Conversations With David: Recent Episodes
David Owasi
My podcast will bring you engaging conversations and interviews I will be having with accomplished professionals and entrepreneurs from around the world. My goal is to help listeners learn valuable insights from the story, struggles and success of my accomplished guests.
Osamede is an investment fund manager, author, and educator.
He has invested in and exited several companies. He has worked with organizations like: The Canadian Armed Forces, Manitoba Marketing Network, University Of Manitoba, Chamber of commerce, The US Air Force, TEDx, Nigerian National Petroleum Commission (NNPC), and advised many other prestigious organizations around the world.
In this episode, we discussed his entrepreneurship journey, personal growth & development as well as his in-depth knowledge of cryptocurrencies.
You can learn more about him at https://osamedearhunmwunde.com/
Daniel is a father and entrepreneur. He was an early partner at Whatsapp and is currently the CEO of Motorgraphix.
In this episode, we discussed Daniel's challenging upbringing and how it started his journey into entrepreneurship. We also explored how finding early success and money after his exit from Whatsapp left him feeling alone and misaligned.
We also discussed his biggest mistakes and lessons learned and how fatherhood has become a new source of inspiration in his personal development and growth of his businesses.
You can learn more about Daniel at https://www.motorgraphix.us/
Andriy is an entrepreneur and founder of Arialys, a company that specializes in helping non-tech people build great eCommerce businesses.
Andriy has long been interested in entrepreneurship for as long as he can remember and was first an intrepreneur at different startups to learn from the best and hone his skills. His stints as an intrepreneur included companies like Permission Click and Global Office Software.
He ran his first real business as a College Pro franchise owner where he was able to successfully run and operate a window cleaning business.
In this episode, we discussed Andriy's entrepreneurship struggles and success, his passion and insights on the future of e-commerce and the role of emotional mastery in finding career success.
You can learn more about Andriy at https://arialys.management/
Jeff is a proud dad of two, a family man and an accomplished entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience.
Jeff's passion for brand building has led him to build globally known brands like Kimurawear from his home basement to a multi-million dollar corporation that has sold well over a quarter-million of boxing gloves worldwide.
In 2008 when Jeff’s second child was born, the family faced a life-changing moment. He quickly realized that in order to focus on his son, he needed to alter his business paths and passive income revenues became a goal. That became the inception of True Blue Homes and the investment into Vacation Rental's began.
In this conversation, we discussed Jeff's passion for entrepreneurship, family balance and emotional mastery.
You can learn more about Jeff and his podcast at www.jeffknowsinc.com
Eliot is a UFC vet, business owner and best selling author.
He was the first American to win the BJJ Pan American championship at blue, purple and brown belt. After transitioning to MMA, Eliot fought on the Ultimate Fighter, earned a UFC contract, and fought for 4 more years.
Upon retirement, he became the co-owner of Easton Training Center, one of Colorado's leading martial ars schools with 7 locations across the Denver area.
In this episode, we discussed his early struggles with anxiety, his career in UFC, entrepreneurship and emotional mastery.
You can learn more about Eliot at eliotmarshall.com
Tariq is an entrepreneur and Hip hop Artist from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Tariq got his start in entrepreneurship as a College Pro franchise owner painting commercial and residential properties. His business has now grown to an all-purpose contracting business and has been responsible for the production of over $1.5million worth of work completed.
Tariq’s business has received many awards including the President’s award for revenue and quality (5X), the diamond award for being in the top 10% of franchise owners, as well as the Personal Development Award, and the Enactus Provincial Student Entrepreneur Champion award.
In this podcast episode, we discussed Tariq’s passion for Hip hop, his music career, as well his journey in entrepreneurship. You can learn more about Tariq’s work at tariiiqmusic.com/whatido
Emily is an entrepreneur and co-founder at Chekkit.io, a powerful text messaging platform for businesses to communicate with their customers, collect reviews, close deals and get paid.
In this episode, we discussed Emily's entrepreneurship journey co-founding Chekkit, her passion for social entrepreneurship and sustainability as well as how she is keeping productive and focused during the pandemic.
You can learn more about Emily at chekkit.io
Tyler is an entrepreneur and founder of Jobb Developments, a 100% First Nation-owned company that provides communities with construction services, renewable energy, food solutions amongst many other services aimed at improving the lives of First Nations on reserves.
