GrowthStory

Livia is the founder of Funky Feet, a dance program where the main goal is to help empower children and build their confidence through dance. Livia started her company in 2001, on her own, after seizing the opportunity to teach a dance class as a last-minute replacement. Flash forward almost two decades later, Funky Feet is now a wildly successful dance program in Montreal and counts two locations as The Studio by Funky Feet. In this episode, we talk about the importance of taking calculated risks, figuring things out along the way, and pursuing things we’re really interested in.

Dr. Joe Flanders is the founder and director of Mindspace as well as the host of the Mindspace Podcast. Joe discovered mindfulness through one of his professors while studying to become a psychologist. Seeing lots of potential in meditation and how mindfulness could help people, Joe stepped away from the traditional full-time clinical psychology career and opened up Mindspace, a Centre for Well-being, where they offer Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy to individuals, groups, and organizations.

Owner of Bak’d by Mona, a very successful gourmet cookies business, Mona Segal is a true force of nature. She’s unstoppable: on top of running her own business, Mona volunteers at school and works part-time as a marketing specialist. Her growth story is truly inspiring and touching. Having always loved to bake and cook, Mona decided to take the plunge and turn her passion into a business after being faced with a life-threatening health issue. That challenge made her realized she wanted to change her life, work less, volunteer more, do more of what she likes, and most importantly, give back.

Don White is on a mission to help people lead a healthier lifestyle. Many years ago, Don left his desk job and decided to invest himself 100% in what he found to be most important in life: health. After being a successful trainer for many years, Don took the plunge into entrepreneurship and co-founded his own training facility: CoreXcellence, a peak performance center. In this episode we talk about the importance of mental health in fitness, the Ketogenic diet and why most crazy diets never work, and taking professional risks when you’re in a comfortable situation.

On this week’s episode, we are interviewing Mtre Richard P. Salis, B.A., LL.B., D.D.N., about his path to becoming a Notary specializing in wills, trust and estate settlement. After starting his legal career as a lawyer, he discovered a passion for helping individuals with their estate planning needs and took up studies to become a notary to better serve his clients. After years of developing a successful legal practice as a notary, he took his practice to the next level when he co-founded Levy Salis LLP, a multi-disciplinary boutique tax and estate planning law firm with his long-time friend and colleague, Mtre Shlomi Steve Levy.

Sherri Rabinovitch is a passionate HR & career specialist who founded her own consulting business called The People Guru. Sherri’s story is so interesting: she found so much success she is now a regular contributor on TV, but she also had to overcome great challenges such as psychological harassment and hostile work environment, as well as, more on the personal side, being diagnosed with breast cancer. In this episode, we are also going to talk about what people can do to better market themselves when looking for a job and what companies can do to hire better.

For this last episode of 2018, our host David is pleased to introduce Simon St-Amand, his successor as president of Proforce Personnel. While David is opening up his horizons with a newly acquired business in the health industry, Simon, prior director of recruitment for Proforce’s food division, is stepping up and taking the lead on the company’s day to day. When Simon first applied to work at Proforce, he wasn’t even called back for an interview. Now he’s the president of the company. Listen to this very special episode to know all about Simon’s amazing journey and learn more about David’s new business.

Barry Solomon is what we could call a later-stage entrepreneur, as he bought his first business while in his fifties. After working for the family business his father started for many (quite difficult) years, Barry moved on to work in advertising, and then again in a few other fields before actually moving to California, where he bought his business. In parallel, Barry’s story is also just as interesting on the personal side, as he is a survivor of a kidney and heart transplant. Tune in to see how Barry’s values and evolving takes on faith got him through this journey.

Formerly corporate talent acquisition manager,  recently launch her own consulting business as a career coach and strategist. Through her work and her engagement on LinkedIn, Norma helps job seekers improve their resume, strategize their job search and increase their visibility on LinkedIn. With her tremendous experience on the market, her undeniable skills for the recruiting process and her true love of people, Norma really is a top class recruiter! Listen to know more about how she got in the recruiting business and get some useful insights on how to be a great recruiter. What you’ll learn: Norma went to see a recruiter who advised her to become a recruiter herself, which she did and found instant success in that profession. Notable quotes: “It goes down to your ethics and your credibility and your way of operating.” – Norma on the basis of being a good recruiter. “I went in there and in the first month I tripled my income.” – Norma about her first job in a recruiting agency. Show notes: 02:30 – Her business is  03:40 – Norma was born in  and grew up in . 06:30 – During her college studies, Norma got married and moved to England for 4 years where she travelled through Europe. 08:00 – Norma studied journalism and English literature. 08:40 – Norma remarried and moved to Japan for a year. 13:40 – Norma has 2 children. 29:02 – Norma got her first corporate job as a senior corporate recruiter at the . 36:40 – Norma moved to  to join her daughter with her grandkids. 60:00 – Norma invites you to connect with her on .

