The Entrepreneurs

On February 1, 2026, the Canadian Olympic team entered the iconic San Siro Stadium in Milan for the Armonia segment of the opening ceremony of the 25th Olympic Winter Games. The official jeweller to the team was Regina-based Hillberg & Berk, a company founded in 2007 by Rachel Mielke. For a company that started on Rachel’s kitchen table, it was another step in a remarkable business story. “I a...

When the United States attacked Iran in April of 2026, Hugh Loomans was already making plans to reroute agricultural supplies head to his Hamilton, Ontario-based company, Sylvite. Staying on top of global events and responding quickly has been key to Hugh’s success as an entrepreneur. When Russia attacked Ukraine, Hugh pivoted the same way he did when the Soviet Union collapsed in the 1980s. As an...

Connor Curran’s entrepreneurial journey is a master class in starting a business with nothing, nada, zip, zilch – other than gumption. Determined to be the master of his working destiny, Connor moved to Sweden to clear his head and study entrepreneurism.  He searched the web for instructions on how to set up a T-shirt company and simply started. No business plan, no money, no product. Why T-s...

Terry Fox worked his way down the rocky shoreline of Newfoundland just outside the city limits of St John’s and dipped his artificial leg in the Atlantic Ocean. He bottled water that lapped at the shore and turned west on his Marathon of Hope – a marathon that brought attention to fighting cancer through research. That was on April 12, 1980. Little did Allen and Connie Eaves know that Terry’s crus...

“If you need anything, just whistle!” is Ron Foxcroft’s signature signoff. He is the grandfather of the professional referee whistle. His story is a journey of the determination to survive. As a teen, his dream of being the quarterback for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats was shattered due to a sporting injury. His ambition shattered; he became a basketball referee, which was a part-time job. It wasn’t eno...

Imagine standing on a mountain in Tibet only to see a monk pull a mobile phone from their pocket. If you’re like Amanda Hall, the founder of Summit Nanotech, you’d be thinking, “What the heck is that person going to do with a mobile phone? They’ve taken a vow of silence.” To her amazement, the monk started typing a text. As if that wasn’t a mind blowing revelation, you’d also have to be Amanda Hal...

There are moments you measure your life by, as in before and after. For Danny Sitnam, that day was late August in 1977. He was working as a line cook at the Owl and Oarsman up on a hill overlooking Vancouver. He was taking a break when a helicopter landed in the field next to the restaurant. Little did he know, within the next 30 minutes his life would change. The pilot offered him a ride and, fro...