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The Founder Mindset

The Founder Mindset

Leah Sarich

Season two of The Founder Mindset podcast will continue to explore the human experience of being an entrepreneur. Hosted by veteran broadcaster, Leah Sarich, she will have intimate conversations with founders about what it's REALLY like to build a company from nothing: why do they take the risk, how do they cope with negativity, how do they remain resilient, what sacrifices are made and what kind of impact do they want to create in the world.
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Top 10 The Founder Mindset Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best The Founder Mindset episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to The Founder Mindset for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite The Founder Mindset episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Leah Sarich interviews Jenn Hunter, Co-Founder of PayShepherd, a contractor management platform for heavy industry. They discuss Jenn's journey into entrepreneurship, the challenges of digitizing workflows in heavy industry, and how PayShepherd has transformed contractor-client interactions. They also touch on the experiences of working in a male-dominated field and the changing landscape for women in heavy industry.

Jenn shares her journey of balancing entrepreneurship and motherhood while prioritizing personal wellness. She discusses transformative changes she implemented, including better nutrition, sleep, and physical movement, which enhanced her productivity and well-being. Jenn also emphasizes fostering a healthy work culture at PayShepherd, highlighting flexibility, team support, and the value of life’s big moments. She explains how the company’s approach positively affects clients and their communities, offering valuable lessons for entrepreneurs and business leaders.

About Jenn Hunter

Jenn Hunter is a Co-Founder of PayShepherd, a contractor management solution that automates contract compliance, resulting in real-time cost reporting, shared accountability, and effective risk management, providing clients with improved operating margins. PayShepherd is ranked #13 in “Forbes 2024 Best 200 Canadian Startup Employers” and “2024 Products That Count” winner in the category of AI & Data.

Jenn's focus is on customer outcomes. She brings deep domain expertise from her background in heavy industry and has navigated every phase of the customer journey, from solutions and delivery to end-user support. Jenn is an EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2024 finalist, an associate member of the A100, as well as mother to 3 boys under the age of 5.

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Contact Thin Air Labs:

Contact Jenn Hunter:

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Transcript

Jenn 00:02

It's all personal to me. It's my baby, like I've sacrificed so much personally for this, and this has afforded me so much personally as well. And so the blend to me is just, it's just my time. And you know, whatever is the highest priority in the moment, gets my time.

Leah 00:19

Hi, thanks for being here. And welcome to Season Two of The Founder Mindset, brought to you by ATB. I'm Leah Sarich, your host, and I'm super excited to talk to more founders about the human experience of being an entrepreneur. In this podcast, we're digging into what it really feels like to build a company from nothing. I was a broadcaster for over 20 years. So, I've interviewed thousands of people, but entrepreneurs, not that many, and yet they have the best stories. They're solving big problems, and they're creating an incredible impact. But it is hard work. So, why would they do this? Let's find out.

Leah 01:06

Joining me in studio today is Jenn Hunter, co-founder and director of operations for PayShepherd, a contractor management platform for heavy industry. Hey, Jenn.

Jenn 01:14

Hey, Leah.

Leah 01:16

Thanks so much for doing this.

Jenn 01:17

Of course happy to.

Leah 01:19

So fun to have you in the studio. Let's go right back to the beginning, as we do with all of these conversations, how did you actually get into entrepreneurship?

Jenn 01:27

I wouldn't have thought that I would be an entrepreneur. It definitely wasn't something I thought about growing up. But it wasn't something I was exposed to a lot. But a colleague that I'd worked with for many years had, you know, left the company that we were both at, and he was starting something and he asked if my husband and I wanted to invest. And so I actually got to kick the can without taking a lot of risk. I still had a full-time job, I didn't have to, you know, lose that financial security for my family. But I was able to kind of join the hustle and see what that was like. And it was a really great stepping stone for me to actually take it on full-time, which I would consider kind of the real baby as PayShepherd.

Leah 02:01

Okay, cool. So, you dipped your toe in the water with this first operation? And how did you feel about it? Even from the get-go? What did it feel like to you?

Jenn 02:10

I mean, it felt really natural for me like the hustle, you kind of like picking up the evenings and...

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Taking the reins of a struggling tech company might seem daunting, but for David Lod, it was an opportunity to build something extraordinary from the ground up. As CEO of VEERUM, David inherited a company facing significant challenges—from financial instability to a fractured internal culture. Rather than backing down, he leaned into the adversity, focusing on refining the company’s core software and transforming its workplace culture into one built on trust and collaboration.

