The Hard Part with Evan McCann

Avi Goldfarb is a Professor at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, the Rotman Chair in Artificial Intelligence and Healthcare, as well as the co-author of two bestselling books on AI and its economic impact. In this episode, we discuss Avi's books, the impacts of AI and his work with Creative Destruction Lab. Avi's personal site with links to his books and work.

Matthew Lombardi is the Managing Director of OneEleven . OneEleven is home to a community of high-performing technology scaleups, providing unparalleled access to peer networks, investment capital and on-demand services and strategic support. In this episode, we discuss Matthew’s impactful initiative during the pandemic, what it means to build community and what makes OneEleven unique.

Tate Hackert is the Founder and President of ZayZoon . ZayZoon provides Wages On-Demand so employees can access their earned wages before payday and a financial wellness platform that teaches employees how to use those wages wisely and efficiently. In this episode we discuss Tate’s time in Hong Kong, his RV tour across the United States and the major impact ZayZoon creates.

Salim Teja is a Partner at Radical Ventures . Radical Ventures is a venture capital firm investing in entrepreneurs applying deep technology to transform massive industries, with a primary focus on machine learning and artificial intelligence. In this episode we discuss Salim’s background as a founder, he gives me a history lesson on AI in Canada and we discuss where the AI space is going. Check o...

Sheryl Song is the co-founder and CEO of Ryna . Ryna is an apartment rental marketplace with the mission to make renting & living easier, safer and more attainable for the new generation of renters. In this episode, we discuss Sheryl’s original focus when starting Ryna, how it has changed and what the future of Ryna looks like.

Mila Banerjee is the founder of Pronti AI . Pronti recommends retailers' products to the right customer, giving them the right type of exposure. Their apparel products get merchandized with users’ closet items. In this episode, we discuss Mila’s early days in pharma and the difference between machine learning and AI.

Matt Hollingsworth is the founder of Align . Align is a remote-first executive recruitment that gives you qualified candidates without wasted effort. In this episode, we discuss Matt's early days at Tiny, strategies founders can use to hire effectively and the discuss the ongoing debate between remote and in-person.

Mallory Greene is the co-founder and CEO of Eirene . Eirene provides a modern and caring approach to cremation services. Arrangements can be made from the comfort of your home with the support of their funeral directors, online or over the phone. In this episode, we discuss Mallory’s days as an early employee at Wealthsimple, what inspired her to start Eirene and what it’s like building a business...

Jared Henriques is the Founder of Renga. Renga is a group of creative thinkers & makers that build brands the future can be proud of. In this episode, we discuss how Jared started Renga, what he means by brand therapy and how founders should think about brand.

John Ruffolo is the Founder & Managing Partner of Maverix Private Equity . Maverix is a private equity firm focused on technology-enabled growth and disruption. They look for great entrepreneurs interested in globally scaling their business and looking for a financial partner to invest at least USD $50M to $75M in the business. In this episode, we discuss how John started OMERS Ventures, the s...

Vivek Ramaswami is a partner at Madrona . Madrona is a seed, early stage and acceleration-stage investor. Investing for over 25 years in startups in the Pacific NW, now investing across the US in machine learning, AI, marketplaces, devops, biotech and across the technology spectrum. In this episode, we discuss Vivek’s investing career which has included stops at Goldman Sachs, Redpoint Ventures, S...

Jesse Rodgers is the co-founder of Eigenspace . Eigenspace makes investments with a combination of money, time and network access. They are investing in, building and connecting University of Waterloo students and alumni builders. In this episode we discuss Jesse’s journey through Velocity and CDL, co-founding his own company and why Canada needs more early-stage investment.

Michael Hyatt is an active investor and entrepreneur. In this episode, we discuss Michael's first venture, what founders he likes to invest in, the founding of Creative Destruction Lab and a look at the Canadian tech space.

Simon Sokol is a Vice President at Relay Ventures . Relay Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in passionate entrepreneurs disrupting and creating new markets through mobile technologies. In this episode, we discuss Simon’s path into venture, why he co-founded his own fund Gambit Partners and his thoughts on the Canadian venture space.

Matias Marquez is the founder of ethos. ethos is a white-label digital asset platform on a mission to accelerate the world’s mass adoption of digital assets by facilitating rich experiences for both brands and their customers. In this episode, we discuss the NFTs, crypto and blockchain and how brands are leveraging NFTs and the ethos platform to create a better customer experience.

Saud Aziz is the co-founder of Vault. Vault is a banking platform built for global Canadian businesses. In this episode, we discuss Saud’s time at KOHO and Revolut, why he started Vault and the Canadian banking landscape.

Alyssa Atkins is the founder of Lilia. Lilia makes the end-to-end egg-freezing process feel fast and easy, working with top egg-freezing doctors and saving you thousands. In this episode, we discuss the impact Lilia has had on women’s lives, tactics on how to test initial business ideas and what the Y Combinator experience was like.

Rob Fraser is the founder of Outway. Outway makes performance socks for the pursuit of personal bests. In this episode, we discuss why Rob decided to focus on socks, how he thinks about cash flow and the nuances of designing an apparel product.

Daniel Eberhard is the founder of KOHO. KOHO is a Fintech company rooted in the belief that better financial solutions for all Canadians exist. In this episode, we discuss Daniel’s early days starting a renewable energy company, why he has focused on helping Canada’s underbanked and how views on building a great team. How Daniel used $1000 to raise $1M.

Jason Warner is a Managing Director at Redpoint Ventures . Since 1999, Redpoint Ventures has partnered with visionary founders to create new markets and redefine existing ones. In this episode, we discuss Jason’s time as CTO of GitHub, how he has built his career while working remotely and his move into early-stage investing.

Jim Pattison is the Chairman and CEO of The Jim Pattison Group. The Jim Pattison Group is a multi-industry conglomerate with sales of over $12B a year and more than 50,000 employees, The Jim Pattison Group is one of the largest private companies in Canada. In this episode, we discuss Jim’s early days selling cars, how he looks at talent and his philanthropy.

Ameet Shah is a partner at Golden Ventures . Golden Ventures is a leading seed-stage venture capital fund, based in Toronto and investing across North America. In this episode, we discuss Ameet’s early career, how he got into early-stage investing and what he looks for in founders he wants to invest in.

Dave Wessinger is the co-founder of PointClickCare . PointClickCare is the market leader driving the transformation of healthcare vulnerable and complex populations through a broad, connected care network powered by deep insights. In this episode, we discuss how Dave and his brother started PointClickCare over 20 years ago and have turned it into a multi-billion dollar business with thousands of e...

William Johnson is the founder of Vancouver Tech Journal (now part of Overstory Media Group ). Vancouver Tech Journal uncovers and tells the stories that matter in Vancouver's tech ecosystem. They have a daily and a twice-weekly newsletter. In this episode, we discuss how William started Vancouver Tech Journal, their acquisition by Overstory Media Group and what William thinks about monetizing med...

Zain Manji is the co-founder of Lazer Technologies. Lazer is a digital product studio designed to help successful enterprises bring ideas to market faster and more successfully. In this episode, we discuss Zain’s early work experience at Yelp, Google and Instagram, how he and his co-founders came up with their first venture Fiix (acquired by Wrench) and Zain’s thoughts on building great products.