Amplify Your Business

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?

Amplify your Business Exploring the World of Kratom with MIT45

For Episode 234 of Amplify Your Business, we’re joined by Ryan Niddel, the CEO of MIT45. MIT45 is a kratom company. Kratom is what we call the leaves of a tropical tree in the coffee family, Mitragyna speciosa, that is indigenous to Southeast Asia. These leaves contain a chemical called mitragynine that produces stimulant-like effects (like caffeine) in low doses that help with focus, clarity, and energy. In higher doses, these leaves offer sedative-like effects, providing users with a relaxing sensation, and allowing for better sleep and less muscle pain.
MIT45 is working hard to educate the masses on this new, mostly unheard-of substance, espousing its benefits, and battling against the fearmongering currently making its way through mainstream media.
To learn more, visit https://mit45.com/. 
 
00:00 - Intro
01:21 - What are three things that you think every entrepreneur needs to know?
06:05 - Let’s talk about MIT45. What are you guys doing? What problems are you trying to solve? 
11:54 - What are the potential biggest roadblocks to MIT45 getting to your goal of taking on the global market?
17:01 - At what point in a company’s trajectory should they start looking at acquisitions being an integral part of their growth strategy?
23:57 - What lessons did you learn through the process of your early mistakes in entrepreneurship?
29:13 - How did you bounce back from your business being a huge success to having to shut your doors completely, and then launching your next business venture that turned into a multimillion-dollar exit as well?
34:32 - Where does your passion, your drive for entrepreneurship come from?
38:23 - If you could write a letter to your pre-entrepreneurial self, what advice would you give?
40:44 - If our audience wanted to connect with you, how could they go about doing that?

Amplify Your Business Hassle Free, Accessible Crypto Investments with Soon

For Episode 233 of Amplify Your Business, we’re joined by Aaron Bylund and Mike Shattuck, co-founders of Soon. Soon is a consumer fintech company focused on cryptocurrencies. 80% of Americans have never invested in crypto, and many of them cite one of two reasons for this: it’s a risky, volatile investment, and it’s very technical and difficult to understand. Soon is looking to solve both of those problems at once with simple automation.
 
Whether you’ve never invested in crypto before or have in the past but have had bad experiences with it, Soon’s automation ensures that investors don’t have to have any prior knowledge about the crypto world. There’s no research involved, no market speculation, and no emotional rollercoaster. Soon is a product specifically designed to take the stress out of cryptocurrency investment. In just a couple of minutes, would-be investors, no matter how seasoned they are, can invest it and forget it. At the intersection of day trading, crypto, and savings, you’ll find Soon. There’s even a “Tax Stash” that takes part of your earnings and puts it into another account for when you’re ready to file your taxes, so you don’t have to worry about saving the taxes from your earnings on your own.There is so much more to learn about Soon. Check them out on their website at https://www.soon.app/. 
 
00:00 - Intro
01:18 - What are three things you think every entrepreneur needs to know?
06:31 - What is Soon? What problem are you guys solving?
10:09 - Can you walk us through how the app functions?
13:37 - How did you decide that this was something the market needed?
17:41 - How do you infuse that adaptability into this business that you’ve created?
23:28 - Why entrepreneurship? What is it about entrepreneurship that calls to you?
27:13 - If you could send a letter back in time to your pre-entrepreneurial self, what advice would you give?
33:20 - What’s the best way to connect with you?
35:00 Where does the name Soon come from?

Amplify Your Business Building a Better Edmonton With Signature Guest, Jay Downton

For Episode 232 of Amplify Your Business, we’re joined by a very special guest, Jay Downton, a serial entrepreneur in Edmonton. Jay is a passionate Edmontonian. He’s committed to playing a role in helping make Edmotnon a global 10. In 2007, he co-founded OilersNation.com and the Nation Network. In 2010, he was appointed president of Oodle Noodle, where he was able to apply the skills he learned from specializing in franchise financing at ATB, for which he was awarded the President’s Award in 2010 for highest corporate sales in his position. 
 
Since taking the helm, his guidance has led Oodle Noodle to become a 17-store local chain. Jay’s passion for Edmonton and its River Valley led him, also, to be one of the co-owners of Little Brick Cafe, which became the catalyst that pushed Jay and his team to build more River Valley amenities. This led to the creation of River Valley Company, whose aim is to play a part in building more community amenities and support and development of outdoor tourism in the city’s River Valley. Other businesses in Jay’s portfolio include Dogpatch YEG, Bread + Butter Bakery, and, most recently, the Duchess Bakeshop.
 
Oilers Nation and the Nation Network are digital sports media content and lifestyle brand companies. The two sites started as a single site based in Edmonton, as a fan-focused hockey content brand. Wanting to give fans a voice on things related to their favourite hockey team in a world where mainstream media was the sports media juggernaut, they saw a gap in the market for a fan-led community of hockey enthusiasts. Fast forward to today, and the Nation Network is now a 10-site network of website properties, including a variety of shows, both podcast and video. And though he is still intimately involved with both sites, Jay sold the business in late 2022 for a whopping $15M.To learn more, connect with Jay on his LinkedIn.
 
