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TRANSCRIPTION WITH SPEAKERS
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[00:00] SPEAKER_01: It's Toronto's podcast on the Canada's podcast network.
[00:05] SPEAKER_01: Hi, this is Lesslie D'Amlal with the Canada's podcast, The Nation's Number One Entrepreneurial
[00:09] SPEAKER_01: Network.
[00:10] SPEAKER_01: I have the pleasure today of speaking with Danielle Leigh Halloween.
[00:13] SPEAKER_01: Danielle is a veteran PR and communications professional, writer and tech startup founder.
[00:19] SPEAKER_01: She's spoken to conferences around the world, blocked a list of leveraged downbread
[00:22] SPEAKER_01: carpets in broken-world records.
[00:25] SPEAKER_01: Halloween is a yogi, has three children and splits her time between Toronto and
[00:28] SPEAKER_01: Prince Edward Guempti.
[00:30] SPEAKER_01: Her latest venture, Book and Branch, tech platform for book clubs is on a mission to reconnect
[00:35] SPEAKER_01: the world in real life through books and food.
[00:38] SPEAKER_01: So I'm so excited to hear more about both Book and Branch and your PR agency.
[00:43] SPEAKER_01: Welcome to Canada's podcast and I'm so glad you could be with us today.
[00:46] SPEAKER_00: Thanks so much for having me.
[00:47] SPEAKER_00: I'm thrilled to be here.
[00:49] SPEAKER_01: So why don't you start just tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do.
[00:53] SPEAKER_00: So right now, most of my time, a lot of my time is focused on my startup.
[00:59] SPEAKER_00: I've never had never worked in tech before this and so it's very fast paced and we're
[01:05] SPEAKER_00: in the process of beginning to prepare to raise our first round of funding.
[01:10] SPEAKER_00: So that's kind of a big deal.
[01:12] SPEAKER_00: But yeah, I've been, I say, you know, I'm a 20 plus year entrepreneur.
[01:16] SPEAKER_00: I started like my own gigs at like 11 years old and I never really stopped.
[01:23] SPEAKER_00: I did have jobs here and there, but I've always had my own ventures, whether it's like
[01:28] SPEAKER_00: a lemonade stand or, you know, helping shovel the driveway or mode one, whatever it was,
[01:35] SPEAKER_00: I would just get into it.
[01:36] SPEAKER_00: And so I had my PR agency for 15 years, ish and most recently, about a year ago, I was
[01:45] SPEAKER_00: launched my book and brunch, our tech startup.
[01:50] SPEAKER_00: So that's my jam.
[01:52] SPEAKER_01: So awesome.
[01:53] SPEAKER_01: Tell us a little bit about book and brunch.
[01:55] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so book and brunch is a book and food experiences marketplace.
[02:00] SPEAKER_00: So on one side, we have, you know, hosts who want to host book club meetings or book club
[02:07] SPEAKER_00: experiences and on the other side, we have venues who want to host them.
[02:11] SPEAKER_00: So we connect those two parties.
[02:13] SPEAKER_00: It is free to join anybody can join.
[02:16] SPEAKER_00: So our members love that every event is hinged around a book because books are really
[02:21] SPEAKER_00: amazing icebreakers and great conversations to herders.
[02:26] SPEAKER_00: Our hosts love that they're making some money, just reading, meeting and eating.
[02:32] SPEAKER_00: Our hosts make between 50 and $500 per experience that they host, depending on what they're
[02:37] SPEAKER_00: hosting.
[02:38] SPEAKER_00: And then our venues create a listing, just kind of like an Airbnb listing of their set
[02:44] SPEAKER_00: menus, their restaurant, and then they can begin accepting group dining reservations
[02:48] SPEAKER_00: really easily.
[02:50] SPEAKER_00: So that's how it works.
[02:51] SPEAKER_00: That's the technical piece.
[02:52] SPEAKER_00: But why we started it is because, because I really had no intention of having a tech
[02:59] SPEAKER_00: startup.
[03:00] SPEAKER_00: This is how my life is.
[03:01] SPEAKER_00: I just, it's true.
[03:03] SPEAKER_00: But a few years back, my sister was in a depression and she was not leaving the house and it was
[03:11] SPEAKER_00: a really, it was very bad.
[03:12] SPEAKER_00: It was very dark place.
[03:13] SPEAKER_00: And so I said, you know, you have to do something that forces yourself out, like create a date
[03:19] SPEAKER_00: with yourself.
[03:20] SPEAKER_00: Like, I don't care what it is.
[03:21] SPEAKER_00: So she started this book club.
[03:23] SPEAKER_00: She called it book and brunch because she's like, I want to check out a different restaurant
[03:26] SPEAKER_00: every month.
[03:28] SPEAKER_00: She curated the whole thing and then within a year to really spectacular things happen.
[03:33] SPEAKER_00: The first was that she was completely transformed.
[03:39] SPEAKER_00: Like it was, it skyrocketed her out of that depression, just that simple ritual once
[03:44] SPEAKER_00: a month of meeting, reading and eating.
[03:47] SPEAKER_00: And then the second thing that happened was that book club, which was originally five
[03:51] SPEAKER_00: people, ballooned over a thousand, twelve hundred maybe.
[03:56] SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
[03:57] SPEAKER_00: So word was spreading really quickly.
[03:59] SPEAKER_00: And what people loved was that they showed up.
[04:03] SPEAKER_00: There was no awkward exchange or splitting of the bill, like all the money she did via
[04:08] SPEAKER_00: e-transfer in advance.
[04:10] SPEAKER_00: So you would just show up.
