Between Two Brunettes

About Between Two Brunettes

Welcome to Between Two Brunettes, a show dedicated to amplifying Canadian voices. Every other week, we dive into real conversations with entrepreneurs, operators, creators and leaders who are shaping what’s next. From scaling companies and raising capital to relationships, resilience and the moments that changed everything - nothing is off limits. New full-length episodes drop every other Wednesday, with clips and shorts throughout the week. Hit SUBSCRIBE so you never miss a conversation with Canada’s innovators. We hope you enjoy the show!

Publisher

Thirty Two Media

Category

business · health & fitness · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

27 Jan 2026

Latest episode

21 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

2 of 19 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   21 Oct 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Jon Love on Building KingSett, Selling Oxford & Why He’s Betting on Canada

   Samantha Miller and Germana Kazazi interview Jon Love about his decades building KingSett Capital and his optimistic outlook on Canada's future.

2. 

   7 Oct 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Felix Health’s Rise to $200M+ : Co-Founder Emma Stern on Taking Big Bets

   Emma Stern didn’t set out to become an entrepreneur. After starting her career in investment banking and moving into the startup world, she co-founded Felix Health. Eight years into the journey, Emma joins us to unpack what happens between starting a company and reaching real scale, including the decisions that worked, the expensive ones that didn’t, and the lessons she wishes more founders understood earlier. In this episode, we get into: The uncomfortable conversations every co-founder should have early How one wrong hire can cost a growing company far more than expected Why Felix chose to build healthcare differently instead of simply putting the traditional doctor’s visit online How trust, regulation and patient safety shaped the way Felix grew The thinking behind bringing pharmacy operations in-house and why it became one of their hardest lessons How Felix decides which new healthcare categories are worth entering When data matters, when intuition matters, and why founders need both Why Felix stayed close to profitability while continuing to grow The reason Emma has turned down higher valuations for the right investor How her role changed from operating almost everything herself to leading a large executive team Why Emma still sees Felix as being in the early innings of what it can build in Canadian healthcare ___ Between Two Brunettes Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@betweentwobrunettes Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betweentwobrunettes Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@betweentwobrunettes LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/betweentwobrunettes X: https://x.com/twobrunettespod Samantha Miller Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samanthaj_miller Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@samanthaj_miller LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthamiller111 X: https://x.com/samantha_btbpod Germana Kazazi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/germanakazazi Tiktok:https://www.tiktok.com/@germanakazazi LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/germana-kazazi X: https://x.com/GermanaKazazi Emma Stern LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmaainleystern Felix Health LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/felixhealthca Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/felixhealthca TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@felixhealth ___ Produced by Thirty Two Media Inc.

3. 

   24 Sept 2026

   What Makes a Founder Investable? Neil Grunberg on Building Companies and Raising Capital

   After helping build AlayaCare, Neil Grunberg crossed to the other side of the table and launched Storytime Capital, an early-stage fund investing in the future of work. In this candid conversation, Neil shares what he has learned from reviewing hundreds of companies each year, and why a compelling pitch is never enough on its own. The conversation explores: Why Storytime won’t write a cheque unless its network can genuinely help the founder The subtle behaviours that reveal co-founder chemistry, coachability and integrity Why Neil believes some entrepreneurs are “playing founder” instead of building real businesses What makes founders stand out Why young parents, siblings and married co-founders can be overlooked strengths The case for building meaningful companies without obsessing over unicorn valuations How founders must learn to relinquish control as their companies grow The lesson Neil hopes to pass on to his three daughters about treating people well It’s an honest look at venture capital from someone who remembers worrying about payroll, product-market fit and whether the next round would come together. ___ Between Two Brunettes Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@betweentwobrunettes Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betweentwobrunettes Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@betweentwobrunettes LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/betweentwobrunettes X: https://x.com/twobrunettespod Samantha Miller Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samanthaj_miller Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@samanthaj_miller LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthamiller111 X: https://x.com/samantha_btbpod Germana Kazazi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/germanakazazi Tiktok:https://www.tiktok.com/@germanakazazi LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/germana-kazazi X: https://x.com/GermanaKazazi Neil Grunberg LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilgrunberg Storytime Capital LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/storytime-capital X: https://x.com/StorytimeVC ___ Produced by Thirty Two Media Inc.

4. 

   2 Sept 2026

   Disrupting the Legacy Art World With a DTC Playbook: How Nuria Grew Tacit Collective From a $15K LOC

   Nuria Madrenas started Tacit Collective with a $15,000 personal line of credit and has never raised outside capital since. Seven years and 100+ represented artists later, she still runs it that way, by choice. She discusses: Why moved away from the traditional gallery model to build a direct to consumer art marketplace Only 2% of art sold at auction globally is by women artists, and why that shaped Tacit's entire focus How their team leverages back end sales data to make decisions on representation and artwork Why the middle of the art market is disappearing Her prediction on the coming $83 trillion generational wealth transfer’s impact on the art world Why she's skeptical of fractional ownership and art as an alternative asset class, and the liquidity problem she thinks buyers overlook Running five and a half years of the business solo before hiring her first team member Preparing her team to run without her ahead of her due date ___ Between Two Brunettes Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@betweentwobrunettes Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betweentwobrunettes Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@betweentwobrunettes LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/betweentwobrunettes X: https://x.com/twobrunettespod Samantha Miller Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samanthaj_miller Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@samanthaj_miller LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthamiller111 X: https://x.com/samantha_btbpod Germana Kazazi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/germanakazazi Tiktok:https://www.tiktok.com/@germanakazazi LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/germana-kazazi X: https://x.com/GermanaKazazi Nuria Madrenas LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nuriamadrenas Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nmadren Tacit Collective Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tacitcollective TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tacitcollective LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tacitcollective ___ Produced by Thirty Two Media Inc.

