The 6 Initiative Podcast: Recent Episodes
6 Initiative
The 6 Initiative Podcast looks to explore entrepreneurship and business in a new light. We interview your favourite business figures in our community and share their stories with the hope to create a stronger community for business owners to share ideas and leverage each others skills and knowledge!
Wallace grew up in a traditional Chinese family where food was a central component to their everyday lives and meals were always eaten together. Having struggled with his weight as a child and overcome a battle with cancer, Wallace turned to fitness and now he is as strong in the kitchen as he is in the gym.
A constant multitasker who completed a business administration and culinary diploma simultaneously, he is now the owner of his own athletic nutrition company, Six Pack Chef. Wallace shares with us his ups and downs as an entrepreneur in his own industry, a fitness professional, and what it takes to have a successful restaurant in 2020.
Wallace grew up in a traditional Chinese family where food was a central component to their everyday lives and meals were always eaten together. Having struggled with his weight as a child and overcome a battle with cancer, Wallace turned to fitness and now he is as strong in the kitchen as he is in the gym.
A constant multitasker who completed a business administration and culinary diploma simultaneously, he is now the owner of his own athletic nutrition company, Six Pack Chef. Wallace shares with us his ups and downs as an entrepreneur in his own industry, a fitness professional, and what it takes to have a successful restaurant in 2020.
More and more attention is shifting on to Tik Tok every single day. Naturally, that means that we as entrepreneurs need to figure out the most effective way to take up some of this free, yet valuable online piece of real estate! In this episode, we feature 2 amazing individuals who have almost mastered this skill, becoming verified on Tik Tok just a week ago, Jack Benson Li and Stéphanie Cheng. Benson is an e-commerce entrepreneur, gym owner and investor and Stéphanie has a Masters Degree in business/marketing, is an extremely talented face artist, and has helped global brands launch their products and services in Europe, Asia, and North America. These two entrepreneurs have taken Tik Tok by storm and have even been recognized as members of Tik Tok's #AAPIfamily which highlight some of the best Asian American and Pacific Islander content creators on the platform. Together, they have over 1.29 million followers and 36.5 million likes.
More and more attention is shifting on to Tik Tok every single day. Naturally, that means that we as entrepreneurs need to figure out the most effective way to take up some of this free, yet valuable online piece of real estate! In this episode, we feature 2 amazing individuals who have almost mastered this skill, becoming verified on Tik Tok just a week ago, Jack Benson Li and Stéphanie Cheng. Benson is an e-commerce entrepreneur, gym owner and investor and Stéphanie has a Masters Degree in business/marketing, is an extremely talented face artist, and has helped global brands launch their products and services in Europe, Asia, and North America. These two entrepreneurs have taken Tik Tok by storm and have even been recognized as members of Tik Tok's #AAPIfamily which highlight some of the best Asian American and Pacific Islander content creators on the platform. Together, they have over 1.29 million followers and 36.5 million likes.
In this episode, we have Andy Yan who is a CFA, Relationship Manager, Investor Relations Associate at Waratah Capital Advisors. He will be addressing a variety of topics within the idea of investing post COVID-19 including mutual funds, real estate, the stock market and more! Andy uses his wealth of knowledge to answer questions from the 6 Initiative community to help everyone understand how to best use their money during and after COVID-19
In this emergency episode recorded one day earlier, Kencyn comes back and joins 6 Initiative to help educate us on becoming the best ally we can possibly be to the Black Lives Matter Movement. It's safe to say that we are living in very trying times and it's becoming more and more important each day to be educated and informed on what's going on in our world and how we can help. As a non-black POC run organization, 6 Initiative understands the importance of leading by example and showing other non-black POC's how they can be an ally and support the Black Lives Matter movement. It is your responsibility to keep yourself educated and informed and we hope that this can be a good foundation to start with for people who have yet to fully grasp the immensity of this situation. Get educated, get informed, and fight for what's right.
