Amplify Your Business

Amplify Your Business AlignVR

For Episode 167 of Amplify Your Business, we’re joined by Alex Rossol, the co-founder and CEO of AlignVR. AlignVR is a soft skill assessment tool, used for employee hiring or training. Employees are given VR gear and enter into a series of puzzles that they must work together on to complete. In this episode, Alex wows Lance with his revelation that when you’re 90% done on a project, you’re about halfway to the finish line.
 
Alex goes on to talk about how VR is changing both the in-office and remote work hiring landscape. Gone are the days of awkward interviews and overspending due to miss-hires. With AlignVR, you can learn how potential hires will act in the workplace, whether they have leadership potential, and how they handle obstacles and conflicts before you spend the money on hiring them. To learn more, visit AlignVR or visit their Instagram to see a video of a teambuilding exercise in action.
 
00:00 - Intro
00:58 - Can you explain to me three things that you think every entrepreneur should know?
07:22 - What is AlignVR inspired you to create it?
09:45 - Walk me through the use of AlignVR by hiring managers.
12:53 - Are these VR scenarios created by your company or are they licensed from somewhere else?
17:01 - When you put job candidates into the virtual reality scene, who joins them?
20:34 - How long have you been in the VR industry?
26:50 - What has been the biggest challenge in going from creating VR escape rooms to AlignVR?
33:09 - If you could write your past self a letter, what would it say?
40:27 - What future opportunities do you see for AlignVR as hardware for VR headsets gets cheaper and the technology gets better?
42:42 - How can people interested in AlignVR get in contact with you?
43:55 - Outro

Amplify Your Business Zero Point Cryogenics

For Episode 166 of Amplify Your Business, we’re joined by John Davis, the CTO and Co-Founder of Zero Point Cryogenics, a company that manufactures dilution refrigerators. Dilution refrigerators are the method of continuously cooling below one kelvin. In fact, Zero Point Cryogenics refrigerators cool to around ten millikelvin - which is roughly -273.14 degrees celsius, just 0.01 degrees shy of Absolute Zero.
When most people hear the word “cryogenics,” they tend to think of body preservation, but Zero Point Cryogenics’ focus is on quantum technology, including quantum computers.
To learn more, visit the Zero Point Cryogenics website or follow them on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter for some cool cryogenic info.
 
00:00 - Intro
01:14 - Why would you need a refrigerator that cools to ten millikelvins?
02:40 - What is the market size for a business like this?
04:12 - What does your competitive landscape look like?
06:41 - What inspired you to become an entrepreneur?
09:18 - If you could write your pre-entrepreneurial self a letter, what would you say?
11:20 - Where did you get the expertise to understand the market and the customer base?
14:04 - In terms of supply chain management in the area of quantum computing, how important do you think Zero Point Cryogenics is going to be in this industry?
18:15 - Now that you’ve made your first sales, how will the direction of the company change or shift?
20:35 - What are your next steps on your path to grow Zero Point Cryogenics?
22:23 - Are you facing any challenges in regards to recruiting?
25:11 - If someone had given you 1M or 10M pre-commercialization of Zero Point Cryogenics, what would you have done differently?
26:31 - How can people contact or connect with you?
28:18 - Outro 

Amplify Your Business Headshop.com

For Episode 165 of Amplify Your Business, we’re joined by Matt Hampton, the founder of Headshop, and the Director of Client Engagement at Envoy. During our conversation with Matt, he explains to us what pushed him to start Headshop.com, how things have changed since he bought the domain more than two decades ago, and where he gets his entrepreneurial inspiration.
Though originally, Headshop dorm decor for the college stoner, in the wake of cannabis legalization in many states across the US, they’ve pivoted their products to the realm of cannabis accessories.
To learn more, visit the HeadShop website or follow them on Instagram.
 
