Jeff Desjardins is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Visual Capitalist. If you haven’t seen the work of Visual Capitalist yet, it won’t be long until you do. They create visually compelling daily infographics and visualizations and now serve some of the biggest names in finance. They include Black Rock, McKinsey, New York Life, Tony Robbins and the list goes on. You'll hear about how Jeff has built his media company with a rapidly growing audience - 70% of whom are investors. As well, we talk a...
Aug 22, 2019•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 21
Brent Holliday is the Founder and CEO of Garibaldi Capital Advisors... He knows the game of financing and tech exits and shares the war stories with us here... When financing or selling your business, one wrong move can crater a deal or be fatal to a company's future. Further, there’s not a lot of solid information or education for entrepreneurs about high-stakes financings. In this episode, Brent and I dive into the world of financing and selling technology companies. Brent and his partners foc...
Aug 14, 2019•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 20
When raising money, your idea, your resume and your pitch don’t mean squat if you can’t communicate effectively. In this episode, Mark Bowden, an internationally acclaimed communications expert speaks with us about the power of body language and non-verbal communication. Your communication techniques carry tremendous power in delivering your message. Take note that it is much more than just the words you are saying. Mark has coached and spoken to some of the world’s most well known companies inc...
Aug 07, 2019•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 19
Jeanne Sullivan is a General Partner at Arcview Venture Fund , which is a leader in the cannabis space. Forbes cited Jeanne as “one of the women VCs changing the world” and there’s no doubt about her passion and tenacity. She speaks about cannabis and finance to audiences around the globe and has a wealth of information and experience to share. In our discussion we get into many of the issues entrepreneurs are facing and what she’s seeing with the changing political and regulatory landscape in t...
Jul 31, 2019•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 18
Peter Lehrman is the founder of Axial.net, a platform that connects entrepreneurs in the lower middle market with investors and capital advisors. His company is tackling the problem of capital inefficiency for small and medium sized businesses and he’s got a very interesting perspective on how to raise money or sell your company. In this episode, Peter comes through with some great insights about building capital relationships, being finance ready and how to play the game of building credible de...
Jul 25, 2019•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 17
David Wartell is the CEO of Cannabis Capital. We talk about how his private equity firm is investing in cannabis companies, his early days of cannabis and the lessons he has from his twenty years of building and exiting companies. David brings some interesting perspectives about how big tobacco sizing up cannabis. He discusses why they are still stuck on the sidelines due to regulatory barriers and risk mitigation. When discussing what he likes to see in a pitch, David said “Man plans and god la...
Jul 17, 2019•37 min•Ep. 16
David Traylor is an investment banker who’s has positioned his firm directly on the growing cannabis industry. When banking a deal, he is the one who is advising on deal terms and valuation while also assembling a book of investors for your deal. David shares some funny stories, but we also speak about the changing regulations and about the indicators of how states are changing their perspectives. Given his position, he has a front row seat to the rapid changes that are happening in the cannabis...
Jul 10, 2019•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 15
From politics to angel investing, Randy Thompson has blazed a colorful path. His many years in early stage finance earned him the 2018 Angel Investor Of The Year Award by the National Angel Capital Organization. What I like about this interview is that Randy tells it as it is… Our discussion meanders, but it is an entertaining look at early stage financing. For example, Randy speaks from experience that it is not usually the investors that suck, it’s likely your deal that sucks. So why is that? ...
Jun 06, 2019•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 14
Gary brings some 40+ years of business experience to this interview. You’re going to hear about a lot of things, from his early days as an analyst on Wall Street to founding, listing and selling publico’s and on to his board participation with some well known companies. Another passion of Gary’s is business history and that’s what compelled me to reach out. Gary is a prolific reader and historian. He has a collection of over 57,000 books and recites facts and figures with ease. Check out some of...
May 29, 2019•1 hr•Ep. 13
Investor conferences are a big investment. They can change the course of a company when done right. Jay Martin leads Cambridge House and produces a series of events including CanTech, the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference and the Extraordinary Future Conference. You'll learn about how to make the most of your investor conferences in this interview. As well, you'll hear about a number of presenters who have compelling and impactful stories to tell. Check out some of our most popular episod...
May 22, 2019•39 min•Ep. 12
From mining to gaming to real estate and now to going deep with social impact investing; Praveen talks with us about his approach to investing in winning opportunities. He and his partners – his father and brother – have earned an outstanding reputation and are now focusing their strengths on bettering the world through building companies that deliver on a greater cause. Our conversation takes us into what he looks for in investment opportunities, how to use public venture capital and to his tho...