5. 

   19 Aug 2026

   From Big Law to Bootstrapping: Why Building a Resale Marketplace Was Her Best Career Move

   Devyn Olin left a law career to build Cache, an influencer-led resale marketplace, and has raised exactly one round of outside capital to date. Everything else has come from revenue, starting with $40,000 in gross merchandise value from in-person pop-ups in her first four months, without spending a dollar to acquire a customer. She discusses: Why she walked away from practicing law to build in resale The two existing resale models and where each one breaks down for sellers How pop-ups became her proof of demand Building an app with zero technical background Why Cache runs on a drop model and how she decides which influencers get invited to sell The $1,000 origin of Cache's brand identity and why she sees it as the company's real moat What fundraising for a consumer startup looks like in Canada vs. the US ___ Between Two Brunettes Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@betweentwobrunettes Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betweentwobrunettes Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@betweentwobrunettes LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/betweentwobrunettes X: https://x.com/twobrunettespod Samantha Miller Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samanthaj_miller Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@samanthaj_miller LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthamiller111 X: https://x.com/samantha_btbpod Germana Kazazi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/germanakazazi Tiktok:https://www.tiktok.com/@germanakazazi LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/germana-kazazi X: https://x.com/GermanaKazazi Devyn Olin LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devyn-olin Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/devynolin Cache Substack: https://cacheinyourcloset.substack.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cacheinyourcloset TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@cacheinyourcloset LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cacheinyourcloset ___ Produced by Thirty Two Media Inc.

6. 

   30 Jul 2026

   Building Clutch: A Story of Grit, Resilience and Return to Profitability

   The used car market in Canada hasn't changed much in decades. Dealers control inventory and buyers have limited options. Steve Seibel (Founder & President) started Clutch believing there had to be a better way. Dan Park (CEO) joined in 2019, fresh from venture capital and Uber, to help him build it. Seven years later, they're running Canada's fastest-growing online used car marketplace. But getting here required navigating one of the most capital-intensive and operationally complex industries you can start: automotive retail. This is a conversation about hitting rock bottom, the hard decisions that followed, and how they built their way back. Together, they discuss: Why starting a used car business was the dumbest first venture Steve could have chosen The partnership dynamic between a founder and an operator: who does what and why it works How strong product-market fit kept them alive through capital shortages and scaling chaos The moment people were "competing like a sport" just to buy a car from Clutch Why investors were terrified of physical retail while Clutch was fundraising Building a real product vs. pure software: why Clutch chose the harder path How much inventory, people, and operational intensity it takes to move that fast Making tough decisions that weren't popular but were right ___ Between Two Brunettes Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@betweentwobrunettes Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betweentwobrunettes Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@betweentwobrunettes LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/betweentwobrunettes X: https://x.com/twobrunettespod Samantha Miller Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samanthaj_miller Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@samanthaj_miller LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthamiller111 X: https://x.com/samantha_btbpod Germana Kazazi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/germanakazazi Tiktok:https://www.tiktok.com/@germanakazazi LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/germana-kazazi X: https://x.com/GermanaKazazi Dan Park LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danpark1 X: https://x.com/parkdan Steve Seibel LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-seibel-aa800726 X: https://x.com/stephenseibel Clutch Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clutch.ca LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/clutch-canada X: https://x.com/clutchcanada ___ Produced by Thirty Two Media Inc.

7. 

   15 Jul 2026

   How Tofu Discovered a $96B Fraud Problem by Listening to Customer Feedback

   Jason Zoltak had already pivoted his company once when a strange pattern in customer feedback made him pivot again. Names on resumes didn't match the voices answering the phone. With just three people on the team, he and his co-founder started calling candidates themselves with no caller ID, and what they found led straight into government warnings about state-sponsored fraud targeting hiring teams across North America. Jason is the Co-Founder of Tofu, an AI-native fraud and security platform tackling a $96 billion problem in talent attraction. What started as a marketplace for rerouting rejected job candidates went through two pivots before landing on fraud, and the second one came directly from a signal nobody else was paying attention to. He discusses: The original talent marketplace model, why it was nearly impossible to scale, and his blunt advice to founders considering something similar The full spectrum of fraud his platform catches, from candidates using AI to mass-apply beyond their qualifications to organized state-backed operations like North Korea Why fraud felt like the right category to bet on instead of joining the crowd building more AI recruiting tools His timing rule for pivots and the costs of doing it too late What "blue ocean" means when you're carving out space inside an already saturated market How Tofu landed its seed round by showing traction first, and his view on when founders should actually start fundraising ___ Between Two Brunettes Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@betweentwobrunettes Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betweentwobrunettes Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@betweentwobrunettes LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/betweentwobrunettes X: https://x.com/twobrunettespod Samantha Miller Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samanthaj_miller Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@samanthaj_miller LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthamiller111 X: https://x.com/samantha_btbpod Germana Kazazi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/germanakazazi Tiktok:https://www.tiktok.com/@germanakazazi LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/germana-kazazi X: https://x.com/GermanaKazazi Jason Zoltak LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonzoltak Tofu LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tofu-id X: https://x.com/hiretofu ___ Produced by Thirty Two Media Inc.

