In this episode of the Startup Women podcast, we speak with Rashmi Prakash and Nadia Ladak, two innovative leaders in the menstrual health space. They discuss their journeys in creating Aruna Revolution and Marlow, the challenges they face in securing investment, and the importance of community building and education around menstrual health.

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In this episode of the Startup Woman podcast, Lori Casselman discusses her journey in launching June Health, a digital health platform focused on supporting midlife women through perimenopause and menopause. She shares insights on the unique challenges women face during this transition, the spectrum of symptoms that can arise, and the importance of reframing the narrative around menopause.

Watch this episode on YouTube.

In this episode, hosts Kayla Isabelle and Melanie Ewan welcome Ella Farlinger and Serina Ahmad, the co-founders of trusti, a platform aimed at making STI testing more accessible and stigma-free. The conversation explores the founders' backgrounds, the vision behind trusti, the challenges of sexual health education, insights into the FemTech ecosystem, and the importance of building trust and community in health.

Watch this episode on Youtube. 

Guests:
Jaclyn Patterson is the Founder of Shopwise, an online sustainable fashion marketplace, making it easier for people to discover and shop smarter from more than 30 purpose driven brands that prioritize both people and the planet.

Christal Duncan Earle founded Brave Soles in 2017. Brave Soles creates handcrafted shoes with upcycled tire soles and is focused on providing opportunities for their customers and fans to love the story behind what they own.

Resources:
Connect with Jaclyn on LinkedIn
Connect with Christal on LinkedIn
Learn more about Shopwise and purpose driven brands and apparel
Get started with Ownr 
Learn more about where clothing, apparel comes from in The True Cost documentary 

Guests:

Tia Upshaw is a dynamic, serial entrepreneur and the Founder and CEO of Blk Women in Excellence.

Tashauna Reid is the owner of College Creative Curations, an online stationery store which addresses common student challenges by creating purposeful stationery items.

Resources:
Learn more about BWIE 
Connect with BWIE's workshops and events 
Check out BWIE's Black Heritage Month 28 Day Campaign

Freelancing is a very unique style of entrepreneurship. For freelancers, they are able to achieve flexibility and do work they are great at. For founders, freelancers are key contributors to their projects and business. In this episode, we talk about the tangible tools that allow freelancers to be successful and how to develop strong, empathetic and successful relationships with them, as founders.

Guests:

Sandra Reimer is a marketing matchmaker at CoLabourNation. Sandra connects overwhelmed founders with Canadian freelancers to accelerate their success by outsourcing marketing and admin.

Jasmine Williams is a Writer, Content Marketing Consultant, and Freelance Coach at Jasmine Williams Media. Jasmine supports creative entrepreneurs, consultants, and growth-stage startups scale with strategic content marketing consulting and coaching.

Resources:


Connect with Sandra on LinkedIn


Connect with Jasmine on LinkedIn


Register your business with Ownr


Discover your strengths. Take Working Genius or Clifton’s Strengths assessments

Outsource your frustrations with Sandra’s guide to hiring trusted freelancers

Find contracts to hire freelancers Hello Bonsai 


Explore Jasmine's freelancing resources, like her business set-up checklist and rate calculator.


Looking for community? Join Jasmine’s Click Worthy Creatives

Check out Jasmine's Freelance Curious newsletter 

Check out Jasmine’s Freelance Business Checklist 

Conor Phillips is an innovator, creative problem solver and serial-entrepreneur, based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. After working in the tourism industry for several years, Conor recognized that something was missing from how small businesses promote their products and services, and how travellers discover the activities, events, festivals and accommodations around them, particularly the tourism they don't know exists. Which led Conor to build her startup, Pathfinder365.   

Natasha Peter is the mind and hands behind Kaska Dena Designs, where she creates pieces that are traditional, modern, and luxurious, including everything from clothing to jewellery. After navigating a dark time in her life, Natasha turned to creating and realized her skills were a source of healing, and gave her purpose and direction.

