The Creators with Robert Hocking: Recent Episodes
Robert Hocking
We believe that too often business reporting focuses on the mechanics, on the scorecard, and not enough on the inspiration and true transformative effect of what we do in business. The Creators speaks to that thing in all of us that says, ‘chart a path, create a new way.'
A huge thank you to our partners and sponsor at the Innovation Hub at Carleton University - if you want to launch your own great venture visit them at: https://carleton.ca/innovationhub/
The Creators is a weekly YouTube series that serves to provide rich, business-oriented conversation with interesting entrepreneurs from all corners of the globe. This week, we spoke with Fred Dixon, an entrepreneur from Ottawa, who currently hails as the CEO of Blindside Networks, which offers premium hosting and support for BigBlueButton, an online and open source virtual classroom which Fred is the Co-Founder and Product Manager of BigBlueButton.
In this episode, you'll learn about Fred's genesis as an entrepreneur and how his approach has changed over gaining more experience; Starting Blindside Networks / BigBlueButton over a decade ago; Responding to the demand caused by a global pandemic, and much more!
Visit the BigBlueButton project at: https://www.bigbluebutton.org
Visit Blindside Networks at: https://www.blindsidenetworks.com
Follow BigBlueButton on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/BigBlueButton
Like BigBlueButton on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BigBlueButton
BigBlueButton #onlinelearning #remotelearning #virtualclasses #virtualclassrooms #opensource #entrepreneur #entrepreneurship #business #podcast #businesspodcast
Family businesses contribute almost 65% of Canada's GDP and in employment, and the community loves them too, with a report from the Harvard Business School suggesting that 60% of consumers prefer to buy from family businesses.
However, running a family business is no easy feat, especially when business problems become intertwined with family values and generational differences. And, just like starting any company, the early odds of success can be daunting. Family businesses, like startups, have failure rates reaching as high as 70%. And even though estimates suggest almost $9 trillion will be passed down to Gen X and millennials within a decade through family businesses, the icky research shows that 70% of families lose their wealth by the second generation and 90% lose it by the third. Meaning that there is a need to ensure a smooth wealth transfer between the leaving generation, and the new generation that will be taking over.
National PwC Private Leader Sabrina Fitzgerald is this week's guest, who helps family businesses develop game plans to ensure that legacies can be maintained and built on for years to come.
We hope you enjoy.
Connect with Sabrina https://www.linkedin.com/in/sabrinafitzgerald/
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The U.S. is the largest tech market in the world, holding a value of almost 2 trillion dollars. A recent NY Times Article outlined just how fast growth can be accumulated tech startups: they point out that in 2015 there were 80 tech startups valued at a unicorn level - meaning a valuation of $1B or more. In 2022, there were more than 900 unicorns. That’s a lot of rainbows and glitter.
When it comes to running a startup and succeeding, it’s a tough road. The numbers speak for themselves: most analysts suggest that up to 60% of businesses will fail in the first 5 years.
And what causes this rate of failure? Well, according to CB Insights, it mainly comes down to three things: running out of capital, a lack of market need, or being outworked by a competitor.
This week’s guest, Faten Matmati and her team out of North Africa, are working to increase success by helping tech firms put the end-user experience at the heart of everything they do. Working with tech startups in North America, WeaveLines validates ideas to ensure they fit the market, and manifests ideas into impactful, top of the line digital solutions.
Check out WeaveLines website:
https://www.weavelines.com
We hope you enjoy. Please rate, comment and subscribe!
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When we hear the word creativity, we often think of music or an eye-catching piece of artwork. However, creative thinking can also be used as a powerful tool that can help organisations turn challenges into opportunities, all with a switch in perception.
According to the World Economic Forum, creativity is related to 9 of the top 10 skills that global executives say is essential in the era we live in. And it will become even more valued as process-oriented tasks become automated. This change will place a greater need for out-of-the-box thinkers that tackle the world’s problems in new ways.
Our guest, Dan Holloway, has built a career on creativity. By having tamed the beast, through living and breathing it everyday, authoring books on creativity, consulting businesses on creativity and he even developed a card game to help inspire creativity in people are just some of the things Dan has done.
In this interview, Dan will talk about his early relationship to the subject, how studying Puritan Marriage Doctrine would reinvigorate his interest towards creative thinking; the emotional and cultural conditions necessary for companies to embrace creativity, the barriers most organisations face when trying to encourage creative thinking and more.
