• On CEA- Controlled Environment Agriculture (UNDP)
• Canadian Organic Standards (Government of Canada)
• Canada Organic vs. USDA Organic – The Organic Council of Ontario
• City of Dryden, Ontario, Canada
• Grand Council - Treaty 3 and The Northwestern Ontario Métis Community.

The Executive Producer of the Frontier Entrepreneurship Podcast is Robert Washburn. Special thanks to Daniela Scoppa, Heather Cannings and John Hayden. This project is made possible with the support of FedDev Ontario and the Government of Canada.

For more information on our podcast, including co-host biographies, click here.

The Canadian Council for Indigenous Business (CCIB) builds bridges between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, businesses and communities through diverse programming, providing tools, training, network building, major awards, and national events.

Resources and links

• Background study on Bacterial Ice Nucleation: A Factor in Frost Injury to Plants (1982)
• Science: Fighting the Biotech Wars (Leon Jaroff, TIME, 1986)
• Deborah Henderson (Director, Institute for Sustainable Agriculture at
• Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Langley, British Columbia)
• Virginia Walker’s Lab at Queen’s University (Department of Biology)
• Steve Lindow (University of California, Berkeley – Plant and Microbial Biology)
• Entrepreneurs First start-up accelerator (Toronto)
• Bioenterprise Innovation Advisors (including Mike Manion)
• Sydenham, Ontario (Wikipedia)
• B Corp certification
• Cryopreservation

The Executive Producer of the Frontier Entrepreneurship Podcast is Robert Washburn. Special thanks to Daniela Scoppa, Heather Cannings and John Hayden. For more information on our podcast, including co-host biographies, click here.

Bioenterprise is Canada’s engine for food and agricultural technologies, a vibrant community of entrepreneurs, researchers, accelerators, and partners committed to driving industrial innovation. Learn more at bioenterprise.ca.

The Executive Producer of the Frontier Entrepreneurship Podcast is Robert Washburn. Special thanks to Daniela Scoppa, Heather Cannings and John Hayden. For more information on our podcast, including co-host biographies, click here.

DELIA is Nventure’s Women Entrepreneurship Loan Fund backing women-owned ventures across Canada. Visit our website to learn more and apply today.

Today’s episode of the Frontier Entrepreneurship Podcast brings you an in-depth conversation with Morgan Wyatt, PhD in chemical biology and serial innovator. As Tracy characterizes Morgan's entrepreneurial philosophy, he exemplifies trust, a promise and an outlook built on a firm resolve to “stop disrupting nature.” From Greenlid to Botanical Symbiotics to Advanced Biofibre Technologies and more, Morgan’s prolific enviro-entrepreneurial career spans the realms of bio-manufacturing, ag-tech and materials science. Today, Tracy and Braden take you to the frontier of product development for the real circular economy, in conversation with Morgan Wyatt.

• Greenlid website (and their original Dragons’ Den pitch)
• Botanical Symbiotics, Advanced Biofibre (in development)
• McMaster University’s Entrepreneur-in-Residence program
• Brock University
• Bast Fibre Tech
• Next Canada (tech start-up accelerator)

• Nventure seed-funded Advanced Biofibre Technologies through the thriveFORWARD initiative, with the support of FedDev Ontario through the Government of Canada’s Jobs and Growth Fund (JGF).

The Executive Producer of the Frontier Entrepreneurship Podcast is Robert Washburn. Special thanks to Daniela Scoppa, Heather Cannings and John Hayden. This project is made possible with the support of FedDev Ontario and the Government of Canada.

For more information on our podcast, including co-host biographies, click here.

The fifth edition of Nventure’s StrikeUP Canada conference for women entrepreneurs takes place on February 27th, 2025. Register now to join us for an interactive, educational and inspiring online program headlined by Jillian Harris. Co-presented by the Scotiabank Women Initiative® and EDC in partnership with WEKH, Futurpreneur, BDC and the Government of Canada, and supported by WBE Canada and Brilliant Catalyst at Ontario Tech University. For more, head to strikeup.ca.

