The Rise Above Podcast Bram Bains

In this episode Bram reflects back on his dozen years of experience in the Insurance Industry and makes connections in what led him to his current position, in launching his very own insurance brokerage. 
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Professional Rugby Player, Global Team Lead of an Incubator/Accelerator Agency, Start Up Director & Father Lucas Caneda joins Bram Bains on this episode of The Rise Above Podcast.
Lucas talks about his Journey with overcoming obstacles in his sports career, wanting more from life, managing a high performing team, explains the value his team brings to startups, and shares insights about the process of taking startups from seed to IPO. 
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Interview Transcript
[00:35] Bram: Welcome everybody to the rise above podcast. This is episode number seven. I'm being joined by a special guest today. I've got Lucas Caneda. Lucas is a professional rugby player. Lucas is a global team lead of unicorn. Unicorn is a rural tech incubator accelerator. Lucas is also a director of one of its startups, challenger X. Challenger X is a SAS and B2B company, who is turning Davids into Goliath through digital and traditional marketing. It offers radical improvement of the revenues and profitability of amateur sports clubs throughout Europe and around the world. Lucas is also a father. Welcome to the show. Lucas, how are you doing today? 
[01:24] Lucas: Hey Bram, thank you for having me on your show, especially being here doing fine, looking forward to this conversation. Yeah, just let's get into it. 
[01:37] Bram: Let's get into it. Okay. Tell us a little bit about your story. You wear many hats there. You know, being a professional athlete. I believe that's pretty demanding with training and playing and recovery and rest and whatnot, but yet you're also a leader there of a team and a father. How do you balance everything? What do your days look like? 
[02:00] Lucas: They look pretty busy to be honest, but I do enjoy it. I do think there's more to gain about doing all this stuff and I'm pretty happy to be doing it. Of course, it requires effort, but everything does. If you're not willing to do what it takes, you're probably not getting far. I've managed to join my passions, I would say, which is usually not something easy to do. When I was young, I was, I always wanted to become a professional rugby player. I come from Argentina; I'm currently living in France. Why? Because I knew when I was back home, if I wanted to fulfill my dream, I had to go somewhere else because there were no professional teams backing Argentina. I knew I had to go elsewhere. I looked for my opportunity. I worked very hard for that opportunity. Even the things blocking, things not going as expected, but eventually five or six years ago, I actually managed to get an opportunity and I didn't hesitate. 
I flew right away. That's when my professional career in rugby started. I've done that for like say one year, just focusing on that. But after that, I started also studying while I was the professional player. Two years ago, I decided that was, I would say, not enough, that I wanted other things too. I also started working while I played. That's how I came to unicorn. How I started at unicorn and how I managed to mix things up between business and sports. I think there's great connections and a lot of added value in doing both things at the same time. Especially at the start-up world that we live in. There's lots of things that go hand by hand. You need to be able to say, roll up your sleeves and put yourself to work. 
You need to be able to learn how to take a hit and stand back up. That happens a lot in rugby, and it happens a lot in the start-ups. You need to know that it's not an easy trip. It's not an easy journey, but the journey itself, it's actually a great experience. There's a lot of synergies between businesses, sports that can actually be of good added value to both sides of the coin. 
[04:55] Bram: Okay, awesome. You mentioned the journey there. That's a perfect segue.

Innovation Leader, Speaker, Author, Founder & Managing Director of an Innovation Consulting Agency Ally Muller joins Bram Bains on this episode of The Rise Above Podcast. Ally talks about modern day Innovation in 2021, shares some stories that illustrate a modern day approach to Innovation, and speaks about her book - Corporate Innervation: Unlocking the Genius Inside Your Organization.  
Follow us on Instagram @TheRiseAbovePodcast
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Update June 15 2021:
I just received my copy of Ally’s book in the mail and I realize that I mistakenly referred to the book as Corporate Innervention in the Podcast...Sometimes I write too fast and I can’t read my own writing.
The correct title of the book is Corporate Innervation: Unlocking the Genius Inside Your Organization. 
Just wanted to take a moment to put up the link for anybody interested in purchasing the book and taking a deeper dive into Ally’s work and theory surrounding Innovation in the Corporate space!
