CanInnovate

How would I describe this interview with Bryton Udy. His story is a riddle that I couldn’t wait to get the solution for. How does a Hockey Player, award-nominated country Music entertainer become a marketing & branding guru?   I was absolutely fascinated and honestly, he did not disappoint. This episode is for anyone professional and business owners that need to pivot.  Bryton is now taking his knowledge and experience and helping small businesses and thought leaders find clarity and confidence in their own branding and marketing with his brand coaching company, At Heart Branding Co.   In this episode, you’ll discover all these hidden gems: 3 secret ingredients of branding The value of an emotional barometer The #1 rule of branding Art of perception At Heart Clarity Framework How branding is deeper than looks How to Find Your Own Authentic Way How individuals and companies can benefit from branding How #COVID is a pulse check for all companies And so much more And get this, He even has a free video course - 3 Minute Marketing Magic and is even giving away a 1-hour free coaching call.  And, he’s a fellow podcaster, At Heart Branding Podcast. Talk about value and giving back!  He’s definitely all HEART.   More about Bryton Upton: From the ice to the stage, and even the boardroom, Bryton Udy has found success in various endeavors in his life. First playing Jr. Hockey chasing a NCAA scholarship, to releasing a top 20 Single at Canadian Country Radio and being nominated for multiple Canadian Country Music Awards, Bryton is now taking his knowledge and experience and helping small businesses and thought leaders find clarity and confidence in their own branding and marketing with his brand coaching company, At Heart Branding Co.  And.. he’s a fellow podcaster, At Heart Branding Podcast.   Connect with Bryton: Website: atheart.co Personal Instagram: @brytonudy At Heart Instagram: @atheartco YouTube Channel: At Heart Co Apple Podcast: At Heart Branding Podcast     Hope you enjoy this episode and are staying safe. P.S.  He even told me I was a fantastic interviewer!! What?!?!?  Let me know if you agree or disagree.  I’d love to get your feedback.  

Jennifer is the Founder and CEO of tellent and is on a mission to make work, work better for women. Her professional experience spans three continents across brand strategy and international market development and while her primary school teachers didn’t appreciate her questions challenging “why”, she embraces that curiosity and the perspective that comes with challenging the status quo to create impactful and lasting change.   In this episode: Jennifer Hargreaves, Founder and CEO of tellent and is on a mission to make work, work better for women.  Jennifer has such a sparkling personality & a global citizen of the world.  We chat about how her curiosity led her to found Tellent.     We chat about: How tellent was created from her own needs of flexibility Lots of jobs… access to FREE Job boards Lots of companies are hiring, but roles have been elevated How #COVID has created time for repurpose our why How to stand out during the #COVID pandemic, especially when there is lots of top talent out there. Power of Networking  How to change the next few years Understanding the difference between time & space COVID is a gift Ideas Lab is the new playground for ideas tellent has lots of free resources including access to job boards 15% discount for access to Virtual Talent Platform which is a networking community and mastermind group for job-seekers and freelancers to find and build flexible work.  CANINNOVATE Listeners (code: CanInnovate) And so much more   About tellent: tellent is a job-board and networked platform that connects professional job-seekers and freelancers with entrepreneurs and inclusive businesses to find, fill and build flexible work opportunities.   Connect with Jennifer: WeAreTellent.com LinkedIn Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

This week, I sat down with Keith Ippel, the CEO & Co-founder of Spring. They are on a mission to help entrepreneurs change the world. First of all, Keith is the most down to earth person who is full of compassion, kindness, and is genuinely there to help small-medium businesses get through whichever phase they are in. From idea to growth. More importantly, they’ve created this FREE resiliency program to help small businesses get through the recession.   There are so many hidden gems & nuggets: Lifecycle of Entrepreneur How to start COVID trends Resiliency movement Return of the small communities Transactional versus Relationship-based The terminology of the day Customer Discovery phases The difference between incubator, angel investor and venture capital Leveraging masterclasses Plus, Keith shares such great FREE tools   A little more about Keith: With over 20 years of experience as a leader in technology & impact businesses, Keith Ippel has accelerated the growth of both small and large companies and raised over $30M in angel investment and venture capital. Keith leads Spring, a global incubator and accelerator that empowers entrepreneurs and entrepreneur ecosystem organizations to build better businesses and change the world. To date, its global advisory work has supported entrepreneurs in over 40 cities across 5 continents while its impact programs have helped over 750 entrepreneurs launch 350+ businesses, and raise over $24M in early-stage capital.   FREEBIE ALERTS: Hubspot Academy  Spring Resilience Online Course & Program Networking Biggest Mistakes   Connect with Keith: Website: spring.is LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithippel/ Twitter: @KeithIppel, @Spring_is Facebook: @SpringImpact

Driving change during a downturn I get a chance to sit down and chat with the infamous Rich Batchelor, who is a global Organizational Change Management guru and disruptor. We are always told to embrace change, but COVID-19 has definitely been more than most people have bargained for. Rich and I really get down to talk about how to navigate change, when it’s so disruptive.    How did Covid-19 change you during the downturn? What actions did you take? Let me know in the comments below.   Rich has been successfully delivering change for over 25 years. He is a founding member of the Association of Change Management Professionals (ACMP) and founded the Toronto Change Days conference, a hands-on weekend of fun learning about change unlike any other change conference in North America! He has a masters in change management and is certified in Project Management, Process improvement, Facilitation, HR, Coaching, Counseling and Psychotherapy. He is also a Certified Lego® Serious Play® Facilitator & Workshop Designer, VUCA Canvas accredited, Certified in facilitating organizations through uncertainty and complexity and an accredited emotional culture deck “elephant rider”!   In this episode: The importance of change with people, not TO people We talk about #epicfails Difference between education and training He introduces me to his friend, CARL How to engage people in this virtual world How to do stakeholder management virtually How to have impact & influence How it’s okay to not be okay And so much more   Plus, I share what I’m currently curious about and it’s not quite what anyone expects! Organizational change management is truly an essential business life skill that we should all master. It’ll help build your confidence and become your own secret sauce. Connect with Richard: CapillaryConsulting.com CapillaryLearning.com Twitter: @richbatchelor Twitter: @capillarytweets LinkedIn   I can’t wait to hear your feedback Please stay safe and healthy. Best Always, Sapna   P.s.  Have you checked out the latest FREEBIE? A downloadable Gratitude journal. That way we don’t forget all those amazing things that we are grateful for. I think we’ve discovered a lot.

Hey Innovators, COVID-19 is always on our mind, it’s what everyone is talking about.  We look at the COVID-19 for the things that it took away from us, but what has COVID-19 provided us?  Did COVID-19 actually give us a gift? Is this an opportunity? I sat down with Jessie-Lynn MacDonald. She helps clients break through self-imposed limits, fears, struggles, and challenges and awaken to the beautiful and infinite potential within.  She is brilliant beyond belief! She helps parents, children, individuals, schools & companies, and consults globally.  She’s a well sought out individual.    The Adult ‘Time-Out’ is a Gift! We have a lively discussion about COVID-19 and the impact and she sees this time as an opportunity and a gift! We chat about:  The impact of on our minds, clear blue light versus a snow globe How stress is a love note to your body How to identify stress signals The power of autonomy She gives a big secret! Embracing our inner child How empathy enables us to be more kind & forgiving to ourselves and others Loneliness versus Boredom Value of recognizing ‘grumpy goggles’  And so much more! In fact, I admit that I may secretly want to be a gamer!   We are all going through this change curve differently and it really allows us to become that diamond! I think you’re going to really enjoy this episode. Please stay safe    Connect with Jessie Lynn: JessielynnMacdonald.com | Twitter |  Facebook   Best Always, Sapna P.s.  Have you checked out the latest FREEBIE? A downloadable Gratitude journal. That way we don’t forget all those amazing things that we are grateful for. I think we’ve discovered a lot.

Paul Minors is a productivity blogger and virtual consultant. Paul grew his business “on the side” while working full-time and now consults to companies all around the world helping them with tools like Asana, Pipedrive and Zapier. Paul’s website now receives 100,000+ visits per month and his audience of 43,000+ email subscribers love hearing about how to be more productive in business and life.   How to beat procrastination and be productive I got to chat with Paul Minors, who is based in New Zealand.  He’s quite the inspiration for a variety of reasons. First, he started off his business as a ‘side-hustle’ and then quickly discovered that Productivity is his ‘How’.  As we are all in this COVID-19 situation, we may find ourselves with a little more time and maybe it’s time to shift into trying a new adventure of starting a small business. So here are the topics that we covered on how to beat procrastination, the power of time blocking and so much more. How to beat Procrastination The value of stop starting The magic of time blocking How tasks are good intentions We also somehow end up talking about baking, Lockdown Loaf I hope you’ll enjoy this episode and more importantly, staying safe. Quotes: “You can be more productive if you follow the right habits and if you are disciplined enough to follow the right routines and use your tools and technology correctly.” “By being disciplined, you’re following better routines, you’re being more productive, and if you’re getting more done, and being more efficient with your time, you’re actually creating more freedom in your life now because you have more free time. Discipline is like a prerequisite for freedom in your life.” "I'm a big fan of this productivity method called time blocking I don't know what it is actually called, but I call it time blocking or block scheduling you have probably come into different terms before but it is basically this practice of taking task and maybe you have a task list or a notebook with it to list of things that you need to do, or maybe it is just in your head whatever it is, you are taking the task that you need to do and you are actually putting them on into your calendar and blocking up time to do that task."   Connect with Paul: PaulMinors.com |  Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn   Resource Links: Productivity Blueprint Productivity video training Paul Minors Podcast

Hey Innovators, Are you finished baking and looking for other ideas to entertain yourself… well… I have the perfect guest.  I get to chat with Julie Shum, who has been a friend for over two decades and she always provides me with the perfect boost of inspiration. I’m so #Grateful for having such a down to earth, inspirational friend. Discover how Julie’s injury led to finding a new hobby that she’s completely obsessed about. How to tap into our inner child to discover other avenues ‘  “I wonder…” The value of not overthinking and just going with the flow Tapping into our creativity through resourcefulness Julie provides ideas from gardening, handwriting, donating hair and so on… Julie has a wonderful outlook on life and always finds opportunities at every twist and turn…  Get ready to get inspired!    Connect with Julie: Instagram: @lovemelettering or @creativesassembly   I think you’re going to really enjoy this episode. Please stay safe  Best Always,Sapna   P.S. Add the hashtag #gratefulmindset and tell us what you’re grateful for.  P.P.S - FREEBIE ALERT - free downloadable Gratitude Journal pdf!  Another great resource, that may tap into a new hobby or interest.

As we all embrace and adjust to the ‘New Normal’, the impact on humankind is going to be instrumental. The biggest thing that we have just been reminded us to stop and be really present.   I was reading a Facebook post and it just summed it up completely. This person talked about how much has changed in three (3) weeks for him. He mentions in this post that 3 weeks ago he was unhappy with his job, overwhelmed with work, wanted to lose weight, canceling on friends to just stay at home to relax, irritated with traffic, talked to his mom once a week, irritated with elevator wait times. His point was that 3 weeks ago, he took everything for granted. Today, he is grateful for his job and how busy it is, how he misses human interaction, he calls his mom every day, and now is afraid to take the elevator. Isn’t this the truth? Three weeks ago all those things that we complained about are now the things that we are grateful for. We are all starting to really gain a different perspective and re-learning gratitude. Could COVID-19 actually kill Narcissism? Narcissism has been growing more and more over the past few years.  The Wikipedia definition of Narcissism is “the pursuit of gratification from vanity or egotistic admiration of one’s idealized self-image and attributes. This includes self-flattery, perfectionism, and arrogance.” Have you ever fallen in love with a Narcissist? You lose yourself in order to feed their ego &  make them happy.  Narcissism has been a social-cultural problem for many years and was growing exponentially, as many people post pictures of their amazing life of perfection to create the illusion of FOMO  (Fear of Missing Out). The world has a common enemy, the COVID-19 virus. Not neighbors.  We all have a shared vision and mission to save lives. Simon Sinek’s book, ‘Start With Why’.has really opened up our eyes to the power of having a shared purpose.  Our worldwide shared purpose is ‘Stay at home and save lives’. We get to be heroes in our own stories. I know that I am so grateful for all the front line workers that are putting themselves at risk every day. This episode is dedicated to the health care workers, pharmacists, those in the food chain supply chain, waste removal services, and all the other front line workers. The stories that I’m reading every day, shows how communities and nations are coming together to solve this epidemic crisis together.  There is no shortage of stories from inspirational to educational.   From neighbors singing for others' lives or recording a YouTube video.  One of my personal favorite YouTube videos is a family’s adaption of a Les Miserables song for Coronavirus. To teenagers & neighbors sewing masks for health care workers and other high-risk individuals. Adopt a lonely isolated grandparent  Toronto Distilleries are repurposing their operations to make hand sanitizers Free grocery deliveries for seniors through so many different groups and neighbors The stories just keep continuing. Check out these 35 stories that Bored Panda released and Solidarity is spreading as the COVID-19 crisis continues What perspective have I gained? For me personally, I’m more focused, more present and putting health first. I have newfound pride when I clean my house, daily. I am so grateful that there are groceries available, that I’m now spending more time on food prep and cooking more with purpose. I want to make sure that I stay healthy, so I am definitely eating cleaner.  It is something that I never had enough time to focus on. I’m less wasteful and only purchase what I’m going to use for that week. I also grocery shop for ten people every week and deliver it to their porches. It provides me with a sense of purpose and protects others.     As a society, we are going to be more: Gaining perspective & resetting priorities – Being in the present Grateful for the smallest and simplest pleasures Strengthening relationships digitally Created a stronger sense of community and neighbors,  We are learning to listen with intent – deepening listening & understanding Learning to be resourceful, not wasteful Kindness & compassion is more there Putting our health & well-being first, so that we always protect others Do you know what the opposite of narcissism is – empathy, compassion for others, humble, modesty, treating others the way they want to be treated? There is no shortage of kindness out there. This is the time, where good will triumph over the bad. Where we all send prayers and love to people, strangers, acquaintances, and loved ones. So, yes. I do believe that COVID-19 will kill narcissism and reset society.  The society transition has already begun. Have you noticed that as a society, we have all changed how we end a conversation – from ‘bye’ or ‘see you later’ to stay healthy & safe? Sending you all lots of love and I really hope everyone stays indoors and safe!    Best Always, Sapna    P.S.   If you enjoyed this, then you may be interested in this episode about the Importance of Gratitude. This is when I learned what the true meaning of gratitude is, you may get a little emotional. P.P.S. Another little gift for you. I’ve created a FREE Gratitude Journal PDF for you to download along with this episode on our website. Be grateful every day, as it really is a gift that will help us continue to evolve humans everywhere. 