[04:11] SPEAKER_00: There'd be a beautiful set menu, gorgeously curated experience and it was really plug
[04:16] SPEAKER_00: and play for people.
[04:17] SPEAKER_00: And so when I saw those two things, more importantly, the transformation in my sister,
[04:21] SPEAKER_00: like that was a huge deal for me.
[04:24] SPEAKER_00: And then some of the work I'd done in the marketplace space on the PR side really inspired
[04:30] SPEAKER_00: me.
[04:31] SPEAKER_00: So one of my clients was Turo, which is like Airbnb, but for cars, fantastic company, fantastic
[04:38] SPEAKER_00: tech company out of San Francisco.
[04:40] SPEAKER_00: And I was started to think like I want to be able to empower other people to host their
[04:45] SPEAKER_00: own experiences.
[04:46] SPEAKER_00: And if we can help like one other person, just one, one other person feel less lonely,
[04:52] SPEAKER_00: feel more connected, find their people.
[04:55] SPEAKER_00: That's actually the work I want to be doing.
[04:57] SPEAKER_00: So we said about to build it.
[05:00] SPEAKER_00: And we created a platform that had all the functionality that we needed that the other
[05:05] SPEAKER_00: platforms didn't have ability to pay out the host, ability to pay out the venue, making
[05:11] SPEAKER_00: the event plan a piece like super easy because if you go to like plan a group meal for
[05:16] SPEAKER_00: say 20 people and you want to set menu, you got to call all the venues.
[05:20] SPEAKER_00: You got to negotiate your food costs.
[05:23] SPEAKER_00: So we've eliminated those barriers because our platforms preloaded with all the set menus.
[05:26] SPEAKER_00: You just choose the one you want to request and and the rest goes.
[05:29] SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
[05:30] SPEAKER_00: So that's the story of Book and Branch, how it came to be.
[05:33] SPEAKER_00: That's wonderful.
[05:34] SPEAKER_01: So how many people have you helped sound like how many members?
[05:38] SPEAKER_00: I mean, we have we have thousands and thousands.
[05:41] SPEAKER_00: We don't reveal our exact number yet because we are fundraising.
[05:44] SPEAKER_00: But there what's cool and interesting is that they're spread across like 40 cities globally.
[05:49] SPEAKER_00: So there's members in LA, there's members in London, there's members in Scotland, there's
[05:53] SPEAKER_00: members in Australia and Tokyo.
[05:55] SPEAKER_00: And so we have all these people who are sort of waiting until we properly scale into those
[06:00] SPEAKER_00: markets right now.
[06:01] SPEAKER_00: We're hyper focused on getting density in Toronto.
[06:05] SPEAKER_00: A lot of our community is already in Toronto, but like really getting a ton of density here,
[06:10] SPEAKER_00: getting it right and then sort of going, scaling from there.
[06:14] SPEAKER_00: For sure.
[06:15] SPEAKER_01: Are you in any other cities across across Canada or?
[06:17] SPEAKER_01: Yep.
[06:19] SPEAKER_00: So Toronto's our biggest market, but then we have Edmonton, Ottawa, Montreal, Winnipeg,
[06:26] SPEAKER_00: there's a few others.
[06:26] SPEAKER_00: I've got to check.
[06:28] SPEAKER_00: We definitely have members in Vancouver, but in terms of like active events, most active
[06:32] SPEAKER_00: events are in Toronto at this stage because we are a two woman bootstrapped startup.
[06:38] SPEAKER_01: Right.
[06:38] SPEAKER_01: So is your sister still involved or?
[06:40] SPEAKER_00: Oh, yes.
[06:41] SPEAKER_00: She's my co-founder.
[06:42] SPEAKER_00: She's CEO of the company.
[06:45] SPEAKER_00: She's more involved than I am because I still have some, I have PR as well, I'm juggling
[06:50] SPEAKER_00: some things.
[06:51] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we're in it.
[06:52] SPEAKER_00: We are in it to win it.
[06:54] SPEAKER_00: So this year, once we raise our round, it's going to be all systems go to help spread
[06:59] SPEAKER_00: it even further.
[07:01] SPEAKER_00: That's so exciting.
[07:02] SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
[07:02] SPEAKER_01: I'll have to attend.
[07:04] SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
[07:05] SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
[07:06] SPEAKER_01: I mean, I'm in Grimsby, but not too far away.
[07:09] SPEAKER_01: So it sounds really interesting.
[07:11] SPEAKER_00: You could always start winning your area.
[07:12] SPEAKER_00: That's the whole point.
[07:14] SPEAKER_00: We want to encourage anyone to host.
[07:16] SPEAKER_00: And it doesn't have to be complicated.
[07:18] SPEAKER_01: So anyone can be a host and then anyone can be a host.
[07:22] SPEAKER_00: Yep.
[07:22] SPEAKER_01: And really, you're involving your community and you're making a difference and impact
[07:25] SPEAKER_01: on your local business.
[07:27] SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
[07:28] SPEAKER_01: The next question I have for you, I just wanted to ask you, do you think entrepreneurs
[07:33] SPEAKER_01: are wired differently?
[07:35] SPEAKER_00: That's a great question.
[07:36] SPEAKER_00: And as like a lifelong entrepreneur, because I, again, I have had jobs.
[07:40] SPEAKER_00: I do think we're wired differently.
[07:43] SPEAKER_00: I think we're builders.
[07:46] SPEAKER_00: So for me, there's an insatiable hunger to create something that is of service and is
[07:54] SPEAKER_00: of value.
[07:54] SPEAKER_00: You can certainly do that when you work in a corporation or in a company.
[07:58] SPEAKER_00: But I think we're less, or sorry, we're into risk more.