8. 

   1 Jul 2026

   The Operator Behind Wealthsimple's Growth: Brand Bets, Blitz Hiring, and 125 Billion in AUA

   Most financial institutions in Canada built trust the same way: slowly, through branch relationships, decades of presence, and the assumption that people had nowhere else to go. Wealthsimple decided to build it differently, betting on brand and on product experience at a moment when fintech was still trying to prove it could be trusted with people's money. Paul Teshima is Wealthsimple's Chief Commercial and Chief Marketing Officer. He came to the company in 2020, with no background in financial services. What he brought instead was a startup operator's instinct, a gritty approach to growth, and a willingness to figure things out in real time. He has since helped lead Wealthsimple through one of the most aggressive growth periods in Canadian fintech history, from somewhere around 5 to 10 billion in assets when he joined to over 125 billion today, and from under a million clients to nearly four million. This is a conversation about what it takes to build a growth and marketing engine inside a company moving that fast. He discusses: Selling a company two weeks before Covid hit, and what made him say yes to Wealthsimple Why not coming from financial services turned out to be the point, not the problem The blitz scaling moment in early 2021 when Wealthsimple hit its year-end customer number in 30 days The "bright spots" framework from Made to Stick, and how it shaped decisions when everything was on fire The early brand bet that counterintuitive VC math couldn't easily support, and why it worked How Wealthsimple shifted from spending millions with Facebook and Google to paying customers directly What naive ambition looks like as a real operating value, not just a thing on a wall Wealthsimple Predictions and the case for launching it Recruiting Canadian talent back from San Francisco with ketchup chips and a North Star event Why Canada is the third-largest financial services market in the world, and what that means for what's still possible here ___ Between Two Brunettes Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@betweentwobrunettes Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betweentwobrunettes Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@betweentwobrunettes LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/betweentwobrunettes X: https://x.com/twobrunettespod Samantha Miller Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samanthaj_miller Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@samanthaj_miller LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthamiller111 X: https://x.com/samantha_btbpod Germana Kazazi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/germanakazazi Tiktok:https://www.tiktok.com/@germanakazazi LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/germana-kazazi X: https://x.com/GermanaKazazi Paul Teshima LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulteshima X: https://x.com/paulteshima Wealthsimple Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wealthsimple LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/wealthsimple X: https://x.com/Wealthsimple ___ Produced by Thirty Two Media Inc.

9. 

   17 Jun 2026

   The Business of Prevention: Mike Goss Secured Over 8M and Built Longevity Platform, NiaHealth

   Almost every country in the world is spending more on healthcare, with costs climbing faster than the economies paying for them, and almost all of them get the same thing back: a system built to treat people once they are already sick. Mike Goss of NiaHealth is hoping to change that. He is a Co-Founder and the company's COO, and before Nia he spent his career on both the public and private sides of healthcare, advising governments on policy and sitting close enough to the spending data to see exactly where the billions go and why prevention never makes the budget line. So he helped start the company the system keeps saying it wants. NiaHealth takes its name from Sardinia, one of the world's original blue zones, and its mission is to elevate health for humanity. The model is straightforward: a comprehensive biomarker panel, results co-signed and walked through by a real clinician rather than an algorithm, and a plan you can act on. The company has raised both pre-seed and seed funding, and has grown to nearly every province in the country. This is a business conversation first. We get into how Nia found product market fit in a category with no comparator to copy, why the clinician-in-the-loop model is the entire bet in a market wary of AI black boxes, and what it takes to build a national consumer health brand from the ground up. He discusses: Why most countries run a sick-care system, not a health-care system, and the market opening that creates for prevention The clinician-in-the-loop bet, and how "not AI" became a selling point in a country skeptical of black boxes Finding product market fit in a category with no comparator to benchmark against The one retention metric he trusts most, and the threshold that tells him a product will last Why public versus private is the wrong debate for healthcare, and the framing he uses instead What the longevity movement keeps getting wrong, and the difference between adding years to your life and life to your years Going from an idea to a national footprint, and the operator's job of prioritizing by the biggest risk to the business ___ USE PROMO CODE: ‘BRUNETTES’ ___ Between Two Brunettes Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@betweentwobrunettes Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betweentwobrunettes Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@betweentwobrunettes LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/betweentwobrunettes X: https://x.com/twobrunettespod Samantha Miller Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samanthaj_miller Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@samanthaj_miller LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthamiller111 X: https://x.com/samantha_btbpod Germana Kazazi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/germanakazazi Tiktok:https://www.tiktok.com/@germanakazazi LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/germana-kazazi X: https://x.com/GermanaKazazi Mike Goss LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-goss-040478a5 NiaHealth Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/niahealthco LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/niahealthco X: https://x.com/niahealthco ___ Produced by Thirty Two Media Inc.

10. 

