Amplify Your Business

Amplify Your Business Edmonton Unlimited Open House Part 2

For Episode 242 of Amplify Your Business, we’re at the Edmonton Unlimited Open House, and we’re speaking to a lot of incredible entrepreneurs, hearing their stories, their challenges, and their successes. 
 
First up, we speak with Lilah Penddah, the founder and CEO of Afro Facts. Afro Facts creates educational tools, games, workshops, and webinars to help people increase their awareness with respect to black history, as well as give them the tools needed to have more productive and healing conversations with respect to diversity, equity and inclusion. To learn more about Afro Facts, visit their website at www.afrofacts.ca. 
 
Next up is Ali Salman, the founder of Lawtiq. Lawtiq is an online platform that allows you to connect with a lawyer in the time it takes you to order a pizza online. With just a few clicks, you can book an appointment with a lawyer of your choice, or if you’re looking for long-term legal services, they have a fixed-price option. Learn more at www.lawtiq.com. 
 
After Ali, Lance meets with Sahr Saffa, the founder of C-Tribe Society. C-Tribe Society’s mission is to find ways to celebrate diversity and to help more underserved and underrepresented innovators and creatives in achieving their goals. They operate across various verticals, ranging from the technology sector, fashion, music, gaming, and culturally inspired sectors as well. To learn more, find them on Facebook.
 
Our fourth interviewee is 14-year-old Sophia Fairweather, the founder of Key-Angels. Sophia founded Key-Angels when she was only 10, with a unique purpose in mind, which is to provide single-parent and zero-parent families with the ability to grow and succeed in their lives. They do this through a unique financing platform that connects single-parent and zero-parent families with “Angels” that help them with access to buying their first home. To learn more, visit www.key-angels.com.
 
Finally, Lance interviews Kevin Peterson, the founder of Zipstall. Zipstall is a parking app, downloadable from all major app stores, that doesn’t just allow you to pay for parking directly from the app but also helps you find available parking in downtown Edmonton – an often difficult task! By solving local parking crises, Zipstall brings communities together and helps Edmontonians support local businesses. To learn more, visit www.zipstall.com. 
 
00:00 - Intro
01:48 - Introducing Lilah Penddah, Founder & CEO of Afro Facts/
2:07 - Can you tell us about your business?
02:27 - Is this Canadian Black history, or do you encompass Black history in other countries as well?
02:52 - What is the business model of Afro Facts?
04:21 - Where do you want to take your business in the next three years?
05:27 - What advice would you give to an entrepreneur who’s on a similar journey to yours?
06:57 - Introducing Ali Salman, Founder of Lawtiq.com.
07:40 - What is Lawtiq, and what is the problem are you trying to solve?
09:43 - After running a marketing business, how did you find yourself starting Lawtiq?
11:33 - Introducing Sahr Saffa, Founder of C-Tribe Society.
11:44 - Tell me a bit about your business and what problem you’re trying to solve.
12:28 - What are you doing differently now than you were before COVID hit?
15:04 - Introducing Sophia Fairweather, Founder of Keys-Angels.
17:47 - Where did the idea for Key-Angels come from?
18:35 - The youths that come do you, do they provide their own capital, or is the angel investor providing it?
20:20 - Introducing Kevin Peterson, Founder of Zipstall.
20:34 - What has changed with Zipstall since the last time we interviewed you?

Amplify Your Business Edmonton Unlimited’s Open House Part 1

For Episode 241 of Amplify Your Business, we’re excited to be let out of the studio! Coming to you from Edmonton Unlimited’s Open House we had the opportunity to chat with some of the great entrepreneurial minds coming out of Edmonton. This episode is part one of a two-part series, in which Lance enjoyed catching up with past AYB alum and meeting some of the Edmontons' brightest entrepreneurs. 
 
00:00 - Intro
02:41 - Derek Nolt, CEO of Bladeflex
05:32 - What’s the biggest challenge Derek has to overcome to get to where he wants to be in a year’s time?
07:05 - Emily Craven, Founder & CEO of Story City
10:20 - How does Emily stay focused on her most important goals?
12:56 - Harpal Mandaher, CEO of Sarcomere Dynamics
14:37 - How did Sarcomere Dynamics shift from prosthetics to automation?
17:57 - Jean Bruce Koua, Co-founder & COO of Elev
20:30 - How is Elev overcoming the challenges they face?