Link to purchase book:
https://www.amazon.ca/Corporate-Innervation-Unlocking-genius-organisation/dp/1922391042/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Corporate+innervation&qid=1623763261&sr=8-1
Follow us on Instagram @TheRiseAbovePodcast for bonus content - Be sure to pay it forward and share it with a friend!
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Interview Transcript
[00:36] Bram: Welcome everybody to episode number six of the rise above podcast. Today I've got a very special guest Ally Mueller. Ally is an innovation leader. Ally is a speaker. Ally is the author of corporate intervention, unlocking the genius inside your organization. Ally is the founder and managing director of Goya Consulting. Ally, how are you doing today?
[00:59] Ally: Good, thank you. Thank you for having me on.
[01:02] Bram: You're very welcome. Thank you for agreeing to do this. We're definitely getting into a few fun things here today to get the ball rolling. I do have some icebreakers here for you. The floor is all yours. Feel free if you want to answer a short, simple, or if you want to elaborate on anything, it's all yours. What is your favorite movie?
[01:24] Ally: Well, it's a tough one cause I'm a bit of a cinephile. but my favorite movie is actually Casablanca and I know a lot of people love that, but I actually thinkthat's a perfectly written and executed story. That's why it's my favorite.
[01:41] Bram: Classics. Awesome. Okay. Aside from your own, what is your favorite book?
[01:47] Ally: My favorite book, well, I love reading novels, so I really love the book Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. That's something I read when I was in high school and something I reread quite regularly. I really love it.
[02:01] Bram: Awesome. Okay. What is your favorite place to travel?
[02:06] Ally: I really love France. I've been there probably about 22 times. I think it is. I am looking forward to this post COVID world, so I can get back there and do a bit more travel. I just love traveling through the countryside and speaking the language and eating the foods. All those beautiful things.
[02:27] Bram: Who are some of your mentors or influences?
[02:31] Ally: Some of my mentors and influences, I've got some people that I worked with in Australia, some personal mentors, and things like that. They've certainly helped me on my journey. In terms of looking for a wide audience, I'm always looking to many different people and many different things. I don't like to narrow it down into just one set of people. I really love the work of Simon Sinek. I think that is really great, but it's really only one aspect. I like to couple that up with the work of people like Renee Brown and what they've done in that space.
Then if we think about, what people like Michael Porter have done at Harvard University and how they've brought management theory to life in a whole different way and giving it a really strategic perspective. I like to look at all the different pieces of work t

Fine Artist & Social Activist Natia Lemay joins Bram Bains on this episode of The Rise Above Podcast. Natia talks about deciding to leave the corporate world to pursue her passion for Art; Natia shares her story and the inspiration behind her work - to inspire social change - and describes the influences that shape her work. Natia explains Art Culture by drawing parallels to Hip Hop & the Music Industry. 
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Interview Transcript
[00:01] Bram: Warning this episode of the rise above podcast does contain some coarse language. I would strongly advise if you have any children in the room with you to please stop listening and come back later when it's safe to do so hope you guys enjoy. Thank you.
You're now tuned in to the rise above podcast interviews with everyday people that are building a better life as we speak. For those building and business from scratch, climbing the corporate ladder, or simply following their dreams to rise above to the next level.
Welcome everybody to episode number five of the rise above podcast. Today, I'm being joined by a very special guest. A good friend of mine Natia Lemay. Natia is a mother. She's an artist. She's an activist. In the fall, Natia is going to be a student. She'll be attending the Yale Master of Fine Art program. Natia, how are you doing today? 
[01:16] Natia: Good. How are you?
[01:17] Bram: Doing great. Thank you for joining me. I really appreciate your time. It's a long weekend here and you've been generous with your time to connect and do this episode. Before we get into some of the questions, I'm going to ask you some icebreakers here, just to kind of get the ball rolling. Don't overthink anything. If you want to give simple answers, or if you want to elaborate on anything, feel free. The floor is yours.
[01:42] Natia: I will say, I didn't know it was a long weekend until this morning. Thanks for reiterating how stupid I am. I had no clue that Monday was a holiday. I had no idea. I'm like, why is everyone talking about what they're going to do on Monday? Don't people work on Monday? It was a moment. Okay, go ahead. Ice breakers. 
[02:05] Bram: All good. What is your favorite book?