Resources from this episode: 
Startup Canada's SWAN Cohort for 2023.
Check our Mitacs for innovation and research support 
Check out Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan
For entrepreneurs in the North, check out Incubate North

Have you ever googled the word entrepreneur? What kind of images show up? Who kind of folks do you see represented and associated with the word ‘entrepreneur’. 
More often than not, it isn't women and we believe that needs to change because women are disrupting industries, they are making deep social impact and they are incredibly successful.

Guests:

Dr.Wendy Cukier is the Founder and Academic Director of the Diversity Institute and Academic Director of the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub. (WEKH)


Vivian Liu is the Founder of mae, Making Auto Easy.

Resources:

Explore WEKH's Research on The State of Women Entrepreneurship 2023
Learn more about WEKH's See It Be It campaign
Key data on women entrepreneurship from WEKH
Explore mae's Car Buying Guide For Women

 

The world is your oyster, its full of opportunities.

But what about trade agreements, laws, market research, and shipping costs?  For entrepreneurs who want to go global, opportunities for growth can quickly feel risky, unclear and even out of reach. For Black and racialized entrepreneurs, these feelings are often amplified.

Evelyne Nyairo is the Founder of Ellie Bianca, a natural and luxury skin care line made in Canada with organic and sustainable ingredients. Myriam Francisque is the National Lead for Black and Racialized exporters at Export Development Canada, where she guides entrepreneurs on their global journeys.

Guests:
Evelyne Nyairo is the Founder of Ellie Bianca.
Myriam Francisque is the National Lead at Export Development Canada for Black and Racialized Exporters.

Resources

Grow your business with EDC Webinars 
Discover EDC's Export Help Hub
Explore what your export journey can look like with EDC
Take the Trade Commissioner Service's export readiness quiz 
Explore the Trade Commissioner Service's step by step guide to exporting 
Explore funding and support for international business
Check out the Canadian International Innovation Program 
Learn more about Exporting from Canada

In this episode, we will explore Brood’s story, one that came to be through a passion for babies, friendship, and families. Emma Devin and Lizzy Karp have developed a language of care and through this conversation we are able to learn how the words we use affect the experience people can have. This conversation reminds us to look at parents and caretakers as whole beings, highlights the need for better education around setting up parental leave systems and brings awareness to creating workplaces that are safe and inclusive for all kinds of parents, caretakers and families. 

Guests:
Emma Devin is Co-Founder and Chief People and Product Officer at Brood Care Inc.
Lizzy Karp is Co-Founder and CEO of Brood Care Inc.

Resources
Use code STARTUP for 25% off all Brood courses at www.broodcare.com
Check out this paid family leave guide.   
A great read on using gender neutral language

Ivy Wong is the Founder of Ripple Foundation, a non-profit created to inspire imaginations,  and foster creativity and literacy for children in Canada. Today, Ripple Foundation serves communities across the country and children and youth at various stages of their writing journeys. Megan Poole is the Manager of Community and Community Relations at The 519 in Toronto. The 519 is a registered charity dedicated to the health, happiness and full participation of 2SLGBTQI+ communities.

Resources:
Connect with Ivy Wong, of Ripple Foundation
Connect with Megan Poole, of The 519
Donate to Ripple Foundation
Donate to The 519
Check out Canada Helps to donate 
Explore non-profit discounts through Tech Soup

Money matters for entrepreneurs and for business owners. It can also be a source of stress, shame and overwhelm. Chris and Melissa have advice for you to feel more comfortable with making and managing money as a women entrepreneur.

Guests:
Chris McMartin is our Topic Expert. Chris leads The Scotiabank Women Initiative Small Business Strategy across Canada. In this role, Chris is committed to building a program that helps women overcome the challenges they face on their path to success when starting, sustaining, and growing a business.

Melissa Houston is our Featured Founder. Melissa is the author of Cash Confident: An Entrepreneur's Guide to Creating a Profitable Business. Melissa is passionate about helping business owners optimize the profit of their businesses so they can keep more money in their pockets. Melissa is a CPA with over two decades of experience and loves to share her knowledge.