Amplify Your Business A Woman-Owned PR Company With Bite

For Episode 240 of Amplify Your Business, we’re joined by Jenny Beres, the co-founder and president of Pink Shark PR. Pink Shark PR works with funders and founders in the tech industry to help them expand their companies past the early or growth stages of their businesses. Their area of specialization is startup first, PR second, which means that they understand the unique challenges faced by startups in that there are no one-size-fits-all strategies for early and growth-stage businesses. This is all done through a program called the Startup Accelerator, which offers customized “fast and deep” PR strategies to help startups get funded, find the right investors and strategic partners, and connect with the right customers. To learn more, visit their website at https://www.pinksharkpr.com/ or connect with Jenny on LinkedIn.
 
00:00 - Intro
00:59 - What are three things every entrepreneur should know?
05:36 - What problems are you solving at Pink Shark PR?
08:45 - Can you tell us a little bit about the “startup press machine” that you’ve created for your clients?
11:42 - What have you found are some of the biggest mistakes that entrepreneurs are making in terms of PR?
20:29 - Is there a hierarchy of value in terms of the different avenues of PR?
26:09 - How do you leverage PR and build upon it?
32:14 - What is your opinion on this onslaught of AIs and AI-enabled chatbots in terms of PR and PR content?
37:29 - What is the best way that our audience members can connect with you?

Amplify Your Business Sentant - The Backbone of Startups

For Episode 239 of Amplify Your Business, we’re joined by Lior Klisman, the co-founder of Sentant. Sentant is a service company in the IT security and compliance space that works with startups and investors to help them grow. They do this by ensuring their security is in place for regulation and compliance, which allows for more secure investments. In essence, Sentant is a startup’s backbone when it comes to technology and security.
 
Lior caught the entrepreneurial bug at just 12 years old, selling bagels outside of a stadium, and it’s been full steam ahead from there. He prides himself on giving back to the community by inspiring and empowering young entrepreneurs through mentorship programs. 
To learn more, visit https://www.sentant.net/ or connect with Lior on LinkedIn.
 
00:00 - Intro
00:52 - What are three things that you think every entrepreneur needs to know?
11:47 - What does Sentant do? What problems are you trying to solve?
15:50 - What has changed or gotten easier at this stage in the business versus what it was when you were bootstrapping this company seven years ago?
24:30 - What is different about entrepreneurs or entrepreneurship in the U.S. or North America compared to some of the other places you've lived?
29:02 - Where do you find your inspiration?
32:12 - If you could write a letter to your younger self, what advice would you give?
34:04 - If our audience wanted to reach out to you, how could they do that?

Amplify Your Business The Business of Streamlining Oil & Gas Closure Sites

For Episode 238 of Amplify Your Business, we’re joined by Ryan Smith, the co-founder and CEO of 360 Liability Management. 360 Energy Liability Management is an engineering and environmental science consulting business. They work towards making oil and gas site closures as simple as possible. Essentially, they focus on making these site closures simple so that their clients can continue to create thriving businesses and communities across Western Canada, and they do so by helping their clients understand cost, manage obligations, and mitigate risks.To learn more, visit https://360elm.com/. 
 
00:00 - Intro
01:06 - What are three things that you think every entrepreneur should know?
03:46 - Can you tell us a bit about 360 Energy Liability Management? What is it that you do and what problem are you trying to solve?
06:51 - What made you transition from full-time employee to full-time entrepreneur and start your first business?
09:02 - What key lessons did you learn from your first business did you bring to 360 Energy Liability Management?
12:14 - Can you elaborate a bit on this idea of a 100-year strategy?
15:19 - What are the differences in your business plan from the startup stage to the scale up stage?
21:26 - How are you balancing the organic growth you’re trying to achieve with the culture and brand you’ve cultivated at 360?
24:54 - In the three businesses you’ve acquired, were there any surprises or challenges you had to overcome?
27:44 - If you could write a letter back to your pre-entrepreneurial self, what advice would you give?
29:45 - If our audience wanted to connect with you, how could they do that?