“Is it dangerous for honeybees right now?”  Sun asks. “Yes, it is. It’s not just one disease or pathogen but all of the antibiotics, pesticides and chemicals. Coupled with indirect factors such as climate change, this is putting bees in a position of catastrophic loss.” This is where Nature Recombined comes in, developing plant-based solutions that are showing very promising results. We discuss safe and natural anti-microbial biosynthesis and more, in this latest edition of the Frontier Entrepreneurship Podcast.

• ApiSave official website
• Why bees are essential to people and planet (UNEP, 2021)
• How far bees fly in a day (Canadian Honey Council)
• Overview of Bee Pollination and its Economic Value for Crop Production, Khalifa et al., Insects (2021) via NLM. See also: Naeem & Selamoglu, From Flower to Food: Honey Bees and their Role in Crop Production (2025). pp. 56-63.
• Varrora Mites (Province of Ontario)
• Building Bee Awareness (Alberta Motor Association)
• On celebrities and bees: Angelina Jolie (National Geographic); Morgan Freeman (Forbes)
• Veterinary Health Products regulation in Canada

The Executive Producer of the Frontier Entrepreneurship Podcast is Robert Washburn. Special thanks to Daniela Scoppa, Heather Cannings and John Hayden. This project is made possible with the support of FedDev Ontario and the Government of Canada.

For more information on our podcast, including co-host biographies, click here.

Through Bioenterprise Canada, The Engine is Canada’s leading agri-tech alliance, uniting innovators, partners, and investors to drive groundbreaking agri-food advancements and commercial success. Learn more at bioenterprise.ca.

Brad is passionate about the potential of automation, and in this episode shares his ideas on entrepreneurship, sources of inspiration, and explains why the changes he is pursuing in the food services industry will ultimately free up time for his customers to focus on caring for people.

“It really turns upside down how we make food in Canada,” Brad explains. “Our model creates a small factory close to the customer so that the cost and environmental impact is very small. It’s miniaturizing the way we manufacture food. And we couldn’t do that without robotics.”

• MOM official website.
• Makers of food services cobots (collaborative robots) mentioned in this podcast include Hyphen and Miso Robotics. Read more about the latest deployment from CHIPOTLE (press release).
• Salad chain Sweetgreen acquires Spyce (TechCrunch).
• Denis O’Riardon feature in FORA.
• Clayton Christenson’s The Innovator’s Dilemma (Wikipedia).

Nventure seed-funded Meals On the Move as part of the first round of the thriveFORWARD initiative, with the support of FedDev Ontario through the Government of Canada’s Jobs and Growth Fund (JGF).

The Executive Producer of the Frontier Entrepreneurship Podcast is Robert Washburn. Special thanks to Daniela Scoppa, Heather Cannings and John Hayden. This project is made possible with the support of FedDev Ontario and the Government of Canada.

For more information on our podcast, including co-host biographies, click here.

Nventure delivers local, regional and national programming in support of innovation and entrepreneurship as pathways to future prosperity. Head to nventure.ca to learn more.

• Nuez Acres official website
• Kimmerer, Robin Wall. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants (Minneapolis, Minnesota: Milkweed Editions, 2013). On pecans, see in particular, p.13
• State of Chihuahua, Mexico (Wikipedia). See Pecan South Magazine backgrounder on pecan farms in Mexico and, as an introduction, the Milwaukee Public Museum entry on the Tarahumara
• Definition of “anhydrous”
• Toxic-Free Cosmetics Act (Washington State, USA)
• RangeMe
• Some of the other companies mentioned by Anthony: BASF, Sephora, L’Oreal
• What Is Dropshipping and How Does It Work? (2025) - Shopify
• Futurpreneur, Connected North, Export Navigator, Export Development Canada
• Other Indigenous-owned Canadian beauty brands: Satya, Yukon Soaps, Loakin, Skwalwen, Cheekbone Beauty
• Canton Fair
• The “Two Michaels” (Wikipedia)
• National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association (NACCA) and NACCA Youth Business Advisory Council

The Executive Producer of the Frontier Entrepreneurship Podcast is Robert Washburn. Special thanks to Daniela Scoppa, Heather Cannings and John Hayden. This project is made possible with the support of FedDev Ontario and the Government of Canada.

For more information on our podcast, including co-host biographies, click here.

CCIB builds bridges between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, businesses and communities through diverse programming, providing tools, training, network building, major awards, and national events. Click here to learn more.