We hope you enjoy. Please rate, comment and subscribe!
Connect with Dan: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/dan-holloway-79808288
The business world was rocked hard by the pandemic. We've heard the saying 'necessity is the mother of all invention' once in our lives before, and the last couple of years proved it to be true. For the thousands and thousands of businesses that closed, many were forced to think on their feet to keep roofs over their heads, and food on their plates.
This week's two featured guests, Ian O'Meara and Darren Morenstein, Co-Founders of Hanley's Nashville Hot Chicken, are prime examples of how adversity when viewed differently, can present exciting opportunities. When restaurants closed, the boys looked to the Southern US for inspiration on trends that they could capitalize on, not just for themselves, but for other restaurant operators.
Seeing the rave over fried chicken, the plan for Hanley's was hatched, and a plan was put forward amongst restaurants with under-utilized kitchen staff to begin creating fried chicken as 'ghost kitchens' where they would only deliver food through popular delivery apps, a quick response to shifting consumer habits.
In this interview, Ian and Darren paint the bleak picture of life as a restaurant owner during a pandemic, Hanley's origin story, how mixing business and friendship has been a strength and not a weakness, and much more.
We hope you enjoy. Please rate, comment and subscribe!
Connect with Ian on LinkedIn:
https://ca.linkedin.com/in/ian-o-meara-943396214
Connect with Darren on LinkedIn:
https://ca.linkedin.com/in/darren-morenstein-68234577
Join us for an interview with Harry Cunningham, Co-Founder of GoodMRKT, a New York based retail boutique that rallies together purpose-driven brands that help consumers, through the act of buying, make a positive difference in the world. In this interview, Harry will discuss the influence his grandfather who ran his own chain of dry goods stores would have on him and his love for retail; how the idea of Good Market came about; what caused him to launch during one of the worst times for retail, in one of the most hyper-competitive markets in the world: New York city, and much more.
Connect with Harry on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harry-cunningham-7a09ba
We hope you enjoy. Please rate, comment and subscribe!
retail #sustainability #climatechange #businessideas #startup #covid19 #entrepreneur #entrepreneurship #businesstips #business #podcast
Join us for an interview with TJ Jones, Founding consultant of Full Picture Management, a business working to provide employees, customers and service-users belonging to the LGBTQ+ community an equal footing. In this interview, TJ will talk about the distressing experience of growing up and discovering his true identity, and why he wouldn’t change anything as it led him towards a business that’s allowing him to open eyes, change opinions, and help businesses be better versions of themselves. TJ’s story is one of curiosity, despair, and enlightenment that would eventually lead to the development of a business that aims to help move companies forward towards greater empathy, acceptance, and kindness.
Connect with TJ on LinkedIn:
https://ca.linkedin.com/in/tj-jones-2slgbtqedi
We hope you enjoy. Please rate, comment and consider subscribing to us on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheCreatorswithRobertHocking
pride #2slgbtq #lgbtq #trans #transrights #gayrights #equality #entrepreneur #entrepreneurship #business #podcast
Join us for an interview with Dan Lywood, a music lover turned DJ turned entrepreneur who is now in the business of curating sound for companies. While music curation isn’t new, it’s exploded in popularity and sophistication in the last 20 years as streaming programs have expanded our ability to engage and sample music. Dan and his team help build the audio profiles of luxurious brands.
Connect with Dan on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-lywood-84585413/
We hope you enjoy. Please rate, comment and subscribe!
Music #Audio #Sound #Entrepreneur #Entrepreneurship #Startup #Podcast
Join us for an interview with Ricardo Evangelho, an engineer turned graphic designer whose combination of creativity with his passion for table-top roleplaying games led him to create Hit Point Press, an exceptionally successful company that is refreshing some of our most beloved games!
In this interview, Ricardo talks about originally wanting to pursue a career in engineering before finding himself enrolled into a graphic design program, which would mark the beginning of his venture into entrepreneurship and eventually building of a multi-million dollar company.
Connect with Ricardo on LinkedIn:
https://ca.linkedin.com/in/ricardoevangelho
We hope you enjoy. Please rate, comment and subscribe!
