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Emily Baadsvik and Bridget Freel are co-founders of Wild Tea Kombucha, but they seem like an unlikely pair to start a business together. One is a former Olympic Team Member, the other is a former government worker - but their shared love of Kombucha led them to flip off the status quo, and instead pursue the entrepreneurial life.
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James Lochrie is the co-founder of Wave Accounting, and had a crucial insight less than a decade ago: for many entrepreneurs, accounting is one of the worst parts of running a business, and very few people want to pay for something they don’t really want to do in the first place.
James took this insight and turned it into Wave Accounting, a business that has grown to serving over 2 million customers with an innovative “pay-as-you-go” model.
Of course, growth like Wave’s usually leads to questions like “What’s your secret?” and “How did you get such rapid growth after you launched?” For people looking for shortcuts though, James’ answer is bound to be underwhelming: there are none. It was only through “elbow-grease” marketing, doing the hard work and hunting down your customers, wherever they are, that most companies are able to find success. There may be no silver bullet, but success is availab [...]
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Camp Brand Goods is an apparel company that was originally designed to be a creative outlet, nothing more. Instead, it morphed into something far bigger, and took founders Connor Gould & Leslie McNeilly for an incredible ride.
Over the course of our 45 minute interview, we sit down with Camp to chat about how they were able to amass over 165,000 followers on Instagram, what it’s like to turn your passion project into a full-time gig, and much more.
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Keith Driver is a social justice entrepreneur, whose goal is to help create businesses that feed the 7 billion people on the planet. The agricultural world is not always assumed to be hyper-entrepreneurial, but according to Keith, those who ignore it do so at their own peril. We sat down with Keith to talk about the opportunity the ag-world provides, and how Keith has been able to learn from failure on his path to success.
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Amanda Hehr is the Co-Founder of Cru Juice, UNDRCARD Boxing, and VP of Alberta Operations at the BC-based JuSu Bar. An entrepreneur for less than 5 years, Amanda dreamed of starting her own business for years, but for a long time felt like she didn’t have the skills necessary to be successful. We chatted with Amanda about whether the barriers keeping her from starting her own business were real or perceived, and how she was able to build Cru Juice into such an attractive acquisition target.
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Patrick Lor is the Co-Founder of iStockPhoto, the stock photography behemoth that was acquired by Getty Images in the mid-2000s, and sent Pat head first into the world of investing into Canadian startups. Today, Pat is a Managing Partner at 500 Startups, a Silicon Valley-based accelerator investing into Canadian startups.
Bootkik sat down with Pat to learn a little bit more about the story of iStockPhoto, what investors look for in a startup, and how high potential businesses can get the attention of investors.
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Meet Mark Vella, Founder of the “AirBnB of advertising”, Advertiise. A serial entrepreneur from Sydney, Australia, Advertiise is quickly becoming a global platform set to overhaul the advertising industry. We sat down with Mark to chat about the back story behind Advertiise, how to build a global tech platform, and the way digital advertising has turned the marketing world upside down.
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Suzanne West is an energy entrepreneur and visionary, who is on a mission to change the world. Specifically, she is building a business that values three things: people, planet, and profit. After spending time with Sir Richard Branson, Suzanne realized that, while successful, she hasn’t made as much of a difference as she could, which didn’t sit right with her. Over the course of our 50 minute interview with her, we tackle the vision behind Imaginea Energy, the potential for clean energy in Alberta, and how to share your vision with employees and customers.
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Jen Carlson is the co-founder of Baby Gourmet, an organic baby food company from Alberta that has gone from Farmer’s Market to 30% market share in a highly competitive industry against heavyweights like Heinz and Gerber. What has been Jen’s biggest advantage? Sure, her planning orientation, and bold vision help, but it’s been her ability to craft an exciting story that her customers can unite around that has allowed Baby Gourmet to rise so rapidly in such a short period of time.
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Uber, the ubiquitous ride-sharing app worth billions of dollars, may be associated primarily with San Francisco, but at its heart it’s a Calgarian story, according to Uber’s Western Canada GM, Ramit Kar. We sat down with Ramit to learn about Uber’s origins, some of the hilarious marketing campaigns Uber ran in its early days, and what the process of figuring out its business model was like.
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Jamie Clarke has scaled Mount Everest twice, travelled across the desert on the back of a camel, and has written numerous books on the life of an adventurer. He also is the co-founder of Live Out There, an e-commerce company dedicated to getting the world outside. As someone who has led both expeditions and employees, we asked Jamie what lessons he’s learned on the side of a mountain that could be directly applied to running a business. Along the way, Jamie also touches on how he was able to go into business with his best friend (and have it be successful), and how to differentiate yourself from your competitors.
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Manjit Minhas is an entrepreneur, beer baroness, and Dragon on CBC’s Dragon’s Den. While she only recently entered the national spotlight on CBC’s Dragon’s Den, she has been entrepreneurial her whole life, from having a lemonade stand as an eight-year-old, to co-founding a liquor company when she was only 19. Less than two decades later, Minhas Brewery is the 9th largest brewery in the world, and is home to brands such as Boxer and Mountain Crest Beer.
We sat down with Manjit to learn a little bit more about her origin story, the advice other Dragons gave her when she joined the cast of CBC’s Dragon’s Den, and what she looks for in an entrepreneur, before she invests a dime of her hard-earned money.
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Melissa Gunning is the founder of Wean Green, a glass food container company founded in Calgary. After noticing a need in the market for reliable, eco-friendly glassware, Melissa decided to make it herself. What followed is a whirlwind adventure that includes trips to the Golden Globes, her life savings spontaneously exploding on her lawn, and a hilarious encounter with the Kardashians.
Bootkik is an AI-driven e-learning platform for entrepreneurs. Learn from the pros and join the community at http://bootkik.com
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Serial entrepreneur Matt Horne, Founder of DECO Windshield Repair and Beep For Service, sits down with Bootkik to provide insights on the role discipline and conviction plays in the life of an entrepreneur, and how his athletic background set him up for success. As someone who has scaled DECO from 2 locations to over a hundred, Matt also has valuable advice to entrepreneurs looking to expand their business: stay customer obsessed.
Bootkik is an AI-driven, gamified e-learning platform, taught by Canada’s best entrepreneurs. Sign up at bootkik.com
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If you live in Western Canada and have an affinity for smelling great, you’re familiar with Rocky Mountain Soap Company. We sat down with Co-owner Cam Baty to hear the story of Rocky Mountain Soap’s origins, how they developed such an exciting brand, and how farmer’s markets are entrepreneurship at its finest.
Bootkik is an AI-driven, gamified e-learning platform, taught by Canada’s best entrepreneurs. Sign up at bootkik.com
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Calgary’s Village Brewery is known for two things: great beer, and a love for the community. We sat down with Jim Button and Larry Kerwin, two of Village’s co-founders, to discuss the craft brewery’s origins, social enterprises, and more.
Bootkik is an AI-driven, gamified e-learning platform, taught by Canada’s best entrepreneurs. Sign up at bootkik.com
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Dragon’s Den alumni, investor, entrepreneur and prairie boy Brett Wilson sits down with the Bootkik team to discuss how he wound up on CBC, how great of a marketer Michael Buble is, the hot bed of jewelry manufacturing in Regina, Saskatchewan, and more.
Create your own story at bootkik.com!