Episodes

On this week's episode of Innovation Fuel, Dave and Gelareh welcome guest Jake McEwan, Managing Director at Gracorp and Co-Founder at LiveShare CoLiving, to discuss the challenges facing entrepreneurs in British Columbia when bringing innovation, ideas and creativity to the market! Whether it's over or under regulation, existing policies or just bureaucratic red tape, there needs to be a balance between culture, ideas and regulations.

On this week's episode of Innovation Fuel, we continue our conversation with Jack Smith, Indigenous Business Developer and Director on the Board of Economic Development Cooperation. Jack joins hosts Dave and Gelareh to discuss the services available (and unavailable) to Indigenous entrepreneurs that allow them to even the playing field with other entrepreneurs, no matter the type of business. What are the challenges faced and what solutions are available? These are some of the questions discusse...

On this week's episode of Innovation Fuel, we welcome guest Manuj Aggarwal, CEO of TetraNoodle Technologies! Manuj is also a leading AI expert, innovation evangelist, business strategist and coach. Joining hosts Dave and Gelareh, Manuj will unpack the question of why Vancouver is a good startup location, but not a good scale-up location. With factors like lack of talent, finance and technology playing a big part, we need to talk to the experts and address these issues to understand them better a...

On this week's episode of Innovation Fuel, we welcome Stephane Grenier, Founder and Lead Innovator of Mental Health Innovations Consulting, as he joins hosts Dave and Gelareh to discuss stopping life's hardships from affecting your mental health. Stephane digs a little deeper as he also discusses not letting your past affect how you live your life and being mindful of others' mental health in the workplace.

On this week's episode of Innovation Fuel, we welcome none other than our very own Sheldon Levy, President of University Canada West! Sheldon joins hosts Dave and Gelareh to discuss challenges when trying to scale your business in Canada. Citing UCW's latest white paper, Fuelling B.C.’s Tech Talent Pipeline, Sheldon also digs deeper into his findings on why startups don't stay in Canada to continue to grow, plus much more!

On this week's episode of Innovation Fuel, hosts Dave and Gelareh welcome back guest Jake McEwan! Jake is the Managing Director of Gracorp and Co-Founder of LiveShare CoLiving. After discussing the challenges facing entrepreneurs in British Columbia when bringing innovation, ideas and creativity to the market during their last conversation, they'll now talk "Exit Strategy," from the planning stage to the building and execution stages.

On this week's episode of Innovation Fuel, we continue our conversation with Jack Smith, Indigenous Business Developer and Director on the Board of Economic Development Cooperation. Jack joins hosts Dave and Gelareh for Part 3 of their discussion on the challenges that Indigenous entrepreneurs face. In Part 3, we discuss how to connect Indigenous people with the right talent and skills. Jack explains that there is a lot of incentive for corporations to hire Indigenous people, but they struggle t...

On this week's episode of Innovation Fuel, we welcome Taylor Del Giudice, Co-Founder of Treno, to discuss how challenging finding the right coach or trainer is. Taylor discusses with hosts Dave and Gelareh how to access good trainers, support and resources and leverage the technology around you to make trainers more accessible. Taylor also discusses how he helped create Treno, which connects professional sports stars with young athletes with the hope that young kids who want to play sports profe...

In this week's episode of Innovation Fuel, we welcome Robert Arthurs, Serial Entrepreneur, Certified Biz Coach/Consultant, to discuss why networking skills are essential in growing your business. Robert discusses with hosts Dave and Gelareh how to network correctly. Also, how having a good network can impact your business and life. Did you know that Vancouver is like a Linkedin city, if you wonder why, listen to this episode now!

On this week's episode of Innovation Fuel, we welcome back Robert Arthurs, a Serial Entrepreneur, and Certified Biz Coach/Consultant. This time around, Robert discusses the importance of an internship with hosts Dave and Gelareh. They dive deep into how internships give students a snapshot of what it is like working for the business or in that field. As a business owner, it's essential to see your business through their eyes and learn from the interns. Robert also stresses that when you work wit...

How do we solve the talent gap here in Canada that he's been going on for over 20 years? We discuss this critical problem in this week's episode of Innovation Fuel, where we welcome back our very own Sheldon Levy, President of University Canada West. Sheldon joins hosts Dave and Gelareh to dig deeper into Canada's talent gap issue and find realistic solutions that education institutions can implement to help our society move past this obstacle. We need to fix the talent gap to grow our businesse...

In this week's Episode of Innovation Fuel, we welcome Drew Munro, Co-Founder & CEO at Up Meals, a healthy meal delivery service delivered to your door. They are revolutionizing the fast-food industry by having vending machines that house healthy chef-curated meals at an affordable price. Find out more about how Up Meals is changing how people get healthy food fast and conveniently.