Author, keynote speaker and endurance racer, Tofe helps people build their resilience as a way to reach their goals and live a happier life. After reaching rock bottom as a young adult who had lost himself to partying and suffering from mental health issues, Tofe found his way back through his research and experiments with adversity and endurance. Tofe’s book, “Everyone has a plan until shit hits the fan. How to not be the bitch of your own brain.” teaches how to make adversity your greatest strength. What you’ll learn: Tofe studied engineering, but only half-liked it as he enjoyed the creativity and designing. Tofe had a fear of public speaking before doing it for a living. Notable quotes: “To be great, you need to have adversity. It’s a foundation of your success.” - Tofe reassuring that feeling pain is part of the process. “That’s the difference between working out and training: training is going towards something” - Tofe on applying reverse engineering to his goals. Shownotes: 02:45 - Tofe’s book is called . 04:20 - Tofe is from . 10:20 - In 2014, Tofe decided to go travelling on an indefinite trip. He partied a lot and ended up in Toronto. 28:20 - After picking up running, Tofe needed an objective to train so he registered to to a marathon. 35:00 - Tofe mentions the book . 37:20 - Tofe mentions the principle of a tool featuring the questions to ask yourself in order to find your purpose. 55:40 - Tofe invites you to connect with him on and check out his website at

Dan is what we call a serial entrepreneur. With his wife Dennae, Dan owns many businesses including an online store, multiple medical offices, and a real estate investment company. They also host their own entrepreneurs’ podcast called Tough Decisions. Dan found a recipe to create businesses, grow them, and then move on to his next thing. In this episode, we discuss Dan’s life influences, his entrepreneurial journey, as well as some practical tips that you can use and apply to your own journey.

Kerri Twigg is a career counsellor and an entrepreneur, as she launched her own coaching business Career Stories Consulting. This episode can truly speak to both people who aspire to have their own company and to people who wish to rebrand themselves and take their career in another direction. This is exactly what Kerri did, switching from a career in the art community to a career in human resources. Listen to her story to know how she managed to make the switch, the steps she took and the questions she asked herself. Then see how she took her new vocation to the next level by launching her own consulting business in career counselling and became a sensation on LinkedIn. 

Up until a few months ago, Michael was a teacher until he left his day job to pursue his passion for storytelling full-time through his photography and creative services business Henson Creative. Learn about how Michael started to experiment with visual communication and developed his talents into a true expertise. Learn how LinkedIn played an important role in leveraging Michael’s business to more than a hobby and how he uses LinkedIn today. Learn about Michael’s traditional past with business school and the corporate world, and how that wasn’t suited for his entrepreneurial spirit and creative mind. Finally, get some great insights on storytelling and video on social media. Enjoy!

This is a recap episode, a moment for our podcast host David Inzlicht to touch base with the listeners and set the tone for what's next. He goes over three main points: his journey into marketing and with LinkedIn, resilience as he reflects on a vacation he just spent with his family, and Proforce's company core values and their importance in general. He is also revealing a few of the guests we will be listening to in the upcoming weeks. Stay tuned!

Omozua is a certified coach for entrepreneur, executives and managers. She teaches to leaders and organizations how to level up their confidence, increase emotional intelligence, unleash their creativity, manage talents… the list goes on. Omozua always knew she loved encouraging and helping the people around her, but she had to go through a few work and life experiences (and a few countries around the world!) before finding her true calling and launching her own business as a professional coach.

How do you go from lawyer to entrepreneur? Steven was a corporate lawyer working in a big Montreal firm when he decided to leave the corporate environment with its bureaucracy and politics (as well as its prestigious status and huge salaries) to go on his own by joining his father’s small private practice firm. Just like many other lawyers, Steven had always had the entrepreneurial spirit but wasn’t yet ready to take the leap. Here’s the story of how and most importantly why he did it.