Tyler cut his teeth in entrepreneurship as a franchise owner with College Pro Painters where he honed his business skills and ability to deliver a superior customer experience. This won him many awards including Net Promoter Award, President's Club Award and Star Business Owner award.
In this episode, we discussed Tyler's success and struggles as an entrepreneur, his passion for renewable energies and his desire to give back to his community.
You can learn more about Tyler at linkedin.com/in/tyler-jobb-2789a593/
Dave is an entrepreneur and financial advisor at Edward Jones where he uses a tailored and personalized financial strategy to help his clients reach their personal financial goals.
Dave cut his teeth in entrepreneurship as a franchise owner with College Pro Painter where he generated over $400,000 in revenue and employed over 20 people in 2 years of business operations. His efforts won him many awards including the leader of the year, customer service award, world-class net promoter award amongst many others.
In this episode with Dave, we discussed his entrepreneurship story, golfing, how to beta test university courses to find your passion and how to develop emotional intelligence for success in business and career.
You can learn more about Dave at linkedin.com/in/dave-shakespeare/
Chris is a neuroscientist and entrepreneur based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He is passionate about science, data and digital interactive systems and believes we can use real-time information about the brain to expand human flourishing.
Chris co-founded Axem Neurotechnology, a company with a mission to make neurotechnology accessible and empower people with information about their brains to improve their lives. Their first product, The Axem Home, is being developed to support neurological rehabilitation at home.
In this episode, Chris shared his entrepreneurship journey, what his company is trying to accomplish as well as his insights on emotional intelligence and balance.
You can learn more about Chris at axemneuro.com
Tanjit is an experienced communication, government relations and not-for-profit professional with a history of working in the public service industry.
Tanjit began her career in public service as the president of the University of Manitoba Student's Union (UMSU) where she oversaw a multimillion-dollar organization, its endowment fund and operations of 7 businesses while serving as the spokesperson and advocate for over 24,000 undergraduate students.
Tanjit then dipped her toes in provincial politics when she ran for MLA (Member of the Legislative Assembly) as the Liberal candidate in the Fort Richmond area at the age of 23!
Tanjit is now the manager of Grants Administration & Grantee Supports at TakingITGlobal, one of the worlds leading networks of young people working towards tackling global challenges.
In this episode, Tanjit talked about her journey in politics, her work in the community and her insights on career development and emotional intelligence.
You can learn more about Tanjit at linkedin.com/in/tanjit-nagra/
Paul is an entrepreneur and wellness consultant who specializes in helping teams build engaging wellness programs so that they can perform at their best and thrive.
Paul's passion for fitness and wellness started when he started to take his own physical health seriously, he has since then helped himself and many others reach their fitness and wellness goals through his holistic approach that incorporates everything from mindset, healthy dieting and an appreciation of each individual's unique journey and experience.
In this episode, we discussed Paul's entrepreneurship journey, his views on healthism, fitness and emotional intelligence.
You can learn more about Paul at https://venovawellness.com/
Jesse Teron is an entrepreneur and co-founder of Persistence AI, a company that helps businesses convert leads into inbound appointments.
Jesse began his journey in entrepreneurship journey running a College Pro franchise in BC where he was broke the sales record for a rookie franchise owner and grossed over $1million dollars in sales in 3 years!
Jesse is an author and recently published his book Discover Your Purpose: What Meditating In Silence For 10 Days Taught Me About Fulfillment, Freedom and Focus where he documents his experience over a 10-day meditation retreat.
In this podcast episode, we discussed Jesses' entrepreneurship story, struggles and success as well as his secrets to effective sales and leading through others.
You can learn more about Jesse at linkedin.com/in/jesseteron/
Jeff is an entrepreneur, project coordinator and development coach at Mindvalley.
Jeff began his journey in entrepreneurship running a College Pro Painting franchise in Canada for 3 years before moving into the role of a general manager for the province of Manitoba where was responsible for the recruitment, training and development of over 20+ business owners over 4 years.
Jeff currently lives in Malaysia and works for Mindvalley where he helps organizations design their employee's learning, performance and development training. He also recently launched The Coaches Chowder where he specializes in providing training in priority management and workflow coaching.
In this episode, we discussed entrepreneurship, living and working in Malaysia, thought leadership and productivity.
You can learn more about Jeff at coacheschowder.com
Brennan is an entrepreneur and is currently the sales director at GroupStrength Benefits Direct, a leading national group insurance company.