Life is always a rollercoaster! Lately, I’ve been overwhelmed by all the key activities that are in my life. It doesn’t help that I have a heightened sense of urgency. I like to get things done. It’s my favorite mode. Come up with a strategy, a plan to execute and just go! But, how do we deal with the overwhelm? First, let’s define what Overwhelm is. I like to define it as ‘treading water’. You’re doing everything just to keep afloat. We’ve all experienced this feeling. It's just hard to see the forest from the trees. It’s just hard to see the plan/ where you’re going, the ultimate goal.  The truth is the chaos that you’re feeling, is coming from inside. Yup, we have lots of things going on in our heads. We need to find a way to take a breath, prioritize and break them into smaller chunks of activities. It does sound way too easy. But I’m here to take the complexity out of it.   Here are a few strategies: ELEPHANT: First, we need to acknowledge the elephant in the room. Acknowledge that you are overwhelmed. That’s always the first step. UNDERSTAND: Why do you feel overwhelmed? Too much to do? Too much to focus on immediately? Too many backs to back appointments/meetings? Not being able to say No?   BREATHE: Take a big breathe and recognize that everything is fixable and solvable. We just need to figure out our options.  BRAIN DUMP: Write down everything on a list. Just get it all down on paper. Just keep listing things. Whatever is on your mind, just get it out of your head and onto paper. One centralizes list.  NOW: What are the biggest priorities? What are the immediate items that you need to right now?  Not just now, but NOW NOW. When I was working in South Africa, they had three (3) definitions for Now. There was just now, which meant within the immediate future. Then, there was Now, which meant within the hour or so. Then, there was NOW NOW, which meant, drop everything and focus on it now. So, what do you need to do NOW NOW. ACTION: Are there items that you could outsource/automate/not do/eliminate/delegate? I’m a fan of the not-to-do list. My sister is great at this, she looks at her calendar for the week/month and highlights the days that she will need help with the kids. She gets proactive so that she can plan. The other day, I was struggling for time to do the grocery shopping/making a deadline and doing pickups.  So, I got food delivered and decided to grocery shop online for delivery. Boom! #NailedIt! Next…. POWER OF NO: There is a way to say no and it really provides you a way to take control. We often feel guilty for saying NO, but we shouldn’t. We are not saying NO forever, but saying NO for the immediate future. I wrote a blog about HOW TO SAY NO ELEGANTLY. It is often hard to say No, but people will thank you for being honest and managing expectations.    We need to recognize that being ‘Superman’ or ‘Superwoman’ is not about taking on so much.  It’s about leveraging the people & resources around you to drive towards a goal/a vision.    Here are a few resources:  BLOG:  HOW TO SAY NO ELEGANTLY PODCAST EPISODE: I did a podcast episode (E110) with Mr.Productivity himself - E 110: Overcome roadblocks by becoming more productive every day with Mr. Productivity, Mark Stuczewski ARTICLES: Overwhelmed? These 6 strategies may help   Thank you again for your time and I really hope these tips help you. It has definitely helped me more times than I can count! Feel free to share with your friends or others that are struggling.   We all need help and friendly reminders, that we are not alone in feeling this way. Best Always,Sapna

Everyday is Happy Women’s Day! You know why? because we choose our mindsets each day. Every morning when I’m in the shower, I’m thinking about the day and how to conquer it. Not, thinking about how it’s going to be a struggle. I look at all the opportunities in front of me and decide where I want to spend more time or less time on. There is a difference between being assertive and aggressive in business. Women always get a bad rap and get called a not so positive name. The difference is how we utilize assertiveness. Being Assertive means speaking on facts, with the desired end goal in mind. Getting everyone aligned to where we want and need to go. Assertive women, know exactly what needs to be done and how to get there. Assertiveness is defined as self-assured confidence. Which is the complete opposite, of the Imposter Syndrome. It’s interesting to me, how the Imposter Syndrome has become a growing syndrome that is impacting so many individuals. Imposter Syndrome is basically self-doubt. We all have this and experience it. I did a podcast episode (E84)about how feeling like an imposter is a competitive advantage. It’s called I’m an Imposter and let me Roar! I’ve also created a Free Imposter Syndrome Cheat Sheet to overcome this self-doubt. Aggressive is where we get in trouble… anyone gets in trouble. It is fueled by emotions and somewhat seen as hostile. This is where individuals need to take 5-10 minutes to breathe, before responding. I wrote a blog all about Emotional Intelligence, as it can be quite the rollercoaster! Strong Women tend to share many similar traits! They’ve got a vision that has a plan behind it. Very clear on the direction, timelines, and milestones of where we are trying to achieve. We drive things to completion, that’s right. We don’t wait, we have defined what needs to be done and then we figure out who we need to work with to make magic happen. We are proactive. List makers - crazy right. Strong Women tend to have listed, to make sure that things don’t get dropped off the list. It helps us stay organized and accountable. Risk Mitigators - we plan for the worst-case scenario. Strong Women are very conservative in planning. We tend to under commit and overdeliver. Mr.Wonderful, Kevin O’Leary - he has said on numerous occasions that he loves investing in women start-ups because he always recoups his investments. Women tend to be very ultra-conservative with their sales forecasts and they usually beat it. I’ve attached the link to the article. Shark Tank Kevin O'Leary: Women make me the most money Time Management, strong women really know how to manage their time and make the most of every moment. There is that timeless saying “If you want something done, give it to a busy person.” Listen- another key differentiator is that women tend to ask for proactive feedback from those in their inner circle and strangers. They know how valuable it is to get different viewpoints. This helps us mitigate risk (point #4).  We listen to understand. Comparisons - we don’t compare ourselves to others, we LEARN from others that we admire. We look to see what traits/best practices that we can adopt. Learn- we look at every failure point as learning or an opportunity. We are also always looking for opportunities to build new skills, learn a new viewpoint and educate ourselves. This only adds to our confidence in our vision and plan (point #1). In fact, I have another little freebie gift for you. Reflection Action Review Cheat Sheet   Be ASSERTIVE, be strong, be bold, be courageous and be unapologetically curious! You’ve got this!

Armel Beaudry Kembe Tchemeube is the CEO and Founder of Trebble FM. Before running Trebble, he worked for 8 years as a software engineer for a startup in the telecom industry that got acquired by Nokia. Armel owns a software engineering degree from the University of Ottawa.   Episode overview: Are you a podcast junkie but wanted to get more content in a short amount of time?  If you are, then this episode is for you. This week, I get to chat with Armel who is the CEO and Founder of Trebble.fm, a platform that releases shortcast - consumable 1 - 3 minutes podcast episodes. In this episode, we covered why people are becoming interested in consuming short-casts compared to longer podcast episodes. We also talked about how Trebble started, the difference between Twitter, LinkedIn posts and Trebble on podcasts and so much more.   About Trebble.FM Trebble.fm is an online music-sharing platform that allows music influencers and music enthusiasts to curate your own interactive music radio and share it with music lovers around the world. Those radios are called 'Trebbles', can be easily embedded in a website. Trebble owners can add their personal touch to the music they share and speak to their listeners through ‘Capsules’. These are brief audio messages up to 90 seconds that they can record and play to listeners. They can attach additional information to those capsules like text, pictures, videos, allowing to fully express themselves and deliver a unique enriched listening experience.   Connect with Mark:  Website: Trebble.fm Twitter: @armelbeaudry and @trebblefm LinkedIn: Armel Beaudry Instagram: @trebble.fm   Books Mentioned: Blitzscaling: The Lightning-Fast Path to Building Massively Valuable Companies Angel: How to Invest in Technology Startups by Jason Calacanis

Mark ‘Ski’ Struczewski (“Mister Productivity”) helps entrepreneurs & executives get the right stuff done in a distracted world. In addition to being a productivity expert, Mark is a speaker, host of The Mark Struczewski Podcast and an online trainer. His strategies have guided CEO’s/Executive Directors, business owners, business corporate specialists and entrepreneurs to get back control of their time.   Episode overview: This episode is for all those that are looking for productivity tips/hacks and secrets. I chat with Mark Stuczewski, MISTER PRODUCTIVITY – he’s obsessed to help the world become a more productive place – one person at a time. We chat about: How getting fired, was the best thing that happened to Mark Time to practice ‘Adulting’ The notification cleanse The power of ODAE – Outsource/Delegate/Automate and Eliminate Concept of the NOT TO List How complexity is the gateway to procrastination! And, I got challenged to take the 7-day productivity challenge. GAME ON! Hopefully, some of you will do it with me.   Connect with Mark:  Website: MisterProductivity.com  Podcast: The Mark Struczewski Podcast  The 7 Day Productivity Challenge Social media: LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

Laurence is the Founder and CEO of nanopay Corporation, where he drives the vision to offer the infrastructure to enable what’s more commonly known as Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). Prior to founding nanopay, Laurence came from the telecom industry where he was Vice President of Wireless at Shaw Communications, prior to his role as Chief Operating Officer of Bell Mobility. Active in the payments community, he is the Chairman of the Paytechs of Canada and a member of the Payments Canada Stakeholder Advisory Committee.   Episode overview: This week, I get to chat with Laurence about how we have an ambitious goal to lead the world’s transition to digital cash.  What isn't commonly understood about payments, is while money might appear to move quickly or instantly (ie. in the case of e-Transfer), the real money doesn't move until the next day when the banks settle the payment overnight. This creates settlement risk for the banks involved in the transaction. This risk grows exponentially when the transaction is cross-border, introducing currency and exchange risk.  Our innovative technology securely moves value from one user to another in real time – with instant settlement – and is ideally suited to transform the global payments infrastructure. That being said, the road to digitizing cash isn't necessarily a straight line. Today, we offer a self-service payment platform for small businesses (you can sign up at Ablii.com), a business to business payment product, and a liquidity and cash management solution for banks.   About nanopay: nanopay is a Fintech company based in Toronto that empower banks and businesses to scale with innovative payment and liquidity software. nanopay offers two products: Connect, a business payment product which easily integrates with your ERP software and enables both domestic and cross-border payments, and Liquid, a real-time intra-company cash and liquidity product, which enables self-service virtual account management. nanopay's products are built on a payment engine, nanorail, that securely tokenizes money to move value from one user to another in real-time. nanopay is venture funded with strategic investments from international partners including the Merchant Banking Division of Goldman Sachs.   Connect with Laurence: Website: Nanopay.net Facebook: Nanopay Corporation Twitter: @nano_pay and @laurencecooke LinkedIn: nanopay Corporation and Laurence Cooke  

Hey Innovators, We keep hearing the same words over and over again - innovation, innovator, agile thinker, lean startup, design thinking expanding our horizons. Ugh! What on earth does it mean? Let’s go back to reset and define Innovation. Innovation simply means continuous improvement, a way to produce new value. Very different than inventive, where it’s completely new. This is about innovation, taking something existing and refreshing it to provide new elements. This is where we get to be unapologetically curious and look at things with a new set of eyes.     How do you train people to think outside the box? It’s such a mindset shift. When we grow up, we are expected to do certain things (i.e. get married, have kids, get an education, save for the future). What about training people to say that it’s okay to go off course? The best way to really develop thought leaders is to embrace the notion of curiosity. Allow your teams to develop points of views, challenge the norm and provide them with a valued voice.   It’s interesting to me, how the Impostor Syndrome has become a growing syndrome that is impacting so many individuals. Impostor Syndrome is basically self-doubt. We all have this and experience it. I did a podcast episode (E84) & blog about how feeling like an impostor is a competitive advantage. It’s called I’m an Imposter and let me Roar! I’ve also created a Free Imposter Syndrome Cheat Sheet to overcome this self-doubt.  It’s quite the paradox - be adventurous and overcome impostor syndrome, and follow the organizational rules & expectations. Organizations and Individuals need to start to create time for innovation and creativity. We need to get from reactive mode to a proactive mode. The challenge is that we are not given enough time to think, only time to react.  Here are a few tips to slowly start to shift a little bit of your thinking.    The innovator mindset is to  Embrace Curiosity and become a Learn It All - explore different dimensions/avenues.  What tools do you have at your disposal? List them out and also think about the non-traditional tools. Books/podcasts/free webinars/ articles/ talking to people across different industries. You know, I had a client that put me on retainer, just to brainstorm with. She’d have a few ideas and wanted to bounce it off all the wall and see what other elements could give it legs. Don’t dismiss the idea of talking to others and listening to understand where they are coming from.  It might provide the perfect ‘AHA’ moment. Encourage Points of View.  A lot of individuals have thoughts but are afraid to provide their point of view (PoV), because it won’t be inline with the ‘status quo’. Encourage and reward people for having ½ baked points of views. They will gain experience and courage to develop full points of view. No point of view is perfect. Think about all those folks that put out 2020 trends, they are just an opinion, a point of view.  Failure - companies and individuals need to define their tolerance of risk. How far can you go in terms of failure? Encourage people around you to really test early, with minimal risk. Allow people to help develop the idea with you. You can start to test early and re-jig things based on feedback. It’s a perfect way to do a temperature check (just putting a toe in the water, to see what the temperature is).    When developing solutions/services/concepts offer three (3) options. Give something for your leaders to react to. Present a conservative approach, a crazy out of this world approach and a hybrid of the two (2) approach. One of these crazy ideas Management Consultants have been using these approaches for years. Some of these concepts have been re-marketed under the umbrella of Design Thinking. These are classics that have worked for centuries! They just change the names to make them a little more ‘glamorous’.   So, I challenge you. What are you interested to learn more about (Learn it All), what are you curious about? As promised, here is that little gift that I have for you.   FREEBIE ALERT: Free Imposter Syndrome Cheat Sheet to overcome this self-doubt   Thank you so much for your time.  If you know someone that could benefit from this episode/blog, feel free to share with others. Drop me a line anytime, I love hearing from you.   Best Always, Sapna    Links:   4 Steps to Cultivating an Innovation Mindset in Your Organization  I’m an Imposter and let me Roar

Dave McKeown helps individuals, teams, and organizations achieve excellence by doing the ordinary things extraordinarily well. He is the CEO of Outfield Leadership and author of The Self-Evolved Leader – Elevate Your Focus and Develop Your People in a World That Refuses to Slow Down. If that’s not enough, Dave is also the host of the podcast Lead Like You Give a Damn and writes a weekly online leadership column for Inc.   In this episode: Author Dave McKewon really made me pause, think and then dance. His book – the Self-Evolved Leader is a must read. It's for new leaders AND seasoned leaders – it’s a perfect read and reminder. You’ll learn how to TACTICALLY move from firefighting mode to empowerment Stop working in the weeds and think more strategically Find more time to focus – give room and time to think Build empowerment deep in your team Free up your head-space to be more creative The Self-Evolved Leader: Elevate your focus and develop your people in a world that refuses to slow down Honestly, this was a book that I’m going to read every year, to remind me what type of leader I want to be.   About Outfield Leadership: Outfield Leadership helps leaders deliver excellence by doing ordinary things extraordinarily well. Our flagship program, The Excellence Equation™ is an immersive, interactive and practical workshop that will help busy managers and leaders rise above the day-to-day urgency to focus on the long term direction of their team and development of their people.   Best advice: Building a culture of accountability is the holy grail in the leadership world. If we can get our people to go above and beyond their job description to help move the business forward then we'll see results like we've never seen before. Our customers will be happy, our people will be happy and your job as a leader will be much easier. The problem is that you can't teach your people how to hold themselves accountable. You can only provide the environment in which they want to do it.   Connect with Dave: OutfieldLeadership.com | Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Podcast |   Book mentioned: The Self-Evloved Leader: Elevate your focus and develop your people in a world that refuses to slow down

