The Hard Part with Evan McCann

Kate Bouchard is the CEO and Founder of Loba Wellness . Loba helps people create healthy habits by bringing technology and smart design to the wellness-minded. They are building a platform that streamlines pill and supplement management for consumers, practitioners, and suppliers - starting with our smart supplement organizer and the Loba App. Takeaways Branding and building an emotional connectio...

Ezio Bondi and Matt DuPerrouzel are the Founders of arte* . arte* offers innovative, consciously-sourced, fresh and creative salad kits. They keep the environment front-of-mind and support local farms and producers, making every meal both a feel-good and a win-win. Takeaways Bondi Produce started as a family business and has grown to become Ontario's largest food service provider. How Bondi ha...

Jordan McFarlen is the Managing Director at Conexus Venture Capital. Conexus Venture Capital  (CVC) has launched its second $30M VC fund with a $15M first close from its founder,  Conexus Credit Union . With Fund II and new leadership, the Regina-based VC firm aims to build on the groundwork laid by its  first fund  and Conexus-founded incubator  Cultivator . Through its latest fund, CVC plans to...

Taz Singh is the Founder of Guild . Guild is an all-in-one platform for events, presentations, and discussions designed to reduce the burden as communities scale. Takeaways People management is a crucial aspect of software development, and building trust within a team is essential for success. One-on-one meetings focused on annoyances and aspirations can help understand what motivates individuals...

Alanna Lopes Souza is the Seed GM at Drive Capital . Drive Capital is a venture capital firm that invests in innovative companies with the potential for significant growth. Founded in 2013 by two former partners at Sequoia Capital, the firm focuses on investing in technology, healthcare, and consumer companies across various stages, from early to growth stage. Drive Capital aims to support entrepr...

Josh Gray is the Co-Founder of Artemis . Artemis aims to automate data cleaning for analytics and AI. Takeaways Josh's first venture Guelph Box. Artemis genesis story. Data quality is crucial for companies to leverage AI. Healthcare and B2B SaaS are industries that have shown great traction for Artemis. Building a strong co-founder relationship. Making mistakes and learning from the. Raising c...

Tim Lynn is the Co-Founder of Startup TNT and a General Partner at TNT Capital. Startup TNT connects local startups and entrepreneurs with angels, supporters, and other investors. To date, we have invested over $11.5M in 90+ companies across Western Canada. Their goal is to help you build your startup from your hometown, providing the network, community, and capital to make that happen. Their flag...

Antoine Nivard  is a Co-Founder and General Partner at  Blank Ventures , a $65M inaugural fund, where he invests in seed-stage enterprise and fintech software. Prior to founding Blank, he had the opportunity to help raise funds and establish Inovia Capital in Silicon Valley and was fortunate to partner with founders building companies like  LightspeedCommerce  (NYSE:LSPD),  1Password ,  Magical , ...

Tyson Birchall is the Managing Director of Longbow Capital . Longbow Capital is a private equity investment management company based in Calgary, Alberta that invests in the North American energy, power and technology sectors. They invest in innovative companies that are doing things differently; companies that help bring energy to the world in the most efficient, cost effective and environmentally...

Craig Follett is the Co-Founder and CEO of Peggy . Peggy is the social marketplace to buy and sell contemporary art. Peggy partners with galleries and artists, to make living with art accessible to all. Finally, you can buy incredible art at a price you can afford, and can later rehome an artwork with a fellow collector if your tastes change. Peggy does good by the artists themselves, who can fina...

Moien Giashi is a Principal at GreenSky Ventures . GreenSky Capital is one of the top Canadian venture capital firms (according to CVCA 2021, 2022, 2023) with a focus on early-stage Canadian startups in B2B SaaS and deeptech. Takeaways Transitioning from academia to venture. Deep tech investments require strong IP and moat. There is a perception of higher risk and longer wait times for returns in...

Rebecca Mazzara is the Founder and CEO of Calita Intimates . Underwear is our most intimate piece of clothing. Calita believes you should have it all. Beautiful, comfortable underwear - made ethically. Use code:  EVAN20  for 20% off your Calita order! Takeaways -Being an early hire on the Shopify Plus team -How Rebecca met her first manufacturer and designed her first run of product. -The importan...

Marley Alles is the Founder of rax . rax is Canada's peer-to-peer wardrobe rental app. You can borrow, lend, sell, and buy clothes all on one platform. You can make and save money on your closet Takeaways -Non-technical founder learning no code low code tools and finding SWEs. -Managing logistics on a local and national level. -Building, scaling and maintaining a marketplace. -Driving repeat u...