Did you know that period pads can contain heavy metals and carcinogens, and that they sit in landfills for hundreds of years? Meanwhile, in favour of plastic, gigatons of agricultural residuals are wasted. Useful natural fibres are being left behind in fields, season after season. But our first guest, Rashmi Prakash (CEO of Aruna Revolution) is working with farmers to reclaim this biomaterial, using it to create natural menstrual products that will help make the circular economy a reality.

• Aruna Revolution – Bioenterprise Canada
• Aruna Revolution Wins 2024 Green Pursuit Challenge (Dairy Farmers of Canada and Bioenterprise)
• UC Berkeley Public Health – Study on toxicity of tampons (2024)
• Who are the Cattails? Stories of Algonquin Anishinaabe Food Systems, by Kaitlyn Patterson, Canadian Food Studies (2021). See also: Medicine in your backyard: How Indigenous peoples have used medicinal plants | CBC News, NativeTech page on cattails, Indigenous Goddess Gang on ‘feminine hygiene’ industry.
• Rashmi Prakash – University of British Columbia (UBC), School of Biomedical Engineering, Capstone project innovations.

The Executive Producer of the Frontier Entrepreneurship Podcast is Robert Washburn. Special thanks to Daniela Scoppa, Heather Cannings and John Hayden. This project is made possible with the support of FedDev Ontario and the Government of Canada.

For more information on our podcast, including co-host biographies, click here.

NCFDC is now Nventure. Learn more at nventure.ca.

Nventure is presenting the 5th edition of our annual StrikeUP Conference digital conference for women entrepreneurs on February 27, 2025. We'd like to take this opportunity to invite Frontier listeners to attend (it's free and full of great content, networking opportunities and more).

StrikeUP is co-presented by Scotiabank Women Initiative and EDC in partnership with the Government of Canada.

As noted by Foresight Canada (CleanInnoGen was a Foresight 50 2023 Honouree): "CleanInnoGen helps to decarbonize heavy industries like steel and cement by using their waste heat to drive a chemical process, the copper-chlorine cycle, that produces green hydrogen and oxygen on site. The hydrogen and oxygen can be used in the industry’s process for fuel switching to a non-carbon source and for improved combustion efficiency, thus helping to decarbonize their operation. The process uses significantly less electricity than water electrolysis."

Themes we encounter in this conversation with Victoria:

• The promise of green hydrogen
• Balancing entrepreneurship and angel/impact investing
• The intersection of green hydrogen and electric vehicles/electrification
• Hydrogen storage and transportation requirements and costs
• Closed loop systems (utilizing waste heat from heavy industry for decarbonization)
• Circular business models, time to market, demonstration markets
• Why the notorious “valley of death” is even more challenging for deeptech startups
• Capital-intensive physical technologies.

Quick Links and References:

• The CleanInnoGen (CIG) official website
• CEMEX Ventures and Foresight Canada entries on CIG
• On hydrogen and green hydrogen (MIT Climate Portal)
• Key vocabulary: Water Electrolyzers (USA - ENERGY.GOV), Steam Methane Reforming - SMR (Wikipedia), Thermochemical Water Splitting (USA - ENERGY.GOV), Circular Economics (ENR - Government of Canada), Technology Readiness Level - TRL scale (Innovation Canada)
• Hydrogen Production Pathways backgrounder (NRC)
• Thermochemical Hydrogen Production (Ontario Tech University)

Acknowledgments

CleanInnoGen secured $25,000 in matching, performance-based seed funding from NCFDC's thriveFORWARD initiative, with the support of FedDev Ontario and the Government of Canada's Jobs and Growth Fund (JGF).

Laboratory work to further commercialization of this technology is being carried out by Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL).

The Executive Producer of the Frontier Entrepreneurship Podcast is Robert Washburn. Special thanks to NCFDC’s Victoria Pichler, Daniela Scoppa, Sanjay Deoram and John Hayden. This project is made possible with the support of FedDev Ontario and the Government of Canada.

For more information on our podcast, including co-host biographies, click here.

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NCFDC provides alternative lending solutions for qualified businesses and organizations in Northumberland, Ontario, Canada, with the support of the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario). Click here to learn more about how the Community Futures Program can support local business start up, stabilization or expansion.

