The Venture Podcast

Roy Itzhaki is the founder of BizDev Labs - an outbound BDR agency trusted by over 70 high-growth startups. BizDev Labs helps B2B SaaS companies develop their go-to-market strategies and has generated over $1 million in profit annually. Before he started BizDev Labs, he was an Olympic-class windsurfer, graduated from the Smith School of Business at Queens, and was a top performer in various BDR roles out of school. Listen in as Roy shares what made him so successful as a BDR, his secret formula for cold email and outreach, and how he grew BizDev Labs to several reputable clients without even having a website.  

Daniel Mazour and Michael Spivak are the co-founders of Coldture - Canada’s first and only proudly Canadian cold plunge tub. Michael and Daniel both come from immigrant families and share how the values of accountability, perseverance, and risk tolerance contributed to creating a category-defining brand in the Canadian market. The two have previously appeared on Dragons’ Den where they inked a deal with Michelle Romanow.

Cameron Rowe is the founder and CEO of Hover - Canada's first publicly available drone delivery service on the Toronto Islands. Cameron received a Master's from the Smith School of Business and has since had a ton of experience in the entrepreneurial world between starting many businesses and working with various entrepreneurial communities such as Techstars, Next36, FreshFounders, and Dragon’s Den.  Listen in as Cameron shares his experience as a solo founder of a drone company, his passion for endurance sports like marathons and Ironman’s, and all the ups and downs he's had in his journey so far.

Nelson Lang is the Founder of Pita Pit, a quick-service restaurant with over 600 locations worldwide. Nelson founded the company in his late twenties and built it into the massive franchise restaurant brand it is today before selling the company to Foodtastic in 2021. With no intention of retiring, Nelson bought Lightcaster Brewery and is now the managing partner. Listen in as Nelson shares his story all the way from getting kicked out of the house in grade 11, owning his first restaurant at 21, to founding Pita Pit and turning it into a global success. Chapters: 1:00 - Childhood and Early Years 3:00 - Nelson's First Restaurant 9:00 - Kingston Restaurant Market 13:00 - First Customer 15:00 - Franchising and Expansion 20:00 - First Competitor 25:00 - Work Hours 28:00 - Pita Pit Adversity and Financial Trouble 31:00 - New Venture: Light Caster Brewery 34:00 - International Franchising 36:00 - Fraud Pita Pit in Korea 38:00 - What makes a good Franchisee? 41:00 - Partners and Ownership 44:00 - Restaurant Industry Finances 48:00 - Advice to Aspiring Entrepreneurs 53:00 - When the switch flipped to become an Entrepreneur 55:00 - Career Paths out of University 58:00 - Competition 1:00:00 - Fear of Failure and Perseverance 1:02:00 - Family Owned Business's 1:05:00 - Selling Pita Pit 1:08:00 - Nelson's New Venture 1:14:00 - Nelson's First Jobs 1:15:00 - Being the Boss 1:16:00 - Final Takeaways and Advice

Jonathan is the Founder of Captain Experiences, an online platform that connects adventure-seeking people to tour guides, primarily for fishing and hunting trips. Jonathan was a business student at the University of Georgia and worked various investment banking roles in the energy sector when one day, he was tasked with booking a celebratory fishing trip for his team after completing a successful deal. It was at this moment that he noticed there was an opportunity in the market to help people find and book fishing trips quicker and easier.  Listen in as Jonathan shares his journey building a company in an area he’s been passionate about his whole life, his involvement with Techstars, and all the learnings he's had along the way.

Trent is the founder of SAXX, a men's comfort underwear brand. Trent started his journey as a student-athlete at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas and soon after completed his MBA at Ivey Business School. It was at Ivey where Trent had the vision for SAXX to which he pitched for the Ivey New Venture Project. The rest is history as SAXX has gone on to become a multimillion-dollar company. But Trent didn't stop there, he then went on to found three other successful companies in the wellness space.  Listen in as Trent shares his founding story, his experience building multiple ventures, and the advice he has for young people to start compounding experiences, relationships, and knowledge.

Nikita Kopotun is the Co-founder and President of Juniper which provides custom merchandising solutions for the world’s largest online creators. Nikita started Juniper in 2016 and bootstrapped the company to over $150M+ in revenue. In this episode, Nikita opens up about his journey from being an engineering student at Queen's, his experience with Cansbridge Fellowship living and working in China which changed his whole worldview and perspective on what to do after school, building companies and failing, and the trials and triumphs of launching Juniper. He also offers some great advice to students and entrepreneurs about not waiting for the perfect moment and the importance of learning by doing. I'm lucky to have caught Nikita fresh off travelling the world for the last year and a half, so listen in on his takeaways from this experience and life lessons that have enriched his personal and professional life.

Brandon Afari is the Co-founder and CEO of chargeFUZE - a provider of portable chargers for rent to consumers at static locations. Brandon shares his journey from earning a Bachelor's in accounting and a Master's in taxation from USC, his experience working at Deloitte where he learned the importance of understanding accounting principles when starting any business, and his decision to leave and pursue his venture.

Luke de Haas is the Co-founder and CEO of Mosea - a mobile payments platform with a focus on group payments, bill splitting, and organizing events. Luke shares his story from starting the company right out of university, dealing with the hardships of a start-up, persevering in the face of wanting to quit, and all the rewarding experiences and important lessons he learned along the way.

Chris is the Co-founder and President of Convictional - the #1 modern dropshiping platform for retailers and suppliers. Convictional is backed by Y-combinator and was one of the top 10 startups from Y-Combinator W19 demo day. Chris shares his story from being a Queen's student studying commerce, his experience with on-campus recruiting, working for Shopify, attending the Y-Combinator startup school, and his founding story. Chris provides some extraordinary advice for aspiring entrepreneurs and students trying to answer the question of "What's next?".