Send us a text and tell us what you liked about this episode! Bold change rarely starts with a big budget—it starts with leaders who turn uncertainty into momentum. Orchid Jahanshahi kicks off the FIRST episode of ThinkrTalk with two TRAILBLAZERS from two proudly Canadian companies: Tamara Seales Knights, President of Seaford Pharmaceuticals, and Lisa Heath, Co‑founder and CEO of MediResource Inc. Together, we explore how small, independent teams build trust moats, make faster decisions, and build products that consistently serve patients providers, and payers. Tamara takes us inside a family-built, vertically integrated pharma company preparing its first innovative prescription launch. She shares the discipline behind their wins: articulate a unique value, target precisely, and keep market feedback flowing. When a line extension stalled after 18 months, the breakthrough came from reframing the problem—less about format, more about strength—a lesson in critical thinking over sunk-cost bias. Lisa unpacks three lines of business that have kept MediResource 30 years-strong: licensed evidence-based consumer health content, high-intent traffic for responsible DTC campaigns, and an insurance benefits navigation platform that connects employees to better health. We dig into hiring for diversity—people who want breadth, not boxes—why “pivot” can either be empty jargon or a real marker of resilience, and how transparency with partners uncovers hidden risks before they bite. Lisa explains why long-form, pharmacist-led content earns 5.5 million Canadian readers annually, while Tamara lays out a culture-first approach that pairs humility with high energy so teams can move fast without breaking trust. We even connect dance and health outcomes: joy, rhythm, and immediate feedback as design principles for behaviour change in both dance studios and software. Together, we explored what it really means to lead with grit and grace, to grow in a highly regulated industry that’s constantly evolving. We covered: redefining leadership through trust and courage, the power of collaboration across pharma and tech and how to rise, rebuild and reinvent through change. This wasn’t just a conversation — it felt like a dance among trailblazing women who’ve turned challenges into catalysts for transformation. If you’re navigating product launches, reshaping field forces with digital, or simply trying to lead with more clarity and less theater, this conversation offers practical playbooks you can use today. This episode of ThinkrTalk is hosted by Orchid and Produced by Chess Originals. Here’s to the innovators, doers and dreamers reshaping healthcare — one bold step at a time. Follow the ThinkrBelle page for future podcasts! Subscribe, share with a colleague who needs a spark, and leave a quick review to tell us what you think.