David is president of Deville Technologies, a family business that was founded by his father. As a young adult, David had no interest in surfing on his father success and was ready to follow his own path. After a start-up experience in the US and a year in law school, David was making his way in the workforce when his father asked him to take over the company. David accepted under the one condition that his father should truly believe he had the abilities to grow the business. And indeed, he did, as Deville Technologies has been seeing 40% growth on average these past years. David shares with the listeners the challenges that come with supporting that amount of growth, as well as the steps that allowed him to get there.

Jonathan Maldoff is president of Intellera. For Jonathan, the key to success in business is efficiency. He built his own business out of that by offering solutions that bridge the gap between people, processes and technologies. Jonathan is the proof that you don’t have to run eagerly after anything and everything to succeed as an entrepreneur, that making the smart moves at the right calculated times is what puts you and your team ahead. Listen to the full episode to get the details on the story of this entrepreneur that always keeps his team in mind and gives back to the community.

James Stephan-Usypchuk is CEO of JSU Solutions. James's journey began as he was still a baby when he got cancer. After his recovery, James and his family became very active in fundraising, an experience from which he developed a very focused and entrepreneurial mind. It’s no surprise that today, still in his twenties, James is at the head of a very successful digital agency and is considered the top Facebook Ads expert in Canada! Discover how he went from beginning to work on social media, to managing a couple clients as a freelancer, to now helping a handful of companies grow their business online. All this without having to pick up the phone, simply by understanding the power of a network and social media.

Rodrigo is the chief evangelist and creative director at the digital marketing agency Genius. Rodrigo got into marketing because of his remarkable talent and ability for storytelling. If at first, it was words and imagery that he was skilled with, Rodrigo is now very enthusiast about the next steps brands can take to communicate and tell stories through technology. In this episode, learn all about Rodrigo’s personal upbringing as a child of an immigrant family who lost everything by escaping to Canada, but also learn about what is Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, and how can companies use these technologies to better tell their stories.

Brittany Krystle is a personal brand and growth consultant helping people grow their industry influence online. Before going on her own and launching her podcast “Beyond Influential”, Brittany worked with some of the most influential people of the web including the wildly popular Gary Vaynerchuk, for whose company she worked both in L.A. and NYC. In this episode, she tells us about her personal journey, from being pushed to law school while wanting to start a career in entertainment, to making her way to TV networks and then finding her true calling in influence, personal branding, and social media. Brittany also shares some great tactics about content management as well as some strategies to become more influential online.

How DO companies grow? This question is the main focus of this special episode featuring not one, but TWO guests! Josh Miller and Mike Newton are respectively partner and managing partner at FL Fuller Landau, a full-service accounting firm downtown Montreal. Because that’s what they do both for their clients and for their own firm, they discuss all sorts of way companies can grow: acquisition, business development, hiring people, marketing… And of course, all the challenges that come with!

Joseph is president and co-owner of the smart home company Homesync. With his very diverse and particular background; from graduating engineering school at 21 years-old to joining the military forces years after his parents moved his family to Canada to avoid war, it’s no surprise that Joseph ended up choosing the road less travelled of entrepreneurship. Hear all about the challenges of doing business in an emerging/technological field and the indispensable things you need to succeed (refer to this episode’s title for a clue!)  

Karim Abouzeid is the president and owner of Magnor, a manufacturer and designer of water treatment equipment company. With the plan in mind to eventually own a business, Karim studied accounting and started his career as a CPA. Luckily enough, he got to work in the mergers and acquisitions department at one of the big fours, which taught him everything about the path he would then chose to take to achieve his dream: buying a business. But buying a business ain’t no easy task! This is the story of how Karim made it happen.

Certified Real Estate Broker and co-founder of Witt Realty Inc, Heidi is a dedicated businesswoman and mother of three. Even if she only found her true vocation in real estate later in her professional journey, her hard work and passion for people propelled her to tremendous success. The realtor profession being already very entrepreneurial, Heidi really took the leap when she started operating under her own name only a few years in the industry. Learn all about the challenges, decisive moments, wins, and amazing lessons from her growth story as a broker, a mom, a businesswoman, and an entrepreneur.

Natalie is the CEO of her own communications agency, Commetta. What she started alone while still in business school has now grown to an international digital agency whose mission is to help companies shine online. With diversity at the core of both her personal and professional background, Natalie got to see just how much creative artists and small business owners needed help to get the word out about all the good they’re doing. She is now educating entrepreneurs from across the globe about inbound marketing and helping them spread their message.

