The Business Leadership Podcast is a weekly show featuring powerful conversations with the world's top business leaders, entrepreneurs and creators. Get inspired by our guests' experiences as you discover how they've achieved 100X success through laser-like focus! Join Edwin Frondozo as he dives deep into the mindsets, tactics and strategies used by multipassionate leaders so that you can become one too – whatever your endeavour may be. Join us today for an empowering path toward significant, impactful results!
Building a Founder-First Innovation Ecosystem with John MacRitchie | BVZ Five Years Bold
In this special episode of The Business Leadership Podcast (https://thebusinessleadership.com), Edwin Frondozo sits down with John MacRitchie, Assistant Vice President of Zone Learning and Strategic Initiatives at Toronto Metropolitan University, to reflect on five years of the Brampton Venture Zone and what it has unlocked for founders, researchers, and the broader community.
John was instrumental in bringing the Brampton Venture Zone to life and shares why Brampton was the right place to build a founder-first incubator — one grounded in community, persistence, and long-term investment.
We explore:
Why Brampton emerged as a key innovation hub in Canada
How BVZ differs from traditional incubators by focusing on place-based innovation
The role of community in multiplying entrepreneurial impact
What the Brampton Venture Expo reveals about ecosystem momentum
How BVZ connects researchers, clinicians, and entrepreneurs as the School of Medicine launches
What the City of Brampton’s renewed investment signals for the next five years
This episode offers a behind-the-scenes look at how innovation ecosystems are intentionally designed — and sustained — over time.
This episode is a special collaboration with UpNext Global (https://upnext.world) and the Brampton Venture Zone by Toronto Metropolitan University, produced in celebration of BVZ’s fifth anniversary.
🎥 Watch the full video interview on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/LDx9ASzzWmE
Guest:
John MacRitchie
Assistant Vice President, Zone Learning & Strategic Initiatives
Toronto Metropolitan University
31 Jan 2026
Scaling Trauma Care with Empathy with Sakeena Mihyar | BVZ Five Years Bold
In this special episode of The Business Leadership Podcast (https://thebusinessleadership.com), Edwin Frondozo sat down with Sakeena Mihyar, Founder and CEO of SAVIN, as part of BVZ: Five Years Bold — a founder story series celebrating five years of the Brampton Venture Zone.
Sakeena is a refugee-led founder building a digital, neuroscience-based mental health platform delivering trauma care in fragile and conflict-affected contexts. Inspired by her lived experience as a survivor of war, SAVIN uses evidence-based EMDR therapy principles to make trauma treatment accessible, culturally appropriate, and scalable across languages and regions.
We explore:
How lived experience became the foundation for a global mental health platform
Why neuroscience-based trauma care can outperform traditional talk therapies
The challenges of building a HealthTech company as a refugee and Muslim woman founder
How empathy and inclusion can be operationalized at scale
How BVZ supported SAVIN in identifying blind spots, refining its pitch, and scaling impact globally
Today, SAVIN operates across Canada and internationally, including in post-conflict regions such as Syria, supporting communities affected by trauma with dignity and care.
This episode is a special collaboration with UpNext Global and the Brampton Venture Zone by Toronto Metropolitan University (https://upnext.world), produced in celebration of BVZ’s fifth anniversary.
🎥 Watch the full video interview on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/Gxhz-q0NRWQ
Guest:
Sakeena Mihyar
Founder & CEO, SAVIN
BVZ Launch Program Alum
31 Jan 2026
From Lived Experience to Patient Care with Latchmi Raghunanan | BVZ Five Years Bold
In this special episode of The Business Leadership Podcast (https://thebusinessleadership.com), Edwin Frondozo sits down with Latchmi Raghunanan, Founder and CEO of Maman Biomedical, as part of BVZ: Five Years Bold — a founder story series celebrating five years of the Brampton Venture Zone.
Latchmi shares how her personal IVF journey became the catalyst for founding Maman Biomedical, a MedTech startup developing technologies to reduce the physical, emotional, and financial burden of fertility treatments. Drawing from her background as a materials scientist, she reflects on the journey from kitchen-countertop prototyping to building a company focused on real-world patient care.
We explore:
How lived experience can shape meaningful healthcare innovation
The leadership challenges of building a biomedical startup from an academic background
Translating scientific research into something investors and partners can understand
How BVZ provided visibility, credibility, and community at an early stage
This episode is a special collaboration with UpNext Global, the F1 Circuit of the Startup Ecosystem (https://upnext.world), and the Brampton Venture Zone by Toronto Metropolitan University, produced in celebration of BVZ’s fifth anniversary and the founders' bridging science, entrepreneurship, and patient impact.
🎥 Watch the full video interview on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/zJc86VLVI5Y
Guest:
Latchmi Raghunanan
Founder & CEO, Maman Biomedical
BVZ Launch Program Alum
Who has been a guest on The Business Leadership Podcast
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Tamara Steffens
Neil Patel
Parag Parekh
Fred Zdan
Lu Zhang
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