Happy New Year! 2020… Crazy, how time flies by.  The holiday season just flew by, one minute I was preparing for it, next it was over. I do love the holiday season. Stay tuned for the end of the podcast episode, because I have a little gift for you. It should help you orient yourself for 2020.  There is something magical about the holiday season. I always end up crying in commercials/ movies, you name it, my heart literally skips a beat.   I was thinking about the holidays and why is it the time of year that get people choked up. The spirit of generosity, kindness, love, family, compassion, triumph and magic - and then it dawned on me the magic word “INNOCENCE”. Seeing things through children’s eyes. It brings out the inner giant in everyone of us. The age of Innocence where good always beats the bad. Santa is real. Elf on the shelf are really Santa’s helpers, the joys of wishes and the idea that wishes could come true. With a simple letter to the North Pole. Human Connection, it truly is something gives us hope. Belief… That’s it…  The holiday season reminds us to believe in all the things that we normally forget. To make time for those that we love (let’s be honest, we are all so busy these days & we hope everyone understands), to help the less fortunate. How is it that we are more giving during this time of the year?  Does anyone remember Charles Dickens timeless classic, A Christmas Carol? I found this incredible article where Time describes Charles Dickens as the “Inventor of Christmas”. The story is from 1843. Can you believe that? The story is 176 years old.  I’ll be honest, I was always a fan of Bill Murray’s Scrooged. It cracked me up and still makes me giggle. What I loved most about these stories, is how he visits the Christmas Past, Christmas Future and then goes back to the Present to change things! There is always time for reflection, in order to move forward. So, definitely take a moment to reflect, before you start planning out your goals. I’ve enclosed a gift for you, so that you can also take a moment to reflect back into 2019.   So, in keeping with the holiday spirit, a look back to my 2019. I’m pretty excited. 2019 has been another incredible year, that I’m extremely proud of and have learned a lot. I launched my 1st book - Connect the Dots - how to turn strangers into meaningful relationships. I nearly fell out of my chair, when it hit the Amazon Bestseller List! I’m still stoked! I’m already planning my next book. There were so many learnings from this entire experience. Getting the book formatted for ePub version has different formats based on online reader - Kindle/Kobo/tablet etc…  I tried to use Fiverr to get the book interior designed, which just became a nightmare. There was extra spaces and new dashes everywhere. Every time, one person would fix the mistakes that I found, 5 more new errors would just show up. Then I finally just did the interior formatting myself, took over two full days but it was just easier than outsourcing. Lesson learned, If I’m going to outsource any activities, it might be better for me to send to 4-5 in parallel. Hedge my bets, instead of sending to 1 person & then it being a disaster and then wasting more time to find someone else. I think this task, took nearly 6-8 weeks longer for me to complete things and I was just getting more and more frustrated each time! Ugh… So, outsource to 4 or 5 people at the same time or just do it myself.  As per my goals, I also launched and held a few different webinars. I did a sales webinar on how to optimize your sales proposals. I still see so many poorly written sales proposals. It really astonishes me, that people don’t see that this is the first touch point that that a client receives from you. Need to make sure it provides an ideal experience.  I’ll make sure the link is available. Remember, that this is the first official deliverable that your client is to get from you. We need to think, what is the experience that we are delivering during the honeymoon phase.  Brainfood Book Club was just an experiment and it has been the BEST experience ever.  There are a few of us that meet virtually every month at lunch time to discuss the book.  Honestly, the book provides the topic and it enables us to apply and discuss so many other discussions (both professionally and personally). We record the episodes, HOWEVER, I take out the other personal banter. The non-book relevant stuff. This virtual book club has developed new friendships, deepened existing ones and we are really dedicated to helping each other grow. We really love our monthly virtual social.  SO much laughter. You can hear our discussions or even join us.. It’s free!  Teaching Consulting 101 at George Brown College. Which has been an absolute joy. I’ve been teaching for the past few semesters and really enjoy every minute of it. However, I’m ready for something new.  However, in looking at my goals for 2020. I’m ready to learn something new. Both personal & professionally. I’ve recently taken on a new role that has been consuming a lot of my time.  There are lots of teaching & coaching opportunities. Which means, I need to balance myself out. I need to learn something new. It’s like that Yin/Yan - Give & Receive. Everything needs to be in balance.   So, here we are 2020. I remember writing about where the industry would be in 2020 and now it’s here! I definitely have a lot of goals for 2020, but more importantly, I have a lot more courage. No excuses, and I’m ready for 2020… game on! This year I’ve decided is to be filled with lots of new experiences.  CanInnovate podcast features timeless professional development secrets & essential business life skills, that management consultants have been using for decades. We are unapologetically curious! I wanted to start this year off right by providing you with some inspiration. I want everyone to be unapologetically curious & courageous! It all started off when I was watching one of my guilty pleasures. Yes, I was watching X-Factor Celebrity. I think I'm drawn to it because people are trying something new and taking a chance. But, this season I was drawn to it, because these are people that already have a following or known in their particular geography, but not well known globally. So, them entering a singing competition is a little bit like a ‘fish out of the water’. Which I absolutely love! That’s how innovation happens. But, I need to tell you about this one particular contestant that had this amazing story and literally stole my heart and probably everyone else that heard it. So, of course I want to tell you about it. Allow me to introduce you to Martin Bashir. Martin Bashir is known as a very well respected and hard nosed journalist. He’s interviewed everyone from Princess Diana, to Michael Jackson too many politicians. So, it came as a surprise for a 54 year old professional journalist to enter a singing competition. A Complete ‘fish out of water’ indeed. Then he mentioned that his late brother was the driving force behind the inspiration. His brother was 29 years old, when he lost the battle of Muscular Dystrophy (MD). For those that don’t know what Muscular Dystrophy is a group of muscle diseases that results in breakdown of skeletal muscles over time. Just heartbreaking.  Then Martin shared the wise words of his late brother Tommy. I hope it inspires you as much as It did for me. “When you grow up with a child and you fight over toys. At age four,  he never fought back and, by the time he was 13 he couldn’t feed himself, you feel that you have no excuse for turning down opportunities.” Martin said: "Every time I have faced a challenge I have heard him whispering saying, ‘What excuse do you have? You have no excuse.” I was at a Raptors game (for my international listeners, its a basketball game) and one of the folks that I was with, secretly really wanted to get a picture with Super Fan. I probed a bit and discovered that they were a SUPER FAN of Super fan! So, off we went to get in line to get a picture! Don’t let being shy or fear of judgement hold you back. Why would you want to miss out on opportunities? Every time you try something new, you learn a new experience and will have a new story to share. The best stories are actually those that don’t exactly turn out the way we want them to turn out. So, enjoy the roller coaster and a new adventure.  I really hope that 2020 really provides you the courage to be curious. In the words of Tommy, “What excuse do you have? You have no excuse.” I really hope that 2020 brings you lots of goals, inspirations. Take time to reflect. In fact, I’ve got a little freebie cheat sheet for you.  It’s my gift to you, as you embrace 2020. Revisit the Christmas ghost of the past in order to help you figure out where you want to go in the future.   Be unapologetically curious & courageous in 2020! Be bold, brave and adventurous.     ALL my best, Sapna  me@sapnamalhotra.io   P.S.  Here is the link for gift - all free: Reflections Review  Resources mentioned:   Connect the Dots: How to turn strangers into meaningful network relationships Reflection Action Review Cheat Sheet Brainfood Book Club in Facebook Celeb X Factors: Martin Bashir Muscular Dystrophy

Frederic Lalonde is the CEO and Co-Founder of Hopper, the smart way to book travel on your phone. Combining massive amounts of data and advanced machine learning algorithms, Hopper predicts and analyzes future airfare and accommodation prices to save users money and enable them to travel more often. Hopper has ranked as the #1 travel app in over 55 countries and has ranked as one of the top 10 travel apps in over 120 countries. It has received accolades such as Fast Company’s Most Innovative Company in Travel 2018, the Google Play Award for Standout Startup of 2016, and Apple’s App Store Best of 2015.   Episode Overview: This episode for anyone that likes to travel for either work or pleasure. I get to sit down and chat with Frederic Lalonde is the CEO and Co-Founder of Hopper and WOW!!! He blows my mind! Hopper predicts prices with 95% accuracy up to 1 year in advance. Such an amazing overview of the BOOMING travel industry and the stats & insights he shares, WOW! Did I say WOW already? In this episode we chat:  How we don’t need to wait for those so called Airline SEAT Sales - Hopper does this for us  How Hopper becomes the eyes behind our head when it comes to flights & hotels Travel Industry is a $1.4 TRILLION dollar industry - that’s 4% of Global GDP, where the ride sharing industry (i.e. Uber/Lyft) is only $40 Billion How they design with customer in mind.. In fact they only send true VALUE added push notifications Tips for how to get the best deals & how others are saving $1000’s of dollars Hopper utilizes a Jeff Bezos model/philosophy Hopper is doubling in size every 6 months - lots of cool jobs which we will be including on our newsletter!   And so much more! You’re going to love the energy in this episode!   About Hopper: Hopper is made up of hundreds of smart, creative, and inspired humans working to fundamentally change how the world books travel. Hopper is the smart way to book travel on your phone. Combining massive amounts of data and advanced machine learning algorithms, Hopper predicts and analyzes airfare and accommodation to save users money and enable them to travel more often. Since its launch in 2015, Hopper has become one of the fastest growing travel apps ever with over 30 million installs to date. It is now the most downloaded travel booking app in North America and travelers have booked hundreds of millions of dollars in flights and hotels around the world using Hopper. The app has received accolades such as Fast Company’s Most Innovative Company in Travel 2018, the Google Play Award for Standout Startup of 2016, and Apple’s App Store Best of 2015.   Connect with Frederic: Hopper.com | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter: @fredlalonde @Hopper | LinkedIn: Frederic Lalonde and Hopper

This is probably the most overlooked area. We tend to think about interviews in terms of getting a job. How about gathering information that really provides great insights.   I used informational interviews everywhere, not just in podcast recordings. I use this approach everywhere. I use it to build new relationships, to ask for advice & guidance, build networks and it truly helps one see different dimensions and aspects about a particular topic.  It’s an approach that Management consultants have perfected. How many times have you heard “We hired consultants and they just validated everything that we knew.” The difference is that the management consultants go in to chat with people with the intent of gaining information & valuable insights to a particular area and they compare it with other companies/individuals that have faced similar situations/obstacles and/or challenges.  Management consultants often refer to this as discovery questions. There are no shortage of reasons to use this approach.     Here are a few typical use cases: When you start a new department or company, you want to meet some of the key players (also known as stakeholders) to understand the current challenges in the environment. It provides us insights of what these individuals expect of us. Another ‘AHA’ moment  When you have a new business idea or potential concept, many of the innovators on the CanInnovate podcast told us that one of the greatest sources of information. They were able to test whether their idea was a problem or opportunity that others would pay for. Providing insights into their potential go to market, their target market, their key messaging and so on. It provides them with such valuable feedback that allows them to fine tune their business idea and potentially gain a few early adopters. When you’re looking into jobs and want to know about company culture. What a great tool to use to dive in to understand more about the company. People really enjoy talking about the pros and cons of their company, as its an extension of their values. Inspiration & Curiosity. You meet someone that is brilliant and would like to know more about them. They have gotten your attention and you’re curious to know more about them and their journey. Maybe it’s just because you are looking for a little bit of ‘juice’ for inspiration.  All of these different uses, give you an additional benefit. You will get collaboration and actually develop relationships.  People that you’ve engaged, will want to be part of your journey. They are a little bit invested in your success. In my book, Connect The Dots: Turn Strangers into Meaningful Network Relationships, I talk about the study that confirms a positive link between asking for a small favor. It’s called the Ben Franklin effect!  The reason why I wanted to talk about the informational interview, was because this is also part of the overall design thinking principles. Asking “What If’, experimenting and testing early, hearing and understanding (Human Empathy) gathering feedback early in the process, focusing on the user experience mindset and most of all, collaboration. Information Interviews really enables you to humanize the problem/situation and possibly identify additional opportunities by TALKING! There is no shortage of benefits of using information interviews. But, you know me - I like to get tactical. Plan: What do you want to learn about or discover? What is the context the purpose - put together 3-4 questions. Don’t forget that you may need to break down questions into smaller questions to re-frame questions. Think like a journalist. You’re just getting information and looking for little clues. Don’t forget to prepare a little mini-intro about you & what is the objective for the meeting.  Engage: Who are potentially some folks that could give you some of these answers. Who in your network should you engage. FREEBIE ALERT! Connect the Dots Companion Workbook. To help put your networking and objectives into perspective.  This workbook will help you identify who in your network to engage and more importantly, how to engage and what are some topics that you want to talk about. This will help provide you the basis, for your informational interviews. Warm Up: Meet the person and make sure that you take a few minutes to do some warm up questions. Getting to know them. People love talking about themselves. You can ask about how did they get into this field, or what does a day typically look like for them or talk about a hot industry topics. Just make sure you take the time to warm up the conversation.  Conduct:  Conducting the informational interview. Be open to go off script. This is a big challenge for people. The idea is to pick up clues, not to be perspective. You’re trying to discover what you don’t know.  Reflections:  Every time, you do an informational interview - think about did you get the information that you were looking for. You may need to refine and re-frame the question. We need to remember that we just need to get better at asking BETTER questions. By the way, you know I absolutely think Michael Bungay-Stainer’s Book - the Coaching Habit:Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way Your Lead Forever is an essential must read. This book provides such valuable ways to PHRASE questions to get information out. Thank you: I cannot express this enough. We need to take a few minutes to say thank you and be grateful for the time. I did an entire blog post about the value of gratitude. I’ll add it to the show notes. Send a handwritten note or email. Just to thank them for their time and the value that they provided. Do NOT ask for favors.  You’re just starting to build relationships. You can touch base with them, throughout your journey and give them a little bit of an update.   One thing that I’ve learned, is that people want to genuinely help. However, they also want to know specifically what it is that you want. We get so many requests for our time, so we need to prioritize. Don’t ask for 4 hours of their time, ask for 25-30 minutes over coffee and BE SPECIFIC. “I’d like to learn from you, about what it’s like working as a Business Analyst at Company XYZ” or “I’d like to get your advice and perspective, of how to get more hands on experience with Blockchain technology”.  Information Interviews is another essential business life skill. I’ve got some freebies for you. I hope you found this helpful and useful. I look forward to hearing from you. Feel free to share the content with others and leave comments. I love feedback.   Best Always,Sapna    FREEBIE ALERT!  Connect the Dots Companion Workbook.  To help put your networking and objectives into perspective. This workbook will help you identify who in your network to engage and more importantly, how to engage and what are some topics that you want to talk about.  This will help provide you the basis, for your informational interviews. Other links:  Importance of Gratitude 3 steps to a perfect informational interview How to get the most out of an informational interview

Founder and President of ​NKPR​, Natasha Koifman has built one of North America’s top PR and marketing companies. Natasha’s strengths as a marketer, communicator and relationship builder have earned her an award-winning reputation for successfully growing North American and global brands across many sectors. Recognized as one of Canada's most powerful and innovative women, Natasha has been honored with awards from the Women's Executive Network (WXN) and BizBash, recently completed a TEDx Talk and had been profiled in top-tier publications that include FORBES, The Globe and Mail, and Marie Claire. In this episode: How she built one of North America’s top PR and marketing companies working with big brands and big CELEBRITIES Difference between PR & Marketing True Entrepreneur DNA  How she’s inspired by EVERYTHING How it was a natural fit and evolution to become an Angel Investor Difference between VC & Investor How she’s been able to combine all of her personal and professional interests What the ‘F Word’ podcast is all about and so much more… About NKPR:  NKPR is a 30-person agency with office in Toronto and New York and we're always looking for talented people who share our passion for great work. As part of the NKPR team you will work alongside the brightest in the field. With the support of a strong team, NKPR is a great place to keep learning, stay ahead of the curve and advance your career. They offer ongoing training, employee appreciation events, comprehensive dental and health coverage, endless snacks and DJ Fridays. Everyone is encouraged to support each other and to give back through the NKPR 26 Acts of Kindness program. Connect with Natasha: NKPR.net | Facebook | Twitter | NKPR on LinkedIn | Instagram

I’ll be honest, I’ve always been a Brandon Walsh girl over Dylan McKay! I have to say, I just watched Netflix’s Riverdale episode, and how they honour Fred Andrew (who was played by Luke Perry). I have to say… WOW! They really nailed it! How they handled Luke Perry’s death, was absolutely beautiful. The writers truly honoured Luke Perry and the audience that grew up with him. We got to truly mourn his death (here is a little photo tribute). My sister and I were bawling throughout the entire episode. These writers were definitely thinking with their hearts and that level of empathy was so evident. We actually felt like we attended his funeral and got to say goodbye to him. They invoked so many memories and really helped us along the journey. There were a few hidden surprises, that just took our breath away.   This got me thinking about how this is a great example of design thinking. First of all, we all hear the words design thinking but it’s hard to envision and understand. Design Thinking is Human- Centered design, versus system centered. The Riverdale show writers, really understood their target market. Having all the Riverdale parents being teen idol stars from the 80’s, we know from Luke Perry, Molly Ringwald, Mark Consuelos, Skeet Ulrich, Robin Givens & Mädchen Amick.  They really kept the audience in mind when writing this episode. They really understand & understood their target audience and the different audience personas. Which means that every piece of content speaks to the audience personas. Which is exactly why this Riverdale episode and the funeral of Fred Andrews (aka Luke Perry) was such a big deal. How they handled this so tastefully, will encourage even more loyalty.   Design Thinking provides a hybrid approach to problem solving. It does not just look at data analytics and science, it also uses emotions and intuition. Design Thinking really provides a hands-on-approach to problem solving. Not just researching on a computer or google to problem solve. It wants you to get out their on the field to talk to people to ‘hear’ & ‘understand’. Less talk and more action. It’s an iterative process, where we seek to understand the user, challenge ‘same-old’ assumptions , and redefine problems to identify additional opportunities. Design Thinking is a total shift to the mindset.   There are lots of times that we get caught up in meetings and not actually talking to people that would be impacted. We make decisions without doing early testing. Designing the solution in real-time with the actual end users (aka  people that will be using their solution), is where you will hit that sweet spot.   Here are some tips for you to start to embrace design thinking Know thy audience, including audience Personas – get to truly understand your audience. What are they struggling with? What are worked well before? What doesn’t? Learn from Failures – so try and test early. Get out there and listen and learn. Don’t just sit there and google to do research. Design Thinking goes beyond a computer, it goes back to the basics (pre-internet time). Just get out there and talk to people! Embrace Ambiguity – don’t be afraid of not knowing things. This is where many folks fall victim to ‘Imposter Syndrome’. Look at the gaps and unknowns as clues. Play detective and enjoy the mystery. It will allow you to be open to hearing and exploring new possibilities. One of my favourite quotes “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.”― Thomas A. Edison Iterate & continuously improve – don’t develop something and go into a black box, until you finish developing everything. Touch base with your customers/target audiences frequently, grab their feedback to improve things throughout the process. I hope this helps. I’ve also included a free little checklist to help you find questions to gather feedback. Just click here REFLECTIONS AFTER ACTION REVIEW. It takes 10 minutes to do a reflection to thinking.   Let me know what your thoughts are.  Best Always, Sapna