Adam is what we call a true born-entrepreneur, with all its natural qualities: he’s optimistic, self-driven, always looking for the next opportunity. As his story confirms, Adam strongly believes that behind every challenge hides a business opportunity. Equipped with this positive winning attitude and a strong purpose to bring to the market products that would truly help people, Adam launched the brand Lil Tracker last year. But let’s go back to beginnings! Find out what mistakes he made, what dreading challenges he faced, and how he turned them into - literally - more revenues.

At 35 years old, Frank Silla was co-owner of the family business in the telecom industry which he was passionate about. Raised in an entrepreneurial family, Frank never doubted he would follow his parents’ steps, but when he got there, he quickly realized that the way things were done didn’t reflect his own vision of success and his aspirations. This is the story of how Frank gave himself the right to walk away from this predestined situation and seemingly ideal situation to build a company his own way and achieve success on his terms.

Jon Selig, comedian, founder of Comedy Abroad, and more recently sales trainer, found in entrepreneurship a way to live of his passion for comedy writing. Being a natural with people and words, Jon was a successful salesman in I.T., but quickly realized he had no passion or interest for these corporate worlds. See how he first recycled his sales abilities in stand-up comedy, to later bring his comedy writing skills to create a sales training program that teaches sales team a more human and natural approach to cold calling, public speaking, networking. You’ll see that, as Jon says, being able to connect with others by making them laugh can go a long way!

Michael is the president of Interaction Restaurants Group a restaurant management and holding company that deals with the world's biggest brands and chains such as Starbucks and Pizza Hut. This is the story of Michael Aaronovici, whose parents pushed towards a career in accounting but who quickly switched to the road less traveled and became an entrepreneur. In this episode, see how his love for people and building successful business propelled him to where he is today.

Frédéric Noël is owner and president of the industrial equipment company CON-V-AIR. Qualified engineer, Fred had always been interested in entrepreneurship even though it's not the clearest path in this field. See how he made his way up to his goal from his first job as an employee in an engineering firm to buying his company at only 30 years old.

Founder of Productions L’Éloi, science student Eloi Beauchamp had no idea he would end up in the production world, where art and fashion advertising meet. Between his summers planting trees in the forest and his biology studies in university, Eloi was well on his way to a career as a scientist when he realized this path wasn’t going to bring him enough challenge. While still working on his master’s degree, Eloi jumped in with determination, a desire to learn and a will to always improve. Almost two decades later, here is the story behind Eloi's amazing success, including inspiring debuts, challenges, and growth strategies.

Founder and president of , Jeffrey Berkowitz became an entrepreneur without really trying... Like many before him, Jeff’s business started in his parent’s basement. What he first perceived as enthusiasm for commercial real estate was really the foundation of a career he would be passionate about, and of a company that would one day serve the biggest retail chains in the World. Positive that passion is really the number one guarantee for success, Jeff tells us how he found his and made a living out of it.

Alan Serour took the Montreal kosher catering community by storm by buying out his boss and finally managing to merge with a long-time rival. Both who at first said no, but Alan doesn’t believe in closing doors. Get inspired by the amazing journey of this young chef who never gave up on his goals, but simply waited for the right moment.

Stephanie couldn’t find on the market a product that would meet her son’s needs, so she built her own. Little did she know that she had just created the first sample of the Senseez pillows and entered an emerging multi-billion dollar industry: the sensory toys. Years of hustle and a feature on the Dragons’ Den later, her products are now sold in over 300 stores worldwide. Here’s the amazing story of the mom who built the vibrating cushions for children with special needs company Senseez from scratch.

Director of Rouge Marketing in Mont-Tremblant, Dominique Laverdure was always a rebel at heart. See how she changed her life completely by moving to the country and building a career worthy of her love for life. Dominique started her career on a much different path: ready to dedicate herself to her successful corporate job at L’Oréal, everything changed when she realized she had to compromise too much to fit in the corporate box.

Co-founder of the first self-serve online medical appointment making software and former CEO of the Tiny Tots children’s clinics, Ben Burko is the true definition of a “Doctrepreneur”. His entrepreneurial journey started at age 13 and was definitely challenged at the beginning of his medical career. In this episode, see how he used lateral thinking and innovation to combine his abilities for seizing business opportunities to his profession as a pediatrician.

