The Founder Mindset

Taking the reins of a struggling tech company might seem daunting, but for David Lod, it was an opportunity to build something extraordinary from the ground up. As CEO of VEERUM, David inherited a company facing significant challenges—from financial instability to a fractured internal culture. Rather than backing down, he leaned into the adversity, focusing on refining the company’s core software...

In this episode, Leah sits down with Dr. William Cherniak, the visionary Founder of Rocket Doctor, a digital healthcare platform that's changing the way patients access healthcare. Dr. Cherniak shares how his work inspired his ideas, from his time working in global health in sub-Saharan Africa to his role as an ER physician. From these experiences, his primary goal became finding a way to use tech...

Leah Sarich interviews Jenn Hunter, Co-Founder of PayShepherd, a contractor management platform for heavy industry. They discuss Jenn's journey into entrepreneurship, the challenges of digitizing workflows in heavy industry, and how PayShepherd has transformed contractor-client interactions. They also touch on the experiences of working in a male-dominated field and the changing landscape for wome...

This episode of The Founder Mindset follows the fascinating journey of Co-Founder Megan Leslie’s journey to create NanoTess, a pioneering biotechnology company that is transforming wound care and skin health. Host Leah Sarich explores Megan’s passion for problem-solving, along with the drive and the nagging doubts that come with entrepreneurship. Megan discusses her perfect synergy with her Co-Fou...

Join host Leah Sarich as we hear about Kyle Friedman’s entrepreneurial journey to success with his payment platform Quickly. Kyle makes it clear that there’s no linear path to success in business, but when you have a strong belief in yourself and the possible, great things can happen. Listeners will be inspired by Kyle’s resourcefulness and sheer audacity when it comes to following intuition. He’s...

Chenny Xia is a serial entrepreneur and advocate for health and gender equity. As the CEO of Gotcare, she is transforming how healthcare in the home is delivered regardless of your postal code, including service to over 100 remote communities. Having scaled rapidly across the country, Gotcare has been recently named one of Canada's fastest-growing companies in 2023 by The Globe and Mail. Chenny al...

In this episode of The Founder Mindset, we sit down with Nic Beique, Founder and CEO of Helcim, a payments company making waves in Canada and the U.S. Nic takes us on his entrepreneurial journey, from his early days of building websites at just 15 years old to overcoming obstacles like losing a key business partner. Nic guides us through the trials and tribulations entrepreneurs battle and why he...

In this episode of The Founder Mindset, Leah Sarich sits down with Nuha Siddiqui, the visionary Co-Founder and CEO of Erthos, a climate technology company redefining the building blocks of plastics. Nuha delves into her unexpected journey into entrepreneurship, the pivotal role of Enactus in shaping her path, and the relentless drive to solve the global plastic crisis. With candid insights, she sh...

Welcome to Season Two of The Founder Mindset! Veteran broadcaster Leah Sarich hosts all-new intimate conversations with groundbreaking founders about the truths of entrepreneurship. Founders get asked about traditional business stuff like product market fit and revenue all the time, but Leah digs into what we really want to know: what is it actually like to be a founder? Why do it? What sacrifices...

“Through and through, one of the most competitive entrepreneurs that we’ve invested in, and that’s saying a lot because the bar is pretty high for the competitive average for our entrepreneurs, yea this guy, he will not quit.” —James Lochrie on Provision CEO Erik Westblom  In this episode of The Founder Mindset, Erik Westblom, Co-founder and CEO of Provision, chats with Leah about: Why he wants pe...

“It’s been 13 years… and the way she talks about the future, the way that she talks about how the opportunity has never been greater, she’s never been more excited… It’s easy to understand why we’d make an investment in a person like this.” —James Lochrie on Orpyx CEO Breanne Everett     In this episode of The Founder Mindset, Dr. Breanne Everett, Founder and CEO of Orpyx, chats with Leah about: W...

“This is a guy, an accidental entrepreneur, with a low risk tolerance - a guy who stumbled into entrepreneurship because someone opened a door for him, and now he talks about it like a north star. He’s got it.” —James Lochrie on ZayZoon CEO Darcy Tuer  In this episode of The Founder Mindset, Darcy Tuer, Co-founder and CEO of ZayZoon, chats with Leah about: Why he’s continually drawn to being a fou...