This is the 1st of the new professional development ‘tune-up’ series! Short mini session, to elevate your game. Who has ever experienced working with a contractor/technician/repair person? As soon as we say this, we know.. UGH.. it’s going to be an awful and painful experience. So, my dishwasher broke down the other day. In a panic, I called an Appliance repair company.  They came the very next day, charged me money and put in a temporary part. That’s when the big issue happened. The part arrived and trying to schedule them to come back, was challenging. They gave windows from 4-7pm and then, wouldn’t show up. I’m sure many of you have experienced this. It’s beyond frustrating and we end up going through 32 flavours of emotion. From being patient, to irritated to angry. It’s amazing what happens, when these contractors overcommit and under-deliver.   Think of the experience that we go through, we someone like a contractor/technician or anyone in our lives underdeliver. There is a reason why parents always say ‘please don’t promise things to my kids, that you’re unable to deliver’. There is a massive fallout and disappointment that occurs. It’s hard to repair and pick up the pieces for someone to break promises. It’s interesting, we all know how it feels - which feels AWFUL! Yet, so many of us to this at work. We have a habit of saying ‘yes’ at work.  We don’t want to disappoint someone, or don’t want to be seen as collaborative.  Then, we sit down and realize that we can’t make that timeline. We try to make it work but we just can’t do it. Some of us, may get all stressed out trying our best to make the timelines, some will just continue working on our own timelines (often, failing to communicate or notify the other vested party that we can’t make that timeline). Yet, we all KNOW how it feels to be let down. Here is the impact of not managing expectations of not being able to make the timeline.  TRUST IS BROKEN. Yup, ultimately, we stop trusting the other person. They get seen as unreliable and the perception of ‘take their timelines and commitments’ with a grain of salt. It happens all the time. Now, there are ways to mitigate this risk. Here are some practical tactics. SCOPE IT OUT: Don’t commit to anything, until you take the time to scope things out.  Just say ‘let me get back to you on timelines, I want to scope things out’. What you’re saying is, let me do some due diligence to come up with a realistic plan that will generate a win-win. This shows a level of maturity. Then break down the task into smaller tasks & timelines. This needs to be looked at holistically, with all the other items that you have. Sometimes, saying YES to something, means that we need to say NO to something else. Or better yet, we can ask our supervisors/bosses/stakeholders to help us re-prioritize.  MANAGE EXPECTATIONS: If you don’t know the expected turnaround time - Sit down and talk.  Align on what is feasible and what isn’t feasible during that timeline. Find out, what do they need 1st. What is their minimum acceptable product/deliverable that they need. They may not need everything, just a few things. One of my favourite lines is, “when is the latest that I can get this back to you’? You'll be surprised, you might be thinking at the end of the week and they may be thinking the end of the month. Not everyone is reactive! COMMUNICATE: look folks, people are not mind readers. This part always drives me insane… just like those that don’t signal to change lanes. It doesn’t take much to send a quick message to say ‘Got the request, just looking into it’. This shows that you’ve acknowledged their request and it’s not going into a black hole. Give them quick updates or even let them see drafts. Communicate with them THROUGHOUT the journey, not just at the beginning and at the end.  OPTIONS: If you can’t do something, be upfront. I am a girl that likes options. I always provide 2 or 3 options. I don’t want to be seen as the person that throws things over the fence and say ‘catch- it’s your problem’. I want people to know, that I may not be able to do something because of X,Y,Z reasons. However, here are a few options that might help you solve this issue. For example, Sally is doing something similar and you might be able to leverage this  or I can do it, in a few weeks (beginning of Dec) or there I could oversee one of their team members and they can do the work and I can coach them through it.   People like options, they want to know that there is no dead end. Can you imagine, going to the doctors and being told that there is no options to get healthy! Don’t be that person! Provide options, so that people know there is hope. They will respect you for your honesty and the ability to think things through.  I’ve got a freebie for you.  After Action Review or Reflections review. I do this at the end of every milestone or deliverable.  I’ve created a free cheatsheet for you, that you can easily download and try. Just click here REFLECTIONS AFTER ACTION REVIEW. It takes 10 minutes to do a reflection to thinking.   Let me know what your thoughts are. 

Being that this is our 100th episode, I can’t believe that the time has gone so fast. I started the CanInnovate podcast two years ago but still moving strong and it is just mind boggling to me. I keep thinking about this episode that I am going to record for you, my whole experience and the journey for the past two years and I have to say that I am really glad that I started this podcast journey because it opened up a whole new world for me that I never thought that would actually happen. My Elevate Tech Fest Experience   I got invited to speak on stage at Elevate conference which is a massive Tech Fest in Toronto. I was invited to moderate and lead the fireside chat with Ariel Garten, who is the founder of Muse – the brain sensing headband. It was kind of surreal to me because it happened so quickly and the next thing I knew is that I am sitting in the green room prepping to go on stage. I cannot describe how I feel because it is so fascinating, exciting and nerve-wracking experience. I got all sweaty but Ariel and the rest of the team backstage told me that I was a natural at it and that helped me get the confidence I needed to be on stage and I felt that I am getting better at it. What I find amazing during my time on stage is that, while listening to Ariel talk about being a serial entrepreneur at the age of 16 years old and she was coming up with a product line and she knew nothing about how to break a great product line but she just did it anyway. If you think about it, at 16 years old with a can-do attitude that nothing is going to hold her back, I became fascinated by her mindset. It is also fitting because the Muse headband is about meditation and clearing your mind and how to get a positive mindset. My experience at Elevate Tech Fest was truly amazing and unforgettable.    The 100 Episodes of CanInnovate Podcast Being that this is our 100th episode, I can’t believe that the time has gone so fast. I started the CanInnovate podcast two years ago but still moving strong and it is just mind boggling to me. I keep thinking about this episode that I am going to record for you, my whole experience and the journey for the past two years and I have to say that I am really glad that I started this podcast journey because it opened up a whole new world for me that I never thought that would actually happen. I keep going back to the five-seconds of courage when starting this podcast and not knowing how to do it because I just have my management consultant skills and overcoming the imposter syndrome and I just had a whirlwind of experience. I have met incredible executives that are so innovative and thinking about it, it is how I got on stage with Ariel because she was on the podcast three times, we were able to create masterclass together and being able to connect with her and that would not have happened if I didn’t start this podcast. I also think about my other speaking experience at other smaller events, conferences to having an Amazon best seller book, the online course: #Futureproof Yourself and so much more.  I am really glad that I started this journey and it opened up a lot of doors for me as I keep saying yes to a lot of stuff but it kept me thinking what do I have to say no to.   Episode 100 Going Onwards I overcame being a workaholic and it was a two decade old habit that I had and I really wanted to think about where I am putting my time and effort into and I actually had to start pairing some things down for the things that don't make sense any more or for the frequency that needs to be revamped. I actually resigned from a couple of board directors and I also want to make sure to keep myself healthy. I was thinking about the podcast and you all know how much I love it but I was also thought about all the emails that I get. I have been getting a lot of emails about the lack of professional development topics especially when I talked about how to prioritize, give and receive feedback, the vulnerability and the mindset podcast episodes. Ariel Garten’s episode 45 which is about the Innovation Mindset: how to untangle the knots in your head and killing that inner jerk is one of the episodes that provides tactical exercise has changed a lot of ways that you, the listeners have been thinking and in fact, I am still getting a lot of emails about it. With me teaching at George Brown Consulting 101, the futureproof class, course and projects where I am coaching with other people to become more marketable, to increase their skill set and help them shift their mindset; I am thinking that it is time for us to start focusing on our own development and I will be bringing a lot of my management consulting best practices The podcast will be shifting to focusing on: How we would innovate ourselves We will still have innovator guests who are changing the norm We will also have topics that will be broken down into smaller topics whether it is email management, when to prioritize or to how to say no to something elegantly I am so excited for this shift and I hope you will continue to support me and the podcast. Here’s to our 100 episodes, to 100 more and I can’t wait to hear your feedback.   Links: Ariel Garten Episodes: Innovation Mindset: Undo the knots in your head Muse 2 takes innovation to a whole new level Optimize the crazy in all of our minds Imposter Syndrome: I'm an imposter, hear me roar! Feedback: 3 reasons why giving and receiving feedback is important Vulnerability: What is vulnerability and why should we be vulnerable Amazon best seller book: Connect the Dots: How to turn strangers into meaningful network relationships Futureproof Course – a digital course that will help you future proof yourself LinkedIn episode: Discovering the power of LinkedIn with janice Porter

Janice began her career as a teacher, was a corporate trainer for many years and has now been in business for herself for several years. She found her niche coaching and training business professionals to network at a mastery level and turn their connections into new business. Her passion is working with motivated people who are coachable and want to build their businesses through Relationship Marketing and Networking – offline & online.   Episode Overview: LinkedIn training is a huge part of Janice’s business – she believes anyone in business or looking for a new position, needs to have a professional LinkedIn profile, and that it is a powerful online platform for attracting new clients or being found by recruiters. It is also a valuable tool for building and strengthening one’s reputation and authority in his or her field. In this episode: How she got into the LinkedIn world and what fascinates her about it Why people underestimate LinkedIn's power How to connect and build relationships that really matter Your not networking to make friends but to build relationship that will take you somewhere Janice shares how to set-up a proper LinkedIn profile using my LinkedIn as an example Why asking recommendations are important and so much more! Janice knows how powerful it can be for one’s business to build relationships and show appreciation to prospects and clients alike. It really is all about the follow up! She is affiliated with a company called SendOutCards – and shows her clients how to use this system to show appreciation, stay top of mind with people, and increase their sales. If you are interested in hearing more about LinkedIn, effective relationship-building strategies, appreciation marketing, or receiving solid networking information, Janice welcomes your calls.   Resources Mentioned: Janice Podcast – Relationships Rule Podcast Sapna episode on Janice podcast: Connect the Dots: How to Turn Strangers Into Meaningful Network Relationship   Connect with Janice: JanicePorter.com | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn

Corey Ellis is the Co-founder and CEO of Growcer, a company started with the goal of providing a tool to grow food in any climate, all year round. His unique perspective as a social entrepreneur has helped him understand how to enable community-level impact through profitable market-driven business models.   Episode Overview: You know that moment that you just get inspired and think… WOW! I’m glad someone really thought about that. It will make the world a better place! That’s just what happened! I got to sit down and chat with Corey Ellis is the Co-founder and CEO of Growcer, a company started with the goal of providing a tool to grow food in any climate, all year round.     We talk about so many topics:  How a trip to the Arctic, inspired Growcer How this innovative idea is helping farmers, entrepreneurs and small businesses Even turning non-farmers into farmers, including Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau The balance of being socially good & profitable has created a WIN-WIN-WIN situation empowers remote Canadian regions to grow fresh produce locally using modular hydroponic systems Saving water Helping feed the growing worldwide population Eliminating Carbon Footprint How Canada is a food insecure country The Dragon’s Den experience And so much more!   About the Growcer: Growcer is an innovative approach to allow communities and businesses to grow food year-round. Our offering includes our core technology (modular hydroponic equipment, with automation and remote monitoring, making it user-friendly), along with business support and expert horticultural and technical know-how for the lifetime of their system. What's more, Growcer systems can grow fresher, better tasting products closer to consumers, without costing more than current prices in most markets. With this model, Growcer empowers people to adopt this new solution for 21st century farming, and makes it possible to grow more with less – moving us to a future where our food system can be more sustainable. To date, Growcer technology has enabled millions of servings of vegetables to be grown in some of the world's harshest climates – including within the Arctic Circle. Growcers have been deployed in temperatures below -50C and above 40C.   Connect with Corey: TheGrowcer.ca | Facebook | Twitter: @the_growcer and @corey_w_ellis ‏ | LinkedIn | Instagram  

Dr. Daniel Shapiro is a Canadian entrepreneur and academic. The focus of his work has been deep learning artificial intelligence, including, enterprise consulting (Lemay.ai and Stallion.ai), audit automation (AuditMap.ai), trading algorithms (Investifai), and biological neural networks (Nuraleve). Daniel has over 30 peer reviewed publications and patents.   In this episode: What AI is based on his perspective How AI can help in customer segmentation for marketing and sales We talked about how AI can help the consumers with their privacy Do more with less What job sectors will be affected by AI Where will AI go in the following years What is Lemay.Ai and so much more!   About AuditMap: AuditMap is an idea funded using proceeds from our AI consulting business. Bootstrapping your own idea with your own money forces you to ask tough questions. We serve enterprise clients, and found that humans in these organizations are bad at diving into a large set of internal company documents and pulling together a coherent story about a given topic. With artificial intelligence we identify critical statements through the lens of an organization's "Audit Universe", and their Enterprise Risk Management Framework. It's like an AI-based search engine, trained using expertise in the internal audit domain. AuditMap handles the tedious matching and classification across time, so that executives can understand upcoming risks in key segments of the business before they turn into financial losses or penalties.   About Lemay.ai: Lemay is led by two engineers, Mathieu Lemay and Daniel Shapiro, PhD, performing research and development and rapid deployment of solutions in the field of Artificial Intelligence/Deep Learning (AI/ DL). They have delivered AI/DL products to both private and public sector clients, and have performed research in the AI/DL fields of natural language understanding, automated data segmentation, sentiment analysis, recommendation systems, text/image similarity and more. Currently, their bilingual team holds 5 patents, 8 certifications, 35 publications, and 2 PhDs. Lemay’s team has grown to 10, and continues to grow. They cooperate with their joint venture partner Stallion.ai for projects in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.   Related Links: Future Shock? The impact of automation in Canada's labour market   Connect with Jay: Lemay.ai | Twitter | LinkedIn: Daniel Shiparo and Lemay.ai

Paul Sloane is an experienced speaker, course leader and facilitator. A recognised authority on innovation and creative speaking, he speaks and gives workshops to leading corporations around the world. He is also the best-selling author of How to Be a Brilliant Thinker, The Innovative Leader, The Leader's Guide to Lateral Thinking Skills and editor of A Guide to Open Innovation and Crowdsourcing, all published by Kogan Page.   Episode Overview: Do you want your team to generate great ideas and deliver successful innovations?  I have been following Paul Sloane for awhile now, his tweets always made me giggle. He really is the Innovation King! We chat on this episode around numerous areas about Innovation: You’ll discover:  The difference between creativity and innovation Different ways to measure Innovation How employees need to be idea generators Risk Takers vs Risk Avoiders – man versus women Innovation Audit and so much more   About Destination Innovation:  Destination Innovation is a consultancy service led by Paul Sloane to promote lateral thinking and innovation. We help improve the agility of your team. We help people improve leadership and innovation. We provide talks, workshops and facilitation.   Related Links: What is the difference between creativity and innovation How can you measure your innovation? What are the best metrics? An innovative complaint – United breaks guitars LinkedIn Group: Lateral Thinking in Business Lateral Puzzles   Recommended Books: Lateral Thinking Skills Lateral Thinking Puzzlers How to be a Brilliant Thinker The Innovation Leader Think Like an Innovators   Connect with Paul: Destination-Innovation.com | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn

Taylan Pince is the CEO & Founder of Hipo, a product studio that has helped launch businesses in a myriad of industries, including healthcare, finance, smart home, education, and natural sciences. For the past two decades, Taylan has focused on developing tech products that improve lives and change industries. His expertise in product design and development, as well as mobile, web and emerging technologies, have contributed to the success of more than 100 companies worth over $10B collectively.     Episode Overview: UX/UI design is really like a secret sauce for a company to really shine brighter than the rest. This episode is for those that want to understand how UX/UI can really benefit their business to make them more innovative. In fact, UX/UI design philosophy is something that everyone should adapt. We should really look to understand the experience from a consumer perspective and design that intentional experience with that in mind. UX Design refers to the term User Experience Design, while UI Design stands for User Interface Design. Both elements are crucial to a product and work closely together. But despite their professional relationship, the roles themselves are quite different, referring to very different parts of the process and the design discipline. Process design teams use to create products that provide meaningful and relevant experiences to users. This involves the design of the entire process of acquiring and integrating the product, including aspects of branding, design, usability and function   In this episode we discuss:   What exactly UX/UI design is & why it’s big deal How Hipo is built on a philosophy of Empathy The power of a discovery sprint How tech is not a disruptor The fastest growing segments looking to adapt UX design And so much more   About Hipo UX: Hipo is a product development company that works with startups and enterprises across the world to bring novel ideas to market. At Hipo, they specialize in providing their clients with two critical things: flexibility and quality. They can build maintainable and scalable product solutions very quickly and efficiently, so their clients can focus on growth and sales. Resources Mentioned: Roncesvalles, Toronto  Book: Radicalized by Cory Doctoro  Book: New York 2141 by Kim Stanley Robinson   Connect with Taylan: HipoLabs.com | Facebook | Twitter: @taylanpince and @hipolabs | LinkedIn: Taylan Prince and Hipo | Instagram  

Marc Guberti is a USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author with over 100,000 students in over 180 countries enrolled in his online courses. He is the host of the Breakthrough Success Podcast and Radio Show where listeners learn how to achieve their breakthroughs. He coaches content creators on how they can attract more traffic to their content and boost revenue. An Author of 23 books, including his newly published Breakthrough Success: Achieving Greatness In Business & Life (Grow Your Influence Series Book 4)   Episode Overview: I just had to do it. I needed to get Marc Guberti on the podcast and I’m so glad that I did. He’s an absolute inspirational gem! He started his business at the age of 11 and ten years later, he’s on top of the world with his books/podcasts/online courses/summits. I had to dig in deeper and learn from the Master himself. We hit so many topics: How he got started at the age of 11 I even ask if he faced age discrimination How he made me look at my 10 year old niece a little differently Some productivity tips, especially if you’re Serial Juggler Occupation Favourite person that he met How his book – Breakthrough Success that is about to be released, is already on the Amazon Best Seller list one month BEFORE his actual book launch! So much more   Books Mentioned: The Compound Effect  The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results The 10X Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure   Resource Mentioned: Marc Guberti's podcast episode 16 and episode 292 with Seth Godin   Connect with Marc: MarcGuberti.com | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | YouTube

