The vast majority of mergers and acquisitions don’t work out well. Jon Ouellette, a lifelong entrepreneur and our guest on today’s show; has insights as to why this is the case. He also explains what CEOs need to be aware of in combining companies through M&A. He should know as he combined 35 companies into one before being successfully sold to an international buyer. It all comes down to people. Human performance is what creates value; and if the people who work for you aren’t aligned with ...
Apr 27, 2021•45 min•Ep. 81
Losing money is always going to be a part of the venture capital game. However, it’s how the money is lost that matters. With 30 years of experience as a securities lawyer working regularly with entrepreneurs, and as the founder of two legal-tech companies; Doug Ellenoff has a wealth of knowledge to share which will benefit anyone in the start-up world. His goal is to help entrepreneurs raise capital in a way that is socially responsible and protects investors; and everyone should be on-board wi...
Apr 21, 2021•42 min•Ep. 80
In today’s episode, you’ll hear from Rick Rule, now the former President and CEO of Sprott US Holdings. Rick is outspoken to say the least, but still seems to consider every word carefully. His entrance into the finance industry is a story worth listening to twice, and the people he learned from can be credited with leading the frontiers of the Canadian venture capital industry. In the first part of this interview, Rick says, “I look forward to being useful.” This seems like a bit of a dismissiv...
Apr 14, 2021•52 min•Ep. 79
The path to success takes many steps. Today we sit with Peter Thomas to learn from his journey and hear about each of the steps that he took to build his illustrious career. Peter’s a lifelong entrepreneur, real estate investor, developer, and financier. We open our conversation with Peter by hearing his professional history. After hearing about how the sales aspect of his past role impacted his career ethos, Peter talks about how a combination of sheer luck and perfect timing have been among hi...
Apr 06, 2021•40 min•Ep. 78
One of the biggest questions in the “new normal” economy is how do you build a successful business during a global recession? In today’s episode, you’ll hear from Douglas Hurst. A person that knows all about building a successful company in a bad market! Doug is Chairman of Northern Vertex Mining Corp. He is also a lifelong miner who started his career as an exploration geologist. He eventually transitioned into working as a mining analyst, before becoming a notable mining entrepreneur and execu...
Mar 30, 2021•46 min•Ep. 77
In this three-part miniseries, you’ll hear from Codie Sanchez. She is a venture capitalist and a former investment banker and journalist. She joins us today to enlighten us on why knowing your numbers as an entrepreneur is crucial. Codie is the Managing Director and Partner at Entourage Effect Capital. They are a growth equity firm focused specifically on investing in the legalized cannabis industry. She is also the Founder of Contrarian Thinking. It is a newsletter designed to help curious entr...
Mar 22, 2021•9 min•Ep. 76
In this three-part miniseries, you’ll hear from Codie Sanchez. She is a venture capitalist and a former investment banker and journalist. She joins us today to enlighten us on why knowing your numbers as an entrepreneur is crucial. Codie is the Managing Director and Partner at Entourage Effect Capital. They are a growth equity firm focused specifically on investing in the legalized cannabis industry. She is also the Founder of Contrarian Thinking. It is a newsletter designed to help curious entr...
Mar 22, 2021•7 min•Ep. 75
In this three-part miniseries, you’ll hear from Codie Sanchez. She is a venture capitalist and a former investment banker and journalist. She joins us today to enlighten us on why knowing your numbers as an entrepreneur is crucial. Codie is the Managing Director and Partner at Entourage Effect Capital. They are a growth equity firm focused specifically on investing in the legalized cannabis industry. She is also the Founder of Contrarian Thinking. It is a newsletter designed to help curious entr...
Mar 22, 2021•9 min•Ep. 74
Most companies struggle to engage long-term investors because they aren’t able to present a clear and compelling narrative. This insight comes from Matt Badiali, a financial analyst and writer who joins us today to talk about building stronger investor relationships through storytelling. After chatting about his background as an analyst and writer, we ask Matt to share his top advice on captivating investors. His answers highlight the link between focusing on clarity, presenting your value propo...
Mar 08, 2021•39 min•Ep. 73
Today’s guest is Nick Findler, CEO of GoPublic.AI. Nick and his partners have come together to match entrepreneurs with financiers and brokers in raising capital and taking companies public on the junior Canadian stock markets. For entrepreneurs looking to raise early-stage capital, GoPublic.AI aims to educate and match them with good financing groups. For brokers and financiers, Nick and his team are tackling the problem of finding good, consistent deal flow. Their platform automates this proce...