    3 Jun 2026

    Serial Founder and Dragon: Michele Romanow on Building, Investing, AI & Motherhood

    Canada has a habit of celebrating founders on the way up and chasing them on the way down. Michele Romanow has been both, and she doesn't pretend otherwise. She started her first company at 21 by driving to New Brunswick in a Toyota Camry with $150,000 in business plan competition winnings, catching fish and cold calling restaurants from a flip phone. That company became a caviar business during the 2008 recession. What came after was Clearco, a non-dilutive financing platform that deployed over $3 billion to thousands of businesses, reached a $2 billion valuation and built a model that's now been copied in nearly every economy in the world. Michele is 40 years old, on her 12th season of Dragon's Den, and she's building again. She's thought more carefully than most about what separates companies that last from ones that just look good, and what Canada needs to do differently if it actually wants to produce more of them. In this conversation, we get into why she thinks the software moat is disappearing, what distribution really means when anyone can spin up a product in a weekend and why the right question when evaluating a company has always been the same: are people coming back? She discusses: Why the management layer is dead and what it means to be a leader who runs alongside their team instead of above it How she spotted the Clearco opportunity by watching Dragon's Den pitches and seeing the same working capital problem across hundreds of companies Her experience stepping down as CEO after interest rates climbed faster than at any point in 30 years and who she trusted to hand it to Canada's tall poppy problem and why dragging founders through national news for laying off three people will cost this country more than it realizes Why she thinks distribution is now the real competitive advantage and what the beauty industry already figured out that most founders haven't The one metric that never lies to her when evaluating any business at any stage Why she went from being on the fence about having a child to a 10/10 recommendation and what changed when her daughter arrived ___ Between Two Brunettes Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@betweentwobrunettes Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betweentwobrunettes Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@betweentwobrunettes LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/betweentwobrunettes X: https://x.com/twobrunettespod Samantha Miller Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samanthaj_miller Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@samanthaj_miller LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthamiller111 X: https://x.com/samantha_btbpod Germana Kazazi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/germanakazazi Tiktok:https://www.tiktok.com/@germanakazazi LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/germana-kazazi X: https://x.com/GermanaKazazi Michele Romanow LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/micheleromanow Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/micheleromanow X: https://x.com/MicheleRomanow Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@micheleromanow ___ Produced by Thirty Two Media Inc.

11. 

    20 May 2026

    He Raised $21.5M in 20 Days to Fix Canadian Business Banking: Ahmed Shafik of Venn

    Canadian businesses have spent decades overpaying for banking that barely works. High fees on basic transactions, in-branch visits to send a wire, FX rates that quietly drain margin, and a system that wasn’t designed with small businesses in mind. Ahmed Shafik watched all of this up close as one of the first employees to launch Revolut in Canada. When the expansion stalled, he and co-founder Saud Aziz didn't go back to corporate. They spent two years building the infrastructure they knew Canada was missing, then launched Venn in 2023. Two years later, more than 10,000 businesses are on the platform and the company has closed a $21.5 million Series A. In this conversation, we unpack why Canada is harder to build a fintech in than anywhere else, why that difficulty is actually the opportunity, and what it takes to raise a round in 20 days when you have spent years building the relationship before you ever need the money. He discusses: Why Canada's five-bank oligopoly controls roughly 90% of assets and what that means for small businesses trying to compete globally The infrastructure Venn had to build from scratch because nothing on the market supported multi-currency at the level they needed How they went from begging their parents to test the product to 10,000 businesses on the platform through cold outreach, word of mouth, and content The decision to go majority US investors early on and what that revealed about risk appetite on both sides of the border Why Venn moved to fully in-office nine months ago and what changed when they did How equity is still a foreign concept to most Canadian startup employees and what founders should be doing differently What his immigrant background has to do with the way he thinks about risk, sacrifice, and building something from nothing ___ Chapters 00:00:00 Early Life and Moving to Canada 00:03:22 Finding the Right Path 00:05:23 Joining Revolut: Learning the Fintech Playbook 00:06:51 Solving Canadian Business Banking 00:08:30 Building in Silence: Two Years of Infrastructure Development 00:10:44 Canada as the Real Fintech Battleground 00:16:04 The In-Office Culture: Why Venn Chose Five Days a Week 00:18:55 Scaling Customer Acquisition 00:21:20 Building a Team of 20 High Performers 00:23:29 Equity, Incentives, and Retention: Keeping Top Talent Bought In 00:38:54 Raising $21.5M in 20 Days and The Power of Relationships 00:42:49 US vs Canada VCs: Risk Appetite and Market Understanding 00:53:23 Building Without Validation 00:53:10 Advice for Aspiring Founders 01:04:27 The Immigrant Advantage: Minimizing Regret and Maximizing Opportunity 01:02:57 14-Hour Days and What it Takes to Build 01:05:59 Future Vision, Giving Back, and What's Next ___ Between Two Brunettes Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@betweentwobrunettes Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betweentwobrunettes Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@betweentwobrunettes LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/betweentwobrunettes X: https://x.com/twobrunettespod Samantha Miller Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samanthaj_miller Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@samanthaj_miller LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthamiller111 X: https://x.com/samantha_btbpod Germana Kazazi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/germanakazazi Tiktok:https://www.tiktok.com/@germanakazazi LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/germana-kazazi X: https://x.com/GermanaKazazi Ahmed Shafik LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shafikahmed X: https://x.com/a_shafik Venn LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vennca X: https://x.com/venncanada Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/venn.ca ___ Produced by Thirty Two Media Inc.