From building planes for Airbus, to creating Augmented Reality products for online shopping, Jason have always worked to make consumer experiences better at scale. He is from South Africa but now live in Toronto. Jason enjoy drone photography, and pick up hockey and classical music concerts.   Episode Overview: This episode is really special and it is for those that are going in a direction that may not have legs. Your spidey senses maybe telling you that!     Jason and I chat about the importance of pivoting. Jason is such a down to earth and humble person. He really truly gives back and wants people to learn, as he learns and grows. Jason is a serial entrepreneur and knows how to make magic happen. I think one of his superpowers is the ability to listen and deeply hear what the other person is saying. In this episode, we chat about: The pivot and shift to HeyTaylor The power of designing solutions with the client How to land important meetings, when you don’t have the initial contacts A hidden gem of a resource within the government Where he got the inspiration for the company name...it’s not what you think! And so much more   About Hey Taylor: Hey Taylor is a company that focuses on strengthening relationships between retail stores and customers online. They create ecommerce merchant products in Augmented Reality for shoppers to try before they buy while they shop online. They help increase sales and reduce returns. The team at Hey Taylor primarily develop tools for the homegrown Shopify platform and it's merchants and also work with a lot of local Toronto based customers. They use the diversity of the city to get input into how to improve their experience as Canadians are quite thoughtful when it comes to creating respectful and friendly relationships.   Connect with Jason: HeyTaylor.com | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn   Related Links: #FutureProof Course - Learn management consulting timeless secrets that will always keep you ahead of the curve. Connect the Dots - How to turn strangers into meaningful network relationships. Cheat Sheets - 10 Biggest Networking Mistakes to Avoid

Jay Dilley is a Fintech Entrepreneur and CEO of Ratebroker, an innovative financial services marketplace that acts as a champion for the consumer. He believes in financial inclusion, is passionate about fundamentally improving people's lives through technology. An experienced executive, Jay has held President and VP roles in tech and commercial aviation. He has been recognized as a top 40 under 40 recipient, and for his championing of women in leadership. He holds an HBComm in Finance and Economics, a MSc. Mgt, is a CFA charterholder and is a member of YPO. We have too many Canadians that are excluded from the financial system, approximately 1M in 2015 were unbanked and 5M were underbanked. Episode Overview:   Episode 92, we chat with THE Jay Dilley, who is truly a change maker and driving a different evolution of how to shop for your money! This episode is for anyone that wants to have more options in Finances/Insurance/Mortgages and so on… which means, this episode is for EVERYONE! He provides such PURE GOLD information and here are the topics that we chat about: How Ratebroker is the Tinder for Financial Services Difference between Rate Comparison tool and RateBroker. It’s about your data privacy Getting vendors to BID for our business How many people are Unbanked and Underbanked In Canada. Totally surprised me, as we are not a third world country Tips for challenging the Status Quo, GDP and it’s not what you think it is! He’s brilliant, insightful and everyone should be using RateBroker. I love having options.   About Ratebroker: At Rate Broker we think finding the best rates should be easy. They put you in the driver's seat we get company's to fight for your business! RateBroker has been setup to get you the consumer the best deals possible on Mortgage Rates,Home , Car and life, health insurance's. Ratebroker is one of the fastest's growing company's in New Zealand in 2016!   Resource Mentioned: GDP Social Media Metric   Connect with Jay: Ratebroker.ca | LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter

Daniel Eberhard is the CEO of Koho which offers an alternative to the traditional banking experience. He has built his career as an entrepreneur by finding ways to create scalable mission-driven companies.    In 2010, he co-founded Kineticor Renewables and facilitated the development of a 20 megawatt wind energy plant up to the point of construction. The company was acquired by Algonquin Power in 2011.  After the sale, Daniel took the opportunity to backpack through Europe and saw firsthand the differences in the European banking system compared to Canada’s. The experience inspired him to take a deeper look into Canada’s flawed banking system. In 2014, he founded KOHO Financial, Canada’s first challenger bank, looking to help eradicate debt caused by a system fueled by hidden fees and interest rates. With an integrated app and reloadable Visa card, KOHO is building the ultimate savings experience and leading the charge in the fintech space  Daniel was also named Baystreet Bull’s Top 30 under 30, along with KOHO receiving the NASDAQ award for Best FinTech Company.     SUBSCRIBE TO CANINNOVATE iTunes| iHeart | Stitcher | Google | Spotify | SoundCloud     Episode Overview:   Did you know that the average Canadian spends more on banking fees than our monthly NETFLIX subscription? This episode is for all those that want to save more in a FUN WAY. I talked to Daniel the CEO of KOHO. How different is the European Banking System compared to Canada What is KOHO and how it works We talked about ‘WHAT THE FEE” Daniel shares about Open Banking framework and what it really means How the rest of the world, outside North America is more CREATIVE/ INNOVATIVE and TRANSPARENT when it comes to banking We also talk about the KOHO office environment, scooters and beer!     About Koho:   KOHO offers an alternative to the traditional banking experience. They don’t make money off of complexity or by hoodwinking their users. They believe the financial system should be open, intuitive, and designed to help you live a better life. To help all Canadians, from Tofino to Fogo island restore financial balance. Money can be way too stressful. The team at Koho want to empower you to see how easy managing your finances can actually be.     Connect with Daniel:   Website: Koho.ca Facebook: @Koho Twitter: @GetKoho and @DanEbs Instagram: @getkoho LinkedIn: Daniel Eberhard and Koho   If you love this episode, share your thoughts and takeaways on the comment section below or leave us a review. 

We have the brilliant & talented April Dunford on the podcast today. She’s a much sought-out international speaker on the topics of Positioning, Market Strategy and New Product Introduction. April is a positioning consultant. 7 successful technology startups and 3 global tech giants, over 16 products and more. She knows how to make magic happen & she’s sharing these secrets in her new book called ‘Obviously Awesome - how to nail product position, so customers get it, buy it and love it!”   SUBSCRIBE TO CANINNOVATE iTunes| iHeart | Stitcher | Google | Spotify | SoundCloud     Episode Overview: This episode is really for everyone. We all need to learn how to position products, services and ourselves!  April has launched a book called ‘OBVIOUSLY AWESOME’ April and I get down deep to talk about: The inspiration for the book The real value behind positioning - Positioning is the strategic underpinning of everything we do in sales and marketing and yet it is very misunderstood and rarely done well What positioning is & What positioning is NOT If you thought branding and messaging, you weren’t alone. I thought that too until...this book The pitfalls of Pitch competitions How writing a book is so hard. We both have definitely underestimated the amount of work, in creating it.   And so much more I’ll do a separate Q&A for anyone that joins my Book Launch team, for Connect the Dots, turning strangers into meaningful network relationships. For those that want the behind the scenes - the good/bad & the ugly.   April's Book:  Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It    What makes this a Canadian Innovation or Innovative thinking?   April spent 25 years as an executive at a series of successful Canadian startups, 6 of which were acquired by larger U.S. companies so she also was an executive at IBM, Siebel Systems, Sybase, etc. Across my career I launched 16 products into market. I have always been fascinated by what makes some products very successful while others, even some that had clearly better technology, failed.    The past few years I've transitioned to doing consulting work and my focus is specifically on Positioning. Positioning is the strategic underpinning of everything we do in sales and marketing and yet it is very misunderstood and rarely done well. I've developed a methodology for doing Positioning that I've validated with dozens of tech companies and I've just released a book that will help any company do it for themselves.     Connect with April:   Website: AprilDunford.com Twitter: @Aprildunford LinkedIn: April Dunford    

Amanda Chen, founder of Salty Paloma, a line of naturally flavoured salts and sugars handcrafted in Toronto. She noticed a gap when there was a demand of higher quality spirits and mixers, but nothing on garnishes, which is a huge aspect of a balanced cocktail.    With no background in food or business I created these products in her home kitchen and started making sales within the first month of launching. Amanda since expanded to host cocktail classes and in-house bartending for private parties and special events. In a previous life she was a journalist, turned copywriter, turned digital strategist until she walked away to give 100% of herself to her business, working for under minimum wage as a bartender in the city.     SUBSCRIBE TO CANINNOVATE iTunes| iHeart | Stitcher | Google | Spotify | SoundCloud     Episode Overview:   This episode is for those that have an idea and don’t believe that you have the skill sets to make magic happen.  We all have ideas and many times we talk ourselves out of trying it.  Amanda shares her journey with Salty Paloma. She HAD no background in food & yet has launched a line of natural cocktail rimmers and gave some great marketing tips that makes finding your target audience less scary. I really hope that you get inspired to start to take action and test out your ideas and concepts.  The last thing anyone wants is to fall in the ‘could've, should've’ cycle of regret. I’m not going to say life is short, but…  you owe it to your future self to be adventurous and embrace those things that you’re curious or intrigued about. You’ll never know where the journey can take you and what opportunities open up. I hope you get inspired as I definitely did!    Don't make yourself a target consumer   About Salty Paloma:   They are drink lovers who knew their drinks deserved better than table salt. When they couldn’t find what their thirsty hearts were looking for, they made it. That’s how Salty Paloma came to be. Named after the Paloma – a lesser-known but equally delicious tequila cocktail made with grapefruit soda – their goal was to serve up one of a kind rimmers, to help drink lovers cocktail like they mean it.     Connect with Amanda:   Website: SaltyPaloma.com Instagram: @SaltyPaloma Twitter: @saltypaloma and @missamandachen Facebook: SaltyPaloma LinkedIn: Amanda Chen

Co-hosts Lisa & Rebecca LOVE dishing out the world's craziest wedding tales! All the stories told on The Secret Life of Weddings Podcast are 100% true and completely unbelievable! These tales of nuptial woe are guaranteed to make you cry-laugh. Lisa Mark is a professional photographer with over 10 years experience in the industry. Lisa runs a fine art wedding photography studio in Rockwood, ON. Lisa was honored to be named as the 2014 'Canadian Photographer of the Year' and 'Best Photographer in Ontario' by the 2014 Canadian Wedding Industry Awards. Teaching others makes Lisa happy, and she therefore began offering both personal mentoring and workshops to professional photographers in 2015. Having hosted several multi-day in-person workshops in Toronto, ON, Lisa recently launched her online school in order to reach a broader audience.   SUBSCRIBE TO CANINNOVATE iTunes| iHeart | Stitcher | Google | Spotify | SoundCloud     Episode Overview:   Innovation, by contrast, is an improvement to an existing product, process, or service. The word Innovation comes from the Latin word, Innovatus, which means to ‘renew or change.   I’ve been pretty stoked to have Lisa Mark one of the Co-hosts of The Secret Life of Weddings Podcast- a comedy podcast sharing listeners' most hilarious true wedding horror stories!  If you don’t know Lisa Mark-  you’re totally missing out! Lisa is a professional photographer with over 10 years experience in the industry. Lisa runs a fine art wedding photography studio in Rockwood, ON. Lisa was honoured to be named as the 2014 'Canadian Photographer of the Year' and 'Best Photographer in Ontario' by the 2014 Canadian Wedding Industry Awards. Lisa’s wedding images have been featured in Huffington Post, Junebug Weddings, Wedluxe, Weddingbells, The Wedding Co., The Knot, The Wedding Opera & more. If that’s not impressive.. Try this on for size…privately commissioned by bands such as Our Lady Peace and Sloan to photograph their promotional images and many others.     About Secret Life Of Weddings:   Canadian comedy podcast hosted by wedding photographers Lisa & Rebecca featuring CRAZY true wedding stories.  "Who are these two podcast hosts? WTF do they know about weddings anyway?" Well, first of all they don't appreciate your tone. Secondly, they happen to know a few things because they have been wedding photographers for over 20 years combined in Toronto, Ontario Canada. Yes, they’ve seen the craziest stuff you can imagine. Mostly they share the wildest wedding drama from their listeners and from the news. Remember what they say - truth is stranger than fiction. As they say at the end of every episode - anything can happen at weddings ... and they will be here to tell you all about it.     Connect with Lisa:   Website: TheSecretLifeofWeddings.com Podcast: The Secret Life Of Wedding Podcast Instagram: @secretlifeofweddings Twitter: @secretlifeofwed

It’s my birthday and I have some things to give away. Just a few of my favorite things! How to enter. Simple!  If you’re already subscribed to our newsletter, I have entered your email address into the draw! If not, no worries - just go to either website and put your email in the newsletter subscribe box. I’ve also created a link and have put in the show notes.   Here is the link to join: http://www.sapnamalhotra.io/birthday Someone asked me recently, if Podcasting has changed my life. It really got me thinking, was this a game changer for me?   The answer was YES! Podcasting has made me courageous and more adventurous. I get inspired everytime I do a podcast episode. I love being surrounded by people that are challenging the Status Quo. I’m doing more things than I ever would have done.  I’m trying new things and constantly thinking ‘WHY NOT’, instead of ‘BUT’. A new fresh take on things.     At the end of 2018, I had made six month goals (instead of yearly goals), because I wanted the flexibility to add to things. So, my 3 goals were   Publishing my Networking book - NAILED IT!!! In fact, I ended up on the Amazon Best Sellers list, which totally took me by surprise. First of all, I need to thank everyone for their amazing support for my book launch, Connect the Dots, turning strangers into meaningful network relationships. I have to say, I love all the emails and notes. I’m glad that many people are finding the book and the companion workbook so useful!  One listener, said the book had the ‘Chicken Soup for the Soul’ type of feeling and they loved all the stories!  I’m sooo glad. This has definitely been a labour of love! The best was when my niece that named the book, was reading it.  I was telling my brother in law, that we shouldn’t let her read it because she’s too clever to begin with and will learn how to build relationships so that she always stays ahead.. She’ll negotiate and win like no tomorrow! And she’s only 10!   Goal #2 was to conduct a free sales webinar. Which I did. I discussed common sales proposal mistakes and best practices. I’ve added the webinar information in the shownotes. I love teaching and sharing best practices.   My goal #3 was to finalize the volunteer partnership, so that we can start to make an impact on the world. I truly believe that education and awareness is instrumental in overcoming any challenges and obstacles. If children start teaching their uneducated parents, then we have a hope for the future. We need to provide opportunities for those that don’t have that privilege. And I found a charity that does just that. I’ve partnered with Food for Life Vrindavan (FFLV) . In fact, a portion of the proceeds of the book is going to them.  Primarily, FFLV runs schools providing free education, meals, skill training and medical help to over 1500 girls in Vrindavan, India. This also includes free Meal Distribution, Cleaning and Tree planting, Paper Recycling , Organic farming, Sewing and Embroidery Centre (providing training & employment opportunity for village women). Over the past 25 years of working at grassroots, they saw the intense hardships a girl faces without an education, Child Marriage being the most common one, where she is forced into an adult role at an early age. FFLV aims to keep the girl in school until she is 18 to prevent early marriage. We also encourage & support the girl to pursue university education if she wants.  I can’t believe that we’ve been producing podcasts for a year and a half! It’s been amazing and lots of fun! It’s been incredibly inspirational to highlight Canadian Innovators. In fact, One of the little shifts that has been happening is that not only highlighting Canadian Innovators so that we can be inspired to run our areas of our lives or careers better. We are also having additional global innovators talk about innovation best practices. Along with, having episodes about essential business lifeskills!   I’ve been getting a lot of questions from some of the listeners being concerned about how all this Automation/Outsourcing/Mergers & Acquisitions and so on is going to impact their careers and industries. The truth is, it is not a question of “IF”, it’s a question of WHEN.  We are on the slow side of the rate of change and it’s only going to accelerate. Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered! I have an online digital course #FUTURE PROOF  that helps people navigate towards this to get ahead, get noticed and even promoted! I’ve put a link in the show notes !   What are my goals for the next 6 months Do group coaching calls to help people #FUTURE PROOF themselves. I’m going to share some timeless management consulting secrets to help individuals become disruptors. I’m so excited for this online course - 8 hours of pure GOLD!!!  Write my 2nd book - did I tell you that writing this book was literally the hardest thing that I’ve ever done! Well, going to do it again! But, I have definitely learned a few lessons! I have about 5 different topics, so I need to sit down and do some prioritization I’m going to do some workshops & webinars from discussing innovation trends to how to network effectively.    2019 is going to be awesome! This 6 months planning & goal setting has really lived up to the challenge. In 2018, I had set goals for the entire year and only did 2/3rd of them. I set up my 6 months goal and did all of them 100%, plus I launched a virtual book club that I adore! You can join the BrainFood Book Club! You don’t need to read the book to get the value from it!   Now, it’s my birthday and I have some things to give away. Just a few of my favorite things! You know I absolutely adore truLOCAL!  They’ve generously donated an amazing Steak Gift Basket from truLOCAL - who is ready for the BBQ season! They’ve been on Dragon’s Den and got so many offers! We had Marc LaFleur from truLOCAL on the podcast. Episode7! https://caninnovate.io/marc-lafleur/  We are going to get him back to see how things have changed 1 year later.. truLOCAL is exploding and expanding soooo rapidly! Tease Tea has generously donated a brilliant tea basket.. They are really changing the world! You know I love my coffee… but once I started drinking these teas… my life has changed!!! Addicted to Skinny in the City and Tumeric Tonic  Mind & Body Trio .  I’m dying to try their Matcha Bamboo Kit.. addictive!! We had Sheena Brady on the podcast - E76 - https://caninnovate.io/sheena-brady/ . They are donating their Mind & Body Trio with Caramel Cardio, Skinny In the City & Turmeric Tonic (loose leaf 40g pouches) plus an infuser (valued at $39.95) as well as one of our Organic Ceremonial Matcha 30g tin and (not pictured) the Matcha Bamboo Kit, (valued at $39.95)   If you heard Ariel Garten - you know that I ABSOLUTELY love the MUSE Meditation headband . Meditation has changed so much for me! It’s now part of my daily ritual and this MUSE headband really taught me HOW to meditate!  We had Ariel on E41 - where she taught us how to optimize the crazy in all of our minds!  And then we had Ariel on episode 45, that taught us the Innovation Mindset! PURE GOLD! I get so many emails about how Ariel has changed their lives! I even added this to Connect the Dots book because I thought these tactics are brilliant and more people need to reset their mindset! And.. based on our BrainFood Book Clubs great reads. I’m going to give away a few of my favourite books - Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stainer (E49: How to Get Unstuck), Your ONE Word by Evan Carmichael (E77: How to figure out your untapped potential) and of course, a copy of my own book: Connect the Dots, turn strangers into meaningful network relationships! (E81: Networking Tips & a cheatsheet)   How to enter… simple! If you’re already subscribed to our newsletter, I have entered your email address into the draw! If not, no worries- just go to either website and put your email in the newsletter subscribe box. I’ve also created a link and have put in the show notes.. https://mailchi.mp/caninnovate.io/birthday   So excited for the next 6 months! I’ve got some stellar innovators coming up, some starting as early as 11 years old! Crazy eh!   Till next week!