Gaming #DND #Games #Entrepreneur #Entrepreneurship #Startup #Podcast #Sprott #InnovationHub #CarletonUniversity
Special thank-you to our sponsor the Innovation Hub at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada: https://carleton.ca/innovationhub
Join us for an interview with Stuart Langley, a food entrepreneur whose lack of initial funding helped him launch the amazing Disappearing Dining Club, a business that delivers outstanding pop-up dining experiences in unconventional spaces. Stay tuned, this interview will fill you up!
Connect with Stuart on LinkedIn:
https://uk.linkedin.com/in/stuart-langley-63a83248
We hope you enjoy. Please rate, comment and subscribe!
Dining #Food # #Entrepreneur #Entrepreneurship #Startup #Podcast #Sprott #InnovationHub #CarletonUniversity
Special thank-you to our sponsor the Innovation Hub at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada: https://carleton.ca/innovationhub
Join us for an interview with Les Green, an entrepreneur and investor whose company Lex Associates helps small companies become big winners. For startups and entrepreneurs, getting funding for your business is vital. If you’re a company or entrepreneur who wants to learn how to better your odds of raising cash, you’ll want to see this.
We hope you enjoy. Please rate, comment and subscribe!
Connect with Les on LinkedIn:
https://uk.linkedin.com/in/les-green-b28b1
VentureCapital #Funding #Fundraising #Investing #Entrepreneur #Entrepreneurship #Startup #Podcast #Sprott #InnovationHub #CarletonUniversity
Special thank-you to our sponsor the Innovation Hub at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada: https://carleton.ca/innovationhub
Growing up in Nigeria, Hamzat Balogun would travel to Canada to study Electrical Engineering at Carleton University. With a mother who pursued a variety of side-hustles, and having helped run his father's business as a teenager, Hamzat's experience running and maintaining a company would prove useful when he would decide to transition from a career in engineering, to one in watchmaking shortly after graduation. Working as a software developer during the day, Hamzat focuses on SOVRYGN at night. Today, Hamzat sells SOVRYGN's affordable yet luxurious watches across 15 countries.
We hope you enjoy. Please rate, comment and subscribe!
Connect with Hamzat on LinkedIn:
https://ca.linkedin.com/in/h0bs
Jewellery #WristWatches #Entrepreneur #Entrepreneurship #Podcast #Sprott #InnovationHub #CarletonUniversity
Special thank-you to our sponsor the Innovation Hub at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada: https://carleton.ca/innovationhub
Having no background in starting a business, and with only $200 in his pocket, Don Jones would go on to start Experience It Inc., a company helping business professionals across the world hone their leadership skills through immersive and engaging simulations. In this interview, Don shares how an interaction with a teacher in his childhood would fuel the motivation to begin a business in education, his personal philosophy towards education, how Experience It Inc. runs its simulations, and much more.
We hope you enjoy. Please rate, comment and subscribe!
Connect with Don on LinkedIn:
https://ca.linkedin.com/in/donjonesexperienceit
Learning #Education #Leadership #Entrepreneurship #Podcast #Sprott #InnovationHub #CarletonUniversity
Special thank-you to our sponsor the Innovation Hub at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada: https://carleton.ca/innovationhub
Harvard Business School Professor Clayton Christensen says there are approximately 30,000 new products that are introduced each year, with 70-80% of those launched into the grocery channel failing to make the cut with consumers. Why is it that big brands with access to capital and the best resources fail to make a product that stays on the retailers' shelves, and subsequently in consumers' bellies?
Working as a product developer for companies such as President's Choice and Loblaws, Elspeth Copeland spent over 15 years in her career developing the best food products that did just that. Stayed on the shelves, and as a result stayed on the mind of consumers. In this two-part interview, Elspeth talks about her discovery of mixing a passion of food with a love of business, how she began as a product developer, what entrepreneurs and budding companies do wrong when introducing new food products to the market, and more.
We hope you enjoy. Please rate, comment and subscribe!
Connect with Elspeth on LinkedIn:
https://ca.linkedin.com/in/elspeth-copeland-29572422
Food #Cuisine #Entrepreneurship #Podcast #Sprott #InnovationHub #CarletonUniversity
Special thank-you to our sponsor the Innovation Hub at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada: https://carleton.ca/innovationhub
Harvard Business School Professor Clayton Christensen says there are approximately 30,000 new products that are introduced each year, with 70-80% of those launched into the grocery channel failing to make the cut with consumers. Why is it that big brands with access to capital and the best resources fail to make a product that stays on the retailers' shelves, and subsequently in consumers' bellies?