12. 

    22 Apr 2026

    How Bird&Be Grew to 8 Figures on Modest Raises and Clinical Credibility (Samantha Diamond)

    Most consumer health companies chase scale with big raises and bigger burn. Samantha Diamond took a different path. She co-founded Bird&Be after transitioning out of a decade-long career running her own communications agency. When she made the move, she rebuilt a founding team from scratch, raised a few million dollars in two weeks, and set out to build a reproductive care company that doctors would actually trust. Four years later, Bird&Be is profitable and on track to be in 1,000 Ulta Beauty locations across the US, stocked in fertility clinics across North America, and heading into a Series A with strong retention and clinical studies behind it. In this conversation, Samantha talks about what it actually takes to build a credible consumer health brand without burning through capital to get there. She discusses: Why male factor infertility became the number one reason for IVF in Canada, and what that means for how we approach the conversation What she learned across multiple fundraising rounds and how she is approaching the Series A differently What "trimester zero" means and the six-month prep protocol Samantha recommends for both partners Why reproductive health belongs in every wellness conversation as a fifth biomarker What it takes to land 1,000 Ulta Beauty locations How Bird&Be used clinical studies to build the kind of credibility that gets your product stocked in fertility clinics ___ Chapters 00:00:00 What is Bird&Be and Why Reproductive Care Matters 00:00:57 The Gap in Sex Education and Reproductive Health 00:03:01 Male Fertility: The Missing Half of the Conversation 00:05:06 Age, Health, and the Biological Clock for Both Partners 00:09:17 One in Five: The Reality of Infertility Today 00:13:32 Trimester Zero: Preparing Your Body for Pregnancy 00:14:51 Testing Before Trying: FSH, AMH, and Sperm Quality 00:26:29 The Power Prenatal Packs: Science-Backed Supplements 00:38:02 PCOS, Inositol, and Managing Reproductive Conditions 00:29:22 Your Menstrual Cycle: The Fifth Vital Sign 00:33:23 Clinical Credibility: Studies, Medical Teams, and Real Results 00:40:21 From Clinics to Ulta: Building Distribution and Trust 00:46:04 The Origin Story: From Pregnancy Loss to Building Bird&Be 00:51:50 Fundraising, Bootstrapping, and Growing to Eight Figures 01:00:32 Building a Company While Raising Three Kids ___ Promo: 20% OFF with code ‘BRUNETTES’ at check-out https://birdandbe.com ___ Between Two Brunettes Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@betweentwobrunettes Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betweentwobrunettes Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@betweentwobrunettes LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/betweentwobrunettes X: https://x.com/twobrunettespod Samantha Miller Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samanthaj_miller Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@samanthaj_miller LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthamiller111 X: https://x.com/samantha_btbpod Germana Kazazi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/germanakazazi Tiktok:https://www.tiktok.com/@germanakazazi LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/germana-kazazi X: https://x.com/GermanaKazazi Samantha Diamond Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/startupmamma LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-diamond-1484a718 Bird&Be Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/birdbeco LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/birdandbe Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@birdandbe ___ Produced by Thirty Two Media Inc.

13. 

    8 Apr 2026

    The Mushroom CEO Who Built a Multi-Million Dollar Company on a Regulated Nervous System

    Tonya Papanikolov spent years searching for a functional mushroom product she could actually trust. When she couldn't find one that met her standards, she thought to build it herself. So in 2018, she did. Rainbo is now one of Canada's most recognized functional mushroom brands, a B Corp, seven-figure company stocked at Erewhon, Whole Foods, and Summerhill Market, built on organic growth and strong unit economics, with product quality treated as non-negotiable from day one. What drove her there was personal. Years of health symptoms that conventional medicine couldn't explain, and a deep conviction that the answers were sitting in nature, largely ignored. In this conversation, we unpack what functional mushrooms actually are and why most products on the market are nowhere near as clean as they appear, how Tonya bootstrapped Rainbo on $30,000 from friends and family, and why she believes the nervous system is the CEO of your body. She discusses: The difference between culinary, functional, and medicinal mushrooms and why the extraction process matters more than most people realize Why most functional mushroom products on the market don't actually contain real mushrooms, and what to look for instead How a mold exposure in a Toronto house became the turning point that sent her life in a completely different direction What nervous system dysregulation actually looks like in the body and why corporate culture rewards it How she scaled Rainbo from zero marketing spend to major retail chains without institutional capital Bringing her husband Simon on as co-founder and what it takes to protect both the business and the relationship at the same time Why you don't have to choose between building something hard and taking care of yourself while you do it ___ Chapters 00:00:00 What Are Functional Mushrooms? 00:09:12 The Mycelial Network: How Mushrooms Communicate 00:11:08 Lion's Mane, Reishi, and Chaga: The Big Three 00:16:01 Why Quality Matters 00:23:46 Bootstrapping Rainbo 00:26:50 From Direct-to-Consumer to Retail: Scaling Without Institutional Funding 00:32:00 Mold, Parasites, and the Health Journey 00:34:02 The Nervous System: Your Body's CEO 00:37:44 Corporate Burnout and Sympathetic Dominance 00:38:41 Somatic Release: When Your Body Holds the Memory 00:45:03 Launching Fungki: The Coffee Alternative Years in the Making 00:48:46 Working with Your Partner 00:57:21 Building with Community: Listening to Your Customers 00:58:58 The Nervous System as Foundation 01:01:52 Rapid Fire and Where to Find Rainbo ___ Rainbo Promo Code: 15% off with code BRUNETTES https://www.rainbo.com/BRUNETTES ___ Between Two Brunettes Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@betweentwobrunettes Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betweentwobrunettes TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@betweentwobrunettes LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/betweentwobrunettes X: https://x.com/twobrunettespod Samantha Miller Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samanthaj_miller TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@samanthaj_miller LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthamiller111 X: https://x.com/samantha_btbpod Germana Kazazi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/germanakazazi TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@germanakazazi LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/germana-kazazi X: https://x.com/GermanaKazazi Tonya Papanikolov Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tonyapapanikolove LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonya-papanikolov Rainbo Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rainbomushrooms Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rainbomushrooms LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rainbomushrooms ___ Produced by Thirty Two Media Inc.