Ray Reddy is currently the co-founder & CEO of Ritual - the mobile pickup app that taps networks of co-workers and colleagues for fast and easy pickup and pay at a wide variety of local restaurants and coffee shops.   SUBSCRIBE TO CANINNOVATE iTunes| iHeart | Stitcher | Google | Spotify | SoundCloud     Episode Overview:   In this episode, I get to chat with Ray Reddy, who is currently the co-founder & CEO of Ritual.  For those that don’t know what Ritual is, it’s a mobile food pickup app that taps networks of co-workers and colleagues for fast and easy pickup and pay at a wide variety of local restaurants and coffee shops and it’s expanding internationally.   If that’s not impressive, Prior to Ritual, Ray co-founded mobile commerce company PushLife that was acquired by Google in 2011. At Google, Ray led mobile product management for shopping and commerce. It was while at Google that Ray saw the potential to better leverage a social application to unlock mobile commerce and thus, Ritual was born. He has so many golden nuggets of wisdom to share How they build a product for everyday people and why they selected Toronto over Silicon Valley to launch. How not being covered in the Tech press for 2 years was an amazing gift He really talks about how we need to change the view on failure     About Ritual:   Ritual is a social ordering app that taps networks of co-workers and colleagues for fast and easy pick up and pay at a wide variety of local restaurants and coffee shops. With Ritual, users can mobile order and pay at all their favorite local eateries and coffee shops and have it ready to pick up when they arrive. By also uniquely giving friends and colleagues the ability to add their own food orders onto an existing order, Ritual gives customers the choice of either picking up themselves or having their food brought right to their desk. This ‘social ordering’ saves customers time and drives incremental orders for merchants. The best and busiest quick service restaurants and coffee shops in major cities across North America are using Ritual to give them a competitive, technological edge, driving profitability, and a more personalized way to connect with their customers.     Connect with Ritual:   Website: Ritual.co LinkedIn: Ray Reddy Twitter: @Ritual_co and @raymondreddy Instagram: @Ritual_co Facebook: Ritual.co

Born and raised in southwestern Ontario, Michelle has worked in the hospitality industry for most of her life. After her partner Luis Martins and Michelle sold our last business a year ago, they decided that their next business would focus on values true to our core, and Unboxed Market was born!     SUBSCRIBE TO CANINNOVATE iTunes| iHeart | Stitcher | Google | Spotify | SoundCloud     Episode Overview:   I chat with Michelle Genttner, one of the co-founders of the Unboxed Market here in Toronto and she totally surprises me of how much waste is happening. ONLY 10% of recycled materials are actually recycled! And here I thought I was a tree hugger. There are a lot of improvements that we need to make.     About Unboxed Market:   Unboxed Market is one of an emerging group of zero-waste/low-waste/environmentally-conscious stores in Canada. The first brick-and-mortar version in Toronto. With the ever-increasing awareness about single-use plastics and excess packaging in general, these stores are creating a space where consumers can purchase exactly what they need, while avoiding the packaging that they (and the world!) do not.     Connect with Michelle:   Website: UnboxedMarket.com LinkedIn: Michelle Genttner Instagram: @unboxedmarket Facebook: Unboxed Market Twitter: @UnboxedMarketTO

It’s official, the book is finally launching on Sunday June 9th! SOOO EXCITED! There is still time to join my book Launch team, for Connect the Dots, turning strangers into meaningful network relationships.   I’ll do a separate Q&A for anyone that joins my Book Launch team. For those that want the behind the scenes – the good/bad & the ugly and by, have I learned a LOT of lessons. Today’s episode is about IMPOSTER SYNDROME with a free downloadable CHEAT SHEET below. This is for everyone that needs a little jolt of confidence. Imposter Syndrome is basically self-doubt. We all have this and experience it. This episode is inspired from all the questions that I receive.     Imposter Syndrome   I love this podcast and the emails that I receive. I’m absolutely grateful for it. I’ve received quite a few emails and messages about feeling like an imposter. Which absolutely breaks my heart because it’s a very real and valid feeling. I repeat, what you are feeling is crippling and REAL!   So, I decided to do an episode about imposter syndrome. We’ve all heard that quote ‘fake it until you make it’ but how can you fake something, when one thinks that they are the ‘fake’ element? When we doubt ourselves? First, you’re not alone. It’s universal. It doesn’t discriminate on age, background, language. It’s truly universal. Einstein used to feel that way too, he described himself as an involuntary swindler. He didn’t feel that his work deserved the attention that it deserved, CRAZY RIGHT!   Here is a great TED Video that explains imposter syndrome. It’s really a cute video. I’ll put the link to the video in the show notes.   What is an impostor syndrome and how can I combat it by Elizabeth Cox on Ted   Download your Cheat Sheet here   It’s interesting, we hear about these Innovators and their challenges and it seems to channel some sort of doubt in our own capabilities versus inspiration of those that challenged the norm. So, let’s talk about it.  Here is my point of view. Imposter Syndrome is actually an ADVANTAGE! I know what you’re probably thinking… WHAT? How is it an advantage?  You have more self-awareness than anyone else.. Yup, It’s an advantage.  Think about all those that overestimate their abilities to do things and they just don’t see the gaps and therefore, they can’t mitigate risks. Then, when it fails they blame EVERYONE else. TA DA!!!! Whenever we are trying something new for the first time, it’s hard. We have learning curves, hard work in front of us. We can see the vision but we don’t know exactly how to get there.   You know, Kevin O’Leary (Mr. Wonderful) stated that he loves investing money in female run companies because they make money in the company. Here is why, women tend to provide conservative estimates in their sales projections. They evaluate the different assumptions, requirements and how realistic things are. They take the time to understand the gaps.   Here is a blog from Business Insider: Kevin O'Leary of ‘Shark Tank' invests in 27 companies and says the only ones making money have female CEOs   You know, when I started off in management consulting (nearly two decades ago), it was sink or swim mentality. We had to find ways to figure things out. Do the research, talk to people, find a way to validate it and then present it to our partners and this was before GOOGLE days. One thing, that management consultants have is, the opposite of imposter syndrome, we had competition, sense of urgency. We didn’t have time to doubt ourselves, we needed to get to the finishing line before our competition did. It was such an ‘up or out’ mentality in the consulting world. We were either moving up in terms of promotions, visibility, branding and so on or we were seen as irrelevant. It really was the survival of the fittest. Good old Charles Darwin makes an appearance again.  However, when I left the corporate world to become an independent consultant. I also decided I wanted to start a podcast. You know what hit me? What disappeared? My confidence. My ability to navigate in the unknown. WHAT? I used to create new product & services offerings not knowing how to do things. What had changed? YUP, I became an imposter!   I had nothing to hide behind. I was literally crippled by feeling like an imposter. It was my name, my reputation and my credibility.   I mean seriously, What on earth did I know about podcasting? Just because I love listening to podcasts, doesn’t mean that I’m going to be great at it. It’s like those foodies that love eating and then decide to open a restaurant. What universe did I belong to? I mean, seriously, I have zero broadcasting background. Never touched a microphone, except for the occasional microphone on karaoke nights. I didn’t have the knowledge, didn’t have the mindset. My benchmark was those that were those that were crushing the podcast world. I’d never hit that status. Trust me, I obsessed over every little detail. We are afraid to fail but we also forget that success takes time and we learn, we tweak, we shift and we pivot. We see people’s FB/Instagram and compare ourselves to these images. You can be inspired, but don’t hold that as a benchmark. Projection is not real.  We are just projecting our insecurities. We see things in others that we ourselves lack. But, how do we know if we lack the ability in something, without trying? Here is the truth.. Those that have ‘so-called’ made-it. We don’t really understand how long it took to ‘MAKE-IT’. We also don’t know about all the struggles they faced. So, here I was,  Imposter in the podcasting world. Did I tell you my favorite quote…? “Thomas Edison failed more than 1,000 times when trying to create the light bulb”. When asked about it, Edison allegedly said, “I have not failed 1,000 times. I have successfully discovered 1,000 ways to NOT make a light bulb.”   Now, 90+ episodes later, I think… what was I waiting for? I should’ve started earlier and made those mistakes earlier. Nothing that I did from day 1 is the same after a year and a half. The website has changed 4 times, the name of the podcast changed, how we edited changed and we still keep changing things and we still keep making such silly errors (i.e. spelling errors on posts, forgetting to send the newsletter, wrong time zone on events and so on). It’s life. Most days I just shake my head and laugh. The spirit of continuous improvement. We need to start somewhere in order to improve. I’ll tell you, starting this podcast at the time was the hardest thing that I’ve ever done. AT THAT TIME,. 18 months later (TODAY). Could I start another podcast? Yup, in a heartbeat. I’ll share something else, starting this podcast has allowed me to have more opportunities. Now, I’m launching a book. No background in writing or publishing and my grammar, stinks. Did I ever tell you a story about my dad. When I was in grade school, I came home with an A+ on my book report. My dad, was furious, absolutely furious. He marched into the school and talked to the teacher. Most parents would be happy that their child got an A+, but not my dad.  He actually read the book report. My grammar was AWFUL! He got the teacher to change my grade to C+ and I believe the teacher was nearly in tears. So, who am I to write a book?  Well, I have learned a few things. Find out what you’re not good at and find someone to help you in those areas. There is no bottleneck if you have things that you want to try, find out all the reasons why you will say ‘NO or BUT’.  List them all down. Then, give yourself a few options. I always believe in the rule of 3. Find 3 options to overcome this challenge/bottleneck or even I’m here to tell you that – You’re no more of an impostor than I am with starting a podcast, writing a book and launching an online course!   TONY ROBBINS SAYS: FEED THE FEAR!!!     It’s like, when you play a new video game for the 1st time.  We don’t get very far in our first attempt at the level. But, then we think, what could I do differently to pass this level. We experiment, try and learn. Another great example, It’s like dating, we go on a lot of bad dates before we hit the jackpot. Did we stop going out on dates? Nope. But, the stories of those bad dates are what we share with others and we laugh. So, why don’t we share the challenges that we hit in our professional lives? Impostor is because we are lacking confidence. We are afraid to fail. How about changing the outlook, to say that you’re just experimenting. I started the BrainFood Virtual Book Club, because I would read business books and have no one to talk to. I put out a blog to tell everyone that I’m going to try this and see if it’s a failed experiment. It’s been 5 months now and it’s been a great success. There are only a couple of us that come each month.. But the point was.. I had zero clue on how this BrainFood Virtual Book Club was going to work. It didn’t stop me because I know that everything can be FIGURED OUT!  Everything is Solvable (except health, I have zero clue, but I’m learning) Well, we need to start somewhere to beat this impostor syndrome and this ties nicely to the vulnerability episode (which by the way, was one of my top downloaded episodes), along with the episode with Ariel about how to undo those knots in our head. Get rid of those negative thoughts. Links will be in the show notes. So, you know me, I like getting to tactics There is a great book by Valerie Young, called The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women: Why Capable People Suffer from the Impostor Syndrome and How to Thrive in Spite of It She basically breaks down people into a few different categories: Are you a perfectionist? Is the issue that you’re afraid of not looking perfect Are you Superwoman/Superman? Need to do everything? Are you an expert? The one that needs to know 100% of everything before you can start. This is my challenge area The Natural Genius – that makes everything look effortless. Soloist – the one that never asks for help   Step 1:   Have you ever admitted out loud when you’re scared of something and then all of the sudden, your not? Well, that’s exactly what we are going to do here. What are you in imposter in? Write it down. What are you dissatisfied with? I was afraid of not being able to do everything. Yup, I was guilty of Superwoman. I have now learned a few things I can delegate and outsource certain things. Now your turn! Say it out loud! Say it to someone!   Step 2:   To building confidence in the area, is to research and read. Find out what others are saying about the topic. That will provide you with a baseline. I’m not saying become an expert in it. I’m saying just read the headlines and be familiar with the themes. Is there anything that these top experts are saying that you didn’t know? Maybe you don’t agree with them. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that you have a benchmark of what the top experts are saying.  Now, you know what and where you’d like to elevate. You know, Tony Robbins is the first to tell you that, when he started out, he read and learned from others that were doing it. In fact, that’s exactly what management consultants do. We learn from others and ‘ELEVATE it’.  We don’t start from ground zero. So, continue to learn – get obsessed with the topic and have fun exploring your curiosity. Starting is the hardest part. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. One step at a time.   Step 3:   Do a SWOT analysis. SWOT stands for Strengths/Weaknesses/Opportunities & Threats Analyze your strengths (S)  and weaknesses (W). We keep underselling ourselves, whether it’s how much we charge for our services or our capabilities. I want you to remember that you have some incredible experiences from not just our successes but also from our FAILURES.  Such a great source of data! Don’t forget to add things like your amazing source of support. For me, I write down my relationship with my nieces and nephew. They are such a source of strength for me.   Step 4: What are the different opportunities (O) that it could possibly bring?  What could it possibly lead to? Dream big? Think of the WHY – get inspired/ get creative and have fun. Don’t worry, I didn’t forget the T, in SWOT. T stands for Threat in the SWOT analysis.  Let’s tackle the T.   Step 5: Take each of those threats and write down 3 options so that it becomes an opportunity. Did I let my fear of my poor grammar stop me from blogging/writing? Nope. I turned it from a threat to a weakness. I recognized it had 3 options.. (1) Get better at it. Read things out loud, pay attention to the red underlines in word (2) Get someone to proofread everything that I do (which is another bottleneck for turnaround time (3) Delegate or outsource it. That’s exactly what I did. I have Claire, my podcast manager and Barbara, who was my book editor.   Step 6: Develop an end to end plan – what does the overarching roadmap look like? How do we get from point A to point B? What does the end result look like? Break things into smaller steps. Celebrate all your small victories. Come up with timelines/goals   “Goals are dreams with a deadline.” — Tony Robbins   Step 7: It is a lonely road sometimes. Find someone to support you and hold you accountable. Have your own personal board of directors, that come from a variety of backgrounds. Diversity really help see things from different perspectives. In fact, I’ve been part of a few masterminds that have really helped. I’ll be starting my own mastermind shortly. Stay tuned. This is after the book and the course is out.   Just in case you wanted another resource: 4 ways to quiet imposter syndrome and start believing in yourself by Tania Katan.   Here is another great read from Ideas Ted: 4 ways to quiet imposter syndrome and start believing in yourself   We are all human and we are always going to have fear and doubts and insecurities. But,  I want you to remember, the bigger picture. For me, my anchor are my nieces and nephew. I want them to know that they can do anything and therefore, I need to be their role model. It pushes me in a different direction. They are my guiding light. Find your WHY!   Remember, we all don’t wake up like models in the morning. Everyone started somewhere.  Surround yourself with things that make you happy and remember what we are grateful for. We are lucky that we can create opportunities to try these things.   7 steps: Admit the Fear – What are you an imposter in Baseline yourself SWOT yourself – get grateful! Find your WHY 3 options to get over hurdle (s) Plan & celebrate Personal Board of Directors I want you to remember to have fun, look at it like an experiment, try and fail (it makes better stories and makes you more authentic).  Have fun going on a bunch of bad dates, but remember, we learn something from every bad date.   Download the Imposter Syndrome Cheat Sheet

