The StartWell Podcast

StartWell
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Conversations with our members, partners and associates - recorded on campus in downtown Toronto.

  1. Som Seif on Why Canadians Are Afraid of the Wrong Thing

    5D AGO

    Som Seif on Why Canadians Are Afraid of the Wrong Thing

    Som Seif has spent two decades disrupting Canadian financial services — first with Claymore, one of Canada's earliest ETF companies, then as co-founder of Wealthsimple, and now as CEO of Purpose Unlimited, a platform spanning asset management, wealth management, SMB lending, and retirement solutions. In this conversation on the StartWell Podcast, he gets candid about the mindset holding Canadians back, what's broken in how we build wealth, and why he's more energized right now than at any point in his career.

    1h 2m
  2. Buy a Business, Don't Start One? Steven Wang on Canada's Entrepreneurship Revolution

    MAY 4

    Buy a Business, Don't Start One? Steven Wang on Canada's Entrepreneurship Revolution

    Steven Wang, Rhodes Scholar, Harvard-trained lawyer, and CEO of Venture for Canada, joins Qasim Virjee at StartWell to talk about what it really takes to future-proof the next generation of Canadian workers, why the country has an experience gap (not a talent gap), and why buying a small business might be one of the most underrated entrepreneurial moves of our time.

    58 min
  3. Teaching Students to Embrace Failure | AJ Tibando

    APR 21

    Teaching Students to Embrace Failure | AJ Tibando

    Canada has no shortage of talent - but according to AJ Tibando, we have a mindset problem. As CEO of Shift Canada, AJ is leading a national effort to reshape how young people think about risk, failure, and entrepreneurship. Starting with students as early as grade five, Shift’s programs challenge one of the most deeply ingrained barriers in Canadian culture: the fear of getting it wrong. In this conversation, AJ breaks down why traditional education systems often unintentionally discourage experimentation. When students are rewarded for being right instead of trying, they learn to avoid risk altogether. That mindset doesn’t just stay in the classroom - it follows them into careers, limiting innovation at a national level. Shift Canada is tackling this head-on by normalizing failure as part of the learning process. By creating “permission structures” where students can try, fail, and try again without judgment, they unlock creativity, confidence, and real problem-solving ability. But this isn’t just about education - it’s about economic competitiveness. AJ connects the dots between cultural attitudes toward risk and Canada’s ability to produce founders, builders, and bold thinkers. This episode is a sharp reminder that innovation doesn’t start in boardrooms - it starts much earlier. And if Canada wants to compete globally, it needs to rethink how it prepares the next generation.

    1h 9m
  4. How AI is Rewriting Venture Capital - Karim Gillani (Luge Capital)

    APR 14

    How AI is Rewriting Venture Capital - Karim Gillani (Luge Capital)

    Karim Gillani has had a front-row seat to some of the most important shifts in technology and finance over the past two decades. From early days in mobile payments to leading M&A at companies like Xoom and PayPal, and now as a co-founding General Partner at Luge Capital, his perspective on venture capital is shaped by real operational experience. In this conversation, Karim breaks down how the rules of building and investing in startups are changing - fast.

    1h 19m
  5. Stuck at $200M Revenue? This Might Be Your Best Move (Naseem Saloojee on SPACs)

    APR 6

    Stuck at $200M Revenue? This Might Be Your Best Move (Naseem Saloojee on SPACs)

    Naseem Saloojee, co-founder of Suma Capital, breaks down one of the most misunderstood opportunities in today’s market: SPACs - and why they may be making a comeback. In this conversation, we explore how founders, investors, and operators can navigate a market where traditional venture funding has slowed, IPO timelines have stretched, and liquidity has become harder to access. Naseem shares how his team is identifying overlooked companies - profitable, growing businesses that no longer fit the venture hype cycle - and helping them access public markets in a different way. We also unpack: What an “independent sponsor” actually doesWhy mid-market companies are stuck in today’s funding environmentHow public markets differ from private capitalWhat makes a company a strong SPAC candidateThe future of Canadian companies accessing U.S. capital markets

    59 min
  6. The Truth About E-Commerce Rollups - Ghassan Halazon of EMERGE

    MAR 24

    The Truth About E-Commerce Rollups - Ghassan Halazon of EMERGE

    *Recorded at StartWell - Toronto's campus for corporate meetings & events: https://startwell.co Ghassan Halazon, Founder and CEO of EMERGE Commerce, joins the StartWell Podcast for a candid conversation about what it really takes to build and operate e-commerce businesses at scale. From his early days leaving Wall Street to launch one of Canada’s biggest daily deals businesses, to building EMERGE into an e-commerce brand portfolio, Ghassan shares hard-won lessons from acquisitions, public markets, debt, restructuring, and the discipline required to survive volatile markets. This episode digs into the reality behind e-commerce rollups, why diversified portfolios can break down in consumer businesses, and how EMERGE refocused around fewer, stronger verticals. Ghassan also explains why brand loyalty, community, and customer trust matter more than ever - and why most people should think twice before launching “just a nice little e-commerce store.”

    1h 7m
  7. How Founders Should Think About Partnerships - Chris Lavoie

    MAR 19

    How Founders Should Think About Partnerships - Chris Lavoie

    *Recorded at StartWell, Toronto's campus for corporate meetings & events: https://startwell.co/ Partnerships are no longer a side function - they’re becoming one of the most important growth channels in modern B2B. In this episode of the StartWell Podcast, Chris Lavoie - founder of Partnership Mastermind - breaks down why partnerships are having a resurgence, what most companies get wrong when building partner programs, and how partner professionals can ramp faster with better training, community, and real-world practice.

    46 min
  8. How to Make Any Offsite More Persuasive - Behavioral Science with Ben Wise & Darren Chiu

    MAR 17

    How to Make Any Offsite More Persuasive - Behavioral Science with Ben Wise & Darren Chiu

    *Recorded at StartWell - Toronto's campus for corporate meetings & events: https://startwell.co Ben Wise and Darren Chiu are the founders of Captivate - a newsletter and training platform that turns behavioral science into practical tools for persuasion, communication, and change. In this conversation, we dig into the line between ethical persuasion and manipulation, why emotion drives decision-making more than logic, and how leaders can use simple tactics to run better meetings and offsites. If you plan internal offsites, sales kickoffs, or team gatherings, this episode is a playbook: how to prime people before they arrive, how to open the day so you don’t lose the room, and how “labeling” emotions can instantly reduce tension and increase buy-in. We also explore persuasion in advertising, why small conversion lifts matter at scale, and how AI is best used as a thought partner - not as your voice.

    47 min
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About

Conversations with our members, partners and associates - recorded on campus in downtown Toronto.

Information

  • Creator
    StartWell
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    85
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2021 StartWell Holdings Inc.
  • Show Website
    The StartWell Podcast