[02:09] Natia: My favorite book right now is called the name of the wind. It's like a trilogy, but only two of the three have been written and I've been waiting 10 years for the third one. I've read the first one, like three, four times. It's a fantasy novel, but it's beautifully written. I will say my favorite thing about this book is that the main character as a musician and the way the author writes about music, it's like, you can hear the music while reading the book. It's like the most bizarre thing ever, but you can feel the emotion of the music while you're reading it. That's why I love that book, man. Depends on the decade, but I read a lot. 
[02:48] Bram: What is your favorite movie?
[02:51] Natia: Oh, the matrix always.
[02:54] Bram: What did you name your first car?
[02:57] Natia: I never named a car. Why is that a thing? I never named a car ever. I remember my best friend's first car. She named it Oreo because she was a white girl in the car was black. She was like a black of the outside and white on the inside. But that was the only time that I've ever met anyone that name their car. Yeah. It's weird.
[03:23] Bram: What would be the title of your autobiography?
[03:26] Natia: Wow. I don't know. That's a hard question. I have no idea. I can't answer that one. I don't know. My parents had a book written about them. It was called the stroll. Maybe it'd be like the stroll 2.0, I don't know. We do not live the same life. I don't think it'd be appropriate to be named after their book, but yeah, no answer.
[03:47] Bram: That's cool. I didn't know that about you, that your parents had a

Owner/Operator of Algonquin Pines Campground Chance Ott joins Bram Bains on this episode of The Rise Above Podcast. Chance talks about leaving a Corporate Job to start his own business and shares some business insights on how to accumulate wealth. 
Follow us on Instagram @TheRiseAbovePodcast for bonus content - Be sure to pay it forward and share it with a friend!
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Interview Transcript
[00:35] Bram: Welcome everybody to the rise above podcast. Today we've got a very special episode. I'm being joined here by Chance Ott. Chance is a father. He's a former insurance broker turned entrepreneur. Chance is the owner and operator of Algonquin Pines Campground. How are you doing today Chance? 
[00:56] Chance: I'm doing well Bram, thanks for having me on. 
[00:59] Bram: You're very welcome. I'm happy that you're here. We're going to talk about your story, your campground, your business, and all kinds of fun stuff. Before we get into it. I bought some icebreakers here for you. Some quick questions. Floor is all yours. Okay?
[01:14] Chance: Okay. Let's get into it. 
[01:15] Bram: Let's get into it. What is your favorite movie? 
[01:20] Chance: I'd say my favorite movie is Goodfellas, Goodfellas or Casino. Classics. 
[01:22] Bram: What is your favorite book?
[01:24] Chance: I've been reading the millionaire next door, really enjoying it. I think it's good advice about staying humble and creating wealth. 
[01:33] Bram: Who is your favorite actor?
[01:37] Chance: I don't get caught up in celebrities to be honest. I probably don't have a favorite actor. I like all the raunchy comedies. But I guess if I had to pick a favorite actor, I'd say Leo.
[01:49] Bram: What is your favorite place to travel? 
[01:51] Chance: Malta. My wife and I booked a trip to Malta. We were going to Italy. We wanted to do a multi coast. But we figured we'd add another trip. Like make it like a 10, 14-day kind of trip. There was a cheap flight to Malta. I didn't know much about it. It's awesome. Anybody who hasn't been there, you should go. It's cheap. Everybody speaks English. The food is a great mix of African and Mediterranean and Italian. It's a really cool spot and you don't need to be there long. You can see everything in a short period of time.
[02:23] Bram: Who has been a mentor figure for you?
[02:28] Chance: My father. Pretty cliche answer, but my father was a career entrepreneur. He started and sold businesses. Built up businesses, kind of brought them back from the grave. Growing up with parents who are running their own business, it was always my goal to be an entrepreneur. I'll say my mother didn't get enough credit for it. She did all the books and the administrative stuff on the back end and really was the brains and the glue. Probably didn't get the credit that she deserved. Everybody looks at it and give credit to my father. So, my parents.
[03:05] Bram: What has been your favorite item that you've purchased during this pandemic?
[03:10] Chance: Patagonia rain gear? I would like to spend a lot of time outside. We were on a campground. I like to go fishing, hiking anything in the woods. I didn't have solid rain gear. Patagonia, rain gear. I treated myself. 