Additional terms and conditions apply. See website for details.

Today, we take you to the intersection of seaweed and AI, in this tenth episode of Season 1 of the Frontier Entrepreneurship Podcast, with Co-Hosts Braden Kemp (Bioenterprise Canada) and Tracy Morningstar (CCAB).

Themes we encounter in this conversation with Thomas:

• The state of seaweed in the coastal environment
• Aquaculture farming and marine ecosystem regeneration
• Remote data capture with AI
• Blue carbon credits and co-benefits (community economic development, supporting remote communities, understanding and influencing the growth of biodiversity)
• Indigenous economic development implications
• Coastal Carbon’s market focus and business model
• Seaweed markets generally, biotech applications and outlook
• Seaweed farming insights and analytics (beyond blue carbon credits).

• Coastal Carbon’s official website
• Ocean Wise
• On sea urchin barrens (UC Santa Cruz news center)
• Key vocabulary: Blue Carbon (NOAA definition); Transect (NPS definition); MRV (Monitoring, Reporting, Verification, World Bank overview), Biostimulants (University of Minnesota definition), Bio-fouling (IMO).
• Learn more about UC Berkely’s seaweed projects

Coastal Carbon secured $25,000 in matching, performance-based seed funding from NCFDC's thriveFORWARD initiative, with the support of FedDev Ontario and the Government of Canada's Jobs and Growth Fund (JGF).

The Executive Producer of the Frontier Entrepreneurship Podcast is Robert Washburn. Special thanks to NCFDC’s Victoria Pichler, Daniela Scoppa, Sanjay Deoram and John Hayden. This project is made possible with the support of FedDev Ontario and the Government of Canada.

The Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB) is a national non-profit organization with a mission is to promote, strengthen and enhance a prosperous Indigenous economy through the fostering of business relationships, opportunities and awareness for all CCAB Membership.

Themes we encounter in this conversation:

• Avoiding unnecessary hospital trips ER, cancer oncology
• Supporting healthcare system users and practitioners, information sharing
• Medtech/digital health entrepreneurship, patient first design
• Leynek Medical origin, founder story, personal experience
• Understanding and interpreting device health data, virtual care
• Business models and partnerships
• Clinical validation
• Mentorship, entrepreneurship, start-up pitfalls
• Importance of seed funding for early-stage entrepreneurship.

• Leynek Medical official website
• Tabriz, Turner, Hong et al., Trends and Characteristics of Potentially Preventable Emergency Department Visits Among Patients With Cancer in the US., Emergency Medicine (2023)
• MDEL (Health Canada), 510k Submissions (FDA)
• Invest Ottawa.

Leynek Medical secured $25,000 in matching, performance-based seed funding from NCFDC's thriveFORWARD initiative, with the support of FedDev Ontario and the Government of Canada's Jobs and Growth Fund (JGF).

The Executive Producer of the Frontier Entrepreneurship Podcast is Robert Washburn. Special thanks to NCFDC’s Victoria Pichler, Daniela Scoppa and John Hayden. This project is made possible with the support of FedDev Ontario and the Government of Canada.

The Venture13 innovation centre is located in Cobourg, Ontario, just over an hour east of Toronto, and includes co-working space for startups, an innovation commons and demo hall, a mechatronics-focused makerlab as well as co-locating anchor organizations like NCFDC, the Northumberland Manufacturers Association, Northumberland Makers, the Cobourg Police Service’s business unit and the Town of Cobourg’s Economic Development Department. For more information, and to join the VentureZone, head to venture13.ca.

Themes we encounter during this episode include:

• Biomedical engineering innovation and iterative, user-driven design
• Business model, innovation commercialization and regulatory strategies for prosthetics start-ups
• Social media
• Food and travel, and sources of inspiration
• Building a strong company culture

Vessl secured $25,000 in matching, performance-based seed funding from NCFDC's thriveFORWARD initiative, with the support of FedDev Ontario and the Government of Canada's Jobs and Growth Fund (JGF).

The Executive Producer of the Frontier Entrepreneurship Podcast is Robert Washburn. Special thanks to NCFDC’s Victoria Pichler and John Hayden. This project is made possible with the support of FedDev Ontario and the Government of Canada.