00:00 - Intro
01:03 - What do you think are the three things every entrepreneur should know?05:05 - What is Head Shop, and what inspired you to start it?
10:00 - How was the evolution of the term “Head Shop” changed the way you market your business?
18:14 - How have you translated the typical head shop feel into a digital shop, and what do you wish you could have done sooner?
22:49 - Tell us about pivoting from a product brand to a lifestyle brand.
27:34 - Do you think there may be opportunity to move into the psychedelics space as regulations are beginning to change?
32:12 - How do you manage the risk potential of having a cannabis business with how volatile the political landscape surrounding cannabis is currently?
38:26 - Where do you go for entrepreneurial inspiration?
48:47 - How can viewers connect with you or Head Shop?
49:27 - Outro

Amplify Your Business Signature Guest Dennis Geelen

For today's episode of Amplify Your Business, we’re joined by Dennis Geelen, the founder and Chief Difference Maker at Zero In. Zero In is a boutique consulting firm that helps businesses conquer indifference in whatever way that looks for them - whether it be indifferent customers who don’t want to buy products or indifferent employees who aren’t passionate about their work.
 
Zero In helps businesses fight indifference by increasing customer retention, improving customer experience, and teaching them to build a passionate work culture of innovation that allows their employees to adapt, learn, and develop better ways to serve their clients. When you build a passionate work culture, you make your employees passionate about the work that they’re doing, which, in turn, conquers customer indifference as well. If your team is passionate about your product or service, your customers will be, too.
 
Aside from Zero In, Dennis has just released his fourth book, the Accidental Solopreneur, which launches on September 6th. He also teaches a course about learning the steps he took to become a successful solopreneur called the Solopreneur Playbook: 6 Steps to Freedom. Listeners of our podcast can get a 25% discount for this course by entering the promo code tvzvajc.To learn more, visit Zero In.
 
0:00 - Intro
1:05 - Three key things every entrepreneur needs to know.
3:46 - The transition from corporate to entrepreneurship. 
6:52 - Were you able to build your niche from your corporate experience?
8:57 - How did you decide on your niche and how would you describe it?
10:46 - Becoming an author: What problems are your books solving?
13:04 - What was your breakthrough moment?
16:54 - How long did it take you to gain momentum?
20:43 - Launching into Solopreneurship.
23:26 - What challenges did you face becoming an author?
25:00 - Advice for anyone wanting to write a book.
27:12 - What can we learn from your Solopreneur Playbook course?
29:50 - The 6 Steps: Course overview
36:50 - Is there a strategic reason for deviating from your original niche?
39:18 - When would you advise changing niches?
41:53 - How do we find your courses and connect with you?
42:57 - Outro

Amplify Your Business Punchcard Systems

For Episode 163 of Amplify Your Business, we’re joined by Sam Jenkins, the managing partner at Punchcard Systems. Punchcard is a tech startup that focuses on being your all-in-one software company. Whether you’re looking for a digital workplace, web or mobile apps, dashboards, marketing automation, systems integration, or need innovation for your website, portals, intranet, or IoT, Punchcard systems does it all. They call themselves a Startup-as-a-Service, offering custom software builds that transform how you live and work.To learn more, visit Punchcard Systems online via their website, LinkedIn, or Instagram.
 
00:00 - Intro
01:03 - Tell me three things that you think every entrepreneur needs to know.
05:03 - What inspired you to create Punchcard Systems, and what does your company do?
07:45 - What inspired you to be in the tech space?
11:52 - What do you do to cultivate company culture?
16:29 - How do you facilitate the sharing of stories from your employees and your clients?
18:15 - Can you explain to me your onboarding process with so many remote employees?
22:28 - What keeps you up at night?
27:51 - How do you balance out cost and revenue?
32:42 - What kind of growth are you looking at in the next 12 months?
35:46 - What obstacles are you facing as you work towards this growth?
39:32 - How do you develop a competency for risk, understanding, and mitigation?
44:01 - How can people get in contact with you?
44:36 - Outro

Amplify Your Business Tomato Wheels

For Episode 162 of Amplify Your Business, we’re joined by Moirae Choquette, the founder and CEO of Tomato Wheels. Tomato Wheels has gone through many incarnations since it got its start in 2020 as an Italian spice company, creating what Moirae dubbed “Pasta Cheaters,” which were different spice profiles of dried herbs for people who couldn’t cook. When the pandemic hit, Moirae’s suppliers in Italy stopped responding to her attempts at contact, and so she was forced to shift the business focus of Tomato Wheels. From there, the brand pivoted into kitchen utensils made with stronger but lighter wood, kitchen towels, and eventually, into sparkling red wine.To learn more, check out Tomato Wheels on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, or LinkedIn, and keep an eye on their website to learn when their Lambruso hits the Alberta market.
 