Feb 19, 2021•33 min•Ep. 72
Carlos Domingo is the co-founder and CEO of Securitize. He and his team have been applying the power of blockchain to managing private and public securities. They are able to efficiently take investors through the entire servicing of assets – from buying or subscribing to shares, to managing Know Your Client requirements, cross border regulations, and establishing clear transfer of ownership. As a former Corporate Venture Capitalist, Carlos speaks to how he’s applying that experience to raising ...
Feb 10, 2021•42 min•Ep. 71
Chris Simair is the Managing Director of Harvest Builders and former co-founder of Skip the Dishes. Skip the Dishes is a true David versus Goliath story. He and his team bootstrapped Skip through the toughest days and ended up selling for hundreds of millions. Now Chris is running Harvest Builders, a hub for supporting the launch and growth of remarkable technology companies across the Canadian prairies. Check out some of our most popular episodes: Chicken S#!it CEOs w. Mogens Smed: https://bit....
Jan 27, 2021•40 min•Ep. 70
Lukas Lundin, head of the Lundin Group, has grown his group of resource companies into a combined market cap of over $20 billion dollars. Although Lukas has created billions in value for shareholders, his perspectives and advice are applicable to anyone in business. We talk about a number of subjects from how Lukas approaches government relationships, building partnerships, succession planning within his businesses and we even get into his personal life. For someone of his caliber, who keeps a r...
Jan 13, 2021•30 min•Ep. 69
Welcome to our season finale! It is a recap of 2020 and an overview of what to look forward to in 2021. We have been fortunate to introduce you to dozens of guests over the past year. In this episode, join me to reflect on what we've learned from those interviews. A key takeaway I have is the importance of sticking to your principles and remaining objective, as well as leading with good intentions and keeping the long-term in mind. Check out some of our most popular episodes: Chicken S#!it CEOs ...
Dec 30, 2020•8 min•Ep. 68
Kim Furlong is the CEO of the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association. Venture capital and private equity are powerful components of our economy but often misunderstood and arguably, over-regulated. The industry can also be heavily impacted by the policies of the government. Kim and her team are 'lobbyists' in the most honorable way of working to ensure entrepreneurs can be supported by thriving venture capital and private equity industry. After all, it is this private investment...
Dec 09, 2020•38 min•Ep. 67
Raising capital and running a Silicon Valley business are high-pressure endeavors. Jason Tan and his team have raised over $100,000,000 to build their vision of SIFT. As we hear, being human is one of the best things you can do to run a successful business. Jason is also an alumnus of the famous Y Combinator incubator program and explains how his role as a leader is continuously evolving. He speaks candidly about his battles with depression as an entrepreneur as well as some solid lessons you ca...
Nov 27, 2020•47 min•Ep. 66
Joshua and Leonard Harlan of Harlan Capital join us to discuss their focus on investing in new and emerging asset classes. We have witnessed a significant shift in business, where companies no longer need to derive their value from their own net tangible assets. They can now grow by leasing assets as and when they need them and this creates a very compelling investment opportunity. Check out some of our most popular episodes: Chicken S#!it CEOs w. Mogens Smed: https://bit.ly/3M7c4xC Leadership L...
Nov 06, 2020•43 min•Ep. 65
Ari Pandes has published numerous papers on the capital markets with a focus on early-stage venture financings. Ari is a champion of the public venture capital system in Canada, although it could be argued that private venture capital and public venture capital are very comparable sources of funding. He has researched numerous aspects of the financial markets as well the levers of success for both private and public companies. The findings he's had are thought-provoking for any entrepreneur! Che...
Oct 21, 2020•48 min•Ep. 64
Justin Kates is a partner of DuMoulin Black where he practices securities law. His focus is on advising companies through their growth curves on how to properly structure financings and help execute M&A transactions. It doesn’t matter what stage you are at in your company, a bad deal is a bad deal, so you need a trained eye on your team. The public venture markets in Canada have long been recognized as a unique ecosystem for supporting the ambitions of entrepreneurs and the success of early-...
Sep 30, 2020•47 min•Ep. 63
George Palikaras joins us to talk about how to access millions of dollars in government grants, tax credits, and R&D subsidies available for your business. Done right, it can be a powerful source of fund that won't dilute your shareholders. George is the founding President and CEO of Metamaterial, which is listed on the CSE under MMAT. George was able to finance much of the R&D and early commercialization of the company with non-dilutive capital, often overlooked and misunderstood as an ...
