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Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas - the Rainforest podcast showcases those who are contributing to and / or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta. Rainforest Alberta is a world-class community of dreamers and doers, connected by a common goal of making Alberta fertile ground for building, developing, and growing innovative ideas into sustainable ventures. https://rainforestab.ca
Episodes
Tuesday Oct 20, 2020
Tuesday Oct 20, 2020
Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta.The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta.
Adam Ludgate Adam is a technical leader who is involved in the startup/tech community and is enticed by new and innovative ways of solving problems with technology. He has worked previously with the likes of IBM Canada, AOL UK, tech startups in London's 'Silicon Roundabout' as well as with a variety of oil & gas software firms in various software development and leadership capacities.
Jason Ribeiro Jason Ribeiro is Director of Strategy at Calgary Economic Development & head Curator of Global Shapers Calgary. He serves as a corporate leader, community advocate, international consultant, and is currently one of Canada’s most awarded social science graduate students. As Director of Strategy at Calgary Economic Development, Jason is responsible for setting and implementing corporate and community vision through the city's economic strategy, "Calgary in the New Economy."
Please be sure to share this episode with everyone you know. If you are interested in being either a host, a guest, or a sponsor of the show, please reach out.We are published in Google Podcasts and the iTunes store for Apple Podcasts We would be grateful if you could give us a rating as it helps spread the word about the show.
Show Summary
We discuss CED and its role in Calgary, the future of work, attracting product companies to Calgary, attracting and retaining talent in Calgary, the effectiveness of the CED and other public policies, OCIF.
Show Quote:
Credits...
This Episode Sponsored By: Community Now! Magazine
Episode Music: Tony Del Degan
Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan
System Engineering Sponsor: Kris Chase - PODMaster 2020
Tuesday Oct 13, 2020
Tuesday Oct 13, 2020
Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta.The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta.
Lori Farley Lori Farley Lori’s business and voluntary commitments curate and facilitate: connections, relationships, and opportunities for social change through entrepreneurship, partnerships, and alliances between various sectors around the globe including Community development, Arts, Disability, Education, and Technology. Lori is involved in numerous ventures related to social innovation and socio-economic development including Intonovus Canada and Impact Calgary. Lori is involved in supporting cross-sector social and economic development with a mission of sharing and mobilizing time, money, resources, energy, talents, and best practices that align to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), B Corp standards (B Corp) and IRIS metrics (IRIS), all designed to measure the social, environmental and financial performance of companies and investments. INTONOVUS Canada is a not for profit designed to partner with those advancing social impact, social enterprise, and impact investing: IMPACT CALGARY is a social business venture launching coworking, ‘impact first’ business development, and access to funding for social entrepreneurs and benefit businesses. These ventures include foci on social impact technologies (such as Virtual & Augmented Reality (VR/AR), Blockchain, and Artificial Intelligence (AI)), parentpreneurship (child and family-friendly professional work spaces), and crowdfunding. As part of her passion for rural-urban economic corridor development, she is working to replicate economic diversity in Alberta through rural tech hubs. She is also a partner in business that supports producers, processors, and manufacturers of Alberta agri-food s to access markets in China and Southeast Asia.
Erin Bird Running a campaign to make Calgary Canada's next Fair Trade Town. Through support of Fairtrade, we show that people and planet deserve respect and to be treated fairly. Fairtrade ensures producers get a fair minimum price, that they are working in conditions free of slavery and child labour, that economic sustainable practices that use less chemicals and no GMO are used, that a long term relationship is developed with the producer, and that all entities along the supply chain are willing to be transparent and audited to meet these minimum requirements.
Please be sure to share this episode with everyone you know. If you are interested in being either a host, a guest, or a sponsor of the show, please reach out.We are published in Google Podcasts and the iTunes store for Apple Podcasts We would be grateful if you could give us a rating as it helps spread the word about the show.
Show Summary
Lori and Erin talk about the importance of Fair Trade from a sustainable business perspective.
Show Quote:
"There's local, and then there are other products that can't be grown or made locally, and you have to have both."
Credits...
This Episode Sponsored By: Community Now! Magazine
Episode Music: Tony Del Degan
Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan
System Engineering Sponsor: Kris Chase - PODMaster 2020
Tuesday Oct 06, 2020
Tuesday Oct 06, 2020
Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta.The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta.
