Taufiq Rahim is one of Canada’s global citizens. He is an investor and an international problem solver. Over the last two decades and in over 20 countries, Taufiq has driven investment, convened conversations and brought together public and private partnerships addressing the most pertinent global issues - from disruptive technology to economic development to geopolitics to global health. His current focus is on shifts in the global order and how individuals and institutions can capture...

Jen Lee Koss is an entrepreneur and investor, passionate about supporting, uplifting, and changing the lives of entrepreneurs and working families. She is a founding partner of Springbank Collective, an investment fund that supports early-stage companies re-imagining work, building the care infrastructure, and developing solutions for working families. Through Springbank, Jen is actively shaping the future of work and family life, by backing startups that leverage technology and community to...

Anthonia Ogundele is the Founder and Executive Director of the Ethos Lab Educational Society. Ethos Lab is a non-profit STEM and culture-focused Innovation Academy for youth ages 13-18 that provides access to emerging technologies, culture, and a community of innovators.  Antonia’s career has been as a resilience professional. Most recently, she was with VanCity Credit Union. And has held various positions in Emergency Management within the Ontario Government and continues to consult with the...

In episode 80 of the Afternoon T Podcast, Chris sits down for a chat with the Consul General of Canada in San Fransisco, Rana Sarkar. Rana has also held various senior leadership positions in the public and private sectors. He served as the National Director for High Growth Markets at KPMG Canada, where he advised Canadian companies on how to expand into emerging markets. He also worked as the President and CEO of the Canada-India Business Council and had various roles in multiple great...

This week TTT president and co-founder Chris Hobbs sits down with the CEO of Startup Canada, Kayla Isabelle for Episode 79 of the Afternoon "T" Podcast. With over a decade of experience in the startup ecosystem, Kayla is an expert in supporting entrepreneurs and building thriving startup communities across the country. During our conversation, we'll be discussing Kayla's insights on the challenges facing Canadian entrepreneurs, the latest trends and innovations in the startup world, and how...

Episode 78 of the Afternoon "T" Podcast finds Chris Hobbs chatting with the founder of Lions Gate International, Maninder Dhaliwal. In addition to being the President and Co-founder of Lions Gate International Maninder is also the Managing Partner at Startup Studio - an Accelerator & Early Stage Venture Capital Fund, the Founding Chair of TiE Incubation Lab with a focus on supporting Canadian Pre-seed Startups, and serves on the steering committee for TiE Global Angels, the largest angel...

For episode 77 of the Afternoon "T" Podcast Chris sits down to chat with Canadian VC legend John Ruffolo. John is the founder and Managing Partner at Maverix Private Equity, as well as the former CEO of OMERS Ventures, one of the largest and most active venture capital firms in Canada. Under his leadership, OMERS Ventures invested in several successful Canadian startups, including Shopify, Xanadu, Jobber, Hootsuite,  Desire 2 Learn, Hopper,  League, and Wattpad.  John also co-founded the...

Andre Charoo is a prominent figure in the venture capital industry, known for his expertise in early-stage investments and his ability to identify promising startups. Andre Charoo began his career in finance before transitioning to the venture capital industry working with some legendary companies on the way. He was one of Uber’s first 25 employees and led Hired’s expansion into 16 markets across 6 countries. In 2016 he founded Maple VC where he has backed some great startups including Neo,...

Sam Gharegozlou of Axiom Zen and Dapper Labs joins Chris Hobbs to for episode 75 of the Afternoon "T" Podcast. Sam Gharegozlou is a true innovator in the tech world, and his impact on the industry has been undeniable. With his passion for technology and entrepreneurship, he has been able to turn his vision into reality, co-founding multiple successful companies that are pushing the boundaries of what is possible in their respective industries. Dapper Labs, the blockchain-based company that...

David Helliwell of Thrive health joins Chris Hobbs to launch season 6 in episode 74 of the Afternoon "T" Podcast. Join us as David discusses lessons from his time working in government, being humbled by professional windsurfers, and how there comes a time when an entrepreneur needs to "throw away the crutches" to find success.

A little bit of different feel this week in the final episode of Season 5 as Chris welcomes legendary Canadian journalist Kirk LaPointe. Join us for a thoughtful chat about his depth of experience that includes publicly breaking the law, and running for mayor of Vancouver (note: not at the same time).   We also welcome Vancouver Tech Journal Managing Editor Kate Wilson (52:00), who shares how rather than waiting for someone to die, she chose to pursue a career in journalism.

Tamer Mohamed of Aspect Biosystems joins Chris Hobbs this week for Episode 72 of the Afternoon "T" podcast. Join us while Tamer discusses how Aspect Biosystems is breaking ground in the treatment of diabetes (7:40), being humbled by the power of biology (53:00), and how "Unreasonable" (almost) tempted him to get a tattoo (50:00). We'll also hear from this week's "Startup we love" CTO Michael Sousa of SingleKey (26:40) who also chimes in with a question for Tamer about how soon we'll get to...