• Vessl Prosthetics official website
• Earned media: Global News, CTV News, University of Waterloo.
• Mechanical Engineering (Queen’s University, Kingston, ON)
• Western Medical Innovation Fellowship (Western University, London ON)
• Key vocabulary: ”Prosthesis” (Wikipedia), ”Osseointegration” (Wikipedia), ”Physiatrist” (Johns Hopkins Medicine)
• Brené Brown (brenebrown.com)
• NCFDC’s thriveFORWARD initiative and portfolio.

Bioenterprise is Canada’s Food and Agri-Tech Engine, a community of entrepreneurs, researchers, accelerators, and partners, committed to driving innovation across Canada in the agri-tech and food industry. To learn more, and discover opportunities for collaboration, head to bioenterprise.ca.

Themes we encounter during this episode include:

• The private and charter jet side of transportation systems
• The carbon footprint and unsolved problem of dead legs and empty seats
• Confidence-building, graduating from Harvard, teaching yourself to code
• On female founders and Indigenous women in tech, then and now
• Attracting Indigenous talent, developing a skills pipeline from under-represented groups
• Uber and AirBnB case studies and comparisons
• ‘Fly-sharing’ during the pandemic
• Parents as mentors
• Sarah Blakely
• Balancing parenting, life and business.

Acknowledgments:

Jetsplitz secured $25,000 in matching, performance-based seed funding from NCFDC's thriveFORWARD initiative, with the support of FedDev Ontario and the Government of Canada's Jobs and Growth Fund (JGF).

The Executive Producer of the Frontier Entrepreneurship Podcast is Robert Washburn. Special thanks to NCFDC’s Victoria Pichler and John Hayden. This project is made possible with the support of FedDev Ontario and the Government of Canada.

• Jetsplitz official website.
• Positive Parenting Solutions.
• Sarah Blakely Founder of Spanx (bio via Forbes’ America’s Self-Made Women, Masterclass profile, or Wikipedia entry).
• NCFDC’s thriveFORWARD initiative and portfolio.

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The Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB) is a national non-profit organization with a mission is to promote, strengthen and enhance a prosperous Indigenous economy through the fostering of business relationships, opportunities and awareness for all CCAB Membership.

Themes we encounter in conversation with James Aein:

• An introduction to the power grid
• Robotics-as-a-Service business model
• Sales cycles for utilities companies as customers
• Benefits of startup accelerator programs
• AI and predictive analytics
• ‘Grid edge’ technologies
• Knowledge transfer from post-secondary research to commercialization
• Startup life, mindset, personal motivations of founders

Quick Links and References:

• Background on 2023 Maui wildfires (via Britannica.com), Bare electrical wire, leaning poles possible cause of deadly Maui wildfires (CBC News)
• Hydro One, Hydro Quebec, BC Hydro
• Intro to IoT (the Internet of Things) (McKinsey)
• Grid Edge Infrastructure (Forbes)
• Berkeley SkyDeck Accelerator
• Finding Opportunity in the Decentralized Grid (RBC Capital Markets)
• Transforming Your Mind - Dr. Joe Dispenza Podcast (via Spotify)

Acknowledgments

Enerza secured $25,000 in matching, performance-based seed funding from NCFDC's thriveFORWARD initiative, with the support of FedDev Ontario and the Government of Canada's Jobs and Growth Fund (JGF).

The Executive Producer of the Frontier Entrepreneurship Podcast is Robert Washburn. Special thanks to NCFDC’s Victoria Pichler and John Hayden. This project is made possible with the support of FedDev Ontario and the Government of Canada.

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The Venture13 innovation centre is located in Cobourg, Ontario, just over an hour east of Toronto, and includes co-working space for startups, an innovation commons and demo hall, a mechatronics-focused makerlab as well as co-locating anchor organizations like NCFDC, the Northumberland Manufacturers Association, Northumberland Makers, the Cobourg Police Service’s business unit and the Town of Cobourg’s Economic Development Department. For more information, and to join the VentureZone, head to venture13.ca.