Brennan is recognized among his staff, customers and colleagues as a calm, cool and collected individual with a large capacity to take on many significant challenges, tasks and roles at once. Brennan cut his teeth in entrepreneurship as a College Pro franchise owner and ran an impressive business that grossed over $820,000 in revenue in 16 months of operations.
In this podcast episode, we discussed his entrepreneurship stories, success and struggles, his transition into corporate sales and the idea of building a selfish level of happiness for career success.
You can learn more about Brennan at linkedin.com/in/brennan-strykiwsky-44997073/
Evgeny is an entrepreneur and self-proclaimed jack of all trades who is driven by his love for learning, and a deep well of curiosity. Evgeny started his entrepreneurship journey as a College Pro franchise owner and went on to become the general manager of the Manitoba division where he oversaw the recruitment, coaching and development of over 25 franchise owners.
In this podcast episode, we explored his stories, success and struggles in entrepreneurship, as well as the place of minimalism, consumerism and happiness.
You can learn more about Evgeny at www.evgenygotfrid.com
Alex is a serial entrepreneur based in Alberta. He got his start in business as an award-winning franchise owner with College Pro Painters, leading some of the most successful and innovative seasons in their 48-year history.
He is currently the founder of StayShure, a company that builds web apps and websites 5x faster and 5x cheaper without sacrificing quality. He also recently launched his new company Reesale, a platform that helps users list bulk items in minutes to easily share anywhere.
In this podcast episode, we discussed his entrepreneurship journey, work/life balance, emotional intelligence and productivity in a pandemic.
You can learn more about Alex and his latest venture at reesale.co
Azren is a language nerd and entrepreneur who founded The Calgary Language Nerds.
Azren is passionate about languages and his business teaches language classes for both children & adults learning English, French, Spanish, Mandarin, Gujarati and German.
In this podcast episode, we discussed his passion for learning and teaching languages, his entrepreneurship journey and his approach to living!
You can learn more about Azren at www.azrenthelanguagenerd.com
Chris is an accomplished entrepreneur with a strong track record in generating millions of dollars in sales and building high-performing teams.
He currently is the co-founder of Wolf & Wolf, a family-owned and community-focused business in Western Washington that offers services to homeowners, entrepreneurs and working professionals in the areas of construction, real estate and consulting.
In this podcast episode, Chris shared his stories as a first-year business owner, his insights on what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur and how he overcame his struggles in business.
You can learn more about Chris at wolfandwolf.biz
Johnny is an entrepreneur and sales coach. Over the past 8 years, John has personally produced over $25 million in sales over the phone in the high ticket space. Now, he helps coaches, consultants, experts and agencies across 7 different niches scale their business online using marketing and sales strategies that effortlessly enroll high ticket clients into their online training courses and programs.
Johnny is also passionate about giving back and does that through his not-for-profit ThroughYou where he leverages the power of community to create an exponential impact in access to quality education, clean water and medical care around the world.
In this podcast episode with Johnny, we discussed his insights on sales, entrepreneurship, emotional intelligence and communication.
You can learn more about Johnny at johnnyanton.com
Jimmy is an entrepreneur, course creator and speaker. His mission is to help millions of people with their psychological and confidence issues. He has spent over 7 years teaching over 200,000 people in his online courses while travelling full-time and his courses have been mentioned in leading publications such as Entrepreneur, FoxNews, Forbes and BusinessInsider.
Jimmy also loves connecting with audiences all over the world, from Barcelona to Tokyo. He regularly speaks on prestigious stages such as Digital|K, MindvalleyU, WeWork, and DNX to name a few, often being voted the best speaker of the event.
In this podcast episode, Jimmy shared his journey into entrepreneurship, his childhood experience growing up in post-communist Poland, his insights on content creation and his passion for personal development and emotional intelligence.
You can learn more about Jimmy at jimmynaraine.com
Shyanne is an entrepreneur and founder of Beauty Compass Marketing, a company that helps contractors generate clients and allow them to spend their time growing their business and brand.
Prior to this, Shyanne ran and operated a College Pro franchise for 2 years where she grew her business to about half a million dollars in revenue, and holds the record for the largest business run by the youngest female entrepreneur.
In this podcast episode, we discussed Shyanne's entrepreneurship journey, lessons and insights from her first business and tips for marketing your business online.