00:00 - Intro
02:49 - With now 17 Oodle Noodles open up in Alberta, are they all franchise, or do you have some corporate stores?
04:27 - With all of your experience as an entrepreneur, what are three things that you think every entrepreneur needs to know?
07:46 - Can you tell us a little bit about your first entrepreneurial venture, what you were trying to achieve, and why it didn’t work?
12:31 - What made you decide to not hang up your entrepreneurial hat after that failure? Why did you want to continue being an entrepreneur?
15:50 - Can you give us a bit of an overview of Oiler Nation and the Nation Network?
29:05 - With all of the success you’ve had in your entrepreneurial ventures over the years, what does success now look like to you?
32:01 - Does the success you’ve seen make it more difficult for you to face the potential fear of failure?
37:32 - If you could write your younger, pre-entrepreneurial self a letter, what advice would you give?
41:02 - If our audience wanted to connect with you, how could they go about doing that?

Amplify Your Business Fueling the Future

For Episode 231 of Amplify Your Business, we’re joined by Alexei Beltyukov, the founder of Universal Fuel Technologies. Universal Fuel Technology is a chemical technology platform that develops technologies to make renewable fuels and petrochemicals, such as Sustainable Aviation Fuel, gasoline, Liquefied Petroleum Gas, and BTX.
 
Born in the former Soviet Union, Alexei started his first entrepreneurial venture in Russia in 2007. He then took a chance on a venture that moved him out to California, and though that business didn’t work out, he decided to stay. Eventually, with partnerships still in place in Russia, Universal Fuel Technologies was established, and though they’ve had some hardships, including buying out a partner due to the Ukraine-Russia War and making the decision to abandon their lab in Russia in the hopes of rebuilding it in the US, the company has come out the other side prosperous and ready to make the next bold moves in renewable energy.To learn more, visit the Universal Fuel Technologies website at https://unifuel.tech/ or connect with Alexei on LinkedIn.
 
00:00 - Intro
01:36 - What are three things that you think every entrepreneur needs to know?
04:51 - What problems are you trying to solve with Universal Fuel Technologies?
10:37 - Can you tell us a bit about the difference in entrepreneurial ecosystems between Russia and the US? What are the similarities and differences?
18:37 - Is the entrepreneurial spirit the same in Russia as it is in North America?
21:35 - How did factors such as geography, culture, and the Ukraine-Russia war impact your company's story?
24:02 - Given everything that you’ve got going on with Universal Fuel Technologies right now and your plans for the future, is there anything you would have done differently in order to see success quicker?
26:03 - If someone were to give Universal Fuel Technologies a large sum investment - say $1M or $10M - what would you do with that money?
27:34 - If you could send a letter back in time to your pre-entrepreneurial self, what advice would you give?
30:13 - If our audience wanted to reach out and connect with you, what’s the best way to do that?

Amplify Your Business Redefining IT Consulting for the Life Sciences Industry

For Episode 230 of Amplify Your Business, we’re joined by Rohit Tyagi, the Managing Partner at Sagax Team. Sagax Team was born out of the idea of wanting to present IT consulting in a different way than we usually see it. They take a true partnership approach in order to put their customers first. As a whole, they provide managed solutions designed exclusively for emerging pharma and biotech. With strategic consulting backed by a global team of experts, they can streamline the most complex IT projects so that they can focus on their missions of producing life-saving therapies.
 
Sagax Team offers specialized services to pharmaceutical and biotech companies in the areas of lab informatics and quality and compliance. Their lab informatics services involve collecting data from various instruments and using it to generate intelligent reports and make informed decisions. Their quality and compliance services help life sciences companies follow strict guidelines for drug manufacturing.To learn more, visit https://sagaxteam.com/ or connect with Rohit on LinkedIn.
 
00:00 - Intro
01:07 - What are three things that you think every entrepreneur needs to know?
05:04 - Have you always had such a positive outlook, or is this something you’ve had to learn along the way?
08:53 - What does Sagax Team do? What problems are you solving?
13:05 - Can you share with us what made you decide to pivot from a service-based company to developing a product that you will eventually be bringing to market?
19:05 - What are the biggest challenges you’ve faced in pivoting your offerings and building this product while still managing your service-based business?
23:21 - Where do you get your inspiration from? What or who inspires you?
27:02 - What are the most difficult aspects of being an entrepreneur?
33:15 - If you could write a letter to your pre-entrepreneurial self, what advice would you give yourself?
36:19 - If our audience wanted to reach out to you, how could they do that?