Themes tackled during this session include:

• Running a machine shop
• Learning about industrial trends and best practices, introducing automation
• Manufacturing and prototyping 101
• MVP (Minimum Viable Product)
• Underserved markets for CNC parts
• Metal sourcing
• AI integrations, monitoring tolerances
• Computer vision, surface detection
• Control systems textbooks (!)
• Autonomous snow blowing
• Learning through serial entrepreneurship
• Green manufacturing, reshoring production
• Enhancing skilled trades through advanced manufacturing and net new job creation
• Golf (is it relaxing or aggravating?)

ZapMetals secured $25,000 in matching, performance-based seed funding from NCFDC's thriveFORWARD initiative, with the support of FedDev Ontario and the Government of Canada's Jobs and Growth Fund (JGF).

The Executive Producer of the Frontier Entrepreneurship Podcast is Robert Washburn. Special thanks to NCFDC’s Victoria Pichler and John Hayden. This project is made possible with the support of FedDev Ontario and the Government of Canada.

• ZapMetals official website
• NCFDC’s thriveFORWARD initiative and portfolio
• ZapMetals is an Entrepreneur First venture

• Visit the Innovation Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED Canada) Business Benefits Finder (⁠click here⁠) to discover resources and support for your venture today. A service provided by the Government of Canada.

Themes tackled during this episode of the Frontier Entrepreneurship Podcast include:

• Road trips, discovery tours, talking to mushroom farmers

• Finding scalable models for production optimization

• Mycro Harvest’s mission and vision

• Traditional versus advanced growing practices, standardization and automation

• Varieties of specialty mushrooms and market opportunities

• Cultivated versus wild-foraged native species, substrates

• Controlled environment agriculture

• From dried to fresh mushrooms, locally produced

• Mushroom production in Canada’s North, food security implications

• Lean startup thinking, iterative agriculture

• Output and scalability

• Shipping containers to control grow room dynamics

• Controlling timing of production

• Mushrooms as input into bioremediation

• Optimizing properties of mushrooms

• Mycro Harvest business model and target markets, ROI

• Importance of mentorship for small teams and start-ups

• Generational differences, traditional versus technologically transformed farming.

Acknowledgements

Mycro Harvest received $25,000 in performance-based seed funding from NCFDC’s thriveFORWARD initiative, with the support of FedDev Ontario and the Government of Canada. 

The Executive Producer of the Frontier Entrepreneurship Podcast is Robert Washburn. Special thanks to NCFDC’s Victoria Pichler and John Hayden. This project is made possible with the support of FedDev Ontario and the Government of Canada.

Quick Links and References

• Mycro Harvest official website
• NCFDC’s thriveFORWARD initiative and portfolio
• Co-Founders Christopher and Justin are graduates of the Entrepreneur First venture program and were profiled by CTV News and the University of Waterloo. Mycro Harvest is a member of the Velocity Incubator.
• David Hunter – The Contrarian Investor Podcast (via contrarianpod)
• FedDev Ontario

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Bioenterprise if Canada’s Food and Agri-Tech Engine, a community of entrepreneurs, researchers, accelerators, and partners, committed to driving innovation across Canada in the agri-tech and food industry. To learn more, and discover opportunities for collaboration, head to ⁠bioenterprise.ca⁠.

In an engaging discussion with Ben, we tackle:

• Moving from the legal profession to the start-up world
• Equity-building and exponential tech
• Side hustles and social impact
• Living with your co-founders
• Developing a pitch
• Revolutionizing investment syndicates, smart contracts, capital formation, governance and the concept of “default compliance”
• The path less traveled and the importance of mentorship from exit entrepreneurs who have been to the frontier and back.

The Executive Producer of the Frontier Entrepreneurship Podcast is Robert Washburn. Special thanks to NCFDC’s Victoria Pichler and John Hayden. This project is made possible with the support of FedDev Ontario and the Government of Canada.

Quick Links

• Capita official website.
• NCFDC’s thriveFORWARD initiative and portfolio.
• FedDev Ontario.

Mentioned in this Episode

• Chalk River - Canadian Nuclear Laboratories
• Andrew Arruda
• a16z.com, Initialized Capital, Sequoia Capital
• Y Combinator
• University of Ottawa - Faculty of Law
• University of Waterloo - Computer Science
• J. Cole (rapper) via YouTube

Acknowledgment

Capita secured $25,000 in matching, performance-based seed funding from NCFDC's thriveFORWARD initiative, with the support of FedDev Ontario and the Government of Canada's Jobs and Growth Fund (JGF).

