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Olivia Wong Discusses her Business Prototype Thinking Labs, Disaster Relief and Offers Help for Entrepreneurs During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Olivia Wong is a former emergency disaster responder living in Vancouver, BC. She was one of the first international aid workers deployed to the frontlines of the Fukushima nuclear radiation disaster in 2011. She has shared essential lessons learned from managing a crisis through hands-on examples from her past work with the UN, UNHCR, International Rescue Committee, and the US State Department. Since leaving nonprofit work, she has merged her past experience in the field of crisis management with Prototype Thinking Labs, a breakthrough innovation method born at Google X, and has trained large corporations such as Google, General Mills, Capital One, Mastercard, L’Oreal, Lululemon and more. In Vancouver where she resides, she has been a mentor to startups in the Vancouver startup community and during COVID-19 has been helping other entrepreneurs and small business owners launch new income streams in 36 hours. Prototype is offering a free 75-minute training to help small business owners & entrepreneurs launch new income streams in 36 hours. To date, they have helped 400 people in less than 3 weeks! Free 75-minute Interactive Webinar: www.prototypethinking.io/webinar.

Erica Pearson Discusses Her Business Vacation Fund, Mental Health & Avoiding Burnout, Especially During a Crisis Like COVID-19

After 4 years competing as a varsity athlete, and simultaneously earning her Bachelor of Commerce degree at Queen’s University, Erica Pearson spent several years on the RBC Capital Markets trading floor in Toronto. She held Analyst positions within Debt Capital Markets, Foreign Exchange Institutional Sales, Institutional Equities Trading, Money Market Sales, and Interest Rate Derivative Solutions. Erica then worked as an Analyst for the CEO Office of Investor and Treasury Services. At the end of December 2016, she informed RBC of her intention to resign to start her own company. The idea for Vacation Fund, a Toronto-based startup, was born from Erica’s upbringing. Her family was very frugal, but prioritized spending time and money on travel and experiences. By the time she turned 22, Erica had visited over 40 countries.

Canada’s Podcast Host Mario Toneguzzi Reflects on His Time in Quarantine with COVID-19

Mario Toneguzzi, our Calgary host, talks about some of the lessons he’s learned working in quarantine with COVID-19. Great perceptions which we can all learn from.

Patricia Conlin, Founder and CEO of Global Consulting Group Discusses Staying Positive During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Patricia Conlin is founder and CEO of Global Consulting Group which working in technology recruitment, training and lifestyle coaching across North America. In this podcast we find out how she is responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and get some thoughts on how we might stay positive and work together to make things better.

Jeffrey Doucet is Helping COVID-19’s New Job Seekers to Find New Opportunities Without Any Fees

Jeffrey Doucet is CEO of Thrive Career Wellness Platform, a software company that helps job seekers manage their job search. Jeffrey just announced that his company is opening up their Career Wellness Platform to all Canadians who have lost their jobs due to COVID-19.

Lesley Dumlao

Lesley Dumlao is the Director of Engagement at Perceptible Group Inc., a marketing and technology agency based in Burlington, Ontario. Lesley leads Perceptible’s business development, client engagement, social media marketing, and is also a host on Canada’s Podcast in Toronto! She and her husband are business partners and part-owners of Perceptible Group Inc. Having grown up within an entrepreneurial family, Lesley always knew that she would end up starting her own business. She also is confident in the fact that entrepreneurs have a certain make-up that sets them apart– a higher tolerance for risk and innate creativity. Lesley holds a Bachelor of Applied Health Sciences from the University of Waterloo and a Project Management Certificate from Humber College. With education in Recreation and Project Management, she spent most of her career working in government sector roles, and took the leap into entrepreneurship only two years ago.

Pierre Cleroux Chief Economist at Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) Discusses COVID-19’s Impact on Small Businesses Across Canada

Pierre Cleroux, Chief Economist with BDC (Business Development Bank of Canada), talks to Canada’s Podcast about the devastating impact COVID-19 (coronavirus) is having on small businesses across the country, how the bank is helping out and advice for entrepreneurs to survive this crisis.

Evan Gilbert

With a partial BCIT degree, investing 7 months working in the corporate world with Rogers, several years working hospitality with the Vancouver Canucks, Evan Gilbert set his mind on living life as a Digital Nomad traveling around the world while engaging technology to establish a niche helping real estate professionals invest wisely in their online content, presence and sales process. He is on a mission to revolutionize the advertising industry by delivering the best online resources for you to succeed in paid traffic! Within his digital marketing agency in Vancouver, he is also developing an education and training program to help other business decision makers & entrepreneurs get started with their own successful advertising campaigns on social media. Learn more about his business on the Block E Media website.

Andrew Gordon Discusses the Cannabis Industry and His Retail Cannabis Chain Kiaro

Andrew Gordon is a shareholder of Kiaro, which is a cannabis retail brand, and derives from the Italian “Chiaroscuro”, meaning to emerge from darkness into the light. He currently serves as Senior Vice President of Retail Operations and Community. He specializes in organizational development, public affairs, community partnerships and industry performance. Andrew has a degree in Political Science from UVIC, and is a graduate of BCIT’s Non-Profit Management Program. Andrew has successfully led the community integration efforts for a number of private retailers across Canada, and has worked with a diverse array of patients, consumers and regulators to build accountable, community-responsive and financially sustainable cannabis retail models. Galvanized by the prospects of cannabis legalization in Canada, Andrew is passionate about working with community stakeholders across the country to help reduce social stigma, and abate pharmaceutical drug dependence within communities.

Shrad Rao Discusses Wagepoint & Building Business in Tough Times Like the COVID-19 Pandemic

Shrad Rao is CEO at Wagepoint – Simple Payroll Software backed by the World’s Friendliest Team. He is focused on “building the kind of company I’ve always wanted to work at.” In fact Shrad has always known he would be an entrepreneur. And he has been really successful — building a startup in Canada into an international operation, He has some great insights — especially regarding positive approaches to building businesses in tough times like the current COVID-19 pandemic.