Al Del Degan I am a proven leader with over twenty-three years of diverse experience designing, delivering, and supporting software and technology projects. I believe in giving back to my community and I enjoy networking and helping to grow Alberta’s innovation ecosystem. Creatively you will find me pursuing my passions of podcasting, photography and wood working along with the occasional round of golf.
Brigitte Legault Brigitte Legault is the new Co-Manager, Community at Rainforest Alberta. Brigitte's career has spanned several industries in both the private and public sectors. Over the past few years she has been facilitating social entrepreneurship programs and coaching small business owners. She is currently filling up her toolbox through completion of her MBA and Certified Management Consultant designation. Her insatiable desire to learn and connect has led her to the innovation sector where she has been enjoying her time getting to know the community and how to best support the thriving culture behind it.
Please be sure to share this episode with everyone you know. If you are interested in being either a host, a guest, or a sponsor of the show, please reach out.We are published in Google Podcasts and the iTunes store for Apple Podcasts We would be grateful if you could give us a rating as it helps spread the word about the show.
Show Summary
Brigitte tells us about what it was like growing up in a family of entrepreneurs and how it lead her to value professional relationships and communication. Seeing some success in her own entrepreneurial ventures and a thirst for learning has lead her to get more and more involved in Alberta's innovation ecosystem from the Calgary Innovation Coalition to now being a Co-Manager, Community with Rainforest Alberta.
Show Quote:
"[regarding her first business] I don't want to say, a failure [...] it was three or four years of the best learning of my life. "
"Everyone has been incredibly welcoming and there are so many exciting things happening in the ecosystem, it's incredible from a newcomer's perspective."
"I was really blown away by how much is out there for people if they want to pivot their career."
Credits...
This Episode Sponsored By: Community Now! Magazine
Episode Music: Tony Del Degan
Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan
System Engineering Sponsor: Kris Chase - PODMaster 2020
Tuesday Sep 29, 2020
Tuesday Sep 29, 2020
Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta.The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta.
Peter Beaudoin Peter manages strategy and partnerships for an innovative alliance of energy companies committed to reducing environmental impacts through collaborative R&D efforts. Peter worked for more than 20 years in Asia building and investing in a variety of businesses. His most recent role outside of Canada was with the World Wildlife Fund, where he was the Chief Executive Officer of WWF China, based in Beijing. Prior to that, Peter lived in Hong Kong for 15 years working in the technology industry.
Andrew Browne Andrew Browne is the Director of Corporate Development for Thin Air Labs. He is a serial entrepreneur and community builder who has been directly involved in the development of the tech and innovation sector in Calgary for the past 7 years. He has held various leadership roles in the community including Development Director of Startup Calgary as a grassroot organization, Board Member for Startup Calgary during their acquisition by Calgary Economic Development, Business Development Advisor for Alberta Innovates’ Alberta Entrepreneurship Incubator Program, and advisor to many local startups. He’s a serial entrepreneur having founded and grown many ventures of his own.
Please be sure to share this episode with everyone you know. If you are interested in being either a host, a guest, or a sponsor of the show, please reach out.We are published in Google Podcasts and the iTunes store for Apple Podcasts We would be grateful if you could give us a rating as it helps spread the word about the show.
Show Summary
Peter Beaudoin discusses the Calgary Innovation Coalition with Andrew Browne. They delve into how the Calgary Innovation Coalition, with 38 members, is supporting the local tech scene. The conclusion: Our local tech scene is growing and Calgary is on the right path to a thriving ecosystem of 1000 startups by 2030.
Show Quote:
Credits...
This Episode Sponsored By: Community Now! Magazine
Episode Music: Tony Del Degan
Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan
System Engineering Sponsor: Kris Chase - PODMaster 2020
Tuesday Sep 22, 2020
Tuesday Sep 22, 2020
Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta.The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta.
Michael Chui Michael Chui enjoys learning about different perspectives and challenges assumptions through questions. He had a diverse career in finance and operations, technology (software), product management (product owner) and regulatory economics including times training as a locomotive engineer. His diverse experience allows him to look at complex ideas through multiple lenses and pinpoint its simplest core values. He is currently unlearning && re-learning how to build intuitive (web) applications and effective architecture solutions as a full stack developer. He is also volunteering with Chartered Professional Accountants (CPA) Alberta to help accountants better adapt to the latest in software and technology.