We discuss:

• The meaning behind the Arc brand
• Sloane’s journey from the corporate world to the world of start-ups
• EV market trends and the future of electrification
• Gender dynamics and culture in the automotive sector
• Sustainability and decarbonization
• ‘Passion points'
• Social media marketing
• Distributed models for EV retrofits and capacity to scale.

The Executive Producer of the Frontier Entrepreneurship Podcast is Robert Washburn. Special thanks to NCFDC’s Victoria Pichler and John Hayden. This project is made possible with the support of FedDev Ontario and the Government of Canada.

Quick Links and References

• ⁠Arc Motor Company (arcmotors.com)⁠

• ⁠Moment Motors⁠

• ⁠Volvo EX90⁠, ⁠Rivian⁠, ⁠Hyundai Ioniq⁠. ⁠GM Electrification⁠, ⁠Nissan LEAF⁠, ⁠Genesis GV70⁠, ⁠Tesla Canada⁠

• ⁠Canada's Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) sales targets⁠

• ⁠Lunaz.design⁠ and ⁠Lunaz.tech⁠

• NCFDC’s ⁠thriveFORWARD⁠ initiative and portfolio

• The ⁠Community Futures Program⁠ in Northumberland, and ⁠Community Futures Peterborough⁠

• ⁠FedDev Ontario⁠.

Acknowledgment

Arc Motor Company secured $25,000 in matching, performance-based seed funding from NCFDC's⁠ thriveFORWARD⁠ initiative, with the support of⁠ FedDev Ontario⁠ and the Government of Canada's Jobs and Growth Fund (JGF).

Notes

The conversation was originally recorded last year.

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NCFDC provides alternative lending solutions for qualified businesses and organizations in Northumberland, Ontario, Canada, with the support of the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario). ⁠Click here⁠ to learn more about how the Community Futures Program can support local business start up, stabilization or expansion.

Additional terms and conditions apply. See website for details.

The conversation encompasses:

• An epic year for Magnestar, winning accolades, pitch competitions and earning media exposure.
• Space communication 101 (the spectrum, radio interference, satellite connectivity and system resilience).
• Participating in Entrepreneur First.
• On the meaning of the name ‘Magnestar’.
• Peer mentorship and the path of entrepreneurship, the Creative Destruction Lab (CDL).
• The origin story, how Magnestar was founded, data science (systems and architecture).
• Attracting talent by solving game-changing, globally significant problems.
• Magnestar’s customers and value proposition.
• Predictive analytics.
• Jacqueline’s passions and volunteering, the Royal Ontario Museum, Chinese arts and culture, giving back, the Upside Foundation.
• Founder advice, closing ‘stress loops’, hiring the right team.
• Everyday consumer reliance on spacetech, satellite connectivity, implications for Canada’s North.
• “From base camp to the top of the mountain,” characterizing the state of the industry today, and looking to the future.

The Executive Producer of the Frontier Entrepreneurship Podcast is Robert Washburn. Special thanks to NCFDC’s Victoria Pichler and John Hayden. This project is made possible with the support of FedDev Ontario and the Government of Canada.

Quick Links/References

• Magnestar’s official website
• Malcolm Gladwell
• OMERS
• Entrepreneur First
• Creative Destruction Lab
• International Space University
• Bishop White Committee, Royal Ontario Museum
• Upside Foundation
• 7 Spacetech Predictions 2023 (via TechCrunch)
• NCFDC’s thriveFORWARD initiative and portfolio
• NCFDC’s DELIA Women Entrepreneurship Loan Fund
• FedDev Ontario

Acknowledgment

Magnestar secured $25,000 in matching, performance-based seed funding from NCFDC's thriveFORWARD initiative, with the support of FedDev Ontario and the Government of Canada's Jobs and Growth Fund (JGF).

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DELIA is NCFDC's Women Entrepreneurship Loan Fund for qualifying women-owned businesses across Canada. With the support of ⁠ISED Canada⁠, we are working to close the gender access to capital gap and to unleash the full potential of inclusive economic growth. To learn more head to ⁠delia.fund⁠ and apply today.

Additional terms and conditions apply. See website for details.