[08:05] SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
[08:05] SPEAKER_00: I do think we're wired differently.
[08:07] SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
[08:07] SPEAKER_00: It's like, for me, I love the idea that we get to create and build something that
[08:15] SPEAKER_00: feels very true and authentic to our vision and ourselves.
[08:20] SPEAKER_00: Because I have worked at places.
[08:22] SPEAKER_00: And when you work for someone else's vision, you're meaningful.
[08:25] SPEAKER_00: It can be spectacular, but it's someone else's vision.
[08:28] SPEAKER_00: So that's a different sort of thing.
[08:31] SPEAKER_00: And a lot of my close friends are entrepreneurs.
[08:33] SPEAKER_00: And it's such a great question because I started one of my first like real businesses.
[08:38] SPEAKER_00: I was a, I had a restaurant business.
[08:40] SPEAKER_00: It was called Big Burger.
[08:41] SPEAKER_00: It was a fast food old school burger joint.
[08:43] SPEAKER_00: I'm now a vegetarian, but I had that business for seven years.
[08:47] SPEAKER_00: And during that time, I was looking my early 20s.
[08:50] SPEAKER_00: I was a kid.
[08:51] SPEAKER_00: I knew nothing about anything.
[08:54] SPEAKER_00: I just jumped right in and I was like, oh, I'll figure this out.
[08:57] SPEAKER_00: I think at the time, Britney Spears had a restaurant.
[08:59] SPEAKER_00: And I was like, if Britney Spears can do it, I can do it.
[09:02] SPEAKER_00: But what's interesting is that none of my friends at the time, right?
[09:07] SPEAKER_00: Early 20s were entrepreneurs.
[09:09] SPEAKER_00: All of them had jobs.
[09:11] SPEAKER_00: And those friends from that era, they're not really around as much.
[09:16] SPEAKER_00: It was very different because I was working, or I was working around the clock.
[09:20] SPEAKER_00: And they were out clubbing and partying.
[09:23] SPEAKER_00: And I was just, I had my restaurant to run.
[09:25] SPEAKER_00: So, you know, that was the first time I think to answer your question when I realized,
[09:30] SPEAKER_00: oh, actually, we are, it's a little bit different.
[09:33] SPEAKER_00: You don't quite understand me.
[09:36] SPEAKER_00: And maybe I don't quite understand you.
[09:38] SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
[09:39] SPEAKER_00: So there was some growing apart that happened in that time.
[09:43] SPEAKER_00: We're absolutely wired differently.
[09:45] SPEAKER_01: That's really interesting.
[09:46] SPEAKER_01: So, next question, I know you're working out of Toronto.
[09:51] SPEAKER_01: What do you think the benefits are of doing business in Toronto?
[09:55] SPEAKER_00: Oh my God.
[09:55] SPEAKER_00: I mean, Toronto is the best city in the world.
[09:58] SPEAKER_00: Right.
[09:58] SPEAKER_00: It's a great talk.
[10:00] SPEAKER_00: I mean, I was born in the former Czechoslovakia.
[10:02] SPEAKER_00: So I come, we came to Canada with nothing, not the language, not a penny to our names,
[10:07] SPEAKER_00: right?
[10:08] SPEAKER_00: So there's a number of reasons why having a business in Toronto is a huge advantage.
[10:13] SPEAKER_00: The talent pool is incredible, right?
[10:15] SPEAKER_00: Especially in tech because you've got Kitchener Waterloo right there.
[10:18] SPEAKER_00: You've got those schools.
[10:20] SPEAKER_00: The multiculturalism and diversity.
[10:22] SPEAKER_00: Like, I actually think that that's where the best kind of work comes from.
[10:26] SPEAKER_00: When you are collaborating with people who come from different places, different cultures,
[10:30] SPEAKER_00: just the entire ecosystem, incredibly supportive.
[10:33] SPEAKER_00: You know that whole cliche that like, oh, Canadians are so nice.
[10:37] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we are.
[10:38] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's absolutely true.
[10:39] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and we also support each other.
[10:41] SPEAKER_00: And we actually feel that support as a startup in the ecosystem in Toronto.
[10:47] SPEAKER_00: And then like a million other reasons why it's the bomb, the food scene, just so many
[10:52] SPEAKER_00: incredible scenes.
[10:53] SPEAKER_00: Like it's like this, it's like New York, but nicer and smaller.
[10:58] SPEAKER_00: That's what I think.
[11:00] SPEAKER_00: And it's just a great hub for any international business.
[11:03] SPEAKER_00: That's how I feel.
[11:04] SPEAKER_00: The government's also really supportive of startups who want to export, who want to scale.
[11:09] SPEAKER_00: And maybe that happens in other cities, but I feel like it's also in tech, Toronto's
[11:13] SPEAKER_00: like having a scene right now.
[11:15] SPEAKER_00: Like there's so many new startups.
[11:17] SPEAKER_00: There's so, there's a flurry of activity thrilled that that's our home base.
[11:23] SPEAKER_01: So do you have an office, like an office space in Toronto?
[11:27] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we do.
[11:28] SPEAKER_00: We have a beautiful open concept loft space that we also host events in.
[11:33] SPEAKER_00: It's in the junction, which is like my favorite neighborhood.
[11:36] SPEAKER_00: It's not downtown, but it's in a neighborhood.
[11:39] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we have a space.
[11:40] SPEAKER_00: We love it.
[11:41] SPEAKER_00: Great place to meet people in real life.
[11:43] SPEAKER_00: Our whole thing is connecting in real life, right?
[11:46] SPEAKER_00: So it was important to us.
[11:48] SPEAKER_01: Next question I have for you.