This week Steve Irvine of integrate.ai joins Chris Hobbs for Episode 71 of the Afternoon "T" podcast. Listen in as Steve discusses his time with Facebook, now Meta, and the interesting transition from small and agile to large and responsible (30:00) and how his greatest growth and learning, came from his objectively least successful startup (1:07:00). We'll also hear from this weeks "Startup we love" founder Reza Varzidehkar of OVOU (48:00), who also chimes in with a question for Steve about...

Join host Chris Hobbs for Episode 70 of the Afternoon "T" podcast, with guest Harold Dumur of OVA.   Join us as Harold discusses putting Elton John's "this train don't stop there anymore" to the top of the Musique Plus charts as a teenager (1:00:00), how a shared passion for the metaverse him kept him focused through challenging early days (9:30), and what his current choice is for the best VR hardware (17:00).   We'll also hear from Vancouver Startup Week co-chairs Vivian Chan and Katty Wang...

In Episode 69 of the Afternoon "T" podcast Chris Neumann joins host Chris hobbs for a chat. Have a listen while Chris Neumann discusses how venture capitalists need to have the qualities of both a hunter and a farmer (4:20), how vastly different the investment environment in Silicon Valley is from the rest of the world (23:00), and offers his thoughts for tech founders seeking investment in this changing economic landscape (33:00). We'll also learn a little about this week's "Startup we love"...

Listen in for Episode 68 of the AfternoonT Podcast as Chris is joined by Wattpad co-founder Allen Lau. Join Chris as Allen discusses why as a founder, you have to be your first and best customer (9:00), how a blog provided the perfect timing for pitching to investors (10:30), and how a global mindset is Canada's competitive advantage in todays tech landscape (59:00). We'll also hear a little about this weeks "Startup we love" ShopThing from co-founder Maggie Adhami-Boynton (38:30) - who has a...

Join us for Episode 67 of the AfternoonT Podcast as Chris is joined by Michael Stephens a leading information technology partner at Fasken law firm. Hear Michael's thoughts on the strategic vs marketed merger and acquisition process (19:00), the three areas young startups tend to stumble over as they go through M & A (34:00), and how the role of a lawyer goes beyond the contracts, but how they can help the acquirer run the company after they buy it (42:00). Christina Cai also joins us...

In episode 66 Chris sits down for a chat with BlackTech Capital founder and Enliten CEO Bryan Duarte. Listen in as Bryan discusses Canada's place in the global Clean Tech industry (13:00), the unique challenges faced by underrepresented entrepreneurs (47:00), and the critically important lessons he learned from his time in the pipeline business with Enbridge (50:00). We also get a peek at Charitable Impact, one of this season’s Startups we Love, courtesy of founder John Bromley (25:00), who...

In episode 65, Chris sits down with Brenda Bailey, elected MLA for Vancouver-False Creek in 2020 and now serving as the Parliamentary Secretary for Technology and Innovation.    Join Chris while Brenda discusses what she’s learned about the world of government from the inside (6:00), and what priorities have driven her life in politics since she arrived (13:00).   How she learned that sometimes the biggest mistake can be doing exactly what you want (35:00), and what insights into leadership...

In episode 64, Chris sits down with Grammarly co-founder Max Lytvyn, who has made it his mission to help people communicate clearly. Tackling such a complex language problem requires an exceptional team.  Join Chris while Max discusses the values that have helped guide scaling Grammarly to address such a challenge (15:30), and how being an immigrant himself informed his understanding of the superficial judgments immigrants are often subject to, including how they use language when working...

David Abbey is a serial entrepreneur, founding his first business back in 2003.  After his exit in 2006 David enjoyed some time abroad while shifting into the world of tech startups, earning an enviable reputation for creating strategic partnerships, fostering growth within companies, and identifying opportunities to improve businesses.   David first dreamed up Penny, an AI-powered virtual assistant, while witnessing his wife’s challenges running a successful direct sales business.  Never...

In 2000, Dave Wessinger co-founded PointClickCare with his brother Mike.  Together they pioneered healthcare’s digital transformation and drove improved outcomes for seniors and care teams through technology. Today, PointClickCare boasts one of Canada’s most admired corporate cultures with over 1,500 employees who currently serve over 26,000 care providers, establishing PointClickCare as the largest cloud-based healthcare platform in North America. Dave has earned recognition for the...

Andrew Graham is co-founder and CEO of Borrowell, a financial technology company that helps consumers make great decisions about credit. Borrowell was the first company in Canada to offer credit scores for free and has grown to be one of the country’s largest fintech companies, with over 2 million users. Borrowell has won numerous awards, including being named one of the top 100 fintech companies in the world.    Earlier in his career, Andrew held senior roles in corporate strategy and...

Dan Burgar is a cheerleader and innovator who has helped Vancouver become a global powerhouse in VR/AR/Metaverse. Dan is the co-founder and CEO of the Frontier Collective, a coalition of leaders in tech, culture, and community driving forward the development and support of Web3, the metaverse, VR/AR, climate tech, AI, and eSports. Furthermore, Dan  serves as the president of the Vancouver VR/AR Association, an organization with a mission to make Vancouver/BC a world leading hub for growing...