May 15, 2019•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 11
There are hundreds of thousands, even millions of dollars that you can recover from the government programs. You’ve likely heard about them - R&D and the SRED tax credit programs. Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI and I connect to discuss what these programs are and how they can apply to your business. If you have ever wondered about tax credits work, how to best approach getting them - and even if you should bother, this will be a helpful interview for you. Check out some of our most popular episodes...
Apr 24, 2019•49 min•Ep. 10
Mike Winterfield is the founder and CEO of Active Impact Investments. He is blazing an interesting trail in the world of finance with a focus on companies that have a defined social benefit and purpose. The thesis of his fund is to invest in companies that have a clear stated mission to tackle some of our most challenging social and environmental problems. The thing is, it is not a charity by any means. Along with a purpose that goes beyond just profit, his fund is looking to make outsized retur...
Apr 17, 2019•57 min•Ep. 9
Bruce Campbell, the founder and Portfolio Manager of Stone Castle Funds. In this interview, we don’t talk about investment ideas or big wins. Instead we focused on what he likes to see from the opportunities and companies he invests in. From the funds he manages to the way he keeps deals on his radar, you’ll hear his inside perspective. Bruce and his team manage six funds across various sectors including everyone’s favourites, cannabis and blockchain. He is a regular contributor to BNN Bloomberg...
Apr 04, 2019•37 min•Ep. 8
Part 2 - What would you learn from 35+ years of building companies in the capital markets? In this two part episode, Gordon Keep expounds on his experience in building over 250 companies and the lessons he’s had with public venture capital. From his early days with the TSX, helping write regulations, being an early mover into South America with what was Yorkton Securities and on to his enduring partnership with Frank Giustra to build some of the world’s most notable resource companies. Check out...
Mar 28, 2019•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 7
What would you learn from 35+ years of building companies in the capital markets? In this two part episode, Gordon Keep expounds on his experience in building over 250 companies and the lessons he’s had with public venture capital. From his early days with the TSX, helping write regulations, being an early mover into South America with what was Yorkton Securities and on to his enduring partnership with Frank Giustra to build some of the world’s most notable resource companies. This is a history ...
Mar 20, 2019•53 min•Ep. 6
Frank Lonardelli is the founder and CEO of Arlington St. Investments. Frank is a sharp businessman having built a portfolio of real estate assets well into the hundreds of millions of dollars. As well as having an exceptional eye for deals and detail, Frank is a powerful storyteller. He has the ability to paint a vivid picture of situations and opportunities which has surely worked in his favour when financing his projects. We discuss his main focus right now; the redevelopment of 17th Avenue in...
Mar 13, 2019•50 min•Ep. 5
Former Investment Banker turned entrepreneur… This is the story of Hanif Joshaghani, CEO of Symend. Hanif has moved on to his fourth startup the previous being remarkable successes with partial and complete exits. His leadership of Symend is certainly influenced by his investment banking experience. In this episode, you’re going to hear about what you should know about investment bankers. For example… the value of being methodical, organized and thoughtful about the steps in your financing can n...
Mar 06, 2019•36 min•Ep. 4
Brian Paes-Braga is a partner and Managing Director at the Fiore Group as well as the founder of Lithium X. He has a remarkable story of taking an opportunity, structuring it up with good partners and using public venture capital to create tremendous value. We discuss his early experience in the brokerage industry and the process of how he structured Lithium X. We also talk about the importance of a powerful narrative and the raising over $50+ million for LIX. Brian provides some great first-han...
Feb 27, 2019•31 min•Ep. 3
Tyler Stuart is a pioneer in the Cannabis industry. He and his partner created one of Canada's first cannabis exclusive investment funds focusing on the 'picks and shovels' of the industry. Green Acre Capital now has two investment funds of over $100 million focused both on early-stage venture opportunities and later stage private equity investments. Listen to hear how Tyler view the industry and the deals he sees. Check out some of our most popular episodes: Chicken S#!it CEOs w. Mogens Smed: h...
Feb 20, 2019•51 min•Ep. 2
Brady Fletcher is the Managing Director of the TSX Venture. This is an interesting discussion about how the Venture should be viewed and used to grow your business. We discuss the power of Public Venture Capital and compare it with other funding options. We get into the mechanics of Capital Pool Companies or CPC’s and how it really takes a village to raise a venture company. The interview is an eye-opener to the process as well as to the potential when done right! Stay tuned as I know there’s va...
Feb 06, 2019•1 hr•Ep. 1