Tim Lipp If a ball drops, it’s this guy's fault. He can be a little sporadic at times, but that’s okay; we are building something that’s never been done before, so we have to test lots of ideas. It’s going to involve dropping a few balls in order to find the right cadence. He is responsible for setting the right big targets that everyone else is aiming for and removing any roadblocks that are keeping them from getting there. Google Play (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.app.beaverlodge&hl=en) Apple App Store (https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/beaverlodge/id1495314307?mt=8)
Please be sure to share this episode with everyone you know. If you are interested in being either a host, a guest, or a sponsor of the show, please reach out.We are published in Google Podcasts and the iTunes store for Apple Podcasts We would be grateful if you could give us a rating as it helps spread the word about the show.
Show Summary
We are talking to different leaders and innovators in the Alberta technology and startup ecosystem with past experiences in traditional finance roles. They'll talk about their experience in finance and startup, ideas, and their thoughts on a diverse career. You will walk away with insights into diverse topics (e.g learning, listening, finance, psychology) after a conversation with Tim Lipp. In this episode, Tim shares how each of his adventures, including linguistic research, not-for-profit startup, consulting for one of the big 4 accounting firms, shaped his approach to career. These adventures led to his finding of Beaverlodge - an innovative solution to simplify the energy efficiency process for introverts. Beaverlodge (https://www.beaverlodge.game/#features) The Beaverlodge game is now available in Apple App Store and Google Play. We make it ten times easier for neighbours to save money on making their homes better. Our team is a grassroots group of students and innovators; we're inviting you to join in on the startup rodeo. Boost our cause, and make it your own by sharing feedback on the prototype (available on the Apple and iOS Store). The $10,000 raised from this campaign will go towards the creation of Beaverlodge 2.0, an app so simple and practical that 5 minutes/week will save you over $50/month and build a roadmap to reduce emissions by 50%.
Show Quote:
"How does an artist do customer discovery vs. a politician? When we do business to consumer business, we have to think more like artists doing customer discovery. We have to lean heavily into empathy as an iterative process."
"The single biggest tool I use is a lot of self-reflection in whatever authentic personal form for you. Most of our brains are intuitive, spending time reflecting enables you to trains your intuition. So, you can make decisions more rapidly without thinking it through."
Credits...
This Episode Sponsored By: Community Now! Magazine
Episode Music: Tony Del Degan
Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan
System Engineering Sponsor: Kris Chase - PODMaster 2020
Tuesday Sep 15, 2020
Tuesday Sep 15, 2020
Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta.The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta.
Mark Shields Working with entrepreneurs through Business Link, Mark gets to spend his days helping people solve their problems. This can take widely different forms from client to client which really keeps him nimble in strategy. Mark is able to offer some particular strategy around financials through his time studying accounting and methodically pursuing a CPA designation.
Sophia Tang ditched her comfy corporate executive career in pursuit of social entrepreneurship. Her goal is to reduce local food waste by food upcycling and help people like you to make conscious and compassionate purchases. Check out her delicious upcycled snacks at coRISE.ca and follow coRISEfoods on social media.
Please be sure to share this episode with everyone you know. If you are interested in being either a host, a guest, or a sponsor of the show, please reach out.We are published in Google Podcasts and the iTunes store for Apple Podcasts We would be grateful if you could give us a rating as it helps spread the word about the show.
Show Summary
Sophia Tang is a Social Entrepreneur and Founder of coRISE. She chats with Mark about food waste and her decision to start a company with a mission to end food waste by upcycling food in Alberta.
Show Quote:
"In Alberta alone, over 70,000 Kilograms of grains per day are wasted just in the brewing process."
"One of the things that I really had to overcome was sustainable packaging "
"Only 9% of all recyclable products in Canada, are actually recycled. Most end up in the landfill because the city doesn't have the capacity to process all of it."
Credits...
This Episode Sponsored By: Community Now! Magazine
Episode Music: Tony Del Degan
Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan
System Engineering Sponsor: Kris Chase - PODMaster 2020
Tuesday Sep 08, 2020
Tuesday Sep 08, 2020
Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta.The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta.
Michael Chui Michael Chui enjoys learning about different perspectives and challenges assumptions through questions. He had a diverse career in finance and operations, technology (software), product management (product owner) and regulatory economics including times training as a locomotive engineer. His diverse experience allows him to look at complex ideas through multiple lenses and pinpoint its simplest core values. He is currently unlearning && re-learning how to build intuitive (web) applications and effective architecture solutions as a full stack developer. He is also volunteering with Chartered Professional Accountants (CPA) Alberta to help accountants better adapt to the latest in software and technology.