Working as a product developer for companies such as President's Choice and Loblaws, Elspeth Copeland spent over 15 years in her career developing the best food products that did just that. Stayed on the shelves, and as a result stayed on the mind of consumers. In this two-part interview, Elspeth talks about her discovery of mixing a passion of food with a love of business, how she began as a product developer, what entrepreneurs and budding companies do wrong when introducing new food products to the market, and more.
We hope you enjoy. Please rate, comment and subscribe!
Connect with Elspeth on LinkedIn:
https://ca.linkedin.com/in/elspeth-copeland-29572422
Food #Cuisine #Entrepreneurship #Podcast #Sprott #InnovationHub #CarletonUniversity
Special thank-you to our sponsor the Innovation Hub at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada: https://carleton.ca/innovationhub
In each and every single one of us roams millions of microorganisms - each playing their own specific role in contributing to our overall health. Under certain circumstances however, these microorganisms give rise to disease or illness, jeopardising our wellbeing.
In this two-part interview, Ori Geva, Founder and CEO of EarlySign sits down with Robert Hocking to discuss how EarlySign helps vulnerable individuals through advanced machine-learning capabilities, helping to identify diseases earlier allowing healthcare professionals to intervene faster. From humble beginnings in a garage to servicing leading healthcare organisations across North America, Europe and Asia.
We hope you enjoy. Please rate, comment and subscribe!
Connect with Ori on LinkedIn:
https://il.linkedin.com/in/ori-geva-257b5
AI #CompSci # #Entrepreneurship #Podcast #Sprott #InnovationHub #CarletonUniversity
Special thank-you to our sponsor the Innovation Hub at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada: https://carleton.ca/innovationhub
In each and every single one of us roams millions of microorganisms - each playing their own specific role in contributing to our overall health. Under certain circumstances however, these microorganisms give rise to disease or illness, jeopardising our wellbeing.
In this two-part interview, Ori Geva, Founder and CEO of EarlySign sits down with Robert Hocking to discuss how EarlySign helps vulnerable individuals through advanced machine-learning capabilities, helping to identify diseases earlier allowing healthcare professionals to intervene faster. From humble beginnings in a garage to servicing leading healthcare organisations across North America, Europe and Asia.
We hope you enjoy. Please rate, comment and subscribe!
Connect with Ori on LinkedIn:
https://il.linkedin.com/in/ori-geva-257b5
AI #CompSci # #Entrepreneurship #Podcast #Sprott #InnovationHub #CarletonUniversity
Special thank-you to our sponsor the Innovation Hub at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada: https://carleton.ca/innovationhub
Did you know there's a revolution taking place? A revolution changing the way we eat and subsequently impact the environment? Johnathan Bonnell is one of the many who are helping to lead the fight towards a more sustainable and healthy food system that creates healthier bodies and a healthier environment.
In this two-part interview, Johnathan Bonnell, Co-Founder of Wholly Veggie sits down with Robert Hocking to discuss the tumultuous journey that was entrepreneurship and the founding of Wholly Veggie, his beginnings and connection to plant-based foods and more.
We hope you enjoy. Please rate, comment and subscribe!
Connect with Johnathan on LinkedIn:
https://ca.linkedin.com/in/johnathanbonnell
Plantbased #Food #Entrepreneurship #Podcast #Sprott #InnovationHub #CarletonUniversity
Special thank-you to our sponsor the Innovation Hub at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada: https://carleton.ca/innovationhub
Did you know there's a revolution taking place? A revolution changing the way we eat and subsequently impact the environment? Johnathan Bonnell is one of the many who are helping to lead the fight towards a more sustainable and healthy food system that creates healthier bodies and a healthier environment.
In this two-part interview, Johnathan Bonnell, Co-Founder of Wholly Veggie sits down with Robert Hocking to discuss the tumultuous journey that was entrepreneurship and the founding of Wholly Veggie, his beginnings and connection to plant-based foods and more.
We hope you enjoy. Please rate, comment and subscribe!
Connect with Johnathan on LinkedIn:
https://ca.linkedin.com/in/johnathanbonnell
Plantbased #Food #Entrepreneurship #Podcast #Sprott #InnovationHub #CarletonUniversity
Special thank-you to our sponsor the Innovation Hub at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada: https://carleton.ca/innovationhub
What's the key to a better future? Well, unsurprisingly: being happy. Each day, thousands upon thousands of people go to work as feeling unappreciated and miserable, which directly affects their ability to produce good work, which results in the business and staff losing out.
