AfternoonT - Stories from Successful Canadian Founders

David Helliwell of Thrive Health: Empowering relationships in health care

David Helliwell of Thrive health joins Chris Hobbs to launch season 6 in episode 74 of the Afternoon "T" Podcast.
Join us as David discusses lessons from his time working in government, being humbled by professional windsurfers, and how there comes a time when an entrepreneur needs to "throw away the crutches" to find success.

Kirk LaPointe of BIV: a lifetime in journalism

A little bit of different feel this week in the final episode of Season 5 as Chris welcomes legendary Canadian journalist Kirk LaPointe. Join us for a thoughtful chat about his depth of experience that includes publicly breaking the law, and running for mayor of Vancouver (note: not at the same time).
 
We also welcome Vancouver Tech Journal Managing Editor Kate Wilson (52:00), who shares how rather than waiting for someone to die, she chose to pursue a career in journalism.

Tamer Mohamed of Aspect Biosystems: transforming how we treat disease

Tamer Mohamed of Aspect Biosystems joins Chris Hobbs this week for Episode 72 of the Afternoon "T" podcast.
Join us while Tamer discusses how Aspect Biosystems is breaking ground in the treatment of diabetes (7:40), being humbled by the power of biology (53:00), and how "Unreasonable" (almost) tempted him to get a tattoo (50:00).
We'll also hear from this week's "Startup we love" CTO Michael Sousa of SingleKey (26:40) who also chimes in with a question for Tamer about how soon we'll get to see some of Aspect Biosystems work in the world around us.

Steve Irvine of integrate.ai: unlocking value while protecting sensitive data

This week Steve Irvine of integrate.ai joins Chris Hobbs for Episode 71 of the Afternoon "T" podcast.
Listen in as Steve discusses his time with Facebook, now Meta, and the interesting transition from small and agile to large and responsible (30:00) and how his greatest growth and learning, came from his objectively least successful startup (1:07:00).
We'll also hear from this weeks "Startup we love" founder Reza Varzidehkar of OVOU (48:00), who also chimes in with a question for Steve about data in startup world.

Harold Dumur of OVA: empowering business teams in the metaverse

Join host Chris Hobbs for Episode 70 of the Afternoon "T" podcast, with guest Harold Dumur of OVA.
 
Join us as Harold discusses putting Elton John's "this train don't stop there anymore" to the top of the Musique Plus charts as a teenager (1:00:00), how a shared passion for the metaverse him kept him focused through challenging early days (9:30), and what his current choice is for the best VR hardware (17:00).
 
We'll also hear from Vancouver Startup Week co-chairs Vivian Chan and Katty Wang (26:30), who also chime in with a question for Harold about the tech startup scene in Quebec.

Chris Neumann of Panache Ventures: tech startup hunter and farmer

In Episode 69 of the Afternoon "T" podcast Chris Neumann joins host Chris hobbs for a chat.
Have a listen while Chris Neumann discusses how venture capitalists need to have the qualities of both a hunter and a farmer (4:20), how vastly different the investment environment in Silicon Valley is from the rest of the world (23:00), and offers his thoughts for tech founders seeking investment in this changing economic landscape (33:00).
We'll also learn a little about this week's "Startup we love" Wavy courtesy of co-founder Shawn Hewat (26:30), who joins us with a question for Chris Neumann.

Allen Lau of Wattpad: Removing barriers between readers and writers

Listen in for Episode 68 of the AfternoonT Podcast as Chris is joined by Wattpad co-founder Allen Lau.
Join Chris as Allen discusses why as a founder, you have to be your first and best customer (9:00), how a blog provided the perfect timing for pitching to investors (10:30), and how a global mindset is Canada's competitive advantage in todays tech landscape (59:00).
We'll also hear a little about this weeks "Startup we love" ShopThing from co-founder Maggie Adhami-Boynton (38:30) - who has a question for Allen, and actually knows both Allen and his wife Eva - in her words - "we love the Laus!"

Michael Stephens of Fasken: leading Information Technology Lawyer

Join us for Episode 67 of the AfternoonT Podcast as Chris is joined by Michael Stephens a leading information technology partner at Fasken law firm.
Hear Michael's thoughts on the strategic vs marketed merger and acquisition process (19:00), the three areas young startups tend to stumble over as they go through M & A (34:00), and how the role of a lawyer goes beyond the contracts, but how they can help the acquirer run the company after they buy it (42:00).
Christina Cai also joins us briefly to introduce to Toronto based startup Lydia.AI, and to ask a Michael question on behalf of startup founders everywhere (27:00).

Bryan Duarte of BlackTech Capital: Social Venturist in CleanTech

In episode 66 Chris sits down for a chat with BlackTech Capital founder and Enliten CEO Bryan Duarte.
Listen in as Bryan discusses Canada's place in the global Clean Tech industry (13:00), the unique challenges faced by underrepresented entrepreneurs (47:00), and the critically important lessons he learned from his time in the pipeline business with Enbridge (50:00).
We also get a peek at Charitable Impact, one of this season’s Startups we Love, courtesy of founder John Bromley (25:00), who also has a question for Bryan about the importance of core values in evaluating investment opportunities.

Brenda Bailey - MLA Vancouver False Creek: focused on diversity in the tech centre

In episode 65, Chris sits down with Brenda Bailey, elected MLA for Vancouver-False Creek in 2020 and now serving as the Parliamentary Secretary for Technology and Innovation. 
 
Join Chris while Brenda discusses what she’s learned about the world of government from the inside (6:00), and what priorities have driven her life in politics since she arrived (13:00).   How she learned that sometimes the biggest mistake can be doing exactly what you want (35:00), and what insights into leadership she’s gained from her kindergarten report card (51:00). 
 
We also get a peek at Couply, one of this season’s Startups we love, courtesy of Co-founder Tim Johnson (32:00), who also has a question for Brenda about her journey through entrepreneurship and politics.