Sep 15, 2020•52 min•Ep. 62
Marcello Botolli is the co-founder and Managing Partner of EVCP Growth Equity. EVCP is a boutique private equity firm dedicated to investing in promising consumer lifestyle brands. Marcello has led remarkable brands including his position as Chairman and CEO of Louis Vuitton, his restructuring and turnaround of the great American brand, Samsonite, and his directorship positions with other internationally recognized names. You are going to hear about how Marcello ascended to the top leadership ro...
Aug 21, 2020•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 61
Today’s guest is Jamie Keech, a Canadian mining engineer, and natural resource financier. Some of his partners and peers identify Jamie as a key piece in building profitable mining companies, including Equinox Gold and Maverix Metals. He is the co-founder of Capitalist Exploits and the host of the Resource Insider podcast. A key part of Jamie’s business is facilitating and participating in private placements. In our conversation, he explains that the mechanics of a private placement can be simpl...
Aug 12, 2020•52 min•Ep. 60
Today we’re joined by Russ Heddleston, Co-Founder and CEO of DocSend. DocSend is an application that is increasingly used by the finance industry for sending documents securely like pitch decks. It can also create secure and tracked file sharing spaces, or data rooms. However, this episode is not about DocSend. Today, Russ will be sharing with us his very interesting Silicone Valley career. Some may even say that Russ has lived the tech dream, from Stanford and Harvard degrees, to selling his fi...
Aug 06, 2020•40 min•Ep. 59
The opioid crisis has created a pressing need for successful addiction treatments, especially as the majority of people who seek treatment will relapse. In today’s episode, we speak with Founder and Co-Chairman Shayne Nyquvest and CEO Jeremy Weate of Universal Ibogaine. Universal Ibogaine, is aiming to address the opioid crisis and revolutionize the therapy industry by using ibogaine in addiction recovery. After providing further context on ibogaine, Shayne takes the lead in explaining the busin...
Jul 28, 2020•31 min•Ep. 58
In this episode of the Insider’s Guide to Finance, we talk to Jay Martin, the CEO of Cambridge House International. With his team, Jay has produced some of the largest small-cap investor conferences in Canada, that is until his business came to an abrupt standstill when COVID-19 struck. Fortunately, he was able to pivot on a dime. A key part of their successful transition was their previous commitment to creating content and building up an audience of investors through their YouTube channel and ...
Jul 22, 2020•41 min•Ep. 57
Anthony Milewski is back on the show to do a second interview. We dive into how he is navigating the markets during these uncertain times and discuss the opportunities he is seeing in business and the markets. We also get into the forces that are propelling the ESG movements into industries and boardrooms. From dealings in Russia, to globally financing opportunities and taking top leadership positions in some well-known public companies, Anthony has got some great experience, insights, and opini...
Jul 15, 2020•46 min•Ep. 56
Marin Katusa is a renowned professional resource investor, life long teacher, and a New York Times bestselling author. He presents an unpopular view of the financial industry and explains how he's approached building his business as one of the largest early-stage resource investors in North America. We discuss Marin’s ideal business partners and how he looks for operators that focus on their chosen sector, and who have their own ‘skin in the game’. Check out some of our most popular episodes: Ch...
Jul 09, 2020•51 min•Ep. 55
Do you feel like you are not getting enough value out of the legal fees you pay? In this episode, Greg Ramsay explains how management teams can make better use of the relationships with their legal team. Greg is a corporate mergers and acquisitions lawyer, as well as an entrepreneur and founder of his own firm, Made it Legal. He’s been counsel on numerous deals that are measured well into the hundreds of millions of dollars, while navigating highly complex structures, as well as managing the per...
Jul 02, 2020•43 min•Ep. 54
Wesley King has come to be known as the Biohacking Investment Banker. In this episode, we dive into three areas: financing companies, marketing to investors and biohacking for a better life. Wesley has brought together these three into a banking career and now the launch of his own firm, Coherent Capital. Wesley’s focus and commitment is on a sector that he’s both active in and passionate about, and also has an infinite lifespan in helping humans optimize and live stronger, healthier and more pr...
Jun 25, 2020•47 min•Ep. 53
Anthony Lacavera, an extremely accomplished Canadian entrepreneur, is the founder and chairman of Globalive. Anthony built and sold a number of companies including WINDMobile, however, mistakes are made in the entrepreneur world, whether you’re seasoned veteran or an amateur. We shouldn’t be afraid of conversations that probe into difficult topics. Conversations around experience become an opportunity to make sure you have the right potential investors and provide a way for others to point out i...
Jun 18, 2020•36 min•Ep. 52
