The StartWell Podcast

Roundtable on Cannabis in Ontario

At this roundtable we feature the perspectives of three guests who work within the Canadian cannabis industry - including a grower and two gentlemen who have previously owned a production/processing facility and now help new brands enter the market working with Wellcann [http://wellcann.ca/] - the only cannabis gum manufacturer in Ontario.Startwell Podcast Episode 57 is hosted by Qasim Virjee as always - this time with guests Michael Lanzalone, Rahul Rajan & Darryl Rosalin

Cato Pastoll – Canadian fintech bank founder

Cato Pastoll is the co-founder and CEO of a Toronto based fintech startup called Loop [https://www.getloop.ca/]. Loop bills itself as Canada's #1 bank for entrepreneurs - with a cross border banking platform that includes corporate cards, payments, FX, capital and more in multiple currencies. Founded about a decade ago as Lending Loop - the company launched as a platform for equity crowdfunding, before pivoting to focus on how their customers used money in addition to providing ways for them to source it. In this episode, Cato: - Tells us about the history of his company - Relates the evolving need for financial services from agile young companies who operate internationally - Explains his passion for technology and finance as a youth and how that has led to founding this company - Compares Canada to other countries in the world who have greater flexibility and lower barriers to entry for the banking sector - like the UK - Much more...

Andrew Ingham – Beer/wine buyer turned entrepreneur

Andrew Ingham [https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-ingham-8a12201a1/] has had an interesting career - he started working in his youth in plumbing and then spent years building markets for beer companies before becoming an alcohol buyer for large grocery chains and hospitality companies around the world. Recently, his conscience weighed on him and he decided to roll up his sleeves - reducing the wine industry's massive carbon footprint became his goal and a new type of wine company was born called Interpunkt [https://www.interpunktwines.com/].Interpunkt Wines [https://www.interpunktwines.com/] makes simple wines with an easy taste profile packaged in eco-sensitive, recyclable and biodegradable packaging in the shape of a conventional bottle and the company is based in Toronto at StartWell.

Jasmine Daya – Personal injury lawyer and entrepreneur

Jasmine Daya [https://www.instagram.com/jasminedaya/] developed a successful injury law practice [http://www.jdlawyers.ca] in downtown Toronto leading up to the pandemic - in the down-time when courts were closed and business was slow, her entrepreneurial spirit saw opportunity in hospitality. Today, Jasmine still practices the law but has reduced her hours on cases to focus on her nightlife establishments, and she's actively developing new projects in real estate. This interesting conversation has a lot of insight for professionals considering leaving their professions to pursue entrepreneurialism and forms episode 54 of the StartWell Podcast.

Nick DenBoer aka Smearballs on his creative journey

Nick DenBoer [https://www.smearballs.com/] is a film and music video director based in Toronto who has worked with a wide array of high profile clients - including ad agencies like Wieden+Kennedy, media personalities like Conan O'Brien and artists like deadmau5, The Neptunes and even Tommy Lee. His creative style remixes aesthetic elements to craft new narratives and on this episode of the StartWell podcast, filmed at our Event Studio, we dig into his experiences discovering whats possible with a career and review some of his work together.