When entrepreneurs hear Make Lemonade, they likely think of Rachel Kelly – but what is the secret to achieving this and how do you do it? Reagan Bradley, is a personal brand strategist, or in her words ‘a part time investigator, and part time storyteller’, guiding entrepreneurs to find their authenticity, and curate the right story so they can clearly express who they are, what they do, and how they do it.   Rachel’s Make Lemonade began as a vibrant co-working space in Toronto, and today it is a boutique floral studio that blossomed out of her desire for change and a pivot she knew ..read more

Expressing our emotions at work is not always easy, but what if paying more attention to our behaviours and emotional needs made us better leaders? Leaders who could hire according to their emotional inventory, operate in a more self aware state and create emotionally in tuned and strong teams that support business growth. Daisy Wright, who supports folks as they transition in their careers and guides them as they enter leadership roles, discusses how emotions show up at work for first time leaders – providing examples we can all learn from. Carolyn Stern, an emotional intelligence instructor ..read more

Monique Hutson is the Founder and Lead Content Producer of Dom Productions. After running the business for 6 years, her mindset and missions have changed and evolved, they have had to. Cheryl Sutherland is the Founder of PleaseNotes, a business she has built to help women step into their power by building confidence, clarity, and creativity. Together, we talk about the mindsets we must adopt to integrate new things into business, and practise being the person we want to become for ourselves, and for our companies. Resources:  Use code StartupWomen for 15% off Cheryl’s courses, journals an ..read more

Is diversity, equity and inclusion a destination or a journey? Jess Dassanayake is the Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of BinoBooks. BinoBooks exists to help children understand important topics like the COVID-19 pandemic, gender, body image, and more,  through personalized e-books. With representation at its center, BinoBooks is reinventing reading. Camille Dundas is a Racial Equity Educator at The IDEA Practice, and also is the Co-Founder and Editor in Chief of Canada’s largest Black online magazine ByBlacks.com. Together, we explore the behaviors and systems that must be in pla ..read more

Impact isn’t always a number or a dollar amount. Often it is a story. Jacqueline Sofia and Noora Sharrab are the founders of SITTI Social Enterprise, a venture that exists to improve the lives of refugees and displaced communities. Sagal Dualeh is the Senior Director of the Investment Readiness Program at Canada’s Women Foundation, supporting women and gender-diverse entrepreneurs to fund their impact-first businesses. Together, we discuss how to navigate operating as a social enterprise and how to acquire funding for important missions like this. Guests: Jacquline Sofia and Noora Sharra ..read more

When we sell a product or service, what we are really selling is an experience, feeling, or the desired outcome. Selling is a skill built on listening, emotional intelligence, and being of service to your clients and connections. Sheen Brady is the Founder and Tea Sommelier of Tease, a well-loved line of natural and botanical wellness teas that benefit the planet and those who drink them while funding entrepreneurship and mentorship programs for ambitious women. Sheena and Tease recently went through a rebrand – something that made her rethink who she sells to, why she sells, and how she goes ..read more

The topic of funding is one commonly associated with stress and anxiety for founders – but it doesn’t need to be. Financing your business is an exercise rooted in patience, planning, and purpose. It’s a unique opportunity to imagine, and reimagine, what our ventures can and should look like in the future.   Richa Gupta is the Founder of Good Food For Good – a CPG venture focused on crafting organic and refined sugar, soy, corn syrup, gluten, dairy, and preservative-free products and has bootstrapped her business from the beginning but she is ready to explore bringing in funding partn ..read more

Hiring is so important for a venture’s success, yet the search for talent is a gargantuan challenge for most founders. Business owners need strong processes and a map to make sure their teams survive and thrive. Entrepreneurs must think of culture as a code, one that is built with intention while leaving room for behaviours and methods to reveal themselves organically. Erin Stephenson, COO and CMO  of DOZR makes sure she hires for culture and includes folks who believe in the work DOZR does – a great practice case study to discuss the ins and outs of HR and Hiring. Jamie Savage of The Lea ..read more

Nikki Wiart is a florist, farmer and writer. Her farming journey began in the winter of 2017 when she moved back to her hometown of Castor, Alberta to work under open prairie skies, grow food and raise animals – and do so in a sustainable and ecological way. Since then, she’s dabbled in a bit of everything, from bees to pigs, chickens, lambs, vegetables and flowers. Now, she’s narrowed in her focus, growing seasonal and sustainable flowers and raising grass-fed and finished lamb. Lady’s Hat Farm is named after the Lady’s Hat – a hill in a piece of badlands owned by Nikki’s mom. This spot was a ..read more

Tune in for a bonus episode to look back at all that we covered on the Startup Women Podcast in 2021 with the producers who bring this show to life, Lauren Hicks and Maddie Stiles.  Lauren Hicks is our Digital Production and Content Manager at Startup Canada. Lauren spends her time and energy elevating and executing Startup Canada’s digital programs, working behind the scenes of both the Startup Women Podcast and the Startup Canada Podcast with Rick Spence. As well, Lauren is committed to telling the stories of Canadian entrepreneurs by working with media outlets and publications. Lauren ..read more