Founder Fundamentals for week six was with Jackson Lai, Partner at BDO Canada, leading a session on grants, tax credits, and non-dilutive funding opportunities for Canadian entrepreneurs. With over 15 years of experience in technology and product development, Jackson shared practical insights on navigating government funding programs, understanding eligibility requirements, and aligning financial support with […]
Founder Fundamentals returned for week five this Fall 2026, with Aziz Smailagic, Sales Team Lead at Ownr, an RBC-owned business registration and incorporation platform, leading a session on business banking and financial setup. Drawing from five years at Ownr and conversations with over 10,000 entrepreneurs, Aziz shared practical insights on choosing the right business structure, […]
Founder Fundamentals returned for week four this Fall 2026, with entrepreneur, sales coach, and business advisor Vincent Tsang leading a session on founder-led sales and customer acquisition. Drawing from over 25 years of entrepreneurial experience, including bootstrapping a company from a $3,000 investment to seven-figure annual revenue and a successful acquisition, Vincent shared practical strategies […]
Founder Fundamentals was back for week three this Fall 2026, with Kira Kelsie from Kasm Consulting leading a session on how founders can build a go-to-market strategy grounded in real customer evidence. From identifying a focused beachhead customer and understanding the problem they are trying to solve to recognizing buying triggers, refining positioning, choosing the […]
For the second session of Founder Fundamentals this Fall 2026, Talitha McCloskey from Growclass led a session on how founders can scope out a real market opportunity before investing heavily in an idea. From identifying the right customer and understanding how they currently solve a problem to assessing alternatives, researching demand, and testing assumptions, the […]
Founder Fundamentals is back this Fall 2026, and our first session was led by Andrew Ko from Futurpreneur Canada. The session focused on how founders can validate a business idea before investing heavily in it and turn that evidence into a practical business plan. From identifying the right customer and sharpening a value proposition to […]
In this week’s episode of Founder Fundamentals, Prayalini Sathanantham, founder of Lianas Collective, joined to share how founders can intentionally shape leadership and culture from the very beginning of their business journey. Drawing from her experience in accounting, employee engagement, culture strategy, and organizational development, Prayalini unpacked why culture is not something that appears later […]
In this week’s episode of Founder Fundamentals, Tanika McLeod joined the community to share practical insights on how founders can build strong startup teams through passion, purpose, and equity. Drawing from her experience building and scaling a startup through multiple pivots, difficult funding moments, and eventual acquisition, Tanika unpacked what it really takes to find […]
In this week’s episode of Founder Fundamentals, Moshe Mikanovsky, founder and product coach at Products for Good, joined the community to share practical insights on when founders should and should not build with AI. Drawing from his experience across software development, product management, startup coaching, and AI-powered product development, Moshe unpacked the difference between traditional […]
In this week’s episode of Founder Fundamentals, Laura Gabor, founder of What in the Tech, joined the community to share practical insights on the art of pitching and storytelling. Drawing from her experience across startups, media, venture, and operations, Laura unpacked what makes a pitch effective, why storytelling matters in every founder conversation, and how […]