In this two-part interview, Nic Marks, an ex-advisor to the Tony Blair and David Cameron governments in the UK and current Founder of Friday Pulse sits down with Robert Hocking to discuss happiness - an elusive feeling - in the workplace and how it can directly affect profitability and employee productivity, and why companies should take it more seriously.
We hope you enjoy. Please rate, comment and subscribe!
Connect with Nic on LinkedIn:
https://uk.linkedin.com/in/marksnic
Happiness #Entrepreneur #Entrepreneurship #Podcast #Sprott #InnovationHub #CarletonUniversity
Special thank-you to our sponsor the Innovation Hub at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada: https://carleton.ca/innovationhub
What's the key to a better future? Well, unsurprisingly: being happy. Each day, thousands upon thousands of people go to work as feeling unappreciated and miserable, which directly affects their ability to produce good work, which results in the business and staff losing out.
In this two-part interview, Nic Marks, an ex-advisor to the Tony Blair and David Cameron governments in the UK and current Founder of Friday Pulse sits down with Robert Hocking to discuss happiness - an elusive feeling - in the workplace and how it can directly affect profitability and employee productivity, and why companies should take it more seriously.
We hope you enjoy. Please rate, comment and subscribe!
Connect with Nic on LinkedIn:
https://uk.linkedin.com/in/marksnic
Happiness #Entrepreneur #Entrepreneurship #Podcast #Sprott #InnovationHub #CarletonUniversity
Special thank-you to our sponsor the Innovation Hub at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada: https://carleton.ca/innovationhub
At the very heart of entrepreneurship lies creativity and curiosity, which combined together can help to create some of the most exceptional businesses in the world. While creativity permeates throughout our culture and life, it's often seen that business is a rigorous field that lacks creativity. This couldn't be further from the truth.
In this two-part interview, Ali Hillman, Founder of Friday Trampoline sits down with Robert Hocking to talk about how she combines creativity and business, the need and value of creativity in our society, how she discovers up and coming talent and more.
We hope you enjoy, and please rate, comment and subscribe!
Connect with Ali on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ali-hillman-2379b891/
Creativity #Artists #Entrepreneurship #Podcast #Sprott #InnovationHub #CarletonUniversity
Special thank-you to our sponsor the Innovation Hub at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada: https://carleton.ca/innovationhub
At the very heart of entrepreneurship lies creativity and curiosity, which combined together can help to create some of the most exceptional businesses in the world. While creativity permeates throughout our culture and life, it's often seen that business is a rigorous field that lacks creativity. This couldn't be further from the truth.
In this two-part interview, Ali Hillman, Founder of Friday Trampoline sits down with Robert Hocking to talk about how she combines creativity and business, the need and value of creativity in our society, how she discovers up and coming talent and more.
We hope you enjoy, and please rate, comment and subscribe!
Connect with Ali on LinkedIn:
https://au.linkedin.com/in/ali-hillman-2379b891
Creativity #Artists #Entrepreneurship #Podcast #Sprott #InnovationHub #CarletonUniversity
Special thank-you to our sponsor the Innovation Hub at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada: https://carleton.ca/innovationhub
Puberty is hard enough as it is for girls - the added difficulties of misinformation online not making it any easier. In this two-part conversation, Jo & Jas from Luna, an app that empowers girls going through puberty with factual advice, detail their backgrounds in consulting and how they became partners, the genesis of their business idea to help young girls, and where it's planning to take them.
Connect with the interviewees on LinkedIn:
Jo Goodall: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jo-goodall...
Jas Schembri: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jschembri
Visit Luna's website: https://www.weareluna.app/
Special thank-you to our sponsor the Innovation Hub at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada: https://carleton.ca/innovationhub
Puberty is hard enough as it is for girls - the added difficulties of misinformation online not making it any easier. In this two-part conversation, Jo & Jas from Luna, an app that empowers girls going through puberty with factual advice, detail their backgrounds in consulting and how they became partners, the genesis of their business idea to help young girls, and where it's planning to take them.
Connect with the interviewees on LinkedIn:
Jo Goodall: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jo-goodall... Jas Schembri: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jschembri Visit Luna's website: https://www.weareluna.app/
Special thank-you to our sponsor the Innovation Hub at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada: https://carleton.ca/innovationhub