Resources

Connect with Chris McMartin
Access to The Scotiabank Women Initiative
Connect with Melissa Houston
Learn from Melissa and her book Cash Confident
Listen to the The Finance Cafe podcast

Chelsea Howard is the Founder of Drift Employer Brand Consulting. Chelsea is a workforce strategist, partnering with companies from a range of industries to build human-centric culture and employee experience strategies. Mary Wildman is a First Nations Indigenous woman from Curve Lake First Nation. Mary is a vibrant warrior who works to build relationships and form connections, is a motivational speaker and and Indigenous influencer with a mission to advocate for Indigenous People and also help diverse groups become great allies and make an impact in our communities.

 

Resources:

Check out Chelsea Howard and Drift's Resource Hub 
Connect with Mary Wildman for speaking and consulting
Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Report 
Learn from Indigenomics Institute

 

Your venture needs funding, how you get there can be up to you.

In this episode, Kailey shares NONA Vegan's fundraising journey while Shelley chimes in with insight and advice for funding your business so you can grow.

"Founders should put themselves first. I want to understand their judgment, I need to see that they are coachable. I love companies who marry a social impact to their business and it isn't a trade off."

Guests:
Shelley Kuipers is Co-CEO, General Partner and Growth Officer at The51, where she is transforming the status quo to create a more equitable, feminist and ecologically sustainable business.

Kailey Gilchrist is the Founder of NONA Vegan, where she brings the comfort and nourishment of an Italian mamma's home cooking to your meals.

Resources:
To learn more from Shelley Kuipers, check out The51 
Check out The51's Financial Feminist Lab
Explore the Financial Feminist Dictionary 
Connect with Ellen Farrell, Investor Ready
Connect with the Trade Commissioner Service for funding, exporting advice and more

Entrepreneurship is a rollercoaster, with high highs and low lows. Add in navigating a new country and all of the emotions and learnings that come along with it, that is a whole new rollercoaster.

In this episode, we hear from two women entrepreneurs who left home and came to Canada for a new life. Through their journeys, we quickly learn that newcomer entrepreneurs are the biggest risk takers of all.

Guests: 

Karla Briones is a proud Mexican-Canadian entrepreneur with retail, food and online businesses such as Global Pet Foods and Freshii. She is also the Founder of KB Consulting.

Vanessa Teran is a Digital Product Marketer and Clean-tech entrepreneur. Vanessa is co-founder of AQUA Preserve.

Resources:
To learn more from Karla Briones, check out her blog and website
To connect with Vanessa, view her LinkedIn
Check out Pocketed for grants and funding opportunities
Check out Access Capital Fund, an accelerator program for women
Learn more about BDC's Newcomer Entrepreneur programs
If you are under 39, check out Futurpreneur
If you live in Canada, check out our own Startup Global program 

When entrepreneurs hear Make Lemonade, they likely think of Rachel Kelly - but what is the secret to achieving this and how do you do it?

Reagan Bradley, is a personal brand strategist, or in her words ‘a part time investigator, and part time storyteller’, guiding entrepreneurs to find their authenticity, and curate the right story so they can clearly express who they are, what they do, and how they do it.  

Rachel’s Make Lemonade began as a vibrant co-working space in Toronto, and today it is a boutique floral studio that blossomed out of her desire for change and a pivot she knew she needed to make. In this episode, Reagan draws on Rachel’s experience to illustrate what a brand is, and what is is not, and the tactics that will help you build a strong brand for both you and your business.

Guests:

Rachel Kelly is a motorcycle riding, community builder creating floral art in the heart of Toronto through Make Lemonade.

Reagan Bradley is part investigator, part storyteller who helps service-based businesses become known through strong personal brands. 

Resources:
To learn more from Reagan, check out her website

Need flowers? Connect with Rachel at Make Lemonade

Read Careergasm by Sarah Vermunt

Learn from Meg Lewis of Full Time You

Read Storyategy by Matt Davies

Expressing our emotions at work is not always easy, but what if paying more attention to our behaviours and emotional needs made us better leaders? Leaders who could hire according to their emotional inventory, operate in a more self aware state and create emotionally in tuned and strong teams that support business growth.

Daisy Wright, who supports folks as they transition in their careers and guides them as they enter leadership roles, discusses how emotions show up at work for first time leaders - providing examples we can all learn from. Carolyn Stern, an emotional intelligence instructor and expert, draws on Daisy’s experience to illustrate principles and tactics that will encourage you to feel what you feel, deeply, so you can be an emotionally strong leader.