Amplify Your Business Financial Solutions for Growing Companies

For Episode 229 of Amplify Your Business, we’re joined by Rita Kim, the CEO of Partners for Growth Advisory Services Inc. Partners for Growth is a financial services company that specializes in providing structured financial solutions for growing companies. They work with entrepreneurs who are looking to establish a healthy and sustainable financial foundation, especially during the critical growth phase of their business. With over 20 years of lending experience, Partners for Growth has helped numerous companies from start-ups to succession, by addressing their key concerns centered around finance. Their expertise in strategic partnering for finance has been instrumental in helping entrepreneurs achieve success by providing customized financial solutions tailored to their specific needs.To learn more, visit https://www.partnersforgrowth.ca/ or check out Rita’s podcast Serenity Now for Entrepreneurs.
 
00:00 - Intro
01:04 - What are three things that you think every entrepreneur needs to know? 
03:55 - What does Partners for Growth do? How do you serve other businesses and what is your role within that?
08:05 - Of the people that are coming to you for help, what do you find they’re struggling with the most?
18:05 - What is an example of a risk that you took on and it backfired, and you ended up learning from it?
24:20 - If people in our audience wanted to connect with you, how could they do that?

Amplify Your Business Limelight: Telus Community Safety and Wellness Accelerator Pitch Party

For this special episode of Amplify Your Business, we’re filming at the Telus CSW Pitch Party, where we were fortunate enough to interview three amazing up-and-coming businesses in the Telus Community Safety and Wellness Accelerator who are doing amazing things in Edmonton and globally to bring safety and wellness to the workplace.
 
Lance’s first interview was with Christy Canida, the Senior Director of Product at AlchemistX, and one of the coaches of the Telus Community Safety and Wellness Accelerator. From San Francisco, this is Christy’s third year as a coach for the Telus CSW Accelerator. 
 
Next up was an interview with Antonio Visconti, the CEO and Founder of Sobereye, an organization looking to increase workplace safety through real-time impairment detection, which uses a pupillometer to detect potential impairment due to fatigue, illness, alcohol, and legal, illegal, and prescription drugs. Sobereye is a subscription-based proactive safety solution that includes testing devices, cloud-based enterprise software, and training and support. To learn more, visit www.sobereye.com
 
Lance’s third interview of the evening was with Akanksha Shelat, the co-founder and CTO of Mind-Easy. Mind-Easy is a digital mental health benefits platform that provides culturally sensitive mental health resources to organizations and their workforces. 90% of Canada’s therapists are caucasian, leaving a gap for many people of other races, cultures, and ethnicities who may not fit into the eurocentric, one-size-fits-all solution that a caucasian therapist may provide. To learn more, visit https://www.mind-easy.com/ 
 
Next in the hot seat was Ghalia Aamer, the founder, and CEO of TalkMaze. TalkMaze is working to instill confidence in children between the ages of five and 17 through public speaking and debate training. They do this through their platform that connects students with real-time instruction and coaches, along with asynchronous and gamified activities that help them build confidence. To learn more, visit https://talkmaze.com/ 
Lastly, Lance got to catch up with Ling Huang, the president, and CEO of Technology North, Digital Services. Ling was a member of cohort number two of the Telus Community Safety and Wellness Accelerator.
 
00:00 - Intro
01:12 - Christy Canida - Senior Director of Product, AlchemistX - Christy, can you tell me a bit about the Telus CSW Pitch Party and what you’re trying to accomplish with this accelerator?
01:39 - Out of the 20  businesses taking part in the accelerator, how many of them are not in Alberta?
02:19 - Why is it important to support businesses that have aspects relating to community, safety, or wellness?
04:18 - Were you involved in the first two cohorts of the Telus CSW Accelerator?
05:11 - Antonio Visconti, CEO & Founder, Sobereye - Where are you from and what’s the name of your business?
09:45 - Is your product in the market already?
10:39 - How can people connect with you who may be interested in deploying your product at their workplace?
11:36 - Akanksha Shelat, Co-founder & CTO, Mind-Easy - Where are you from and can you tell me a bit about your business?
12:26 - How does Mind-Eye offer culturally sensitive mental health resources?
13:10 - What role does technology play in Mind-Easy?
14:24 - What stage is your business at currently?
14:51 - What are you trying to receive out of the Telus CSW Accelerator?
19:18 - If someone wanted to connect with you, how can they do that?
20:25 - Ghalia Aamer, Founder & CEO, TalkMaze - Where are you from and can you tell me a bit about your business?
20:58 - What stage of your business are you in right now?
21:19 - What challenges do you think you’ll face with TalkMaze?
22:26 - Is there a lot of gamification involved in TalkMaze?
23:45 - If someone wanted to learn more about TalkMaze, how could they connect with you?
25:25 - Ling Huang, President & CEO, Technology North Digital Services -  Tell us a little bit about your business.
25:49 - Can you tell us about your experience being a part of cohort #2 of the Telus CWS Accelerator? What did you get by being a member of it?
27:11 - When you came into cohort #2, was your business already up and running?
31:27 - What are the biggest challenges in growing your business?
32:55 - If I gifted you a million dollars today, what would you do with it?