[11:49] SPEAKER_01: Some of our best ideas come when we least expect them.
[11:53] SPEAKER_01: And I know you mentioned that you're a yogi.
[11:55] SPEAKER_01: So I'm just wondering, like what kind of things that you do to disconnect and find those
[12:02] SPEAKER_01: great ideas?
[12:03] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, I practice yoga, of course.
[12:06] SPEAKER_00: I work out.
[12:08] SPEAKER_00: I do a lot of walking.
[12:10] SPEAKER_00: So for, I'd like to take walking meetings.
[12:12] SPEAKER_00: I took that one from Ariana Huffington.
[12:15] SPEAKER_00: If I need to do a 40 minute meeting, like I would love if we could just walk and talk.
[12:20] SPEAKER_00: And also the kinetic energy when you walk, it changes the meeting.
[12:24] SPEAKER_00: Like if you take the same meeting in a room and you take the same meeting and we're walking
[12:28] SPEAKER_00: around downtown Toronto or even in the junction, it's just a different energy that's injected.
[12:33] SPEAKER_00: So do a lot of walking.
[12:35] SPEAKER_00: I do meditation.
[12:36] SPEAKER_00: I also paint for myself.
[12:39] SPEAKER_00: I write.
[12:40] SPEAKER_00: I do writing.
[12:41] SPEAKER_00: I write a thousand words a day.
[12:42] SPEAKER_00: I have a weekly newsletter that goes out on Wednesdays.
[12:47] SPEAKER_00: It's called Dear Dignella.
[12:48] SPEAKER_00: It's an Ask Me Anything.
[12:50] SPEAKER_00: And that, actually, I love that.
[12:53] SPEAKER_00: There's nothing attached to it.
[12:55] SPEAKER_00: It's literally just from my heart.
[12:57] SPEAKER_00: It's a life letter.
[12:58] SPEAKER_00: So I'll often give a tidbit.
[13:00] SPEAKER_00: I do a lot of reading, of course.
[13:01] SPEAKER_00: I read every single day.
[13:04] SPEAKER_00: So often from some of the books that I'm reading, I'm inspired and I'll just share that
[13:07] SPEAKER_00: back.
[13:07] SPEAKER_00: But then if people have actual questions about PR, marketing or anything, then I'll answer
[13:13] SPEAKER_00: that as well.
[13:13] SPEAKER_00: So those are just some of the ways.
[13:15] SPEAKER_01: So Dear Dignella is a blog, that you have?
[13:17] SPEAKER_00: It's just an email newsletter.
[13:19] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's about 300 words or less.
[13:21] SPEAKER_00: It's usually people tell me they really like it.
[13:24] SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
[13:24] SPEAKER_00: I love it.
[13:25] SPEAKER_00: It's a great exercise for me on my Instagram, which is the KELAWAY.
[13:30] SPEAKER_00: You can sign up through the link there.
[13:32] SPEAKER_00: And then you can ask me anything.
[13:33] SPEAKER_00: And what I do is I pose the question.
[13:35] SPEAKER_00: It's anonymous.
[13:35] SPEAKER_00: So you can ask it in the opposite question and then I answer it.
[13:38] SPEAKER_00: But lately, people weren't asking questions.
[13:41] SPEAKER_00: So I just started to write whatever called to me and people seem to like it.
[13:46] SPEAKER_00: But also giving kind of cold notes on some really kick ass books, which I think people
[13:51] SPEAKER_00: find helpful.
[13:53] SPEAKER_01: I'm going to check that out after.
[13:55] SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
[13:56] SPEAKER_01: I'm also, I love writing.
[13:57] SPEAKER_01: So it's interesting that that's an outlet.
[14:00] SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah, huge outlet.
[14:01] SPEAKER_00: It has been since I've been a little girl reading and writing.
[14:04] SPEAKER_00: I also like now being in my entire world, so much of my world is books in the book community.
[14:11] SPEAKER_00: And I knew this a long time ago, but readers are writers are readers are writers.
[14:15] SPEAKER_00: So if you are a voracious reader, you're most likely a writer.
[14:20] SPEAKER_00: A few of a voracious writer.
[14:21] SPEAKER_00: You're also, you can't be an excellent writer without being a reader.
[14:26] SPEAKER_00: So it's like those two things are like linked.
[14:29] SPEAKER_00: It's the one and the same.
[14:30] SPEAKER_00: It's a cycle.
[14:31] SPEAKER_00: So that's why I do a lot of writing.
[14:33] SPEAKER_00: I do a lot of reading to just be itself.
[14:36] SPEAKER_01: Tell me about the vision that you have for your business.
[14:38] SPEAKER_01: And I know you've talked a little bit about expanding internationally.
[14:42] SPEAKER_01: And if you could kind of expand upon that vision and where you see your business in the
[14:46] SPEAKER_01: next kind of five years.
[14:47] SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
[14:49] SPEAKER_00: So, you know, where are the world's first book club platform that's helping people connect
[14:55] SPEAKER_00: in real life?
[14:56] SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of places to go online to connect for book clubs.
[15:01] SPEAKER_00: We're making it easy to do it.
[15:03] SPEAKER_00: The reading, meeting, and eating part.
[15:05] SPEAKER_00: And we're also helping local restaurants, which is fill their seats, right?
[15:09] SPEAKER_00: So in our vision of it, there's thousands of these gatherings happening all over the
[15:14] SPEAKER_00: world every week.
[15:18] SPEAKER_00: And we get really powerful feedback.
[15:21] SPEAKER_00: This is what keeps me going because as I'm sure you know, startup life is not a cake
[15:25] SPEAKER_00: walk.