Get inspired by the story of this born and raised Montrealer who became a successful entrepreneur by being proactive and strategic. Sanjay Bakshani always wanted to build a business, so he made it happen with a lot of hard work and a little bit of luck. See how he overcame the lowest points and scored the biggest wins during his never-boring entrepreneurial journey in the ever-evolving technology industry.

Well aware of what he wanted out life, Olivier made sure to get it. See how he archived his goal of managing his own consulting firm by believing, visualizing, and defining a clear roadmap to get there. Listen to his story where a combination of life experiences and seized opportunities helped shape his goals, towards which he worked with confidence. 

Mike Dahan was never afraid to work hard. See how he hustled his way from Montreal’s poor neighborhood Côtes-des-Neiges up to American business school and Wall Street money. Back in Montreal, Mike was ready to pursue his own entrepreneurial journey, a path he knew he would get on since his childhood. Devoted to his principles of honor and loyalty, Mike is now the president of Sunforce Products Inc. This is his story.

Marie-Eve learned early on that a startup requires a fine combination of resources, timing, opportunity, and mostly, dedication. See how she used her experience to build her company MissFresh by following her newfound recipe for success. Marie-Eve knew that if she was going to leave her amazing career as an executive in digital media to launch a startup, it would have to be for a golden opportunity. And it’s on the other side of the world that she found it.

Like many others, Arie built his company from the ground, literally, from his basement. In this episode, see how he managed to start a business part-time, while studying and then working, without any particular financial or human resources. Arie saw an opportunity, he grabbed it, and you could do it too. Today, Servomax is a highly successful, multi-million dollar, office coffee service company deserving all Quebec and Ontario, that Arie manages with passion while being a father, an athlete, and a world traveler.

Eric Naaman is a very successful entrepreneur coming from a far-from-traditional background. Having moved to Canada to escape the war in Lebanon, Eric is now president of the amazing company and factory  in Blainville. But Eric never knew he was going to end up leading such a big business, as he was first a professional artist for many years. What happened in between? From his first job as a photographer in New York City to managing his own International business, Eric learned plenty and is now sharing his story.

Lee Wise is president of Arbell, a Canadian high-tech company. Growing up, Lee was heading with confidence towards an exciting career in retail by joining the very successful family business, the Wise department stores. His dreams came crashing down when big corporations like Walmart entered the Canadian market and sent the Wise stores out of business. Lee quickly managed to get back on his feet and find a new direction in electronics, but it sure wasn’t the last time he would have to adapt to survive…

Charles Marleau runs Palos Management since 2001, a very successful investment firm. Today, Palos manages about 400 million in assets. But Charles knows that success is never a given, and that consistency, commitment, and tenacity are what makes the difference.

Brian Rotsztein is an Internet marketer, professional photographer, entrepreneur, in-demand conference speaker, and author of the 5-star rated book “Content Marketing Ideas”. He has founded several startups, including WP Phone Support which offers security-based SEO and WordPress maintenance plans. Years ago, Brian switched 180° from his promising, stable career in psychology to website creation and SEO, as the web was still a very uncertain avenue for most. Not only did he manage to make a living out of his passion, but he succeeded tremendously at it. But throwing yourself into a new field, particularly in a fast-evolving environment like tech, isn’t always easy… When Brian officially decided to pursue a career in SEO, all he had in the world were his belongings that could fit in his little Volkswagen Golf and a few dollars in bank.

Owner of successful lighting company DALS Lighting, Shawn Johal is a great entrepreneur who faced many challenges both in his personal growth and in his entrepreneurial journey. Dedicated to bring happiness into his life and to his employees, he is a firm believer in giving back to the community. Family holds a big place in Shawn’s life, as he joined his in-law’s family business years ago. Entrepreneurship was not his initial plan, and, not being a natural risk-taker, taking a chance on himself to save the company from the economic crash was definitely a big challenge.

Meet the host of the GrowthStory Podcast! Utilizing over two decades of management, sales, and recruitment experience, David Inzlicht is an entrepreneur, a speaker, a community leader and a believer in giving back to our community. Every other week, he will be interviewing entrepreneurs to inspire others with a mix of biography, inspiration, and motivation. He is an enthusiastic leader driven by an extraordinary passion to help people grow—and this is his way of sharing it. But first, let’s hear his story.