EATABLE was founded by Charlene and Vince Li, a Toronto couple who first bonded in a wine tasting class. As health-conscious individuals who also appreciated the finer things in life, they were frustrated by the lack of clean, yet flavourful packaged snacks on store shelves. After a year of testing in a commercial kitchen and learning traditional artisan confectionery methods alongside professional chefs, they created a "perfect pairing" of their two loves - snacks + a good drink! The result was EATABLE popcorn - select gourmet popcorn infused with classic cocktails, wines, and spirits. EATABLE is made with non-GMO corn kernels and locally-sourced NATURAL ingredients. Unique flavours like "Whisky on the Pops" and "Pop the Champagne" create a refined snacking experience worthy of discerning palates. They believe the best indulgences are crafted from REAL ingredients. Their popcorn is a reminder to savour your "everyday celebrations", big or small with the people you love. In less than 2 years, Eatables is already available over 80 different retailers all over North America. They also currently reside in 87 Indigo stores all over Canada while maintaining a very powerful e-commerce presence. Charlene and Vince are prime examples of a CPG Startup that is doing it right and 6 Initiative is very proud to have been a part of their journey.
EATABLE was founded by Charlene and Vince Li, a Toronto couple who first bonded in a wine tasting class. As health-conscious individuals who also appreciated the finer things in life, they were frustrated by the lack of clean, yet flavourful packaged snacks on store shelves. After a year of testing in a commercial kitchen and learning traditional artisan confectionery methods alongside professional chefs, they created a "perfect pairing" of their two loves - snacks + a good drink! The result was EATABLE popcorn - select gourmet popcorn infused with classic cocktails, wines, and spirits. EATABLE is made with non-GMO corn kernels and locally-sourced NATURAL ingredients. Unique flavours like "Whisky on the Pops" and "Pop the Champagne" create a refined snacking experience worthy of discerning palates. They believe the best indulgences are crafted from REAL ingredients. Their popcorn is a reminder to savour your "everyday celebrations", big or small with the people you love.
In less than 2 years, Eatables is already available over 80 different retailers all over North America. They also currently reside in 87 Indigo stores all over Canada while maintaining a very powerful e-commerce presence. Charlene and Vince are prime examples of a CPG Startup that is doing it right and 6 Initiative is very proud to have been a part of their journey.
Abtin Masseratagah is a Digital Marketing Consultant who has helped create profitable online brands for well over a decade. Abtin specializes in Viral Marketing, Growth Hacking, Influencer Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Brand Amplification (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc), and Business Development. Abtin operates his digital marketing company, Northrn Mo, with incredible integrity and unrelenting compassion, two characteristics that are very hard to find in this day and age of marketers. Abtin's track record speaks for itself as he has grown over 30,000,000 followers & completed $100,000,000 in online sales.
Are you thinking of buying or selling your home? Maybe even investing in a new property? Nearly every industry has been impacted by the global COVID-19 pandemic and real estate is no exception. Because the cornerstone of buying or selling a home is face-to-face interaction, the way it’s done has now been altered, and people are questioning what they should do.
Join us in this week’s upcoming FREE webinar with Monica Vera, an experienced Toronto Real Estate Agent, who will be answering your questions about property investments and what you can do during this time.
She will be covering the following topics:
- Is it okay and safe to buy and sell during a Pandemic?
- Is the market going to crash?
- Should I wait to buy and sell?
- What are the opportunities?
Tune in with us and RSVP your FREE ticket!
About Monica Vera:
After being employed in a corporate job for 19 years, Monica decided to turn her career around and has now become an experienced real estate agent for over 7 years, serving areas primarily in Toronto and surrounding GTA. She is a wife and a mother of 2 boys, and also the founder of Flagphil, where she sponsors underprivileged girls through education. She is also one of the hosts of a community radio, On the Flipside 101.3 CMR FM on Sunday nights at 9 pm.
Abtin Masseratagah is a Digital Marketing Consultant who has helped create profitable online brands for well over a decade. Abtin specializes in Viral Marketing, Growth Hacking, Influencer Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Brand Amplification (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc), and Business Development. Abtin operates his digital marketing company, Northrn Mo, with incredible integrity and unrelenting compassion, two characteristics that are very hard to find in this day and age of marketers. Abtin's track record speaks for itself as he has grown over 30,000,000 followers & completed $100,000,000 in online sales.
Karen Swyszcz an entrepreneur, author, podcast host and entrepreneur. She is the co-founder of Kaibigan Connection an organization created to support and connect Filipinx professionals, entrepreneurs, and students based in the Greater Toronto Area. She is the founder of the blog "MakinTheBacon" and the "Bacon Bits N Bytes" Podcast. She is also a fitness instructor and a co author of the book Fitness to Freedom. In this first part, Karen tells us what it was like to co-author a book and how she came about that opportunity in the first place! She also dives deep into how she created a successful blog and how it helped open doors for her in her career and her businesses as well.