[03:23] Bram: What is something that you've tried and you would never try again. 
[03:28] Chance: I'm pretty open to trying new foods. I guess some of the crazier seafoods I'm not into. Like anything I need to pick out of a shell with a weird device, I'd say it would be something like that.
[03:42] Bram: If you were to sail around the world, what would be the name of your boat?
[03:49] Chance: I wouldn't name it. I wouldn't be sailing, so I wouldn't have a boat.
[03:55] Bram: If you're in the Olympics, winter or summer, what is it that you're going to be winning gold for? 
[04:03] Chance: I'm not winning gold for anything. I'll say it's going to be summer and it's going to be spe

Founder & CEO of an SEO Marketing Agency Jeff Peroutka joins Bram Bains on this episode of The Rise Above Podcast. They talk about the Art & Science behind the Modern Day SEO of 2021 and Jeff gives advice to Entrepreneurs on how to build processes. 
Follow us on Instagram @TheRiseAbovePodcast for bonus content - Be sure to pay it forward and share it with a friend!
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Interview Transcript
[00:35] Bram: Welcome everybody to the rise above podcast. Today, we have a very special episode today. I have Jeff Peroutka joining me. Jeff is a founder and CEO of Core Marketing. Core Marketing is an SEO firm. How are you doing today, Jeff?
[00:51] Jeff: Pretty good. Pretty good. Thanks for having me. 
[00:54] Bram: You're very welcome. As we get into it, I'm going to go through a couple of icebreakers there with you to get the ball rolling. Then we'll jump into the interview. We'll learn a little bit more about you get into your story, kind of what your vision is and where you see this business going into the future. What is your favorite movie?
[01:11] Jeff: My favorite movie is Jobs by Steve jobs? If you talk to any of my friends, they'll tell you that I've probably seen that movie at least 50 times. I just think it's a really good story. You know, Steve jobs is definitely oneof those figures that I got a lot of motivation from, just kind of hearing his story, how he overcame so many obstacles down the road. I think it's just really inspiring and great movie. Yeah. 
[01:40] Bram: Good stuff. What is your favorite book and why?
[01:44] Jeff: I would say the Alchemist. I think it's a really, really good book. It's a short book. But it's just so jam packed with life lessons. I think it's just perfect. There areso many different things that, you kind of think about and yeah, that's great. 
[02:03] Bram: Nice. That's a great book. What is your favorite place to travel? 
[02:09] Jeff: My favorite place to travel is probably Bali. I'm born and raised in Hawaii, but Bali's kind of the beautiful aspect of Hawaiian island culture. But it's still very, I guess, undiscovered undeveloped which is just super beautiful. It's kinda got that old roots beauty to it and it's really cheap and yeah, it's just awesome. I encourage everyone to go check it out. 
[02:33] Bram: Who is your favorite actor or actress? 
[02:38] Jeff: I'll say Liam Neeson. I really like Liam Neeson. He's a really good actor. I think. All his movies are just really good. 
[02:46] Bram: Who do you look at as kind of like a mentor figure? 
[02:50] Jeff: Yeah, I would say moving it back to Steve Jobs like I mentioned. I think Steve Jobs is a really goodkind of mentor figure, just because he, like I said, overcame a lot of obstacles. I think lately Tim Ferris is a guy that I definitely turn to for a lot of insight and inspiration. There's a lot to learn from that guy and not only does he have really great books but like his podcasts and so forth are just so packed full of information. 
[03:20] Bram: Okay. Cool. All right. Jeff why don't you tell us a little bit about your story, your background, how you set this company up and what inspired you, and currently where you're at today? 
[03:36] Jeff: Pretty interesting little story. Actually, startedkind of my entrepreneurial break probably when I was a sophomore in college. I basically came up with this idea. It was called fit. It was my previous company before this one, it was an iPhone app. The way that we were selling it was basically kind of like different clothes, a new way of shopping this gamified shopping experience, the machine learning algorithm.
Yeah, basically I was kind of working on that pretty hardfor about two to three years. Then right when COVID hits it kind of rattled everyone's cage, especially because, in my head I was a senior in college and I was like, hey, I'm going to graduate. I'm going to make this my full t