Ep 9: Throwback Thursdays with Pranav Menon!

Ep 9: Throwback Thursdays with Pranav Menon!

Pranav is a Coach and Director @ The Knowledge Society [https://www.tks.world/] - a 10 month technology accelerator designed to train unicorn people (aged 13-17 years) to solve the world's most important problems through emerging technologies and sciences. Students that graduate from TKS are either some of the youngest engineers/researchers at companies like SpaceX, NASA, Google or Neuralink, or they end up raising millions to build companies in biotech, web3, AI and medical devices.  Prior to TKS, Pranav was a coach at entrepreneurship@UBC, helping inventors and founders bring their big ideas to market. Outside of work, you'll find him on the mats training Jiu Jitsu, on the dance floor salsa/bachata dancing or leading men's personal development groups

Ep 8: A new kind of restaurant with Chef TJ

After training under French chefs at the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts, TJ honed his skills at The Arbutus Club and worked his way up in the hotel industry, most recently as executive chef at Delta Hotels Vancouver Downtown Suites by Marriott. He was an integral member of the Coast Coal Harbour Hotel’s opening team before the 2010 Winter Olympics. TJ has executed hotel functions of up to 600 people and as well as elaborate galas for the Japanese, Filipino and French Consulate. He now owns and operates Ono Vancouver, a kitchen consulting company that helps small to medium scale business food programs. Clients range from breweries and local chain restaurants to startups and charities providing community meals in the Downtown Eastside and the downtown core.

Ep. 7: Meeting up with David Siegel

David Siegel is the CEO of Meetup, the largest platform for finding and building local communities. He has 25 years of experience as a technology and digital media executive leading organizations through innovative product development, rapid revenue growth, and digital traffic acceleration. Prior to joining Meetup, David was CEO of Investopedia and before that, President of Seeking Alpha. David holds a BA in Philosophy, Politics & Economics and an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania. He is an adjunct professor at Columbia University where he teaches strategic planning and entrepreneurship. He is the author of Decide & Conquer: 44 Decisions That Make or Break All Leaders [https://www.meetup.com/lp/decide-and-conquer-book] and hosts the podcast Keep Connected [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/keep-connected-with-meetup-ceo-david-siegel/id1545712240], which is dedicated to the power of community.

Ep. 6: Anastasia Kiku and her Solution to Single-Use Packaging

As Co-Founder and COO at Reusables.com [http://reusables.com/], Anastasia is on the front lines of the fight against single-use packaging. Reusables is shaping the vision for zero-waste food retail by providing packaging-as-a-service to restaurants and helping them to transition from single-use to reuse easily. After researching the environmental impacts of different industries, Anastasia has made it her mission to minimize waste in the food sector.  Originally from Russia, Anastasia has enjoyed the opportunity to connect and innovate with like-minded individuals after starting her bachelors in Vancouver. Since then, she has led Lighter Foodprint – a non-profit which communicates the impact of food-related emissions; learned from the sustainability leaders in Copenhagen, Denmark during her exchange; and evaluated economic development projects in Bogor, Indonesia. Anastasia’s experiences of stepping out of her comfort zone provoked her burning desire for entrepreneurship and prepared her to tackle complex problems. Anastasia’s professional alpine ski racing background makes her disciplined and self-motivated yet a collaborative leader and strong team player. You can find Anastasia in the mountains in her spare time – skiing, hiking, or biking. Her favourite quote is ‘You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.’

Ep. 5: Swish Goswami

Swish Goswami, is the CEO of Surf (formerly Trufan), a tech company building products that improve brand engagement while respecting a consumer's right to privacy and compensation. His company has made two acquisitions, raised over $4.1M to date (from several NBA players and venture firms) and has clients like Sony Music, L'Oreal, Netflix, NBA, NFL, and a plethora of small to medium sized businesses, and is now actively raising his series A round. Swish has given three TEDx talks and is an investor/advisor through his angel fund AGEX Capital (investments include Faze Clan, Wombo, Upstream, etc). Swish has a personal following of over 200,000 and enjoys speaking around the world under North America's prestigious bureau Speakers Spotlight. For his entrepreneurial and philanthropic achievements, Swish was inducted into Plan Canada's Top 20 under 20, recognized as LinkedIn's Top Voice, Startup Canada's Young Entrepreneur of the Year and awarded the United Nation's Outstanding Youth Leadership award.