Aymie Rondeau Aymie Rondeau is a Chartered Professional Accountant, entrepreneur and founder of The Curvy Shop. The Curvy Shop is a curated collection of the best in women's plus-size fashion. Aymie founded the company in 2019 after becoming frustrated trying to find high quality and modern plus-size fashion to meet her needs as a professional. When Aymie isn't hunting down the latest fashion trends, she can be found taking her chocolate Lab, Bentley on adventures, in her vegetable garden, or travelling and eating her way around the world.
Please be sure to share this episode with everyone you know. If you are interested in being either a host, a guest, or a sponsor of the show, please reach out.We are published in Google Podcasts and the iTunes store for Apple Podcasts We would be grateful if you could give us a rating as it helps spread the word about the show.
Show Summary
We are talking to different leaders and innovators in the Alberta technology and startup ecosystem with past experiences in traditional finance roles. They'll talk about their experience in finance and startup, ideas, and their thoughts on a diverse career. Aymie leveraged her personal frustration (with a lack of clothing options) into a sustainable business (the Curvy Shop) - ultimately winning the inaugural ATB Financial Build Her Business crowdfunding competition. She shares her thoughts around the future of clothing and personal lessons navigating her diverse career that included public accounting, logistics, and bootstrapping her startup.
The Curvy Shop (https://www.shopthecurvy.com/pages/about-us)
Brene Brown (https://www.ted.com/speakers/brene_brown)
Show Quote:
"Being more open-minded to possibilities. I don't think in a world today where people can think of a career so rigidly and it can zigzag all over the place. Being more comfortable with risk in your career."
"From a fashion industry standpoint, inclusion isn't something I can ignore. It all intertwines with my business model, so I am constantly reading to continue to educate myself the best I can."
Credits...
This Episode Sponsored By: Community Now! Magazine
Episode Music: Tony Del Degan
Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan
System Engineering Sponsor: Kris Chase - PODMaster 2020
Tuesday Sep 01, 2020
Tuesday Sep 01, 2020
Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta.The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta.
Al Del Degan I am a proven leader with over twenty-three years of diverse experience designing, delivering, and supporting software and technology projects. I believe in giving back to my community and I enjoy networking and helping to grow Alberta’s innovation ecosystem. Creatively you will find me pursuing my passions of podcasting, photography and wood working along with the occasional round of golf.
David Burtyn I am responsible for user growth and adoption of the Ruckify platform in western Canada. I have led the expansion team for Calgary through covid and now are looking to get more involved with the Calgary community to show how Ruckify can Help. Ruckify is the rent anything platform - Like airbnb but for stuff. We help people make money renting out items the already own to other members of the community to help them save money as well. We have a partnership with the United Way in Calgary to help get them laptops, cell phones and tablets to health professionals and their patients to help stay connected.
Please be sure to share this episode with everyone you know. If you are interested in being either a host, a guest, or a sponsor of the show, please reach out.We are published in Google Podcasts and the iTunes store for Apple Podcasts We would be grateful if you could give us a rating as it helps spread the word about the show.
Show Summary
David found out at the young age of sixteen that he had the gift of gab, and getting paid to just chat with people was a great way to make a living. Later the psychology of sales kept his interest and has taken him through a great career so far in sales and business development. Learn how David was relentless in making sure that he got hired on at a company called Ruckify. A company that he felt was a great fit for his skills, and as far as he was concerned, he was going to make sure it was very successful. Also get to learn where the creative name for the company came from.
Show Quote:
"For the first time in a while I had defined that is what I want, I could see the potential, I could see what I could do with it"
"There is no such thing as a bad conversation about Ruckify, the more people we can educate, the more people we can help"
"A chicken plucker is on the platform... I have seen an inflatable unicorn suit... it's literally everything [on the Ruckify platform]"
Credits...
This Episode Sponsored By: Community Now! Magazine
Episode Music: Tony Del Degan
Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan
System Engineering Sponsor: Kris Chase - PODMaster 2020
Tuesday Aug 25, 2020
Tuesday Aug 25, 2020
Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta.The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta.
