In this episode hosted by Mike Procee, Jonathan Livescault shares his experiences working with corporate innovation teams, emphasizing the need for a more disciplined, data-driven approach to driving tangible results and profits. He outlines the key steps to setting up a successful corporate innovation program.

Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta. The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta. Host: Mike Procee is an entrepreneur, facilitator, innovator and problem solver. Working in the Calgary Energy Sector, Mike strives to build the innovation ecosystem and community. From his volunteer position on the Strategic Capability Network, where he founded the Calgary Innovation Peer Forum, to pursuing his DBA in Winter 2024, focused on innovation, Mike is pushing the thinking on what it means to be a corporate innovation practitioner.

Guest: Jonathan Livescault is a finance professional turned entrepreneur with a deep passion for innovation. As the Founder and former CEO of Braineet, which was acquired by ITONICS in 2024, he now serves as the Managing Director of ITONICS US, operating out of Miami. Jonathan is committed to advancing the innovation ecosystem, working closely with startups, venture capitalists, and corporate innovators to drive impactful change. A big soccer enthusiast, both as a player and a fan, Jonathan brings energy and focus to every endeavor.

Please be sure to share this episode with everyone you know. If you are interested in being either a host, a guest, or a sponsor of the show, please reach out. We are published in Google Podcasts and the iTunes store for Apple Podcasts We would be grateful if you could give us a rating as it helps spread the word about the show.

Show Links:

• ITONICS

Show Quotes:

"At the end of the day, innovation is about behavior change. It's not just about new products; it's about shifting how we operate and think." "There's something in the human spirit about wanting to explore, create, and make things better. That drive is what fuels innovation."

Credits... This Episode Sponsored By: New Idea Machine Episode Music: Tony Del Degan Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan

In this episode, we're thrilled to share the fascinating story of Teruel Carrasco, a Chilean-born immigrant who has built a diverse career spanning corporate finance, entrepreneurship, and startups. Teruel's openness to new opportunities and his entrepreneurial spirit have led him on an incredible journey, from his upbringing in Winnipeg to his current role as an angel investor.

Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta. The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta. Host: Al Del Degan is a software developer and tech leader in Alberta's innovation ecosystem. He is also a Web3 enthusiast and podcaster, sharing his knowledge and passion for emerging technologies with his audience. Al is the founder and CTO of New Idea Machine, a software company dedicated to helping new developers gain hands-on experience building real-world applications. With his commitment to giving back to the community, Al is always available to offer advice on technology and business. His passion for innovation and entrepreneurship is evident in everything he does, making him a respected leader in the tech industry.

Guest: Teruel Carrasco is a seasoned venture capital executive with over two decades of experience in executive leadership, business development, and strategy. He currently collaborates with the leadership team at AND Capital Ventures to plot the next phase of growth for the firm, which specializes in helping entrepreneurs scale their businesses.

In addition to his role at AND Capital Ventures, Teruel is a venture partner at 3x Capital, where he assists with fund formation and invests in high-potential ventures. He has a proven track record of investing in and advising successful startups, including Lending Assist, dealcloser, G2V Optics, and Copperstone Technologies.

Teruel is passionate about supporting and mentoring emerging leaders and shares his insights and expertise as a speaker and board member. His mission is to foster innovation, growth, and impact within the startup ecosystem.

Show Links:

• AND Capital Ventures
• Valhalla Private Capital
• G2V Optics

Show Quotes:

"So for me, I'm all about my angle, my shtick, if you will, is can this, whatever company that I'm going to be involved in, can I effectuate change and growth from a sales perspective, from a customer acquisition perspective, from structuring what go-to-market means and really getting very formulaic and very like one step at a time growth."

Credits... This Episode Sponsored By: New Idea Machine Episode Music: Tony Del Degan Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan

Roger Kingkade, CEO and co-founder of Club Unity, shares the story of how their golf-focused software company started with a golf scoring app but pivoted to developing a comprehensive suite of solutions for golf course operations after understanding the key challenges faced by golf professionals.

Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta. The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta. Host: Peter Beaudoin Peter manages strategy and partnerships for an innovative alliance of energy companies committed to reducing environmental impacts through collaborative R&D efforts. Peter worked for more than 20 years in Asia building and investing in a variety of businesses. His most recent role outside of Canada was with the World Wildlife Fund, where he was the Chief Executive Officer of WWF China, based in Beijing. Prior to that, Peter lived in Hong Kong for 15 years working in the technology industry.

Guest: Roger Kingkade is the co-founder and Managing Director of Club Unity, a Calgary-based tech company that serves golf courses and private clubs with reservations and business management software. Born and raised in Calgary, Roger believes this is the best place to be building a tech business from the ground up.