[15:26] SPEAKER_00: It can be very challenging, especially when you're bootstrapping.
[15:30] SPEAKER_00: But when the community says things like, you know, this is better for me than therapy.
[15:36] SPEAKER_00: Or I met my best friend out of a brunch or every single time I come, it's like so meaningful
[15:44] SPEAKER_00: to me.
[15:45] SPEAKER_00: I mean, I get goosebumps just thinking about it.
[15:47] SPEAKER_00: And it's so important.
[15:50] SPEAKER_00: And what we realize in this journey is that people are really actually aching for meaningful
[15:56] SPEAKER_00: conversation, true connection, to find their people, you know, outside of work and outside
[16:03] SPEAKER_00: of their family and outside of like going to a bar or whatever.
[16:06] SPEAKER_00: How do you do social media, right?
[16:09] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, which, you know, as social media is not real, like it's just not.
[16:15] SPEAKER_00: I mean, even my own feed, it's always like the best version of me, right?
[16:18] SPEAKER_00: Right now I'm actually not wearing any makeup.
[16:21] SPEAKER_00: So like, it's also real me.
[16:22] SPEAKER_00: That's what I have a little bit of lip tint here purple because it matches my hair.
[16:26] Speaker UNKNOWN: I knew I was just.
[16:27] SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
[16:28] SPEAKER_00: But anyway, the point, the point being is like when we, we did this tour and we visited
[16:33] SPEAKER_00: our Brookies, that's what we call our community in these different cities and asking them and
[16:38] SPEAKER_00: talking to them and hearing from them, like it's a majority of our community is women.
[16:43] SPEAKER_00: And a lot of them are like, yeah, I need this.
[16:46] SPEAKER_00: Like thank you.
[16:47] SPEAKER_00: I just need an authentic way to connect.
[16:50] SPEAKER_00: So in five years, I would say we're going to definitely land on funding.
[16:54] SPEAKER_00: We're working on a celebrity ambassador investor, strategic investor, which will land.
[17:01] SPEAKER_00: And then we're going to scale across Canada and then the US and then the UK.
[17:06] SPEAKER_00: And then from there, the other international, international countries, but our focus is Canada
[17:12] SPEAKER_00: first because that's what we're based.
[17:14] SPEAKER_00: Also great literary hub and then New York and then London.
[17:18] SPEAKER_01: So exciting.
[17:20] SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
[17:20] SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
[17:21] SPEAKER_00: We have huge, we have huge dreams and ambitions.
[17:23] SPEAKER_00: I also have like a number of really interesting ideas around connecting people in a different
[17:33] SPEAKER_00: kind of way as well, which would be sort of an offshoot.
[17:36] SPEAKER_00: We also have a line of merchandise coming, t-shirts, totes, things that our Brookies have
[17:42] SPEAKER_00: talked about and we think could be interesting.
[17:44] SPEAKER_00: So yeah, all kinds of things.
[17:46] SPEAKER_00: That's awesome.
[17:47] SPEAKER_01: So what do you think is the greatest challenge that you've faced in your business today?
[17:51] SPEAKER_01: Because I know as entrepreneurs, we're always faced with the hard times, right?
[17:58] SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
[17:59] SPEAKER_00: I mean, it changes just like it's not unlike parenthood where you have these ebbs and
[18:05] SPEAKER_00: flows and waves where you're like, I'm rocking it.
[18:07] SPEAKER_00: And then you're like, oh my god, why did I do this?
[18:09] SPEAKER_00: I'm never going to survive.
[18:10] SPEAKER_00: So very similar.
[18:12] SPEAKER_00: And so right now in this season, in this particular moment, I would say that our challenge
[18:16] SPEAKER_00: is preparing and positioning ourselves for venture capital.
[18:21] SPEAKER_00: For VCs, like 4% of VC money goes to female founders.
[18:28] SPEAKER_00: So let me just say that again, 4%.
[18:32] SPEAKER_01: Only 4%?
[18:33] SPEAKER_00: Correct.
[18:34] SPEAKER_00: 4% to women.
[18:36] SPEAKER_00: So when you are building a product for women, by women, I mean, we have men in our platform.
[18:42] SPEAKER_00: 100%.
[18:43] SPEAKER_00: We have hosts in our platform and hosts that are men.
[18:46] SPEAKER_00: But 88% of our community is women.
[18:48] SPEAKER_00: So it's mostly women.
[18:49] SPEAKER_00: The men who are in are like, I love it.
[18:51] SPEAKER_00: Best way to meet a woman.
[18:53] SPEAKER_00: I'm like, yeah.
[18:53] SPEAKER_00: So it can be challenging to communicate your vision, your product, your product market
[19:02] SPEAKER_00: of fit and having an investor understand and take you seriously as a business when it's
[19:08] SPEAKER_00: something that they themselves are like, I don't get this.
[19:11] SPEAKER_00: What is this?
[19:12] SPEAKER_00: I wouldn't use it.
[19:13] SPEAKER_00: So maybe that challenge.
[19:15] SPEAKER_00: But I know we're going to overcome it because there's a lot of badass investor women out
[19:19] SPEAKER_00: there.
[19:21] SPEAKER_00: And we're working through that.
[19:23] SPEAKER_00: I would also say, personally, not having had a tech company before, I think the technical
[19:31] SPEAKER_00: pieces a bit of a challenge for us.
[19:32] SPEAKER_00: We have a really strong sales marketing, branding kind of background between the two of us
[19:39] SPEAKER_00: and in our team.
[19:41] SPEAKER_00: We do have an amazing CTO, but for us, not being technical founders owning a tech company,
[19:48] SPEAKER_00: sometimes can be a challenge in terms of understanding what the repercussions of a certain
[19:52] SPEAKER_00: iteration might be for us.
[19:54] SPEAKER_01: Navigating that, right?
[19:56] SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
[20:01] SPEAKER_00: And it's all brand new, right?
[20:03] SPEAKER_00: I asked my sister, my co-founder, I was like, we're talking about direct competitors.
[20:09] SPEAKER_00: We certainly have a number of competitors who are kind of close, but there's no one actually
[20:15] SPEAKER_00: out there that does exactly what we're doing exactly in this way that connects in this
[20:20] SPEAKER_00: way that offers the set menus and all this.
[20:21] SPEAKER_00: So, I was like, when you don't have that, you're building something brand new.
[20:28] SPEAKER_00: And that's tricky.
[20:30] SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of education there to explain how it works and all of that.
[20:34] SPEAKER_00: So...
[20:34] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you have no benchmark.
[20:36] SPEAKER_01: That's crazy.
[20:37] SPEAKER_00: That's right.
[20:37] SPEAKER_00: That's right.
[20:38] SPEAKER_00: So, I mean, that's the thrill.
[20:39] SPEAKER_00: That's the thrill of it, though, right?
[20:41] SPEAKER_00: Like, you, every day is a new learning and a new experience.
[20:46] SPEAKER_00: And I think that's why I did it.
[20:47] SPEAKER_00: Like, I had been doing PR for so many years and like, I'm brilliant at it.
[20:53] SPEAKER_00: And which is great, but like, Book and Branch presented a whole wave of awesome challenges
[21:01] SPEAKER_00: and new learnings.
[21:02] SPEAKER_00: So, I'm all in.
[21:04] SPEAKER_01: Okay.
[21:05] SPEAKER_01: So, I'm going to shift gears a little bit.
[21:06] SPEAKER_01: If you could go back in time, what kind of advice would you give your 20-year-old self?
[21:12] SPEAKER_00: Oh, great question.
[21:13] SPEAKER_00: I would say to my 20-year-old self, it's going to be okay.
[21:20] SPEAKER_00: I would say, you got what it takes.
[21:24] SPEAKER_00: And I would say, this one's taken from my sister.
[21:27] SPEAKER_00: Don't let them take your juice.
[21:29] SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
[21:31] SPEAKER_00: So, the don't let them take your juice is like kind of about knowing your worth.
[21:36] SPEAKER_00: It's about knowing your value.
[21:37] SPEAKER_00: It's about being confident in your position.
[21:41] SPEAKER_00: And it's about, you know, it's also about boundaries.
[21:45] SPEAKER_00: It's about so many things.
[21:47] SPEAKER_00: So, I would say those things.
[21:49] SPEAKER_00: And maybe I would tell her to, she was very distracted that 20-year-old girl.
[21:54] SPEAKER_00: I would tell her to kind of find her North Star and focus on the thing that you're driving
[22:05] SPEAKER_00: for.
[22:06] SPEAKER_01: So, on the topic of that kind of advice, what's the best advice that you ever received?
[22:10] SPEAKER_01: From somebody else?
[22:13] SPEAKER_00: Hmm.
[22:14] SPEAKER_00: Best advice.
[22:16] SPEAKER_00: Yes.
[22:16] SPEAKER_00: Okay.
[22:17] SPEAKER_00: Small, consistent action can be more powerful than spurts here and there of like really big
[22:25] SPEAKER_00: stuff.
[22:25] SPEAKER_00: So, like the idea that, you know, so let's say there's a task or there's something you
[22:31] SPEAKER_00: have to do that you hate that you're just like, I don't want to do this.
[22:35] SPEAKER_00: If you just commit to working on it for five minutes every day, because, you know, five
[22:39] SPEAKER_00: minutes is just a little bit over the amount it takes you to brush your teeth.
[22:42] SPEAKER_00: It's not that long.
[22:43] SPEAKER_00: So psychologically, you're thinking, okay, I can do this thing for five minutes.
[22:47] SPEAKER_00: It's just five minutes.
[22:47] SPEAKER_00: At the time of the five minutes, I do the thing.
[22:49] SPEAKER_00: I really don't want to do the whether it's your taxes or whatever it is that you've been
[22:55] SPEAKER_00: putting off, chip away a little bit.
[22:57] SPEAKER_00: So, like taking small, consistent action, but daily can be a really powerful tool.
[23:03] SPEAKER_00: So, that's been some good advice and good perspective.
[23:06] SPEAKER_00: I love it.
[23:07] SPEAKER_01: Okay.
[23:08] SPEAKER_01: So, now we're going to move into our rapid fire questions, kind of section of the interview.
[23:13] SPEAKER_01: So, for these questions, they're going to be kind of off the wall and don't think too
[23:17] SPEAKER_01: much about them.
[23:17] SPEAKER_01: Just say whatever comes pops in your head first, okay?
[23:20] SPEAKER_00: Perfect.
[23:21] SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
[23:21] SPEAKER_00: I'm ready.
[23:22] SPEAKER_01: If you weren't doing what you're doing now for work, what would you be doing instead?
[23:25] SPEAKER_00: I'd probably be chasing like a Hollywood dream as an actress or something.
[23:30] SPEAKER_00: Something ridiculous and unattainable.
[23:35] SPEAKER_01: I love it.
[23:36] SPEAKER_01: This one is really important for you.
[23:38] SPEAKER_01: So, I'm interested to hear what you're going to say.
[23:41] SPEAKER_01: What book are you currently reading and what would you recommend to our viewers?
[23:45] SPEAKER_00: So, I'm currently, I always have two books on the go.
[23:47] SPEAKER_00: I'm currently reading Stephen Hawking's The Universe in a nutshell.