Michael Chui Michael Chui enjoys learning about different perspectives and challenges assumptions through questions. He had a diverse career in finance and operations, technology (software), product management (product owner) and regulatory economics including times training as a locomotive engineer. His diverse experience allows him to look at complex ideas through multiple lenses and pinpoint its simplest core values. He is currently unlearning && re-learning how to build intuitive (web) applications and effective architecture solutions as a full stack developer. He is also volunteering with Chartered Professional Accountants (CPA) Alberta to help accountants better adapt to the latest in software and technology.
Dr. Byron Chu Byron has a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Calgary. His studies focused on intrinsic properties of proteins, and today he applies the same scientific principles to data science projects. As a data scientist, Byron is interested in the intersection of data analysis and storytelling, and how numbers can inform and impact on every level of society: from education and the environment to the health issues we may potentially face.
Please be sure to share this episode with everyone you know. If you are interested in being either a host, a guest, or a sponsor of the show, please reach out.We are published in Google Podcasts and the iTunes store for Apple Podcasts We would be grateful if you could give us a rating as it helps spread the word about the show.
Show Summary
In an online article, the business publication Forbes recently discussed the importance of teaching K-12 students “computational thinking”. Computational thinking is a way to solve complex problems by breaking them down into steps and finding trends and patterns. In this episode, Rainforest Alberta host Michael Chui chats with Dr. Byron Chu, project manager and data scientist for the Callysto program. Byron talks about why it’s important to teach students computational thinking and what Callysto is doing to bring computational thinking into Grades 5-12 classrooms across Canada.
About Callysto, Callysto is a free, online learning tool that helps Grades 5-12 students and teachers across Canada learn and apply in-demand data science skills, including data analysis, visualization, coding, and computational thinking. The online tool’s interactive learning modules are available in a variety of subjects – from math to history – and are aligned with existing curriculums. The Callysto is federally-funded and is led by the non-profit organizations Cybera and the Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences.
Callysto: https://callysto.ca/
Callysto Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPdq1SYKA42EZBvUlNQUAng Cybera: https://www.cybera.ca/
Jupyter notebook: https://jupyter.org/
Forbes article: "Stop Calculating And Start Teaching Computational Thinking" by Tom Vander Ark. https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomvanderark/2020/06/29/stop-calculating-and-start-teaching-computational-thinking/#3f1856d83786
Show Quote:
"Computational thinking in combination with data science and open data is a very powerful phenomenon...where industries can share a lot of the knowledge to come up with solutions to apply to teach and educate. "
"In the student's first hackathons, we had challenges on Pokemon, Spotify, and Alice in Wonderland. Books can be turned into data. Words can be turned into data. We had a whole exploration of what you can do with natural language processing, even though (the students) don't recognize they are doing natural language processing."
Credits...
This Episode Sponsored By: Community Now! Magazine
Episode Music: Tony Del Degan
Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan
System Engineering Sponsor: Kris Chase - PODMaster 2020
Tuesday Aug 18, 2020
Tuesday Aug 18, 2020
Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta.The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta.
Adam Ludgate Adam is a technical leader who is involved in the startup/tech community and is enticed by new and innovative ways of solving problems with technology. He has worked previously with the likes of IBM Canada, AOL UK, tech startups in London's 'Silicon Roundabout' as well as with a variety of oil & gas software firms in various software development and leadership capacities.
Nicolas Beique Nic is a tech entrepreneur who founded and built Helcim from the ground up. Helcim is Nic's passion. He spends his days working with his incredible team, as they build amazing payment experiences for their merchants. https://www.helcim.com
Please be sure to share this episode with everyone you know. If you are interested in being either a host, a guest, or a sponsor of the show, please reach out.We are published in Google Podcasts and the iTunes store for Apple Podcasts We would be grateful if you could give us a rating as it helps spread the word about the show.
Show Summary
Learn about Nicolas and his ability to keep his eye out for problems and then implement creative solutions to help businesses with their ecommerce and financial technology requirements through his company Helcim. The fintech industry is complicated and filled with dinosaurs who are slow to change and implement new technologies.
Show Quote:
"When you start out as an entrepreneur at a very young age, you don't have resources, you don't have experience, you don't have money, but you do have time."
Credits...
This Episode Sponsored By: Community Now! Magazine
Episode Music: Tony Del Degan
Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan
System Engineering Sponsor: Kris Chase - PODMaster 2020