Vaneezeh Siddiqui is an Investor at Thomson Reuters Ventures . Thomson Reuters Ventures is an early-stage corporate venture firm. They invest in companies at the seed and series A stages building in tax, legal, fraud, risk, compliance, insurtech, and fintech. Takeaways -Breaking into VC early in her career through Front Row Ventures and other experiences. -What makes Thomson Reuters Ventures uniqu...

Eva Chan is the Co-Founder of Launch Pop . Launch Pop is a venture studio working with founders to build eCommerce brands that dominate their category. Some notable companies built from their research, design and growth include - More Labs/Morning Recovery, Marlow, Liquid IV, IMMI and many more! Takeaways -Building an ecom venture studio. -What does brand actually mean and how to build one for the...

Chris Gilpin is the CEO of OrderUp (acquired by Wealthsimple). OrderUp's Point of Sale helps restaurants improve Front of House efficiency by 66% by empowering guests to order and pay from their phones. Chris also Co-Founded Turnstyle Solutions (acquired by Yelp) and Ascendent a reinsurance business focused on bitcoin. Takeaways Working at Apple and chatting with Steve Jobs. The hacky way they...

Eunice Wu is the Co-Founder and CEO of Asepha . Asepha makes it easy for pharmacists to automate manual tasks so they can focus on clinical work. Takeaways Pivot from being a pharmacist to a startup founder. Importance of building a solution with domain expertise and a deep understanding of the problem. Building in a heavy regulatory, compliant and security-focused industry. Leveraging AI to creat...

Daniel Spataro is the Co-Founder and CEO of IntegrationOS . Use IntegrationOS to rapidly launch new integrations, remove costly data silos and build connected apps that perform at the scale your customers demand. All at a price your CFO will love. Takeaways -Pivot from an agency model to a scalable product-led organization -Why integrations are so crucial but a pain to maintain and build. -The imp...

Ryan Freeman is the Global Head of Partnerships at Deel . Deel is the all-in-one Global People Platform that simplifies and streamlines every aspect of managing an international workforce—from culture and onboarding, to local payroll and compliance. Their industry-leading suite of HR tools, payroll solutions, mobility services, and compliance expertise makes it possible for companies of all sizes...

Akshay Maharaj is the Co-Founder of Aview International . Aview (Techstars '23) is a global content management platform enabling creators and enterprises to monetize their media to international audiences. Our one-click solution offers multi-language translation, voiceover dubbing, global distribution and brand deal opportunities. Takeaways International expansion is important for creators to...

Stephen Jagger is the Co-Founder of addy . addy makes real estate investment accessible to everyone, through crowdfunding properties and letting anyone invest. Canadians over the age of majority in all provinces and territories can invest - https://addyinvest.ca/ Takeaways -Building strong co-founder relationships -addy enables regular Canadians to invest in institutional commercial real estate at...

Willson Cross is the Co-Founder & CEO of Borderless AI . Borderless AI is a global payroll solution that leverages the power of generative AI to automate and speed up the process of onboarding, managing, and paying international team members. Takeaways Dropping out of NYU and starting GoFetch. Going through a successful acquisition of GoFetch. The importance of timing. Building a world-class t...

Byron Thom , Investor, Mentor and Board Member. Byron’s CV... Engineering undergrad IP Lawyer Co-Founder of Optigo Networks Investor at BDC’s IT Venture Fund Investor at Framework Venture Partners Corp Dev at Cymax Group Technologies Governor on the UBC Board of Governors Angel, Mentor and more. Takeaways How an engineering undergrad, law school and work as an IP lawyer influence Byron’s investing...

Keith Ippel is the Co-Founder of Spring Activator, Spring Investing Collective and Spring Impact Capital. Spring Activator helps entrepreneurs to change the world. We provide the tools, training, and network to values-driven entrepreneurs from launch to $1.5M in revenue. Spring Investing Collective exists to help everyone have the opportunity to invest for people, the planet and profit. Through th...

Kyle Folk is the CEO of Ground Truth Agriculture . Ground Truth Ag's solution will improve the process of obtaining and grading grain samples. This solution will enable farmers to view and maintain records of their grain quality in real-time, directly on the combine, and use that information to manage risk and increase income. This technology will eliminate discrepancies and save time and mone...