00:00 - Intro
00:57 - What are three key things you think every entrepreneur should know?
03:37 - What’s in the bag?
05:30 - How did you start Tomato Wheels?
10:05 - Describe your Lambrusco.
10:41 - Why have I never heard of this wine before?
12:27 - When you bring on an expert like Brad Royale, is helping at the wine-making stage?
13:51 - What is the process to importing wine from Italy?
15:15 - How do you get your product into the Liquor Control Board in Alberta?
16:23 - What is your plan to tackle consumer education?
17:48 - Will you be doing tastings for your Lambrusco in liquor stores in Alberta?
19:34 - Do you have any plans to expand your line of wines in the future?
21:06 - What do you think your biggest challenge over the next 12 months will be?
22:01 - When is your Lambrusco hitting the Alberta market?
22:10 - What will people be able to find your Labrusco once it hits the market?
23:05 - As an entrepreneur, how was the experience of constantly reinventing the brand Tomato Wheels?
26:00 - If you could write a letter to your younger self, what would you say?
27:07- If you had a $1 million to spend on your business at this point in your trajectory, what would you do differently?
28:11 - What do you consider to be the biggest challenges and rewards of entrepreneurship?
32:55 - How can people find Tomato Wheels?
33:37 - Outro 

Amplify Your Business Change Toothpaste

For Episode 161 of Amplify Your Business, we’re joined by Damien Vince, co-founder of Change Toothpaste, who makes sustainable toothpaste. Change Toothpaste is a toothpaste tablet that doesn’t change how you brush your teeth, but instead, what you use to brush them. Traditional toothpaste tubes are made up of 11 polymers, plastics, and resins that are neither recyclable nor compostable. Every tube ever made still sits in a landfill somewhere. Change Toothpaste wanted to, well, change that. 
 
Their all-natural toothpaste tablets are sold in compostable pouches, and since it’s a dry tablet - meaning they’re not shipping “water” like traditional toothpaste tubes - shipping is lower, which keeps the cost of the tablets down.To learn more, visit Change Toothpaste on their website or Instagram.
 
00:00 - Intro
01:49 - Based on your entrepreneurial journey, what do you think every entrepreneur should know?
05:53 - What inspired you to create Change Toothpaste?
09:52 - Can you tell us about the new product you have coming out later this year?
11:27 - What marketing hurdles did you have to overcome in getting this product out there?
15:55 - If you could write your past self a letter, what would you say?
18:53 - Through what other channels are you distributing your product?
21:34 - How do you change people’s perception of what brushing their teeth should look like?
26:17 - Has your definition of success changed since you started this journey with Change Toothpaste?
28:01 - What do you love about being an entrepreneur, and what do you not love about it?
30:57 - Outro

Amplify Your Business The Fort Distillery

For Episode 160 of Amplify Your Business, we’re joined by Nathan Flim, the founder and CEO of The Fort Distillery. The Fort Distillery was founded in 2018 by Nathan and continues to be a family-owned and run distillery in Saskatchewan, Alberta. 
 
When The Fort Distillery first opened, they distilled vodka, gin, and a few liqueurs, but in 2019, they quickly saw the rise in popularity of ready-to-serve cocktails and decided they wanted to get into the game, but do it differently. Their Tumbler and Rocks line was born from the idea that they wanted to introduce people to cocktail culture who may not have experienced it before.  Crafted in beautiful glass bottles, the ready-made cocktails are designed to be opened, poured over ice, and enjoyed.
To learn more, visit The Fort Distillery website or Instagram.
 
00:00 - Intro
01:13 - Tell me a little bit about your brand.
04:45 - Can you explain the decision behind the packaging of your Tumbler and Rocks line?
07:18 - What are three things every entrepreneur should know?
12:25 - How to find the right mentor for you.
17:59 - How do you overcome the challenges of delegating?
23:17 - What inspired you to start The Fort Distillery?
25:44 - The future of craft distilleries.
27:55 - What changes have you had to make with the industry growing the way it is?
30:48 - What challenges have you faced expanding into the U.S?
32:45 - In the U.S do you market yourself as a Canadian product?
34:12 - If you had received a cash infusion when you started, how would that have changed things?
37:26 - If you could, how would you mentor yourself when you started?
40:48 - How did you identify the problem you are solving?
44:46 - What would success look like for you 10 years from now?
47:17 - Outro