectomy solution to remove clots to provide better patie...

We’re trading silicon for shiitake with Stephanie Lipp, co‑founder of MycoFutures . The biomaterials startup is turning mushroom mycelium into a fully biodegradable alternative to leather. Think handbags that sprout from a lab, not a feedlot. Stephanie and her partner Leo Gillis grow mycelium sheets that rival leather for strength and feel, while slashing water, energy, and chemical use. Stephanie...