14. 

    25 Mar 2026

    The Biologic Life Insurance Policy Nobody Told You About: Dr. Drew Taylor of Acorn Biolabs

    What if the most important health decision you could make right now costs less than Netflix and takes 30 minutes? That's the bet Dr. Drew Taylor has been building toward since he co-founded Acorn Biolabs in 2017. Acorn lets people bank their own stem cells, harvested non-invasively from hair follicles, before age degrades them. Acorn now operates across more than 200 partner clinics in North America and was just named one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies of 2026. Before any of this, Drew was a pitcher. He got drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays, walked away from a medical school acceptance to play professionally, and when a shoulder injury ended his career, came back to the lab and never left. In this conversation, we unpack what it takes to build a category from scratch, why your cells are aging faster than you think, and what Drew calls the biologic life insurance policy that most people don't know exists. He discusses: What regenerative medicine actually is and how it differs from the longevity and preventative health space Why hair follicles turned out to be one of the most valuable and accessible sources of adult stem cells The "biologic life insurance policy" and what it means to bank your cells before you need them How he navigated leaving a venture capital salary to start a company with a newborn at home Why Covid nearly stalled Acorn, and what kept them going The NK cell research that has shown early results suppressing ovarian, cervical, and breast cancer cells in the lab How Acorn thinks about the long road from aesthetics to advanced therapeutics and why that sequencing is intentional ___ Chapters 00:00:00 What is Regenerative Medicine? 00:03:14 Stem Cells: The Connective Tissue Powerhouse 00:05:22 The Future of 3D Printing Organs with Stem Cells 00:06:43 From Baseball to PhD: Drew's Journey 00:10:11 How Acorn Biolabs Was Born 00:11:48 Navigating the Patent Process: Lessons for Scientific Founders 00:15:24 The Acorn Process: Banking Your Stem Cells from Hair Follicles 00:20:43 Your Own Biology as an Aesthetic Treatment 00:24:11 The Science Behind Secretome: Growth Factors, Exosomes, and More 00:28:19 Secretome vs PRP 00:28:49 The Future of Injectables: Clinical Trials and Regulatory Approvals 00:29:48 Regulatory Landscape: Canada, US, and the Medical Tourism Problem 00:33:49 Clinic Partnerships and Business Model 00:37:54 Fundraising Strategy 00:38:13 COVID's Impact: Turning Crisis into R&D Opportunity 00:43:56 Balancing Fatherhood and Entrepreneurship: Drew's Approach to Family 00:49:52 Turning Hair Follicles into Cancer-Fighting NK Cells 00:54:49 Growing Acorn and Expanding Clinical Applications 00:55:28 How to Get Started: Banking Your Cells with Acorn ___ Bank Your Stem Cells with Acorn Acorn’s Live Cell Preservation service allows you to collect and cryogenically store stem-cell-rich hair follicles for future regenerative use. Investment: Standard collection ($945) + first year of storage ($190): $1,135 Exclusive Offer: First year of banking ($190 value) for FREE with code BRUNETTES Step-by-Step Purchase Instructions: Visit www.acorn.me Select ‘Start Your Journey’, ‘Cell Banking + Storage’ At checkout enter promo code: BRUNETTES Acorn’s team will reach out to coordinate their clinic visit Note: While Acorn has a wide network of practices, they do not yet have full coverage across Canada/USA. You can view their locations here: https://acorn.me/find-providers/ ___ Between Two Brunettes Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@betweentwobrunettes Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betweentwobrunettes Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@betweentwobrunettes LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/betweentwobrunettes X: https://x.com/twobrunettespod Samantha Miller Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samanthaj_miller Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@samanthaj_miller LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthamiller111 X: https://x.com/samantha_btbpod Germana Kazazi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/germanakazazi Tiktok:https://www.tiktok.com/@germanakazazi LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/germana-kazazi X: https://x.com/GermanaKazazi Dr. Drew Taylor Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drdrewtaylor LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drew-taylor-65b6ab10 Acorn Biolabs Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acornbiolabs LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/acornbiolabs (https://www.linkedin.com/company/acornbiolabs/posts/?feedView=all) ___ Produced by Thirty Two Media Inc.

15. 

