The Entrepreneur Podcast

With the increasing encroachment of the digital world on our personal and professional lives, we are in desperate need of guides. Cal Newport might be one of them. Newport is a professor of Computer Science at Georgetown University, and a New York Times Best-selling author of seven books, which include So Good They Can't Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion In The Quest For Work You Love (2012), D...

In May, 2021, Zita Cobb became the first social entrepreneur inducted into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame. As a social activist, she was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 2016, for her hand in revitalizing the community of Fogo Island. Above all these accolades, Zita Cobb is a community builder. After a fast-paced career in the technology space, Cobb, retired in her early 40s before foun...

Fast Company called her one of the most creative people in business. Business Insider named her as one of the Silicon Valley’s top 100. And Ad Age says she’s one of the women to watch. And why not? Sukhinder Singh Cassidy has had quite the career. Most recently, she was the President of StubHub, prior to which she co-founded a number of companies, and held senior roles at Amazon and Google. At Goo...

Spin Master is one of the great Canadian success stories. Go to any corner of the world, and you will find young girls and boys playing with Spin Master toys. Ben Varadi, HBA ’94 , was there at the beginning, running manufacturing (despite having little expertise in the area). Today, Varadi is the company’s Chief Creative Officer, and his unique strengths have found a perfect home in the art of to...

The mention of Tequila often induces a strong reaction, and Eric Brass was no exception. “I had the same misconception that most people have about tequila — that disgusting shot in a seedy bar at a horrible hour of the night. It’s the most misunderstood and misrepresented spirit in the world.” But something happened on a study trip to Mexico that changed Brass’ career trajectory, leading him to co...

Ivey Lecturer and Serial Entrepreneur David Simpson, MBA ’88, sat down virtually with David Bentall to discuss his latest book, “Dear Younger Me,” where Bentall discusses important lessons for next generation leaders through his personal journey, as well as those gleaned from mentoring and supporting advisors, and prominent Canadian business families. For over two decades, David Bentall worked for...

Since graduating in 2007, Nicole Verkindt has had quite the ride. From her first job as the ‘hot walker’ at the Woodbine Racetrack, to learning sales on the fly with a Belgium firm, Verkindt founded OMX (Offset Market Exchange), a powerful procurement platform for various complex supply chain industries. Working with major International players like Lockheed Martin and British Aerospace, Verkindt...

Rachel Zimmer is the General Manager of Entrepreneur First, a $140M fund that bets on people first, and then coaches them to find their breakthrough ideas. Zimmer understands this process well because it’s exactly how she started her company, 5Crowd (acquired by sgsco). In this episode, Rachel walks us through her own ideation process, the criteria that she used to filter her business ideas, and t...

The word ‘entrepreneur’ conjures a very specific image. Picture a white male from Stanford, or Harvard, who is bold, brash, and ready to change the world – and you're halfway there. From the icons of the 1980s like Larry Ellison, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, to today’s Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos, to name a few, the legend of the entrepreneur has outgrown its former confines. But are t...

In our latest series, you’re invited to sit in on Eric Janssen’s Hustle & Grit course, taking place virtually at the Ivey Business School. Each episode explores an entrepreneur’s journey, their key learnings, and questions from our eager, aspiring student entrepreneurs. In this episode, Andrew D’Souza Co-Founder and CEO of Clearbanc shares stories and lessons learned as he transitioned from a...

Chatham local Colin Chrysler, was on his way to the Island of Palau for a few weeks of surfing and brewing beer, when some visa complications left him stranded in British Columbia. With few days to kill at the epicenter of Canada’s growing craft beer industry, Colin decided to make the most of his time and sought out a meeting with fellow Chatham natives, Alf and Doug Hunter, who had created a for...

Inc.com called her one of the “10 Greatest Salespeople of All Time.” For 13 years, Erica Feidner was a sales representative (later elevated to Executive Sales Representative) at the prestigious high-end piano maker, Steinway & Sons., where she sold over $40 million worth of instruments. Feidner’s fascinating journey has been spotlighted across print and visual media, featured in Forbes, Canadi...

This isn’t anyone’s Plan A. We are living through a live case study of an unprecedented global pandemic, and many of your colleagues who had their dream jobs lined up after graduation have found the rug pulled out from under them. COVID-19 has forced hundreds of thousands of new grads to change their plans entirely — and not to their Plan B ‘fall back option’ but to something entirely different. S...

There is no shortage of descriptors for Ron Close, HBA ’81: a seasoned entrepreneur, leader, educator, coach with a small ‘c’, board member, investor, etc. A graduate from one of Ivey's most 'entrepreneurial classes (1981),' Ron was the co-founder and CEO of Netcom Canada, one of Canada's earliest and most successful Internet companies. After selling Netcom, Ron spent a number of years in executiv...

David Ciccarelli started his entrepreneurial journey when he opened his own independent studio. He ended up partnering with his first customer (now his wife), and building the world's largest library of voice talent: Voices.com. Voices.com has grown exponentially since raising $18M USD from Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital and the organization is continuing on an aggressive growth trajectory with...

In the fall of 2019, Eric Morse sat down with three impressive entrepreneurs to discuss their journey, and lessons learned on resourcing for high growth, shaping culture, and learning from past mistakes. On the latest edition of the Ivey Entrepreneur Podcast, Eric Brass, HBA ’05, Founder of Tequila Tromba, Debbie Fung, Co-Founder of Yoga Tree Studios, and Anton Rabie, HBA ’94, Co-Founder and Co-CE...

Flashfood has become well known across North America as a grocery app that helps you save money and reduce food waste. With massive grocery partners like Loblaws, Farm Boy and Meijer, Flashfood is quickly becoming a household name. All too often, entrepreneurial success stories skip the messy middle: the details, mis-steps and failures along the way to their ultimate success - in this episode Josh...

Greg Clark started College Pro Painters out of desperation in 1971 when he was only 17 years old. He needed to pay for university and realized his summer job wasn’t going to cover his tuition, so he went door-to-door to sell his first painting job…without knowing how to paint! Clark landed his first job, and learned quickly how to deliver on his promise to customers. He went on to expand the busin...

Despite all the buzz about diversity and inclusion, few companies make it a true investment priority. We need to start bringing intention, rather than just good intentions to the process. The fact that critical decisions are being made without the perspective of half of the population is particularly concerning in tech because of the ever-increasing role that machines in general and AI in particul...

Staying at home has created an opportunity for many to learn new skills; whether it is a new language, how to code, or make bread. Before you start your next learning opportunity, wouldn't it make sense to learn HOW to learn so that the process is more effective, efficient, and fun? On this weeks podcast, Eric Janssen is joined by Andre Neagoie, a software developer, turned entrepreneur, and curre...

With millions forced to stay indoors due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the concept of Work from Home (WFH) has gone mainstream. Working from home has its benefits: Reduced commutes, added convenience, increased family time, and has made it far more acceptable to wear sweatpants to "work". At the same time, this new working dynamic has created complexities in how we communicate, especially as we add...

Each year, a third of all HBA2 students get to hear Dave Simpson’s Top Ten, a collection of personal business stories that speak to how even the best-laid plans can come apart through foreseen circumstances. As the coronavirus continues to impact businesses across the globe, many of Dave’s former students have reconnected to share their frustrations of opportunities lost, and how they have been re...

Early this year Janet Bannister, HBA ’92, became the first woman to lead one of Canada’s largest early-stage VC firms. Janet has built her career on quickly figuring out what matters, and then becoming the best in the world at those things. She has had a diverse career, with roles at Procter & Gamble (P&G), McKinsey & Co., and eBay, which led to her founding the online marketplace, Kij...

Mona Sabet is a technology sector deal maker, an entrepreneur, a diversity advocate, and a community builder. With over 20 years of experience in driving inorganic growth for technology businesses from startup to public company, Mona has cultivated an expertise in formulating, structuring and negotiating strategic initiatives that power corporate growth. She has negotiated hundreds of technology d...

Wealthsimple is building the world's most human financial services company. Yes, the company most well known for raising near $300M to disrupt traditional financial services companies by leveraging 'robo-advisors' is on a mission to be more human. The brainchild of Ivey HBA ’09, Michael Katchen, the company today, manages almost $7 bllion in assets, and employs more than 300 people. Katchen sat do...