[23:53] SPEAKER_00: It's very different from what I typically read.
[23:56] SPEAKER_00: I just kind of went for it, but fascinating and brilliant.
[24:00] SPEAKER_00: I love like reading something that you normally wouldn't.
[24:05] SPEAKER_00: So, I'm always kind of challenging and pushing myself.
[24:08] SPEAKER_00: So, I'm reading that.
[24:09] SPEAKER_00: And I just finished Loving What Is by Byron Katie, which is just this brilliant book about
[24:18] SPEAKER_00: four questions that you can sort of ask yourself that can turn situations around.
[24:24] SPEAKER_00: It's really fascinating.
[24:25] SPEAKER_00: And it's a lot about sort of processing and kind of negativity or things, assumptions
[24:32] SPEAKER_00: of feelings you have around certain situations.
[24:34] SPEAKER_00: So, brilliant.
[24:37] SPEAKER_00: Byron Katie.
[24:38] SPEAKER_00: Great and powerful book.
[24:41] SPEAKER_00: But I'm trying to think those are both the nonfiction.
[24:44] SPEAKER_00: I'm trying to think of a fiction one that I just read that I love.
[24:47] SPEAKER_00: I mean, Brian O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim, the graphic novel series.
[24:53] SPEAKER_00: I started my year reading that, six books to short those.
[24:56] SPEAKER_00: And that was brilliant.
[24:58] SPEAKER_00: I love a good graphic novel as well.
[25:00] SPEAKER_00: And I actually read it because my kids were reading it.
[25:02] SPEAKER_00: And I was like, you know what, I want to know what my kids are reading.
[25:05] SPEAKER_00: Brilliant.
[25:06] SPEAKER_00: Genius.
[25:06] SPEAKER_00: He's hilarious.
[25:07] SPEAKER_00: Laugh out loud.
[25:09] SPEAKER_00: So, if you like a good graphic novel, Scott Pilgrim.
[25:13] SPEAKER_01: Next question.
[25:14] SPEAKER_01: Are you a morning or a night person?
[25:17] SPEAKER_00: Hmm.
[25:18] SPEAKER_00: It changes.
[25:19] SPEAKER_00: To be honest, right now, I'm a morning person.
[25:21] SPEAKER_00: But actually, since my kids came, I kind of had to adjust and become a morning person,
[25:26] SPEAKER_00: getting them ready for the bus and all that.
[25:30] SPEAKER_00: I'm definitely a morning person now.
[25:31] SPEAKER_00: But before the kids, I was a night person.
[25:33] SPEAKER_01: For sure.
[25:34] SPEAKER_01: Let's different points in your life, right?
[25:36] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I call it the seasons of life.
[25:38] SPEAKER_00: You know, sometimes you're in this season.
[25:40] SPEAKER_00: And so in this current season, I am a morning person and I enjoy it.
[25:44] SPEAKER_01: If you had to pick one word to describe yourself, what would it be and why?
[25:48] SPEAKER_00: The first word that comes to my mind is vivacious.
[25:53] SPEAKER_00: Only because people have told me that before.
[25:55] SPEAKER_00: But also, I do feel vivacious.
[25:57] SPEAKER_00: I'm a very energetic person.
[26:00] SPEAKER_00: Anything that I've put that I go into, I'm going full tilt.
[26:06] SPEAKER_00: Years ago, I was, you know, interning at the Toronto International Film Festival.
[26:10] SPEAKER_00: And it's like, if I had to go fetch you a coffee, you're getting the best damn coffee of your life.
[26:17] SPEAKER_00: And it's going to be delivered with so much joy and love.
[26:20] SPEAKER_00: And that's how I roll.
[26:22] SPEAKER_00: No matter what the task is and what needs to happen,
[26:26] SPEAKER_00: I'm there to give it my all and bring a certain kind of energy.
[26:30] SPEAKER_00: So I think that's like vitality or vivaciousness.
[26:33] SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's not the right word.
[26:35] SPEAKER_00: No, absolutely.
[26:36] SPEAKER_01: It's because I agree 100% even from the short conversations.
[26:40] SPEAKER_01: You like screaming vivaciousness.
[26:43] SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
[26:44] SPEAKER_01: What is keeping you up at night these days if anything?
[26:48] SPEAKER_00: You know what?
[26:48] SPEAKER_00: I mean, I'm in a bit of a transition.
[26:50] SPEAKER_00: And I'm actually brewing up a whole different version of Clutch PR, my PR company.
[26:58] SPEAKER_00: I'm building out a course and I want to democratize the PR process.
[27:03] SPEAKER_00: I kind of want to disrupt actually the PR agencies and release all the information
[27:07] SPEAKER_00: and tell everybody how it's done.
[27:09] SPEAKER_00: And so that's what's keeping me up at night.
[27:11] SPEAKER_00: And because I'm in the middle of kind of forming it and structuring it,
[27:14] SPEAKER_00: I often have crazy ideas.
[27:16] SPEAKER_00: So I have a journal next to my bed.
[27:18] SPEAKER_00: And how I get myself back to sleep is like, I'll just, you know,
[27:22] SPEAKER_00: scribble on the journal of the thought.
[27:24] SPEAKER_00: And then it's like, relaxes me.
[27:26] SPEAKER_00: But yeah, it would be that like the formation and the transition from
[27:30] SPEAKER_00: a traditional PR agency to something else entirely.
[27:35] SPEAKER_01: Cool.
[27:37] SPEAKER_01: What's your favorite place in the world?
[27:39] SPEAKER_00: Well, I have so many favorite places.
[27:42] SPEAKER_00: This is a very tricky one.