“She believes in a future we can’t see. She believes in challenging herself and creating autonomy for herself. She wants fulfillment that only she can deliver as an entrepreneur to herself” — James Lochrie on AltaML Co-CEO Nicole Janssen  In this episode of The Founder Mindset, Nicole Janssen, Co-founder and Co-CEO of AltaML chats with Leah about: How she was a terrible employee and what she loves...

 “If you want to hear about an entrepreneur act like an entrepreneur, be honest about what it’s like to be an entrepreneur, this is the one I’d pick out. He’s just laid it bare as a young inexperienced entrepreneur who’s struggled and had some success and continues to fight the fight, it’s a really special episode.” — James Lochrie on Arbor CEO Alex Todorovic In this episode of The Founder Mindset...

“You could hear it in her voice: I’ve been trained for this, I’m battle ready, I’ve got the scars, I’ve got my team beside me and I’ve already got my plan. Let’s go do it, it’s just waiting for us, let’s go take the hill.” — James Lochrie on Fillip CEO Alice Reimer  In this episode of The Founder Mindset, Alice Reimer, CEO of Fillip chats with Leah about: why she thinks founders should get some bu...

In this episode of The Founder Mindset, James Lochrie, Managing Partner at Thin Air Labs chats with Leah about: what motivated him to become an entrepreneur then investor  the complicated emotions he had around the acquisition of his company why he continues to support founders, rather than sit on a beach  and more!   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information ab...

Welcome to the re-release of The Founder Mindset Season One!  If you’re ready to nerd out on startups and founders, you’ll want to listen to each conversation host, Leah Sarich, has with the featured founder. Then, stick around for reaction to the episode from James Lochrie.    James is an investor, tech entrepreneur and mentor. You can learn about him in his own episode of The Founder Mindset, Ja...

Well that's a wrap on this miniseries and WOW what a response. You know what this means? We're going to do more episodes!  Stay subscribed to this podcast because in the fall we'll re-release these episodes with reaction from our Managing Partner James Lochrie... find out why he invested in some of the founders we spoke to, and what he's inspired by and relates to in the others.  And we’re startin...

In this episode of The Founder Mindset, Erik Westblom, Co-founder and CEO of Provision, chats with Leah about: Why he wants people to really understand the stress of being a founder  How he thinks about shame as motivation  Why he’ll always be obsessed with the bank balance   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data...

In this episode of The Founder Mindset, Dr. Breanne Everett, Founder and CEO of Orpyx, chats with Leah about: Why she went from surgeon to entrepreneur  How she navigated the premature birth of her first child and fundraising at the same time Why the opportunity for impact keeps her going through the inevitable challenges   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for informat...

In this episode of The Founder Mindset, Darcy Tuer, Co-founder and CEO of ZayZoon, chats with Leah about: Why he’s continually drawn to being a founder How he thinks about rejection  What he’s learned from facing several ‘go or no go’ points in his startup journey   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for adver...

In this episode of The Founder Mindset, Nicole Janssen, Co-founder and Co-CEO of AltaML chats with Leah about: How she was a terrible employee and what she loves about being an entrepreneur What it feels like to learn a major investor is pulling out while you’re on your first vacation in years, and what she learned from that experience   How a life-changing diagnosis has made her a better entrepre...

In this episode of The Founder Mindset, Alex Todorovic, Co-founder and CEO of Arbor chats with Leah about: how the fun part of being a founder is the scrappy startup stage  what he does to calm himself when he wakes panicked in the night why he wants to hold the reins of his company for as long as possible Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our coll...

In this episode of The Founder Mindset, Alice Reimer, CEO of Fillip chats with Leah about: why she thinks founders should get some business experience before starting their startup  how carrying the weight of a startup can get pretty heavy  what keeps her coming back to being a founder, time and again  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collecti...

Season one of this podcast will explore "why would you do this?!" How does one become an entrepreneur, why do they take the risk, how do they cope with negativity, how do they remain resilient, what motivates them and what kind of impact do they want to create in the world? Hear from founders like Alice Reimer of Fillip, Darcy Tuer of ZayZoon and Alex Todorovic of Arbor and more.  The Fo...