    11 Mar 2026

    The Fight for Canada’s Digital Sovereignty: The Godfather of Canadian Tech

    John Ruffolo has spent decades helping shape Canada’s technology and venture capital ecosystem. From building Deloitte’s technology practice to launching OMERS Ventures and now founding Maverix Private Equity, John has been at the center of many of the country’s most important moments in innovation, investment and economic policy. Over his career, he has helped build and back some of Canada’s most important technology companies while advising governments and institutions on the future of the digital economy. In this conversation, we unpack the forces shaping Canada’s digital economy, the hard lessons that come with building industries from scratch and why this moment may be one of the most consequential for the country’s future. He discusses: The unlikely path from Deloitte partner to building OMERS Ventures and why many thought the idea would fail Why digital sovereignty is becoming critical to Canada’s economic future What we need to see more of from Canadian venture capital to build the next generation of tech champions The policy and talent shifts needed for Canada to compete in a digital economy The cycling accident that left him paralyzed and and how it reshaped his perspective on resilience and purpose His mission to make Toronto a global center for spinal cord and neurological research ___ Chapters 00:00:00 Growing Up Italian: From Jane and Finch to Bay Street 00:09:56 Arthur Andersen and Early Career 00:16:11 The Enron Collapse: Losing Everything and Finding Hope 00:25:40 Building the Tech Practice and Creating Omers Ventures 00:39:17 The Renaissance of Canadian Tech and Digital Sovereignty 00:48:40 Launching Mavericks 01:03:09 Investing in the Digital Economy: Why Entry Points and IP Rights Matter 01:12:14 The Cycling Accident 01:26:05 Recovery, Resilience and Walking Again 01:36:17 The Two Doors: Hope, Purpose and Never Wasting Time 01:42:08 Rapid Fire and Closing ___ Between Two Brunettes Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@betweentwobrunettes Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betweentwobrunettes Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@betweentwobrunettes LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/betweentwobrunettes X: https://x.com/twobrunettespod Samantha Miller Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samanthaj_miller Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@samanthaj_miller LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthamiller111 X: https://x.com/samantha_btbpod Germana Kazazi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/germanakazazi Tiktok:https://www.tiktok.com/@germanakazazi LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/germana-kazazi X: https://x.com/GermanaKazazi John Ruffolo LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joruffolo X: https://x.com/ruffolo ___ Produced by Thirty Two Media Inc.

16. 

    25 Feb 2026

    Performing When It Counts - Inside the Mind of an Elite Performance Psychologist

    Dr. Dana Sinclair is one of Canada's leading performance psychologists and author recognized for her work with elite athletes, high-level professionals, and executives. She is the author of the Globe and Mail bestseller Dialed In: Do Your Best When It Matters Most - giving practical lessons on how to deliver when the stakes are high. In this conversation, we unpack what actually separates top performers from everyone else and why talent alone doesn’t determine who wins. Dana shares the psychological skills that matter most, the common performance traps people fall into, and how mental rehearsal can literally rewire how you show up under pressure. This episode is for founders, leaders, athletes, and anyone serious about raising their level. She discusses: How to perform when the stakes are high, even if you don’t feel confident Why talent is required but never sufficient for success Why you can’t change your personality, only your behaviours The performance “flags” that signal interference The role confidence actually plays (and why it’s overrated) How individuals differ across performance traits The role of visualization and directed “daydreaming” in rewiring performance ___ Chapters 00:00:00 Early Awareness of Performance Under Pressure 00:03:38 Why Talent Doesn't Ensure Success 00:04:56 Red Flags in Performance Assessments 00:09:34 The Assessment Process: Identifying What Gets in Your Way 00:10:45 Debunking the Confidence Myth 00:12:59 Managing Tension and Finding Your Triggers 00:25:13 Parenting, Pressure, and Building Resilience 00:34:50 Breathing, Slowing Down, and In-the-Moment Strategies 00:37:52 Superstitions: Anxiety in Disguise 00:43:25 Performance Styles and Self-Assessment 00:57:36 The Power of Daydreaming and Imagery 01:02:17 Rapid Fire and Final Wisdom ___ Between Two Brunettes Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@betweentwobrunettes Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betweentwobrunettes Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@betweentwobrunettes LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/betweentwobrunettes X: https://x.com/twobrunettespod Samantha Miller Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samanthaj_miller Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@samanthaj_miller LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthamiller111 X: https://x.com/samantha_btbpod Germana Kazazi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/germanakazazi Tiktok:https://www.tiktok.com/@germanakazazi LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/germana-kazazi X: https://x.com/GermanaKazazi Dana Sinclair Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drdanasinclair LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-dana-sinclair-47a82811 ___ Produced by Thirty Two Media Inc.

17. 