Shawn Kanungo is a disruption strategist. He has been recognized nationally and globally for his work in the innovation space after 12 years working at Deloitte.     SUBSCRIBE TO CANINNOVATE iTunes| iHeart | Stitcher | Google | Spotify | SoundCloud     Episode Overview:   Shawn’s mandate at the firm was to help corporate executives to better understand and plan for the opportunities and threats associated with disruptive innovation. Shawn shares his hands-on experiences through talks around the world to help leaders navigate change within a digital era. He has also a TEDx speaker. He has been featured in the Globe & Mail, The Guardian, CBC and CTV. In 2016, he was recognized as Avenue Magazine's Top 40 Under 40. He is also a fellow podcaster and is currently a co-host of The Dip, a podcast focused on strategy, marketing and innovation.  I think we are about to seriously get inspired with Shawn today!   Here are the cool topics that we covered during our chat. Shawn talked about his definition of innovation Why is innovation so important today How much ownership do people in organizations have to be innovative versus waiting for their organization to be innovative What are crazy time & challenge for organizations How Shawn deal with organizations that think they are innovative What are some companies out there that are the benchmarks of innovation culture How can we get more innovative and engaging to grab new ideas and insights from these different generations   Organizations + people can become more innovative.     Book Recommendation: Zero to One by Peter Theil     Connect with Shawn:   Website: www.shawnkanungo.com Facebook: Shawn Kanungo on Facebook LinkedIn: Shawn Kanungo on LinkedIn Youtube: Shawn on YouTube Twitter: @ShawnKanungo Instagram: @ShawnKanungo

Ameer Rosic is a serial entrepreneur, marketing expert, investor and co-founder of Blockgeeks. An online Blockchain innovation hub. And steward of bountyone.io. Blockgeeks mission is to share and grow the knowledge around Blockchain technology.     SUBSCRIBE TO CANINNOVATE iTunes| iHeart | Stitcher | Google | Spotify | SoundCloud     Episode Overview:   We even go down a philosophical discussion about society and humans. You never know where the conversation will take you and we definitely went down into the rabbit hole. Blockchain training for everyone and anyone.. From newbies to engineers He didn’t intend to build Blockgeeks, he solved his own problem and just grew from there A platform that allows & encourages people to explore their Blockchain curiosity Pandora’s Box is completely opened around Blockchain The growth of digital Gold We talk about how to trade in Cryptocurrencies Tips for newbies to play into Cryptocurrency Most precious commodity is time     Recommended Resources: Books: Seeking Wisdom by Peter Bevelin The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell     Movie Mentioned: In Time - Justin Timberlake   About Blockgeeks:   BlockGeeks is an online hub where talented, inspiring, hard-working entrepreneurs, investors, and leaders can learn about the rapidly evolving world of blockchain technologies. BlockGeeks mission is to share and grow the knowledge around Blockchain technology. A vast amount of the knowledge that would be valuable to many people is currently only available to a few — either locked in people’s heads, or only accessible to select groups.     Connect with Ameer:   Website: AmeerRosic.com and Blockgeeks.com LinkedIn: Ameer Rosic and Blockgeeks Twitter: @AmeerRosic and @Blockgks Instagram: @ameerrosic Youtube: Ameer Rosic

As many of you know, I’ve been working on my networking book. Boy, that’s been a journey of UPS & DOWNS! Fear, Anxiety, Excitement, Dreams, Reality, Unknown.. I’m literally my own 52 Flavors of Emotions. This is what happens, when you do things totally outside your NORM. I’ve always wanted to write. It’s no secret, my grammar sucks most of the time. However,  you can hire editors to make you look like a rockstar!   Which is even funnier because my editor, Barbara, her & I met at a Women’s Digital Networking Event here in Toronto about 2-3 years ago.  We always stayed in touch and meet up from time to time. I really had zero clue that I’d be using her to edit my book. A book was part of my curiosity list and more  importantly, it was on my BUCKET LIST!   I’m happy to announce that the book is in the finalization stages and called CONNECT THE DOTS! How to turn strangers into meaningful network connections. Actually, my eldest niece - the 9 year old, who is a BOOK WORM! I actually call her BELLE (from Beauty & the Beast) came up with the book name! She asked me to explain what the book is about and viola. CONNECT THE DOTS was born!   As some of you know, this book is inspired by my College students. The students each week would come into the class and ask about networking techniques and tactics as they were having very poor luck. I was surprised because I thought everyone knew how to do this. Each class, we’d end up spending so much time on their challenges from confidence issues resulting in that they had an accent, or that English isn't their first language to how to introduce themselves or answer ‘What do you do?’ The book wrote itself throughout the semester.   The goal of the book is to bring the fun and ease back into Networking and to meet interesting people. The book teaches people some techniques to build the natural ease of networking. Too many people hate networking and yet it’s a necessity of life. It’s a necessary life skill as no one gets ahead in life without a little help. The objectives of the book are to provide: Techniques to meet more interesting people How to craft a great intro that generates intrigue in you - and avoid rhyming off your entire CV, yup, we all know people that do that. Ice-breaker for all different aspects of your life (that are not cheesy) Remove the stress of small talk Discover different networking approaches & tactics Engage others in a fun way that is authentically you Build mutually beneficial relationships Be seen as a value creator Develop network roadmap, including leveraging social media I interviewed lots of lots of folks to hear their amazing tips and some horror stories. In fact, some of the horror stories inspired me to write a blog - Am I networking or dating?   I thought in this episode I’d provide some tips, so that you can start to really optimize your networking activities.     Less effort, More results! How to take the Work out of Networking!!!! As my gift to you, I created a little cheat sheet - 10 free tips to optimize the networking benefits to start getting immediate results!   Networking is so time consuming, so why not make it more effective? Many companies prefer employee referrals for internal roles to help them find new fresh talent and make it more enticing place to work. It’s a win-win for organizations. They save on recruitment costs and employees bringing their network to the organization becomes a great retention tool! No one is going to refer someone that they don’t know a little bit or if they can get a sense of who they are and their values. Then, it’s a bit of a game changer.   One key thing is that we often forget that networking is a mechanism to build relationships. We need to let people get to know, like and trust us, before introducing us to people in their network. We are an extension to their brand and their circle of their trust. Networking is a two-way street, a two-way adult conversation.   Common Mistakes Scenario Consider this 1 Networking only when you need it Waiting to build your network, when you need it is a common mistake.  Networking is all about relationships. Relationships take time. We should be networking everyday and building this as essential business life skill. Eating lunch with different people. You can brown bag it 2 Asking for something too soon When you meet someone for the 1st time, do you ask if they can babysit your kids for the weekend? Or borrow their car for the weekend? Asking for something too soon is frustrating for the other person and you’ll get labelled as an opportunists or a used-car sales person. Networking is the beginning of a relationship/conversation. You need to start by giving before receiving to build trust and rapport.   Practice your active listening skills and become curious about them, before you ask for things PROVIDE VALUE 4 Not staying in touch with existing networks This is an often forgotten about area… your existing connections.  Its human behaviour to want something new, instead of looking at the old.  People move to different companies, industries and countries and they’ve increased their network.  There is that age old saying - ‘your net worth = your network’. So, get in touch with people to see how they are doing.   LinkedIn - see how your existing network is doing.  LinkedIn provides notifications of updates Did you forget to add people? I.e. Parent’s friends/ Old Colleagues Existing contact gone very cold? Set up a google alert about them and see when they’ve published something. Use it as an engagement tool. However, people make the same mistakes over and over again. So, I thought I’d create a cheat sheet to help you mitigate this risk and for you to look like a rock star.  I hope you enjoy this freebie and can’t wait to hear your success stories!   CLICK TO GET YOUR FREE CHEAT SHEET HERE   I really can’t wait to hear your feedback and thoughts.   Where to get the book? Amazon of course! The links are in the episode notes! You can get the digital or print version! I’m really excited about this journey!     I’m already thinking about my 2nd & 3rd book and then my dad, even had one that he wants to co-write with me.   Thank you for all your kindness and support. I am truly grateful for each of you!  And even more grateful, if you share this podcast with your friends!   Best Always,Sapna

Jessica Rawlley is the Co-Founder of MaaS Pros and TIEIT, leading edge technology companies that were able to expand at a global scale with clients across the globe and in various industries, including government organizations.     SUBSCRIBE TO CANINNOVATE iTunes| iHeart | Stitcher | Google | Spotify | SoundCloud   She began to specialize in advising small businesses with their legal troubles, contracts and incorporations. Through this specialization, Jessica realized that she had a true passion for helping other small business owners like herself. “The magic in Jessica's training is how she takes the most complicated topics and simplifies it, so even those without a technical background can understand it.”     Episode Overview:   Imagine one stop-shop for all your business needs. Invoicing/ CRM/ Marketing/ Social Media/ Webforms/ Landing Pages are so much more. In this episode, we chat about how to: TIEIT  is the complete supporting ecosystem for businesses Inspired from headaches that they faced and other businesses face Validate your ideas by networking Leveraging AI as the foundation to the system The importance of networking One stop shop   It always seems impossible until it is done Nelson Mendela     Recommended Resources:   Book Recommendation: Connect the Dots: How to Turn Strangers into Meaningful Networking Relationships You Are a Bada** by Jen Sincero Favorite Canadian Hotspot: Fairy Lake Park in Newmarket, Toronto Pho Fusion in Bayview Ave., Newmarket   About TIEIT:   TIEIT is changing the way businesses operate and becomes the backbone of an organization helping teams improve efficiency, collaboration and captures all important data. TIEIT is made up of all essential modules that any business needs from sales, marketing, billing, scheduling and more, all under one, powerful and easy to use application. TIEIT recently won Innovation of the Year and Jessica received Entrepreneur of the Year by the Newmarket Chamber. Jessica’s creativity and strategic approach to building partnerships have been crucial in creating and fostering successful business relationships to scale the company at a rapid rate. Jessica is deeply passionate about building a company that drives value to its clients.     Connect with Jessica:   Website: TIEITApp.com and MAASPros.com Facebook: MaaS Pros Facebook and TieiT Facebook LinkedIn: Jessica Rawlley on LinkedIn Twitter: @JRawlley

Tabitha always worked in different kinds of jobs, across different industries, and in varied roles but the one thing all her jobs have had in common is that she always work to help people get smarter about themselves, so they can make their own best decisions for life. The cannabis industry was really the first place where she felt like she fit- not necessarily because of cannabis, but really because it's a place for pioneers, and she really likes doing things first, before anyone else has had a chance to do it.     SUBSCRIBE TO CANINNOVATE iTunes| iHeart | Stitcher | Google | Spotify | SoundCloud     Episode Overview:   This is for those that are curious about the Cannabis industry. Here are some points that Tabitha and I talked about in this episode: Stigmas around Cannabis Edibles - what is legal & what’s not Therapeutic Benefits Women’s Health Benefits from Cannabis - I had zero clue Controversial topics such as Sex & Cannabis and she’s currently doing research Cannabis & Parenting - how to talk to your kids. Tips for if you’re a newbie and some best practices   Tabitha Fritz was nominated as a trailblazer, challenging the norm from Steven Looi, both a podcast guest and listener. We had Steven on the podcast talking about the Cannabis Industry on episode 18. Seems like a lifetime ago. Steven always knows the movers and shakers in the Cannabis Industry.   Tune in to Steven Looi's episode here   Tabitha sleeps soundly at night knowing that cannabis is changing the world, and she’s helping to make that happen.   About Mihi:   Mīhī is a collective of people just like you, who are impassioned by the potential cannabis has for each of us. They are on a mission to make it an accepted and positive part of life. They understand that cannabis consumption is different for everyone and should be customized to meet individual lifestyles and needs. They believe in the importance of community. For them, this means both the neighborhoods in which they operate, as well as the community of entrepreneurs in cannabis. That is why they are partnering with local craft growers, accessory suppliers, and local community groups and artisans.     Connect with Tabitha:   Website: MihiCannabis.ca LinkedIn: Tabitha Frtiz Twitter: @PenelopesWrist and @MihiCannabis Instagram: @minicannabis

Scott Ste Marie is the Founder of Depression to Expression and has been speaking openly about his experience with clinical depression and an anxiety disorder since 2013. More importantly, he shares how he manages these illnesses successfully.     SUBSCRIBE TO CANINNOVATE iTunes| iHeart | Stitcher | Google | Spotify | SoundCloud       Episode Overview:   I had a great time chatting with Scott this week. Tune in and learn how you can lessen depression, the benefits of opening up and much more. Scott and I sit down and chat about some topics that aren’t easy to talk about - we talk about everything from depression to social anxiety to how he’s making this topic something easy for people to understand.  You should check out his Depression to Expression YouTube videos - they are COLORFUL!!! I can’t wait to hear your feedback!   Scott first experienced depression and extreme anxiety while in his first year at University. During recovery, he found himself learning about mental health and taking charge of his own well-being. Upon graduation, his motivation for personal development has never been stronger. Scott’s passion lies in mental health where he hosts a YouTube Channel Depression to Expression and helps those who suffer from mood disorders. His approach is to not only encourage people to alter their mind state by cognitive exercises but also to involve the body. In Scott’s experience, he says depression has been a blessing in disguise because he now takes nothing for granted and recognizes what is truly important in life. Scott has been sharing his story of depression and anxiety for over 5 years and teaching others to feel confident in their self-expression. His mission is to empower people by helping them realize that depression and anxiety are not weaknesses but an opportunity for personal growth and development. Scott’s message has reached over 10 million people through online media which supports the fact that the need for mental health education is needed. Scott is dedicated to Depression to Expression and lives his passion everyday single day.     About Depression to Expression:     Depression to Expression started as an online mental health support community and is now serving over 150,000 members, reaching over 10 million people around the world. Offline, Scott provides workshops and presentations to schools and businesses in Toronto, creating an honest dialogue about mental health. Depression to Expression recognizes all those who are affected by mental illness. They provide a refreshing perspective on what mental health means and offer strategies, coping tools and education to individuals, schools, and corporations.   Mission: Create an honest dialogue about mental health by educating and inspiring people to express themselves freely with confidence.     Recommended Resources:   Watch Scott's YouTube videos Meditation Being mindful about yourself and your body Writing a journal   Connect with Scott:   Website: DepressiontoExpression.com YouTube Channel: Depression to Expression Instagram: @depressiontoexpression Facebook: Depression to Expression Twitter: @expressionscott LinkedIn: Scott Ste Marie

