TBLP028 | Vicki Saunders: There is NO right way

Vicki Saunders is an entrepreneur, award-winning mentor, advisor to the next generation of change makers and leading advocate for entrepreneurship as a way of creating positive transformation in the world.

Vicki is Founder of SheEO; a two-decade long initiative to dramatically transform how we support, celebrate and finance female entrepreneurs building new models, new mindsets and new solutions for a better world.

Vicki has co-founded and run 4 ventures in Europe, Toronto and Silicon Valley including Zazengo (an online platform for consumer and employee engagement for Fortune500 companies focused on sustainability), KidsNRG/The NRG Group (which went public on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2000) and Impactanation, a global consulting firm focused on engaging youth to tackle the grand challenges we are facing.

Vicki was recently named one of the 100 most influential leaders of 2015 from “EBW – Empowering A Billion Women”, alongside Marissa Mayer, Melinda Gates, Sheryl Sandberg, and Michelle Obama. In 2001, Vicki was selected as a Global Leader for Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum. She has spoken regularly at events around the world including; The World Economic Forum in Davos, Women of Influence Series in Canada, TEDx Conference, Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs events and the Tallberg Forum.

What You Will Learn From This Episode

  • Why she is leveraging from a culture of radical generosity to support women entrepreneurs
  • How to build high-performance teams
  • What she means by “constantly cleaning out her closets”
  • What she asks someone who she just connects with to grow her network

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This podcast is produced by Slingshot VoIP, a business telecommunications leader.

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TBLP027 | Cody Green: Leadership is a Work in Progress

Born in Salmon Arm, B.C., founder and Co-CEO Cody Green started the online auto financing company in 2010 after working as a car salesman in Saskatoon.  Cody stopped selling cars to pursue the venture in 2010, which he named Canada Drives.

In 2016, Canada Drives, placed first PROFIT 500 list as Canada’s Fastest-Growing Company. Cody was recently named among Canada’s 2017 Top 40 Under 40. Millions of Canadians continue flocking to Canada Drives to help them buy cars.

Canada Drives is on track to facilitate nearly $1 billion in loans this year, with $400 million loaned to Canadians so far. Canada Drives’ revenue grew 12,686% from 2011 to 2016.

What You Will Learn From This Episode

  • What he saw being a car salesman that made him decide to start his own business
  • Why he moved the business to Vancouver while it was still small
  • The pros and cons of sharing the CEO role and how decisions are made
  • The importance of ethos when building and growing a company

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This podcast is produced by Slingshot VoIP, a business telecommunications leader.

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TBLP026 | Jodi Kovitz: Move The Dial

Jodi Kovitz is a passionate innovator, relationship builder, revenue generator, and connector. She is the is the CEO of AceTech Ontario. She is also Founder of #MoveTheDial, a movement founded in January 2017 to advance women in tech and Just Say Hello, her passion project through which she teaches people how to build transformative business relationships.

She regularly speaks and writes on innovative business development strategies, advancing women in tech, networking and women’s business development opportunities in Canada and the United States.

Jodi serves on the SickKids Foundation Capital Campaign Cabinet to raise $1.3B to transform children’s health leading an innovative technology sector strategy, serves on the advisory board of Rosenzweig & Company, Maple Corporation and Mediseen and Mayor of Toronto John Tory’s Toronto Innovation Council.

Prior to joining AceTech Ontario, Jodi spent 5 years at Osler generating revenue, building an alumni program, creating an associate training program and coaching 450+ lawyers on BD strategy and relationship building.

Jodi previously practiced law, and after she obtained her business degree at Ivey, living in Milan studying international business, worked in marketing at a technology start up that went public, worked in leadership development at a bank and consulted for a top-tier global consulting firm. Just Say Hello is Jodi’s passion-and-joy project.

Jodi’s recent press includes Globe and Mail, BNN, Toronto Star, Digital Journal.

What You Will Learn From This Episode

  • What she saw in her first event at AceTech Ontario and why she created the #MoveTheDial Campaign
  • Why you must live with the “Just Say Hello” mindset
  • How she walked away from a 10-year career in law
  • What she learned coaching 350+ associates across Canada on creating business
  • The buzz and excitement around Elevate Toronto

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Thanks for taking the time to listen.  If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a comment, I would love to hear from you.

This podcast is produced by Slingshot VoIP, a business telecommunications leader.

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TBLP025 | Farhan Thawar: Building Together is Genius

Farhan Thawar is the CTO and Co-Founder of a Helpful.com. Most recently he was the CTO, Mobile at Pivotal and the VP of Engineering at Pivotal Labs.

Farhan is best known for scaling Xtreme Labs from 10 to 350 people and building the most popular mobile apps in the world.  He is an avid writer and speaker and was named one of Toronto’s 25 most powerful people.

Prior to Xtreme, Farhan held senior technical positions at Achievers, Microsoft, Celestica and Trilogy.

Farhan completed his MBA in Financial Engineering at Rotman and Computer Science/EE at Waterloo.

 

What You Will Learn From This Episode

  • The  experience growing Xtreme Labs from 10 to 350 people and building the most popular mobile apps in the world
  • The benefits of paired growing and the best practices to managing it successfully
  • Mobile and the enterprise, what is missing
  • How the acquisition of Xtreme Labs by Pivotal helped change his leadership style
  • How businesses can utilize AI for talent selection and how it will impact future jobs
  • Some leadership myths not to follow

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This podcast is produced by Slingshot VoIP, a business telecommunications leader.

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TBLP024 | Chris Eben: Growth Through Diversity

Chris Eben is a Managing Partner at TWG, a software consultancy with holistic expertise in digital strategy, product design and engineering. He is a mentor, speaker and active investor with a portfolio of more than 20 startups throughout the US and Canada.

Chris joined TWG after a lengthy career running product teams in the Enterprise Software Market, focused on Business Intelligence, Analytics and Performance Management. He’s worked for startups and with large organizations and has helped to build teams in Silicon Valley, London, England and his hometown of Toronto.

At TWG, he leads a growing team of over 100 product managers, designers, and engineers that work with innovators from funded startups to large enterprises building software used by millions. Chris holds an MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management.

What You Will Learn From This Episode

  • The power of software as a change mechanism
  • Why targeting recognizable brands helped them grow
  • What the first acquisition meant for the company
  • How looking back at career experience and choices helps
  • Growing through diversity

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This podcast is produced by Slingshot VoIP, a business telecommunications leader.

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TBLP023 | Aaron Parker: Success Through Self Awareness

Aaron Parker is the podcast host that has seen true patterning as to what makes entrepreneurs and thought leaders successful.

We talk about being a business owner, marketing and sales, starting a podcast, and the similarities that he sees from his successful guests.

 

What You Will Learn From This Episode

  • What he is learning from the guests of his podcast
  • How to launch a successful podcast
  • What are his secrets to sales and marketing
  • Why he believes people shout meditate to be successful

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This podcast is produced by Slingshot VoIP, a business telecommunications leader.

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TBLP022 | Erin Bury: Build Your Personal Brand

Named one of Marketing Magazine’s “Top 30 Under 30”, Erin Bury is a marketer, former technology journalist, and startup enthusiast. A monthly columnist for the Financial Post and a tech commentator on CTV News, Erin shares the ins-and-outs of entrepreneurship, marketing to millennials, creating a killer personal brand, and how to harness the latest digital trends. Her other claim to fame is she’s been retweeted by Oprah – twice.

Currently the Managing Director at Eighty-Eight, a creative communications agency that works with consumer brands and technology companies to tell their stories, Erin has worked with brands including Sony Pictures Television, Torstar, Yellow Pages, and PayPal, as well as with countless startups. Erin was formerly the managing editor at startup publication BetaKit, and the director of communications at Sprouter, which was acquired by Postmedia in 2011.

A journalism graduate, Erin has also written for publications such as The Globe and Mail, Mashable, Marketing Magazine, Strategy Magazine, and VentureBeat. She comments frequently in the press about marketing and entrepreneurship and has appeared in publications including The New York Times, Forbes, CNN, The Toronto Star, and Canadian Business.

Erin has spoken at events across North America with up to 1,000 attendees, including at Haste & Hustle, CTAConf, Content Marketing Conference, and the Profit W100. She has also hosted events for PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Square Canada, Microsoft Canada, and several entrepreneurship organizations, and is a frequent event host and emcee who has interviewed leading executives and entrepreneurs on-stage, including Shark Tank entrepreneur Mark Cuban.

What You Will Learn From This Episode

  • How Erin was able to grow the agency
  • Why and where to start to build your personal brand
  • Being effective and working with an agency coach
  • How to attract and retain the right people

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This podcast is produced by Slingshot VoIP, a business telecommunications leader.

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TBLP021 | Justin Thouin: Learn How to Demonstrate Value

Justin Thouin is the Co-Founder and CEO of LowestRates.ca. Justin started the company in 2012 following a successful career as a Senior Executive with two prominent entertainment and technology organizations. LowestRates.ca provides Canadians with a fast and convenient way to save two of their most valuable assets – time and money. It’s a one stop shop for Canadians to compare offers on personal financial products quickly and efficiently from North America’s leading companies. To date, it has helped millions of Canadians explore their financial options.

In addition to leading LowestRates.ca, Justin also enjoys investing in early stage ventures and mentoring aspiring entrepreneurs. He provides valuable insight into both what life as a corporate executive and an entrepreneur looks like.
He also created a thriving Executive Consulting practice before founding the company. Justin holds an Honours Degree in Commerce from the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University.

What You Will Learn From This Episode

  • How he was able to change and grow into 6 different roles within 10 years
  • Learn how to demonstrate your value that you bring in a company
  • Ensure that all stakeholders understand what excellence looks like
  • Make sure people know about your successes
  • Why bootstrapping is important on launching and building a company
  • The reason he would rather take a “B” plan with flawless execution

Links

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This podcast is produced by Slingshot VoIP, a business telecommunications leader.

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TBLP020 | Elaine Mah: Find Your Own Voice

Elaine Mah is the Director for Canada at Intel Corporation and a twelve year veteran with the company. Among her many achievements at Intel, Elaine is especially proud of her work fostering innovation and growth with small businesses through her Canadian small business advisory board.

She is a frequent speaker at industry and government conferences on the importance of technology to the Canadian economy, as well as on emerging trends. Elaine currently sits on the National Board of Directors of the Information Technology Association of Canada.

What You Will Learn From This Episode

  • How she went from a marketing role in an agency to leading a technology company
  • What she did when she took over as Country Manager
  • How she transitioned when a replacement took over
  • Biggest turning point in her career

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This podcast is produced by Slingshot VoIP, a business telecommunications leader.

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TBLP019 | Fatima Zaidi: Hacking Outbound Sales

Fatima Zaidi has had over nine years of experience in Business Development, Marketing, and Strategy. Her expertise in sales effectiveness and partnerships led her to the role as VP of Business Development for Eighty-Eight, a Toronto-based creative communications agency.

Prior to Eighty-Eight, Fatima was the Head of Business Development at retail company Rent frock Repeat (who were on season 7 of Dragons’ Den). She was responsible for the overall management of all strategic business development, marketing, and customer relationship activities nationwide.

Fatima is a commentator for Global News, chair for the Discover Your Personal Brand (DYPB) conference, a content writer for Huffington Post and BetaKit, and was named Marketing Magazine’s top 30 under 30 marketers and brand developers for 2016.

What You Will Learn From This Episode

  • How she obtained over 200 partnerships in 2 years
  • The strategy she used to grow Rent Frock Repeat
  • Her 6 step system on Hacking Sales
  • What happened when she said yes to a coffee meeting

Links

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Thanks for taking the time to listen.  If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a comment, I would love to hear from you.

This podcast is produced by Slingshot VoIP, a business telecommunications leader.

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