You can learn more about Shyanne at compassmedia.ca/home
John Sparrow is a serial entrepreneur and the founder of GO Oil Canada, Canada's largest mobile oil change company with franchises in multiple Canadian cities. John dropped out of high school at age 16, a few days before launching his first business - and he has never looked back.
In this episode, John talked about his passion for entrepreneurship and his journey to building a number of businesses including Go Oil. He also talked about his success, struggles and insights he has learned along the way. You can learn more about John and his company at www.gooil.ca.
Rana is a business owner and lawyer at Bokhari, Smith and Walker. In 2013, shortly after being called to the Manitoba Bar, Rana was elected Leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party - The party's first female minority leader and its youngest. Rana is no longer partisan, but she continues to advocate for women's rights, intersectional feminism and the First Nations community.
In this episode, we talked about Rana's career as a lawyer, her lessons from being the youngest and first female leader of a major provincial party as well as emotional intelligence and skills needed to thrive in today's world.
You can learn more about Rana at linkedin.com/in/rana-bokhari-b95878121/
Aaron is an entrepreneur and business coach. He is currently the Vice president for College Pro Window Cleaning, Canada where he oversees the franchise development program for young entrepreneurs. Aaron is passionate about personal development and the development of other future leaders and believes in learning by doing.
In this episode, Aaron shared his entrepreneurship journey which started from a very young age and really bloomed when he ran his first College Pro franchise. We also discussed the realities of entrepreneurship, the traits of successful entrepreneurs, emotional intelligence and the importance of creating a community.
Aaron was also kind enough to share stories about his lifelong passion for fishing and how he created a business and community around his passion. You can learn more about Aaron at wootungsten.com
My guest Laura is a marketer by day and a podcaster by night! She specializes in helping service-based entrepreneurs build profitable podcasts for their businesses. Laura was particularly helpful in the early days of the launch of my podcast.
Laura has over 6 years of experience in inbound marketing and has a podcast called the Marketing Bound Podcast, which is dedicated to helping entrepreneurs leverage inbound marketing strategies.
In this engaging chat with Laura, we discussed the focus of her podcast and shared lessons learned from publishing over 60 podcast episodes!
Laura was also kind enough to share how entrepreneurs can leverage marketing to differentiate their business and how to use inbound marketing techniques to generate leads at no cost.
You can learn more about Laura at marketingbound.com
Happy new year my friends and dear listeners!
My guest is the entrepreneur and Dragon slayer John Evans!
John is the founder and CEO of EverLine Coatings and Services, an industry game-changing company in Canada. Everline specializes in pavement marking in the parking lot services industry and has franchises across the country.
In this engaging conversation with John, we discussed his entrepreneurship journey and insights from his years as a business owner.
John was also gracious to share his experience successfully pitching his business on the hit show Dragons' Den.
You can learn more about John and his company at www.everlinecoatings.com
Episode 8 of my podcast is out! This is the last episode for 2020. Thank you for listening and your support so far! Please feel free to send me a message on your thoughts about this podcast or any of my guests - david@davidowasi.com.
My guest is Uzoma Asagwara. They are an addictions specialist, registered psychiatric nurse and an elected official as the MLA for Union Station in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Prior to their election, Uzoma worked as a psychiatric nurse specializing in adult and youth mental health and addictions. They have a long history of grassroots community activism and was also a member of the Canadian National Women's Basketball and acts as a mentor for youth athletes in downtown Winnipeg.
Uzoma was one of the first 3 black Canadian MLAs elected in Manitoba and was also the first queer person to win a seat and is Manitoba's first gender non-conforming MLA.
In this podcast episode, we discussed their self-discovery and career journey, emotional intelligence and their role as the critic for Health, Seniors and Active Living in Manitoba.
Happy holidays and see you in 2021!
Leighton is a serial entrepreneur, innovator and business leader with over 15 years of establishing, launching and growing successful companies. He is the founder of Bootkik and KnowHow, where he has built a team focused on an operations and project management tool used by growing Blue Collar service companies to predict profitable outcomes and improve decision making.
Leighton's background includes 7 years in executive leadership with College Pro, where he was responsible for over $40MM in revenue. He got his start in entrepreneurship with the founding of LTX Trades Ltd. in 2005, where he won dozens of awards and set records as one of the most successful franchise owners in College Pro's 40+ years in operation.