Karen Swyszcz an entrepreneur, author, podcast host and entrepreneur. She is the co-founder of Kaibigan Connection an organization created to support and connect Filipinx professionals, entrepreneurs, and students based in the Greater Toronto Area. She is the founder of the blog "MakinTheBacon" and the "Bacon Bits N Bytes" Podcast. She is also a fitness instructor and a co author of the book Fitness to Freedom. In this first part, Karen tells us what it was like to co-author a book and how she came about that opportunity in the first place! She also dives deep into how she created a successful blog and how it helped open doors for her in her career and her businesses as well.
Sandy Yong is a serial investor, public speaker and published author of the book "The Money - Master, Inside Secrets On How To Make Your Money Grow And Stay Safe!" In this episode during a live webinar, Sandy shares her best tips and tricks on how to get started with the stock market and how you can take advantage of these times!
9:00: How has COVID-19 affected your business so far? 9:50: Discounted Masterclass? 14:11: Why do you re-brand your company? What goes into the whole process of re-branding? 19:03: How do you go about the re-branding process of your company? 20:39: How did you go from being a Bartender to owning your own business? 26:06: Japan Bartending vs. Canadian Bartending? 30:01: How has being physically fit helped you progress your business? 41:35: 941 days? What is this madness? 45:08: How are you able to maintain working out every single day? 50:23: What adaptations have you had to make to navigate your way through this COVID-19 epidemic? 55:23: DETAILS ABOUT ZACK'S MASTERCLASS!
Bolis Ibrahim is a bright spot in a world where sustainable energy has become a chore to find. As the CEO of Argentum Electronics, Bolis' goal is for buildings to affordably operate as close to 100% energy efficiency as physically possible. In this episode, he educates us on sustainable energy and how his company is helping create the future of sustainable energy. He also goes over his entrepreneur journey and the countless pivots and adjustments one must take in the a booming tech industry. Peter and Ray also talk memes, but lets not get too caught up with that.
TIMESTAMPS:
- 0:09: What is Argentum Electronics? What do you do?
- 3:44: Where did entrepreneurship come from for you?
- 6:05: How did a music studio help create an electronics company?
- 8:58: Who is your competition? What sets Argentum Electronics apart?
- 11:15: How important is it to have a “safe bet” when a business is evaluating building and control system companies?
- 12:22: Product offering + relationship building and the importance
- 13:33: How did you build your team?
- 17:28: What’s it like being a young CEO?
- 20:40: What is Power over Ethernet? How much energy is really being wasted daily?
- 31:41: What’s your take on the saturation/monopolization of the technology industry?
- 36:18: One piece of advice for someone getting into the industry!
- 39:35: What can we do individually to save energy?
- 44:40: Crazy story about technology and energy
- 48:25: Final words from Bolis
Find Bolis on Linkedin : https://www.linkedin.com/in/bolis/
Kencyn Stewart is the owner of Katia’s House Cleaning and Trivené Beauty Salon. She is a certified Body Waxing Specialist and Nail technician. After majoring in Linguistics at Glendon University, and Accounting and Business at Centennial college, Kencyn realized her calling was more entrepreneurial. She shares her three year long story about building her career from nothing and finding her way as a young entrepreneur.
TIMESTAMPS:
- Who is Trivenebeautybykatia? How did this all start? (1:01)
- Why did you choose to utilize your skill and make it into a business? (8:00)
- What made you decide to take business seriously? (10:30) Where did Katiascleaning come from? (17:26)
- How important was having a mentor for you? (29:04) Where did these magical soaps come from? (32:15)
- What does Trivene mean? (40:45)
- What’s the biggest factor that sets you apart in your industry? (41:37)
- One piece of advice for someone getting into the industry! (46:50)
- Final words from Kencyn (48:26)
Our instagram: @6initiative @abergasmedia @peterwiththegoodhair
Kencyn: @trivenebeautybykatia
In this episode, we meet our co-hosts, explore the idea behind the 6 Initiative Podcast, and chat a little bit about quarantine life.
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