In this episode, David shares how he navigated VEERUM through the early days of the pandemic, doubling the company’s size and client base at a time when most businesses were shrinking. He opens up about the tough decisions, including downsizing the team and shifting the company’s focus, while building a supportive environment that empowered his employees to thrive. From securing critical capital to overcoming personal and professional hurdles, David's journey is a powerful lesson in leadership, resilience, and creating lasting impact.

Tune in to hear how David turned a near-failure into a fast-growing tech leader and how his approach to crisis and opportunity helped shape the future of VEERUM.

About David Lod

David is the CEO of VEERUM. Under his leadership, VEERUM has experienced tremendous growth, becoming a recognized powerhouse in the world of heavy-industry asset management and visualization.

Prior to joining VEERUM David was responsible for building and managing critical data centres facilities for Shaw Communications Inc as VP and GM overseeing the P&L, operations, key client relationships and product development.

Previously, he was Vice President of Enterprise Sales for Rogers Communications Inc. and Executive Vice President & Co-Owner for Pivot Data Centres (a high-growth firm that was acquired by Rogers Communications Inc. in 2013). David has supported clients across the world in his career.

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Contact Thin Air Labs:

Contact David Lod:

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Transcript

David 00:01

My best friend from junior kindergarten, he went the software route, and has been a CTO in a bunch of construction tech, Big Pharma software companies, and had an incredible background doing that. And him and I have been best friends forever, and we always wanted to work together. So when I got on the bench here as CEO, I said, Rob, I think I found the one.

Leah 00:24

Hi, thanks for being here and welcome to Season Two of The Founder Mindset, brought to you by ATB. I'm Leah Sarich, your host, and I'm super excited to talk to more founders about the human experience of being an entrepreneur. In this podcast, we're digging into what it really feels like to build a company from nothing. I was a broadcaster for over 20 years. So, I've interviewed thousands of people, but entrepreneurs, not that many. And yet they have the best stories. They're solving big problems. And they're creating incredible impact. But it is hard work. So why would they do this? Let's find out.

Leah 01:08

Joining me in studio today is David Lod, CEO of VEERUM, a platform that empowers teams with their visual operations capabilities, allowing companies around the world to manage their industrial assets in 3D. David, welcome. Thank you so much for being here.

David 01:24

Thank you, Leah, thrilled to be here today. So.

Leah 01:26

Thank you. Well, let's start right at the beginning and talk a little bit about like VEERUM. Let's start there with what VEERUM is today, and then we'll go back a little bit in time. So let's start with what VEERUM Is today.

David 01:37

You described it spot on. This is about changing industrial operations for large facilities and assets. So these are traditionally oil and gas facilities. They could be utility, large manufacturing facilities as well, as you know, utility and mines as well. So what we saw was a very antiquated approach to working, providing operations and maintenance, project controls construction with all these large facilities. So what VEERUM has been able to do is create what I call a single pane of glass. So you just log into your one laptop and you can see your engineering models, your geospatial data, your document management, everything together, including your real-time, whether it's Io...

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The Founder Mindset - Breanne Everett - Orpyx (Bonus Content)
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10/03/23 • 64 min

“It’s been 13 years... and the way she talks about the future, the way that she talks about how the opportunity has never been greater, she’s never been more excited... It’s easy to understand why we’d make an investment in a person like this.” —James Lochrie on Orpyx CEO Breanne Everett

In this episode of The Founder Mindset, Dr. Breanne Everett, Founder and CEO of Orpyx, chats with Leah about:

  • Why she went from surgeon to entrepreneur
  • How she navigated the premature birth of her first child and fundraising at the same time
  • Why the opportunity for impact keeps her going through the inevitable challenges

BONUS CONTENT

At the end of the episode, Leah gets reaction to her conversation with Breanne from James Lochrie, Managing Partner of Thin Air Labs which invested in Orpyx.

Learn more about how James deeply admires Breanne’s growth as a leader, her emotional resilience and her drive to create meaningful human impact with her company.

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The Founder Mindset - Erik Westblom - Provision (Bonus Content)
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10/04/23 • 66 min

“Through and through, one of the most competitive entrepreneurs that we’ve invested in, and that’s saying a lot because the bar is pretty high for the competitive average for our entrepreneurs, yea this guy, he will not quit.” —James Lochrie on Provision CEO Erik Westblom

  • In this episode of The Founder Mindset, Erik Westblom, Co-founder and CEO of Provision, chats with Leah about:
  • Why he wants people to really understand the stress of being a founder
  • How he thinks about shame as motivation
  • Why he’ll always be obsessed with the bank balance

BONUS CONTENT

At the end of the episode, Leah gets reaction to her conversation with Erik from James Lochrie, Managing Partner of Thin Air Labs which invested in Provision.