Leighton is an expert trainer, facilitator and speaker on the topics of entrepreneurship, team formation, organizational culture, productivity, operations & performance management and leadership development. He is an active mentor at multiple business accelerators and has played a key role in the development of over 400 entrepreneurs. He has also advised members of the Canadian Parliament and Legislative Assembly of Alberta and has served on advisory boards and leadership committees.
In this podcast episode, we discussed Leighton's journey in entrepreneurship, types of entrepreneurs and his insights on soft-skills, emotional intelligence and venture creation. You can learn more about Leighton's work at tryknowhow.com
Margaux Miller is an experienced host, keynote speaker and host of the START Podcast, a podcast focused on promoting entrepreneurship in the Canadian Prairies through interviews with local business founders.
Margaux is an accomplished professional and was the winner of the Future Leader of Manitoba Award for 2017.
Margaux is currently the program director of Tech Manitoba, an organization that represents Manitoba's top tech businesses, from start-ups to multinationals companies. Their goal is to help companies thrive and showcase Manitoba's innovation and growth in the tech sector through collaboration, education and promotion.
In this podcast episode with Margaux, we had a fantastic conversation about her insights on the start-up and entrepreneurship scene in Manitoba, her ideas on building a successful career, her expertise in communication and branding as well as her passion for increasing women participation in Tech.
You can learn more about Margaux at www.startpodcast.ca
Bryce North is a serial entrepreneur, advisor and speaker with a core focus on quick business validation and traction methods that utilize lean marketing techniques.
Bryce has years of experience serving as a CEO and mentor in technology startups, building high performing teams, obtaining quick traction and growth, fundraising, scaling global operations, and executing on intense sales and marketing strategies.
Bryce is currently a pitch consultant at Don't Be A Little Pitch where he uses his experience as a founder of 3 companies to help fellow entrepreneurs create pitch decks, connect with investors and raise their investment round.
In this podcast episode, we discussed Bryce's entrepreneurship journey, his success and particularly his biggest failures. You can learn more about Bryce at dontbealittlepitch.com.
Emily is an accomplished entrepreneur and is currently the sales and marketing manager for Waterworth, a Saas business that helps communities throughout North America achieve financially sustainable water systems.
Prior to this, Emily ran her own business as a franchise owner with College Pro Painters where over 2 years, she and her team completed over 100 high-quality paint jobs for homeowners and businesses across Victoria, BC.
She wrapped up her business with a 92% world-class Net Promoter Score, a testament to the brand experience she provided to her clients and her rockstar crews who were key to delivering it. Emily holds a Bachelor of Commerce, specializing in Entrepreneurship and is passionate about women empowerment.
She recently launched a free weekly newsletter with 2 other powerhouse women that celebrate Canadian female leaders. Her goal is to inspire and challenge others by shining a spotlight on amazing women and tackling the common barriers women face.
You can learn more about Emily's recent work at www.herstory.io
Zac is a world-class business coach with a history of launching over 80+ franchises a year and scaling them up very quickly! During his tenure as VP at College Pro, he oversaw growing franchises with a collective revenue of over $30M and lead a talented team of about 300 - 400 people.
Zac is also well versed in the world of digital marketing and currently blends both in a business advising role at Cultivate Advisors. In this episode, we talk about everything from finding and following your passion to emotional intelligence and soft skills.
You can learn more about Zac at www.linkedin.com/in/zac-johnson-59989881/
Karly Renman is an accomplished and successful entrepreneur! In her very first business, as a franchise owner, her business grossed over $1M in 4 short years of business while enrolled in full-time classes at the University of Alberta. Karly has since then continued to show her competitiveness, strong will and determination in all of her business ventures. In this podcast episode, we have an engaging conversation about her experiences as a business owner, her success, struggles as well as her current business venture - owner of Urban Athlete Fitness Studio, You can learn more about Karly at www.urbanathletecalgary.com
Luc Bohunicky is an entrepreneur in every sense of the word and has a wealth of experience in building products and businesses.
He has been involved in over 10 start-ups across multiple disciplines from healthcare to Robotics and is passionate about helping businesses and entrepreneurs find their FIRST customers.
In my conversation with Luc, we discussed his ideas on finding your first customer, the role of emotional intelligence in finding and working with your customers and how he is adapting and making the most of the pandemic.
You can learn more about Luc at firstcustomerclub.com