On this week's episode of Innovation Fuel, we welcome Anna Kostecka, a Global Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategist at What Works. Anna joins hosts Dave and Gelareh to discuss making classrooms and curriculum development more inclusive. Encouraging companies or schools to create a place of understanding among a diverse team of people to create a positive group work experience. Listen now to this meaningful discussion with the end goal of inspiring organizations to create workplac...

On this week's episode of Innovation Fuel, Gelareh, unfortunately, has COVID, so Dave is going solo for his talk with Boris Zhukov, CEO at LetYouKnow, Inc. They sit down to discuss what is happening with supply and demand changes post-COVID-19. Since there is a backup of products that companies can't sell, is there a better way to achieve a balance where the consumer wants to pay a lower cost for goods and services but not have the retailer drastically reduce their prices? Let's s...

On this week's episode of Innovation Fuel, Dave and Gelareh welcome back Boris Zhukov, CEO of LetYouKnow, Inc, who has a background in economics. They explore how data is advantageous to a business, like how it can be used to target specific customers. Boris also discusses how a company can be responsible when mining and using data; they cover regulatory bodies which include GDPR and California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA). You can learn everything you need about data in this next episode.

On this week's episode of Innovation Fuel, Dave and Gelareh welcome Alex Honadel, Owner of Green Solutions Pool Service. She is a lifestyle entrepreneur who created a business in college that allowed her to have a flexible work schedule while still making money. Years later, her company continues to thrive, and she can travel and continue her passion for helping the environment while saving people money. Listen now and discover how she took a simple idea of filling out rebate applications and tu...

Over the last ten years, we have all witnessed rapid changes in the journalism and media industry. Compared to the past, there are more platforms to get your message out there and engage with a broader audience you might not have been able to reach. On this week's episode of Innovation Fuel, hosts Dave Keighron and Dr. Gelareh Farhadian talk with their guest William Johnson Founder Of The Vancouver Tech Journal, and discuss how his digital journal is creating other ways to expose the tech indus...

Digital Transformation what does it really mean? On this week's episode of Innovation Fuel, hosts Dave Keighron and Dr. Gelareh Farhadian discover the misconceptions about digital transformation and define it as more than just the word technology. To solve this debate, they talk to the President & Founder of Cyper in this episode. It's a great conversation about how digital transformation will add more value to your company culture and business. Have a great week, and I will talk to you when I'...

On this week's episode of Innovation Fuel, hosts Dave Keighron and Dr. Gelareh Farhadian welcome Ruth Diaz, VR Community Design Developer and Metaverse Coach, at VR Create Connect. She discusses the importance of DEI ( Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) in the VR community and creating spaces for everyone to enjoy the technology in a safe, inclusive manner. Virtual reality still has barriers to overcome, but it is a place where people can let their walls down, be their authentic selves, and lea...

On this week’s episode of Innovation Fuel, Dan Pronovost, COO and Founder of Driftscape, joins hosts Dave Keighron and Dr. Gelareh Farhadian to discuss augmented reality in Tourism. People use this technology to hear and experience collective stories through experts in an environment without advertisements. Augmented reality allows tourism to grow into a culturally richer and create meaningful connections with its visitors.

In a new episode of Innovation Fuel, Dan Pronovost, COO and Founder of Driftscape, is back with Dave Keighron and Dr. Gelareh Farhadian to discuss using augmented reality in business. What does the future hold regarding these groundbreaking tools to advance how people experience tourism and how we interact with a business? The options for using this game-changing technology in every aspect of our lives is endless and full of possibilities.

In this episode of Innovation Fuel, Awane Jones, CEO of Phenomena Virtual eSport Arena, joins hosts Dave Keighron and Dr. Gelareh to discuss not having fear about your product and throwing it out into the world and see if people will buy it. Once you know there will be customers, don't worry about creating new ideas; focus on improving the one you have until you can't improve it any more. Then that way, you will have a good product with a great user experience that people will continue to want t...

On this week's episode of Innovation Fuel, Pat Chaisang, Founder & CEO at Isempower Canada's first job search platform for international students. She joins hosts Dave Keighron and Dr. Gelareh Farhadian to discuss starting November 15, 2022, international students in Canada will be allowed to work more than 20 hours per week. They also talk about the challenges of international students finding jobs in Canada and some misconceptions employers may have about hiring international students.

Why do entrepreneurs go to consultants when chaos ensues in their business? When is the right time to get help in your business before something catastrophic happens? Please find out the answers when Dave Keighron and Dr. Gelareh talk with John kay, CEO of Realize Strategies, about the challenges we all face as entrepreneurs and how he and the team can help you avoid significant fires by putting the correct practices in place.