Hear how James relates to Erik’s candid truths about the impact entrepreneurship can have on families. Find out what James has learned about processing the stress of being a founder, and how that’s helped him become a better investor and mentor to founders like Erik. And hear what led James to offer a rare investment on the spot into Provision.

...

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The Founder Mindset - Darcy Tuer - ZayZoon (Bonus Content)
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09/26/23 • 55 min

“This is a guy, an accidental entrepreneur, with a low risk tolerance - a guy who stumbled into entrepreneurship because someone opened a door for him, and now he talks about it like a north star. He’s got it.” —James Lochrie on ZayZoon CEO Darcy Tuer

In this episode of The Founder Mindset, Darcy Tuer, Co-founder and CEO of ZayZoon, chats with Leah about:

  • Why he’s continually drawn to being a founder
  • How he thinks about rejection
  • What he’s learned from facing several ‘go or no go’ points in his startup journey

BONUS CONTENT

At the end of the episode, Leah gets reaction to her conversation with Darcy from James Lochrie, Managing Partner of Thin Air Labs.

Hear how James deeply respects Darcy’s desire to make a meaningful difference in people’s lives, how he shares Darcy’s low risk tolerance and love of problem-solving as risk mitigation. And learn more about James and Darcy’s love of the Calgary innovation ecosystem.

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The Founder Mindset - Nicole Janssen - AltaML (Bonus Content)
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09/19/23 • 55 min

“She believes in a future we can’t see. She believes in challenging herself and creating autonomy for herself. She wants fulfillment that only she can deliver as an entrepreneur to herself” — James Lochrie on AltaML Co-CEO Nicole Janssen

In this episode of The Founder Mindset, Nicole Janssen, Co-founder and Co-CEO of AltaML chats with Leah about:

  • How she was a terrible employee and what she loves about being an entrepreneur
  • What it feels like to learn a major investor is pulling out while you’re on your first vacation in years, and what she learned from that experience
  • How a life-changing diagnosis has made her a better entrepreneur

BONUS CONTENT

At the end of the episode, Leah gets reaction to her conversation with Nicole from James Lochrie, Managing Partner of Thin Air Labs.

Find out why James thinks Nicole is the ultimate professional, how he deeply admires her ability to create trust with her candor and why he thinks more entrepreneurs should take on a leadership role like Nicole has to educate and inspire stakeholders in their sectors.

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The Founder Mindset - Alice Reimer - Fillip (Bonus Content)
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09/05/23 • 56 min

“You could hear it in her voice: I’ve been trained for this, I’m battle ready, I’ve got the scars, I’ve got my team beside me and I’ve already got my plan. Let’s go do it, it’s just waiting for us, let’s go take the hill.” — James Lochrie on Fillip CEO Alice Reimer

In this episode of The Founder Mindset, Alice Reimer, CEO of Fillip chats with Leah about:

  • why she thinks founders should get some business experience before starting their startup
  • how carrying the weight of a startup can get pretty heavy
  • what keeps her coming back to being a founder, time and again

BONUS CONTENT

At the end of the episode, Leah gets reaction to her conversation with Alice from James Lochrie, Managing Partner of Thin Air Labs which invested in Fillip.

Find out what James respects about Alice as a founder, why he thinks her description of herself as a “hustler” is apt and learn more about why he decided to invest in her company.

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The Founder Mindset - James Lochrie 101

James Lochrie 101

The Founder Mindset

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09/05/23 • 62 min

In this episode of The Founder Mindset, James Lochrie, Managing Partner at Thin Air Labs chats with Leah about:

  • what motivated him to become an entrepreneur then investor
  • the complicated emotions he had around the acquisition of his company
  • why he continues to support founders, rather than sit on a beach
  • and more!
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The Founder Mindset - Season 1 Re-Release - Trailer
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09/05/23 • 2 min

Welcome to the re-release of The Founder Mindset Season One!

If you’re ready to nerd out on startups and founders, you’ll want to listen to each conversation host, Leah Sarich, has with the featured founder. Then, stick around for reaction to the episode from James Lochrie.

James is an investor, tech entrepreneur and mentor. You can learn about him in his own episode of The Founder Mindset, James Lochrie 101.