Amplify Your Business Amplify Your Financial Strategy

For Episode 237 of Amplify Your Business, we’re joined by Jamie Smith, the Chief Experience Officer at Amplify Advisors. Amplify Advisors helps small and medium-sized growth-focused businesses with their financial strategy. Their mission is to enhance communities, cultivate connections, and amplify opportunities by aiding these small to medium-sized businesses to become financially healthy. Becoming financially healthy allows these business leaders to not only be better employers, but achieve their strategies and their purpose, and become better community members. Through amplified tech, recruiting, and their innovative financial leader service line – where they offer fractional CFOs and controllers – they’re helping these businesses achieve the growth they aspire to.To learn more, visit https://amplifyadvisors.ca/ 
 
00:00 - Intro
01:03 - What are three things every entrepreneur needs to know?
12:17 - Can you share a bit about how you structure your retainer model?
15:25 - What does Amplify Advisors do, and what problem are you trying to solve?
20:13 - Let’s talk a little bit about your entrepreneurial journey.
26:13 - How are you approaching leadership development within Amplify Advisors?
32:59 - What are your goals over the next couple of years, and what challenges do you think you’ll face in trying to achieve them?
37:14 - If you could write a letter to your pre-entrepreneurial self, what would it say?
41:49 - If any of our listeners wanted to connect with you, how could they do that?

Amplify Your Business Revolutionizing Local Search with AI and Ethical Data Exchange

For Episode 236 of Amplify Your Business, we’re joined by Aireka Harvell, the founder of Nodat. Nodat is a geo-targeting mobile marketing platform that uses AI, machine learning, and natural language processing to personalize the local search experiences for content creators and local businesses to help them target the right audiences in the right places. They are the first opt-in geo-targeting platform that empowers both the business and consumer to exchange data in a more ethical and transparent way for better targeting and relevant results for local information.To learn more, visit https://nodatplace.com/. 
 
00:00 - Intro
01:01 - What are three things that you think every entrepreneur needs to know?
05:06 - What is Nodat and when did the idea for it come about?
09:36 - Can you explain the difference between first-party data and third-party data?
17:27 - What have been the biggest challenges you’ve had to overcome in terms of your business?
22:33 - In five years, where do you want Nodat to be?
23:45 - What are the biggest hurdles you’ll face to getting to that five-year goal, and how will you overcome them?
28:29 - Does the potential for acquisition down the road change your thinking about the way in which you grow Nodat in the present?
29:19 - If you could write a letter to your younger self, what advice would you offer pre-entrepreneurial Aireka?
32:31 - What is the best way for people interested in Nodat to connect with you?

Amplify Your Business How One Company is Revolutionizing Project Management Software

For Episode 235 of Amplify Your Business, we’re joined by Fred Dyste, the founder of BizWatt LLC. BizWatt is a software development company that has developed a PPM tool, called QFactor that helps Land Surveyors and Civil Engineers effectively and profitably track project scope, budget, and timeline.
 
Qfactor is a software tool designed to help land surveyors with the proposal and project creation process. It allows for easy tracking of project status and profitability by integrating with time entry and accounting software, eliminating the need to enter data multiple times. Proposals are crucial for land surveyors as they lead to business opportunities, cash flow, and profitability. However, it can be difficult to quantify this information if it is not easily accessible. With Qfactor, tracking work progress in real-time becomes possible, giving the ability to see the percentage of completion and profitability before invoicing.To learn more, you can email Fred at fdyste@bizwatt.com or visit the website at https://bizwatt.com/. 
 
01:39 - What are three things that you think every entrepreneur needs to know?
07:50 - Can you tell us a little bit about BizWatt? What sets you apart and what’s special about what you’ve developed?
13:53 - What are some of the profound moments within your entrepreneurial journey that have led you to this point?
20:16 - What makes the entrepreneurial journey so difficult?
22:49 - What’s easier with this business than what you’ve found with the rest of the startups you’ve founded?
27:10 - What’s your secret to maintaining your resilience despite the failures you’ve had in the past?
29:25 - If you could write a letter to your younger self, what advice would you give?
31:38 - If our audience wanted to connect with you, how could they do that?