Evan Carmichael TRULY believes in entrepreneurs. At 19, he built then sold a biotech software company. At 22, he was a venture capitalist helping to raise $500,000 to $15 million. He runs a YouTube Channel for Entrepreneurs with 1.7 MILLION subscribers, has written 4 Books and speaks globally. He TRULY breathes and bleeds entrepreneurship. He does daily Instagram live videos, answers everyone’s questions. He's truly obsessed, aiming to help one billion entrepreneurs and change the world.   Episode Overview:   I know that I say that every episode is a GEM, but I can’t help. I truly get inspired by everyone and I’m so grateful for the guests and our listeners out there. However, this episode is really special to me. I get to chat with THE Evan Carmichael, who has changed the way I think! From hitting the snooze button to helping me find my purpose.   Evan is giving away a signed copy of his book Your One Word. Click here to join or tune in at the last section of this episode.   In this Episode, Evan and I talked about: How people can figure out their untapped potential. We all have something to offer the world and he provides tools for us to figure that out We talk about how pain really serves a purpose and will help us identify our ‘Purpose’ and One Word He even started a FREE GIRLBOSS series where you get daily videos for 254 days of wisdom & inspiration from women that are crushing it! We talk about how it takes 254 days to build a habit that becomes automatically embedded in our lives Oh yeah… he shares his thoughts about how to beat the ‘BATTLE OF THE ALARM CLOCK!” And so much more… By the way, stick around to the end of the podcast and hear how you can get a signed copy of ‘One Word’ by Evan Carmichael. This book has seriously become one of my top 10 business books and I have bought so many copies and gave them away as gifts! I came across Evan Carmichael a few years ago with his YouTube video series for Entrepreneurs which has over 1.7 Million subscribers. I was so surprised to find out that he was Canadian. I honestly should’ve known. The clues were right there, his love for Tim Hortons & Toronto Blue Jays. But, i was so enchanted by his content and his video series.   If you don’t know who Evan Carmichael is, you’re truly missing out. This is how Gary V describes Evan Carmichael.   “Evan consumes so much content and then knows how to DJ it to inspire people.” Gary Vaynerchuk   Those are pretty big words and high praises from someone like Gary V. Evan is such a force that has made it his mission to help people to tap into their potential. He wants us to #BELIEVE in ourselves… Evan has set two world records, uses a stand-up desk & has a giant Doritos bag in front of him all day long to remind him and he’s STRONGER than the Doritos. Talk about dedication and commitment. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Evan a few times, he has invited me to be on his Instagram Live, his workshop and I’ll tell you this, he is so down to earth, HUMBLE, kind and genuine. What you see on Instagram/YouTube is EXACTLY what he’s like except that he’s over 6’ feet tall. A giant! I ended up recording this podcast episode while Evan was driving on his 90 day tour. Yup, he did 23 cities in 90 days. I am so grateful for his time and we end up chatting about so many things.     Book Recommendation:   Your One Word by Evan Carmichael The Top 10 Rules for Success by Evan Carmichael 254 Confidence by Evan Carmichael     Connect with Evan:   Website: EvanCarmichael.com Instagram: @EvanCarmichael YouTube: Evan Carmichael: Modeling the Masters Facebook: Evan Carmichael

Having experienced dynamic challenges and barriers throughout her personal life and career, while falling in love with tea somewhere along the way, Sheena decided to combine passion and purpose through entrepreneurship. After becoming a certified Tea Sommelier, through the Tea & Herbal Association of Canada, Sheena decided to combine passion and purpose through entrepreneurship. Tease Tea was born as an outlet to self empower through tea while also supporting women around the world. A portion of proceeds from every order supports organizations dedicated to the empowerment of women through Tease Tea's Charity Program. In 5 short years, Sheena has built Tease Tea as solopreneur side hustle out of her condo to a million dollar business empowering tea lovers in 30+ countries.   Save your spot on Tease Tea Founders Fund   Episode Overview:   This is another guest recommendation from Adrian Salamunovic the co-author of the Free PR book. Innovators tend to hang out with other innovators that are changing and challenging the norm. You're going to love our guest, Sheena Brady. This episode is a game changer! I get to chat with Sheena Brady who is the CEO & founder of Tease Teas. We talk about: Did you know that Tea Sommelier is a thing? A real thing? Crazy eh? Tease Teas unique business model Her entrepreneurial challenges & how she is always giving back Tease Tea Founders Fund - $20K GRANT that you don’t need to pay back. That was inspired by the painful challenges that she had to growing her business From cash flow challenges, which many many innovators have talked about Lack of support from banks to help navigate entrepreneurs to understanding & interpreting their balance sheet metrics AND.. of course, I had to find out what her favourite tea is. Tea Sommelier, through the Tea & Herbal Association of Canada   About Tease Tea Founders Fund: No payback, no equity — just access up to $20,000 worth of funding to grow your venture. The fund has been invested in by other budding entrepreneurs who are looking to pay it forward to the next generation of social entrepreneurs. The fund is brought to you by Tease Tea which aims to self empower through your tea desires, all while empowering women around the world.     Application Process: 8 questions + video submission. Selection committee scores applications. Top 10 announced- 2 recipients will receive the available funding. All applicants will have access to the digital mentorship. During the incubator period.     Registration and Cut off: April 9th 2019 Applications Open May 3rd Applications Close May 22nd Winners Announced Up to $20 000 in available funding     About Tease: Tease Team believe you can self empowered by choosing the right tea to compliment your goals and desires while empowering women around the world. They take pride in working with tea packers who source from the top 10% grade of tea gardens from around the globe that are sustainably managed. With so many great tea companies that focus on traditional or classic teas and tea blends, their approach is modern, and about your goals & desires while supporting other women around the world. What is a tease? To them, being a tease means confidently leaving your mark. To inspire and empower yourself and those around you, leaving them wanting more.   Resources Mentioned:   Tease Tea Founders Fun Tea Sommelier Adrian Salamunovic Episode: How To Get Press Attention Without Hiring A PR Firm Using The FREE PR Book     Connect with Sheena   Website: TeaseTea.com and TeaseTeaFoundersFund.com LinkedIn: Sheena Brady Twitter: @Sheena_Brady and @Tease_Tea Instagram: @Tease_Tea Facebook: Tease Tea

Yvonne is a Change Strategist and Change Leadership Advocate with over 17 years of change experience helping professionals and organizations to implement and transition through change.     SUBSCRIBE TO CANINNOVATE iTunes| iHeart | Stitcher | Google | Spotify | SoundCloud     She is genuinely passionate about change and has worked with a broad range of organizations globally to help lead and manage their Strategic, Technology and Regulatory Change Initiatives. She is also the founder of The Change Leadership, a series of events and conferences focused on preparing leaders, change professionals and organisations to lead change in today's fast-paced and disruptive business environment.     Episode Overview:   How Yvonne’s passion for change, comes from a pain point Did you know that 50% of existing jobs will disappear, but more jobs will be created The importance of reading the writing on the wall & how employees can get prepared for it We chat about the future of work and how organizations can start to think differently Essential leadership DNA & soft skills needs to include empathy, EI & collaboration I even learned a new term.. Ambivert in between an Extrovert and introvert There are so many things that you’ll learn on this episode with Yvonne.   "Your home should always rise to meet you" - Oprah Winfrey     About Change the Leadership:   The Change Leadership envisions a future where a new type of leadership ideology thrives. One in which leaders of organizations and governments bridge emergent technology and innovation with the sustainability of employees, customers, the communities in which they do business, in the face of change, and are benevolently rewarded for doing so. Our purpose is to foster a culture of change leaders who respond better and faster to the uncertainties stemming from disruption, innovation and technology permeating all industry sectors in a rapidly changing world.     Recommended Resources:   Tools Recommendation: Audible Blinkist.com BrainFood Book Club Book Recommendation: Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson Captivology by Ben Parr This is Marketing by Seth Godin Yvonne's Book: The Change You Want! Change Your Mindset, and Change Your Life The Change Your Want! Career Booster Guide & Workbook The Change You Want! Business Start-up Guide and Workbook     Connect with Yvonne:   Website: TheChangeLeadership.com and YvonneRukeAkpoveta.com LinkedIn: Yvonne Ruke Akpoveta Twitter: @OliveBlueInc and @TheChangeLead Instagram: @yvonnerakpoveta Facebook: Olive Blue Inc

Margaret (Margo) Wu is a Vice-President on the Georgian Partners investment team involved in deal sourcing, due diligence and supporting portfolio companies. Prior to joining Georgian Partners, Margaret was a Senior Product Manager at Amazon, where she developed mobile metrics and content strategies for marketers and site merchandisers across Europe.   Previous to this, she co-founded a biotech company called Uma Bioseed and served as the Chief Operating Officer at OneSpout.com, where she held a variety of responsibilities ranging from business development and product management to finance and accounting. While there, she helped the company grow to a peak of 350,000 users. Margaret began her career as a consultant in Accenture’s technology practice.     Episode Overview:   This episode is all about VC's (Venture Capital) but how to make a lasting impression and get that investment. This is relevant episode to everyone that wants to make an impression in their corporate world (with their bosses), networking .. wherever you are pitching something. In this episode, Margaret Wu and I talk about: How Georgian Partners differentiate from other & areas of focus How to get noticed by VCs - warm handshakes What to do and what NOT to do! Best practices based on the numerous mistakes that entrepreneurs make How Toronto job market is bigger than Silicon Valley and others - tonnes of opportunities Books, Books Books!!! I’m seriously thinking of starting a business book club     About Gregorian Partners:   Georgian Partners is a thesis-driven growth equity funds currently investing in 4 areas where we believe that first movers will outperform their market competitors: Applied AI, Conversational AI, Security First, and Trust.     Lessons Learned:   Fail fast - figure out which one works for you If you are meeting a VC, it is like going on a first date. You have to be bring a little bit of compassion, be an interesting person. You have to be able to articulate your vision in a very convincing way. Don't approach a VC if there are errors in your numbers     Book Recommended:   Art of the Start 2.0 by Guy Kawasaki Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson Founders at Work: Stories of Startups' Early Days by Jessica Livingston     Connect with Margaret:   Website: Georgian Partners LinkedIn: Margaret Wu and Georgian Partners Twitter: @GeorgianPrtnrs Facebook: Georgian Partners

Tricia Brouk is an award winning director. In addition to her work in the entertainment industry, she applies her expertise to the art of public speaking. She’s the executive producer of Speakers Who Dare, a TEDx producer and she's choreographed Black Box on ABC, The Affair on Showtime, Rescue Me on Fox, and John Turturro’s Romance and Cigarettes, where she was awarded a Golden Thumb Award from Roger Ebert. The series Sublets, won Best Comedy at the Vancouver Web-Festival. The documentary short she directed and produced This Dinner is Full was official selection at The New York Women in Film and Television Short Festival, as well as the New York City Independent Film Festival. She curates and hosts the Speaker Salon in NYC,  The Big Talk a podcast on iTunes and directs and produces The Big Talk Over Dinner a new TV series.     Episode Overview:   How to create the WOW factor when introducing yourself Confidence tips in how to engage new people Common speaker mistakes What makes a great speaker How to connect with a speaker after a big talk And so much more     If you are clearly yourself and not who you think they want you to be; you will be authentic. They will trust you and there will be so many connections where people will introduce themselves.     Confidence tips in how to engage new people Practice communicating to people Create a scenario of mild stress - practicing in front of the mirror won't work because your body will betray you. You will get butterflies in your stomach, you will get sweaty palms or dry lips but if you practice under mild stress, you will know what to do when you have butterflies in your stomach. Practice the art of asking people about themselves. When you are an active listener, people will remember you far more than if it is only about you.   Best tips on how to engage with the speakers after their speeches As a speaker, you must prepare of the "after party". People will come ask you questions or come to you to get your energy and ideas. So make sure your energy stays up. Make sure that you stay engage with your audience.   If you are someone who wanted to talk to the speaker, find out who is the speaker's assistant is and email the assistant so that your email or message will go directly to the speaker. This is because most speakers are really tired and won't remember every conversation that he or she had after the event.   How to look for a speaker: What Tricia looks for in a speaker is the idea. If the idea moves her and she thinks that the world needs to hear about it, then she will move to the next phase which is knowing who this person is whether they are aligned in their lives and in their business idea, are they willing to talk about it and finding out if they are good human beings.   Common mistakes a speaker makes: Air quotes Blaming anyone else for any technical issues Never apologize for any mistakes     Resources: Speaker's Training: The Speakers Salon Get The 7 Step Formula to a Fearless Speaking by texting TRICIA to the numbers 44-222     Connect with Tricia:   Website: TriciaBrouk.com Facebook: The Big Talk with Tricia Brouk LinkedIn: Tricia Brouk Twitter: @TriciaBrouk

Nicole Holland is named in the Huffington Post as one of “50 Must-Follow Women Entrepreneurs in 2017”, interviewed on over 100 trending podcasts, and featured in publications such as Forbes and Entrepreneur Magazine, Nicole provides elite level done-for-you Podcast Publicity services and consults on strategic visibility to help innovative thought leaders, disruptors, and change makers increase their brand recognition, credibility, and profitability.   Episode Overview:   Here are some key learnings from this episode, Nicole and I chat about: The importance of personal brand People want to connect and understand people behind the brand The importance of connecting with those that have the same values as you How being original can really elevate your personal brand Where transparency fits into things How Seth Godin describes that podcasting is the new blog How podcast guesting can elevate your brand & connect with audiences Serve first and provide value The importance of personal brand   “It’s important to build your personal brand so that people know you.” Nowadays, social media has put such an importance on knowing people, knowing about the people and figuring out who your dealing with rather than the brand and who is behind the brand and what they stand for.   The thing that got most people stuck is that the idea of how they want to be and it is incongruent of how they want to be. Nicole drops tips for  whoever wants to get out of there and get their brand out Tips about personal branding:   Present yourself well, be authentic and be willing to let your guard down Make sure that your true self and forward facing self are in alignment before you go out there and present yourself   Tips on how to elevate yourself more than the crowd:     You can get more of what you want if you can show more of what, who and how  you are. People connect with people that are similar Allow yourself to be who you are without trying to play anything down   How Seth Godin describes that podcasting is the new blog   According to Nicole, podcasting is reaching the point where it is mainstream. This is because of today’s technology which allows us to download and listen to any content that we like anywhere. Podcasting is also very exciting.   Seth Godin’s Blog: Podcasting is the new blogging   How podcast guesting can elevate your brand & connect with audiences   Podcast guesting is also getting a lot of buzz because it is “easy”. Guests doesn’t have to prepare much when it comes to being a guest on a podcast, they could just be at their home without wearing makeup on or dressing to impress. To become a podcast guests and being out there everywhere, WITHOUT a clear plan of action and a clear understanding of who you are speaking to will waste so much of your time.   Tips before applying to be a podcast guest:   Have a clear plan of action of who do you need to reach, what shows that they are listening to that have interviews and why do you want to be on that particular show. How can you give value first to the host before asking for a spot on their show. When you give time to give value first, you will find that people want to give you something back in return. You should never reach out to a podcast host without even listening to their show. In that way, you will know if you are a right fit for you. The host is the listeners trust and they are listeners. Connect with Nicole:   Website: www.TheNicoleHolland.com Twitter: @Niczthename Facebook: The Nicole Holland Instagram: @thenicoleholland LinkedIn: Nicole Holland Podcast: BBRShow  

Eran Ben-Ari is Top Hat’s Chief Product Officer, and oversees all product-related functions, including product management, development, design and analytics. 10 years ago our founders, while students at the University of Waterloo, felt there had to be a better way to drive engagement in the classroom. Today, Top Hat’s active learning technology helps professors easily engage students and build comprehension before, during and after class.   Episode Overview:   This episode has a lot of ‘AH HA’ moments that got me really excited. In this episode you’ll learn: How Top Hat is disrupting the educational industry at three different layers. Students, professors and textbook authors Even revisiting the publishing model of textbooks Their unique go to market & sales strategy Eran is pursuing Anthropology of Technology, which has me quite intrigued. Driving engagement in the classroom that really embraces active learning Embracing the BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) model in the classroom Creating an Agile teaching platform for instructors   This episode is great for those educators, human resources, learning professionals and anyone who wants to make learning really STICK!   Top Hat is disrupting three different components or facets of higher education or teaching today. How the courses are actually being delivered and for the first time, active learning can be used at scale to leverage technology. Active learning is the ability of students to learn a little bit of interaction or engagement. Professors and teachers today are not as tech savvy as their students so most of them are struggling on how they can shine, how they can bring to life or realize why they came to this profession in the first place which is to really make an impact to their learners. Top Hat created a community of instructors, teachers are no longer alone in teaching and that it infused on Top Hat’s content. The third disruption is about how they create content   “Students or learners nowadays have really short attention span”   Students are craving to study and learn in a more non-traditional way. Eran shared how students in this generation have shorter attention space and are often multi-tasking even when there is an instructor or a teacher speaking in front of them.   Classrooms are also getting larger and larger which also caused to the increase of students that a teacher can handle to be able to successfully make an interaction between the student and a teacher. Many of the more technology that we are introduced in the classrooms, they did not place the professors at the heart of what they are building because it was either for the students or the administrator. That created a lot of friction on how they use that technology in the classroom which created a disjointed experience when they are trying to learn in the classroom.   How Top Hat got into Universities: The founders thought that if they focus on the professor and making sure that there are real value for the professor and at the same time, bring in the students as the paying customer. This will create a very fast adoption.   Lessons Learned: Focus on the professors and not everyone at the same time There is a lot of really valuable impact on the real time feedback system If you build, almost as of a reward system to student to play along with these new mode of teaching they can really harness the lessons.   Resource Recommendation: Book Recommendation: The Interpretation Of Cultures Paperback by Clifford Geertz Favorite Hot Spot: Hey Brothers   About Top Hat: Top Hat is a higher education teaching app that makes active learning come to life. Their suite of easy-to-use tools address four teaching challenges: student engagement; textbook affordability and customizability; student comprehension; and secure test administration. More than 2 million students at 750 of the top 1,000 colleges and universities in North America have used Top Hat.   Connect with Eran: Website: TopHat.com Facebook: Top Hat LinkedIn: Top Hat LinkedIn Twitter: @tophat Instagram: @tophathq