[27:44] SPEAKER_00: I might say Nevis, it's a little tropical island in the West Indies.
[27:50] SPEAKER_00: My son was born there in the jungle.
[27:54] SPEAKER_00: And we had a business there in St. Kits and Nevis.
[27:57] SPEAKER_00: There's sister islands for a few years.
[27:59] SPEAKER_00: So that's probably my favorite place in the world.
[28:02] SPEAKER_00: It's just so peaceful.
[28:05] SPEAKER_00: It's the people are so friendly and lovely.
[28:08] SPEAKER_00: And we were also married there years ago.
[28:11] SPEAKER_00: So we have a lot of different connections to that to that place.
[28:14] SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
[28:14] SPEAKER_00: So I would probably say Nevis, but I also love Toronto.
[28:18] SPEAKER_00: Like a million places.
[28:19] SPEAKER_00: And I might even say my favorite place is the place that I'm at.
[28:24] SPEAKER_00: Or when I get on the yoga mat.
[28:27] SPEAKER_00: I love being on the yoga mat.
[28:28] SPEAKER_01: Who do I?
[28:30] SPEAKER_01: What are three non-negotiables that have to happen in your morning routine?
[28:35] SPEAKER_00: Meditation.
[28:37] SPEAKER_00: I just started a vigorous exercise routine.
[28:40] SPEAKER_00: I have been in the gym so now exercise and snuggling my kids.
[28:44] SPEAKER_01: Not negotiables.
[28:46] SPEAKER_00: Not negotiables.
[28:47] SPEAKER_00: I'm having the morning snuggle.
[28:48] SPEAKER_00: I'm having my meditation and I'm working out.
[28:51] SPEAKER_01: So this is your last question.
[28:53] SPEAKER_01: And this is something that we ask to all of our guests.
[28:56] SPEAKER_01: So you might have heard it if you watched any other ones to the end.
[29:00] SPEAKER_01: I'm interested to see what you're going to say because of Nevis.
[29:04] SPEAKER_01: But there's a small tropical island in the middle of the ocean with only one phone booth.
[29:08] SPEAKER_01: and we drop you off there with no technology at all.
[29:12] SPEAKER_01: And any time you can use the phone to call to the boat
[29:15] SPEAKER_01: to come pick you up.
[29:16] SPEAKER_01: How long would you last and what would you do until then?
[29:19] SPEAKER_00: Oh my god, I mean, it could last years.
[29:22] SPEAKER_01: That's what you might say.
[29:23] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, like what? I'm gonna build a hut.
[29:26] SPEAKER_00: I'm finding like villagers on the other side of the island.
[29:30] SPEAKER_00: And if I don't find villagers, I'm gonna bond with the monkeys.
[29:34] SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna like grab the coconuts and eat those.
[29:37] SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna fish for my food.
[29:39] SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna dance naked.
[29:41] SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna have a bonfire.
[29:43] SPEAKER_00: Like I'm there. I'm good.
[29:46] SPEAKER_00: Maybe, maybe like a year to check it out before I've like totally panicked.
[29:52] SPEAKER_00: Maybe, I don't know. I'm a survivor.
[29:54] SPEAKER_00: But like there's not a lot that shakes me up or stresses me out.
[29:59] SPEAKER_00: That's the other thing about back to your question about entrepreneurs being wire different.
[30:03] SPEAKER_00: Like thickest skin you've ever seen.
[30:06] SPEAKER_01: Well, you grab it. You have to, right?
[30:09] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you don't have much of a choice.
[30:12] SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
[30:13] SPEAKER_01: Well, thank you.
[30:15] SPEAKER_01: And it's interesting that last question, like how different everybody is.
[30:17] SPEAKER_01: Because my last podcast they did yesterday.
[30:21] SPEAKER_01: It was like an hour.
[30:24] SPEAKER_01: Oh my god.
[30:25] SPEAKER_01: So it's so different and so interesting to see everyone's answers.
[30:28] SPEAKER_01: So many different personalities.
[30:30] SPEAKER_00: I mean, I love the islands also.
[30:33] SPEAKER_00: And I love being warm, right?
[30:34] SPEAKER_00: So for me, I'd be like, oh, yeah, extended vacation.
[30:39] SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
[30:41] SPEAKER_01: So that's all the questions that I have for you.
[30:44] SPEAKER_01: Thank you for joining us.
[30:45] SPEAKER_01: Thanks so much.
[30:47] SPEAKER_01: Last comments that you wanted to share with our listeners.
[30:50] SPEAKER_00: I just want to say if you are curious about what can brunch join us.
[30:54] SPEAKER_00: It's free and it's an amazing community of people who love to read.
[30:59] SPEAKER_00: And love to check out new places.
[31:02] SPEAKER_00: And for you, you should host anybody who's curious.
[31:04] SPEAKER_00: You can just host an event.
[31:06] SPEAKER_00: It's a great way to make a little side hustle and bring some interesting new people into your life.
[31:13] SPEAKER_01: I love it.
[31:14] SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
[31:15] SPEAKER_01: Check that out.
[31:15] SPEAKER_01: And I'm going to check it out.
[31:17] SPEAKER_01: And those books.
[31:18] SPEAKER_01: But yeah, thank you so much for sharing all of your knowledge and experience.
[31:22] SPEAKER_01: And really, really happy that you did a lot of show.
[31:25] SPEAKER_01: Total pleasure.
[31:26] SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much for having me.
[31:28] SPEAKER_01: Thanks for listening to Canada's podcast.
[31:30] SPEAKER_01: Like, comment, and subscribe to all our channels to get the latest podcasts from entrepreneurs across Canada.