Guests:

Daisy Wright is the Founder and Chief Encouragement Officer of The Wright Career Solution and an award-winning executive career coach.

Carolyn Stern is the author of The Emotionally Strong Leader and is the President and CEO of EI Experience, an executive leadership development, and emotional intelligence training firm.

Resources:

Check out more resources from Carolyn: https://eiexperience.com/resources/emotional-intelligence-tools/
Check out Carolyn's book
Check out Daisy's services and Daisy's books  
The Gottman Institute's Feelings Wheel 
Book: How to be an Inclusive Leader by Jennifer Brown
Book: Expect to Win: 10 Proven Strategies for Thriving in the Workplace by Carla Harris
Book: The Little Black Book of Success - Laws of Leadership for Black Women by Elaine Meryl Brown, Marsha Haygood and Rhonda Joy McLean
Book: Better Allies - Everyday Actions to Create Inclusive, Engaging Workplaces by Karen Catlin
Book: TRUST – Twenty Ways to Build a Better Country by Rt. Hon. David Johnston (Former Governor General of Canada)
Book: Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck 
Book: No Limits, How to Blow the Cap off Your Capacity by John Maxwell 

Monique Hutson is the Founder and Lead Content Producer of Dom Productions. After running the business for 6 years, her mindset and missions have changed and evolved, they have had to. Cheryl Sutherland is the Founder of PleaseNotes, a business she has built to help women step into their power by building confidence, clarity, and creativity. Together, we talk about the mindsets we must adopt to integrate new things into business, and practise being the person we want to become for ourselves, and for our companies.


Resources: 

Use code StartupWomen for 15% off Cheryl's courses, journals and products 

Read Happy Money by Ken Honda , a book about making peace with your money
Read Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert, a book on ideas and creativity
Read Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss, a book on negotiation and Chris Voss's masterclass 

Is diversity, equity and inclusion a destination or a journey?

Jess Dassanayake is the Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of BinoBooks. BinoBooks exists to help children understand important topics like the COVID-19 pandemic, gender, body image, and more,  through personalized e-books. With representation at its center, BinoBooks is reinventing reading. Camille Dundas is a Racial Equity Educator at The IDEA Practice, and also is the Co-Founder and Editor in Chief of Canada's largest Black online magazine ByBlacks.com. Together, we explore the behaviors and systems that must be in place to ensure folks feel represented, respected, appreciated, and safe.

Guests:

Jess Dassanayake is the Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer at BinoBooks.

Camille Dundas is a Racial Equity Educator at The IDEA Practice, and also is the Co-Founder and Editor in Chief of ByBlacks.com

Resources:
Diversity and Inclusion as Outcomes, Learn more from Lily Zheng 
Building psychological safety with Madison Butler
Cultivating Safe and Inclusive spaces with Teneile Warren 
Learn more from Camille Dundas
Check out BinoBooks and Jess's work

 

 

Impact isn’t always a number or a dollar amount. Often it is a story.

Jacqueline Sofia and Noora Sharrab are the founders of SITTI Social Enterprise, a venture that exists to improve the lives of refugees and displaced communities. Sagal Dualeh is the Senior Director of the Investment Readiness Program at Canada’s Women Foundation, supporting women and gender-diverse entrepreneurs to fund their impact-first businesses. Together, we discuss how to navigate operating as a social enterprise and how to acquire funding for important missions like this.

Guests:

Jacqueline Sofia and Noora Sharrab are the founders of SITTI Social Enterprise, a venture that exists to improve the lives of refugees and displaced communities. SITTI received funding from the Investment Readiness Program in 2020.

Sagal Dualeh is the Senior Director of the Investment Readiness Program at Canada Women’s Foundation where she supports women and gender-diverse founders to access government funding so they can scale their social ventures.


Resources:

Startup Canada: Startup Women Advisory Program
Applications for the Investment Readiness Program open November 30th - Learn more
Tips for Communicating Your Impact 
The Common Approach - Measuring Your Impact
Learn more about Social Finance and Social Innovation through SETSI