    11 Feb 2026

    2 Million Canadians…An $800M Valuation: Here’s What It Took

    Dan Eberhard didn’t set out to build a fintech company, he set out to fix a system that wasn’t working for people like the family he grew up in. Raised by a single mother in British Columbia, Dan saw early how traditional financial institutions often fail the very people who rely on them most. After a mix of wins and hard lessons in prior ventures, he went on to found KOHO, one of Canada’s most successful challenger banks, scaling from zero revenue in 2017 to hundreds of millions of dollars today. In this conversation, we unpack what it really takes to build a company by solving the right problems, not the easy ones, and what Canada needs more of if it wants to produce the next generation of enduring businesses. Dan is the Founder and CEO of KOHO, a Canadian fintech company redefining how people manage their money. He discusses: Growing up with a single mom in BC, and how that shaped his view of money, systems, and opportunity Why traditional banks no longer work for modern Canadians The biggest structural challenges in how our government is set up Scaling KOHO from zero revenue in 2017 to an $800M valuation Why experience is overrated, and what he actually looks for when hiring and supporting A players Reflections on leadership, conflict, and fatherhood while building a high-growth company ___ Chapters 00:00:00 Growing Up with Agency: Early Life and Entrepreneurial Roots 00:02:09 First Venture: Wind Energy and Learning to Sell 00:06:20 Why Hard Problems Attract the Best Talent 00:08:29 Canada's Go-for-Bronze Culture and the GDP Problem 00:12:41 Government Bloat and the Cost of Bureaucracy 00:19:46 Starting KOHO 00:23:17 Experience is Overrated: Hiring for Horsepower, Warmth, and Humility 00:25:04 The KOHO 50: Managing Top Performers and Building Culture 00:39:05 Secondaries, 10-Year Options, and Treating Employees Right 00:45:10 Fatherhood, Identity, and Learning Self-Compassion 00:49:57 Money, Agency, and Building for Impact 00:53:15 Rapid Fire and Final Advice ___ Between Two Brunettes Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@betweentwobrunettes Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betweentwobrunettes Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@betweentwobrunettes LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/betweentwobrunettes X: https://x.com/twobrunettespod Samantha Miller Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samanthaj_miller Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@samanthaj_miller LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthamiller111 X: https://x.com/samantha_btbpod Germana Kazazi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/germanakazazi Tiktok:https://www.tiktok.com/@germanakazazi LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/germana-kazazi X: https://x.com/GermanaKazazi Daniel Eberhard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danieleberhard/ X: https://x.com/DanEbs ___ Produced by Thirty Two Media Inc.

18. 

    28 Jan 2026

    Scaling a Healthtech Startup While Living with Multiple Sclerosis

    Alex Oosterveen was in the middle of building a company when his life changed overnight. A former investment banker turned founder, Alex was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis at the very start of building Caribou - a moment that forced him to confront his health and the choices that led to this moment. In this conversation, we unpack what it really takes to scale a company while navigating uncertainty, chronic illness, and building a family. Alex is the Co-Founder and CEO of Caribou, a Canadian healthtech startup tackling one of the most overlooked challenges in healthcare: the caregiver shortage. Caribou is a caregiver engagement platform that helps home care companies better support and retain caregivers. He discusses: Being diagnosed with MS while building his company and how it reshaped his relationship with work, health, and ambition The lifestyle and environmental changes that transformed his health (spoiler alert: it wasn’t a drug) The deliberate path he took to gain the insight, experience, and credibility needed before entering the caregiver industry The pivotal decisions that accelerated Caribou’s growth Building a company with his wife, and how that choice strengthened both their partnership and the business How he thinks about work-life integration while raising their young boy ___ Chapters 00:00:51 The MS Diagnosis: A Life-Changing Moment 00:03:27 Taking Control: Treatment and Lifestyle Changes 00:11:15 The Origin Story: From Investment Banking to Caregiving 00:19:22 The Labor Shortage Crisis in Home Care 00:22:58 Building Caribou 00:55:07 The COVID Pivot: Adapting to Survive 00:31:42 Bringing on a Co-Founder 00:38:10 Working with Your Spouse 00:44:19 Becoming a Father 00:45:56 Defining Success and Future Vision 01:00:22 Closing Wisdom: Advice for Parents and Founders ___ Between Two Brunettes Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@betweentwobrunettes Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betweentwobrunettes Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@betweentwobrunettes LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/betweentwobrunettes X: https://x.com/twobrunettespod Samantha Miller Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samanthaj_miller Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@samanthaj_miller LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthamiller111 X: https://x.com/samantha_btbpod Germana Kazazi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/germanakazazi Tiktok:https://www.tiktok.com/@germanakazazi LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/germana-kazazi X: https://x.com/GermanaKazazi Alex Oosterveen LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-oosterveen/ ___ Produced by Thirty Two Media Inc.

19. 

    27 Jan 2026

    Starting Between Two Brunettes: Why We’re Doing This

    In this first episode of Between Two Brunettes, we sit down together to introduce ourselves, our relationship, and why we decided to start this podcast. This episode sets the foundation for the conversations that follow. We hope you enjoy the show! ___ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@betweentwobrunettes Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betweentwobrunettes Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@betweentwobrunettes LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/betweentwobrunettes X: https://x.com/twobrunettespod ___ Produced by Thirty Two Media Inc.

Inside a recent episode

Jon Love on Building KingSett, Selling Oxford & Why He’s Betting on Canada

Published 21 Oct 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] But the reality is, I think it's going to slowly start to come up as part of the strategy. Canada's got three emphasis, four emphasis I'd really focus on. Energy, of course. Technology. Finance. We're global leaders in finance. And agriculture. And agriculture. And we sometimes forget about agriculture, but you realize there's more people employed in Ontario in food processing than there is in the auto industry. The news would not have you think that. No, because the auto industry has three employers and one union, and so they have a super loud voice. But the hundreds of businesses that are in food processing don't have a voice. […]

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