And if you’re new to all this, well, even if you’re not, get ready to be inspired. Hear from the founders themselves about how it feels to build a company from nothing, then get the investor perspective. How do you decide who to invest in? What makes you take the risk? It’s all here.

Enjoy! And thanks for listening to The Founder Mindset.

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Join host Leah Sarich as we hear about Kyle Friedman’s entrepreneurial journey to success with his payment platform Quickly. Kyle makes it clear that there’s no linear path to success in business, but when you have a strong belief in yourself and the possible, great things can happen. Listeners will be inspired by Kyle’s resourcefulness and sheer audacity when it comes to following intuition. He’s also a great example of how to maintain a fierce commitment to family while running a business. He shares advice and wisdom on how to balance family life with entrepreneurial aspirations and finding the right community to help you through it all.

From discovering his entrepreneurial roots in small-town New Brunswick to growing a company he put together in an afternoon into one of the largest painting companies in the country, Kyle’s tale is about determination and a willingness to keep trying. He shares examples of his ideas that failed and how he found the courage to keep trying until he created a product that fit the market, even if it meant starting over.

Kyle also shares his biggest secret to success—creating a boundary between work and home and protecting his time to keep family a priority. Busy entrepreneurs will hear how finding a safe space with other business owners can help provide a safe space to celebrate success and discuss fear and doubt with like-minded people rather than bringing all your business trouble home. Whether you’re new to starting a business or have been a Founder for decades, there are valuable lessons to be learned inside this episode!

About Kyle Friedman

Kyle Friedman is a seasoned entrepreneur with over a decade of experience at the helm of innovative ventures. As the Co-Founder and CEO of Quickly Technologies Inc., Canada's foremost leader in Earned Revenue Access, he's pioneering a tech platform that empowers businesses to tap into their earned revenue on demand, fuelling their growth and efficiency.

Kyle's entrepreneurial journey spans diverse industries, including service, education, product procurement, and technology. His reputation for driving innovation, providing visionary leadership, and achieving remarkable growth is underscored by Zoom Painting's recognition as the 86th fastest-growing company in Canada in 2019.

Beyond business success, Kyle is an active member of the Entrepreneurs' Organization, where he's held the role of forum chair for the Calgary chapter. He's also lent his expertise to numerous Canadian non-profit organizations. Passionate about harnessing entrepreneurship and technology for positive social impact, Kyle is committed to making a difference in the world through his work.

Resources discussed in this episode:

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Contact Thin Air Labs:

Contact Kyle Friedman:

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Transcript

Kyle 00:03

If I'm ever like, unsure or questioning myself, and I'm kind of in this like point of like weakness, like a low I, like, made a deal with myself a long time ago that I won't make a decision, so I just keep going with whatever decision I made before, because I think that I was probably in a better space when I made it.

Leah 00:23

Hi, thanks for being here. And welcome to Season Two of The Founder Mindset, brought to you by ATB. I'm Leah Sarich, your host, and I'm super excited to talk to more Founders about the human experience of being an entrepreneur. In this podcast, we're digging into what it really feels like to build a company from nothing. I was a broadcaster for over 20 years. So I've interviewed thousands of people, but entrepreneurs, not that many. And yet they have the best stories. They're solving big problems. And they're creating incredible impact. But it is hard work. So why would they do this? Let's find out. Joining me in studio today is Kyle Friedman, Co-Founder and CEO of Quickly, an early payment platform that ensures businesses can pay their vendors sooner while they maintain their working capital. Hey, Kyle, thanks for being here.

Kyle 01:20

Yeah, you have a beautiful voice.

Leah 01:22

Thank you. I'm in my happy place here in the studio. Thanks for sharing ...

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FAQ

How many episodes does The Founder Mindset have?

The Founder Mindset currently has 25 episodes available.

What topics does The Founder Mindset cover?

The podcast is about Venture Capital, Founder, Entrepreneur, Canada, Entrepreneurship, Investing, Podcasts, Small Business, Technology, Business and Toronto.

What is the most popular episode on The Founder Mindset?

The episode title 'Breanne Everett - Orpyx (Bonus Content)' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on The Founder Mindset?

The average episode length on The Founder Mindset is 41 minutes.

How often are episodes of The Founder Mindset released?

Episodes of The Founder Mindset are typically released every 14 days.

When was the first episode of The Founder Mindset?

The first episode of The Founder Mindset was released on May 16, 2023.

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