Please be sure to share this episode with everyone you know. If you are interested in being either a host, a guest, or a sponsor of the show, please reach out. We are published in Google Podcasts and the iTunes store for Apple Podcasts We would be grateful if you could give us a rating as it helps spread the word about the show.

Show Links:

• Club Unity

Show Quotes:

"If you go on our website today, you'll find that we provide accounting software, point-of-sale software, the tea time management system and stuff. But we really had our beachhead by befriending golf professionals, finding the mission-critical piece of software that they need to use, and then we created just that for them." Credits... This Episode Sponsored By: New Idea Machine Episode Music: Tony Del Degan Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan

In this insightful episode, corporate strategy and innovation experts Zoe and Chantel delve into the crucial role of the board of directors in fostering innovation within organizations. They emphasize the importance of the board serving as the "brain" of a company, responsible for setting strategy and managing risk.

Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta. The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta. Host: Mike Procee is an entrepreneur, facilitator, innovator and problem solver. Working in the Calgary Energy Sector, Mike strives to build the innovation ecosystem and community. From his volunteer position on the Strategic Capability Network, where he founded the Calgary Innovation Peer Forum, to pursuing his DBA in Winter 2024, focused on innovation, Mike is pushing the thinking on what it means to be a corporate innovation practitioner.

Guest: Zoe Harrison is a corporate board director and innovation consultant. She has made her home in Alberta and is committed to growing the local innovation community and creating space for people of all backgrounds to innovate.

Guest: Chantel Cabaj In 2016, Chantel Cabaj (she/her) was inspired by political events to ensure women's voices were entrenched in leadership. With a group of dedicated volunteers, this led to the creation of DirectHer Network, a registered charity committed to demystifying the board experience and expanding the number and types of women and gender diverse people in board service. Since 2016, Chantel has educated thousands on the topic of board governance through DirectHer, private consulting and her online governance company, BoardWell.

Please be sure to share this episode with everyone you know. If you are interested in being either a host, a guest, or a sponsor of the show, please reach out. We are published in Google Podcasts and the iTunes store for Apple Podcasts We would be grateful if you could give us a rating as it helps spread the word about the show.

Show Links:

• DirectHer Network
• Platform Calgary
• Startup TNT
• Avatar Innovations
• Thin Air Labs
• Council of Canadian Innovators
• McMaster University

Show Quotes:

"I like to think of the Board of Directors as the brain. It's the decision maker for this legal thing you've created."

Credits... This Episode Sponsored By: New Idea Machine Episode Music: Tony Del Degan Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan

In our latest podcast, Chantal Elliott of 321 Growth Academy shares how her company helps businesses accelerate their growth through sales and marketing training and advisory services. Chantal explains their hands-on, collaborative approach to addressing the fundamentals of sales and marketing - from defining target markets to building strategic sales processes.

Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta. The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta. Host: Peter Beaudoin Peter manages strategy and partnerships for an innovative alliance of energy companies committed to reducing environmental impacts through collaborative R&D efforts. Peter worked for more than 20 years in Asia building and investing in a variety of businesses. His most recent role outside of Canada was with the World Wildlife Fund, where he was the Chief Executive Officer of WWF China, based in Beijing. Prior to that, Peter lived in Hong Kong for 15 years working in the technology industry.

Guest: Chantel Elliott is a Partner at 321 Growth Academy and helps entrepreneurs and leaders bring their world-changing ideas to life. She has 25+ years of marketing leadership experience in tech startups, large organizations and is a certified leadership coach (CPCC, ACC).

Chantel is passionate about helping business leaders make powerful professional impacts. She’s been through the fires of entrepreneurship for the past 12 years, as co-owner of 321 and Material Insight, a leading technology marketing agency. She knows how to build standout brands and products, with deep experience at both the enterprise level (Procter & Gamble) and with smaller companies and startups (Intuit Canada, Kryos, Karo Group, Venture Communications).

But perhaps the most remarkable thing about Chantel is her ability to see connections and imagine opportunities that others don’t. She’ll help you see the future of your business, even when you can’t.

Please be sure to share this episode with everyone you know. If you are interested in being either a host, a guest, or a sponsor of the show, please reach out. We are published in Google Podcasts and the iTunes store for Apple Podcasts We would be grateful if you could give us a rating as it helps spread the word about the show.

Show Links:

• 321 Growth Academy

Show Quotes:

"Sometimes, many times, those early stage founders make a lot of assumptions on what's going to work and what isn't because they haven't had a lot of experience and they haven't been in market for very long."

Credits... This Episode Sponsored By: New Idea Machine Episode Music: Tony Del Degan Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan

In this episode, cloud solutions expert Phil Crocker discusses the importance of cloud literacy and maximizing the value of cloud-based services. He emphasizes that the public cloud is not just someone else's data center, but a consumption-based model that can provide scalability and cost-efficiency when used properly.

Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta. The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta. Host: Al Del Degan is a software developer and tech leader in Alberta's innovation ecosystem. He is also a Web3 enthusiast and podcaster, sharing his knowledge and passion for emerging technologies with his audience. Al is the founder and CTO of New Idea Machine, a software company dedicated to helping new developers gain hands-on experience building real-world applications. With his commitment to giving back to the community, Al is always available to offer advice on technology and business. His passion for innovation and entrepreneurship is evident in everything he does, making him a respected leader in the tech industry.

Guest: Phil Crocker is an experienced cloud and IT professional who focuses on helping software companies optimize their SaaS operations, with a strong background in cloud technologies, DevOps, and IT management. His career spans various technical and leadership roles, demonstrating a broad understanding of the technology landscape.

Show Links:

• Arcus Cloud Services
• Episode 241: Al Del Degan hosts Phil Crocker
• Amazon Web Services

Show Quotes:

"with SaaS the number one thing is you need to get your product in front of your customer to see if you're doing it right or wrong, and to listen to that customer feedback loop and get it going as quickly as possible."

Credits... This Episode Sponsored By: New Idea Machine Episode Music: Tony Del Degan Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan

In this episode, Carlos Almeida, the CEO and founder of Optave, shares his journey from working at a successful CRM in South America to starting his own AI company in Canada to tackle the problem of poor customer service.

Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta. The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta. Host: Peter Beaudoin Peter manages strategy and partnerships for an innovative alliance of energy companies committed to reducing environmental impacts through collaborative R&D efforts. Peter worked for more than 20 years in Asia building and investing in a variety of businesses. His most recent role outside of Canada was with the World Wildlife Fund, where he was the Chief Executive Officer of WWF China, based in Beijing. Prior to that, Peter lived in Hong Kong for 15 years working in the technology industry.

Guest: Carlos Almeida is the CEO and Founder of Optave, an AI copilot that gives superpowers to enterprise customer support agents. Before launching Optave, Carlos built a successful career in Digital Product Management, holding senior and leadership roles for over a decade in tech startups across various industries. Notably, as Head of Product and Design at Movidesk, a Customer Support company, he played a key role in driving a 20x increase in valuation in less than two years. He also served as Head of Innovation at a major media conglomerate, overseeing a portfolio of websites with over 50 million unique visitors per month.

Carlos holds dual citizenship in Italy and Brazil, speaks three languages fluently, and has an MBA in Investments along with a business degree from South America's top-ranked university, where he won a business competition against 30,000 participants. He also excelled in MIT’s Blockchain specialization course, receiving the highest grades in all exams and assignments.

Starting from humble beginnings in Brazil, Carlos’s journey through the tech industry reflects his resilience and determination. He remains committed to using his skills to deliver meaningful and positive change in the world.

Please be sure to share this episode with everyone you know. If you are interested in being either a host, a guest, or a sponsor of the show, please reach out. We are published in Google Podcasts and the iTunes store for Apple Podcasts We would be grateful if you could give us a rating as it helps spread the word about the show.

Show Links:

• Optave
• Alberta Catalyzer

Show Quotes:

"So now for the first time, artificial intelligence can understand context. This wasn't possible before. And by the way, this was based on a research from the University of Toronto in Canada with partnership with Google that allowed all this revolution to happen."

Credits... This Episode Sponsored By: New Idea Machine Episode Music: Tony Del Degan Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan

Tune in as Bidzina Mosiashvili, a beekeeper from Calgary, Canada, shares his journey into the world of beekeeping. From facing challenges like high colony loss rates to finding success in letting bees manage their own processes, Bidzina's story is a testament to the resilience of these incredible insects.

Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta. The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta. Host: Al Del Degan is a software developer and tech leader in Alberta's innovation ecosystem. He is also a Web3 enthusiast and podcaster, sharing his knowledge and passion for emerging technologies with his audience. Al is the founder and CTO of New Idea Machine, a software company dedicated to helping new developers gain hands-on experience building real-world applications. With his commitment to giving back to the community, Al is always available to offer advice on technology and business. His passion for innovation and entrepreneurship is evident in everything he does, making him a respected leader in the tech industry.

Guest: Bidzina Mosiashvili is a marketing analyst by day and a beekeeper by night, bringing a unique, data-driven approach to fueling growth. Just as he analyzes hive data to optimize honey production, he delves into marketing analytics to uncover actionable insights that enhance ROI, one data point at a time. Passionate about sustainable strategies and community building, Bidzina is eager to connect and collaborate on projects that make a difference.

Show Links:

• About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast

Show Quotes:

"So we just pursued the honey business initially. And then our bees started to die. Our first year, we lost pretty much 14 out of the 24 colonies"

Credits... This Episode Sponsored By: New Idea Machine Episode Music: Tony Del Degan Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan