The Edge, A Leader's Magazine | Darrell Keezer

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

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Best Start-Up Accelerators of 2022

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CHRIS HADFIELD MERYL AFRIKA JOHN GRAY ANN MAKOSINSKI CRYSTAL ANDRUS MORISSETTE

Benefits of

Customer-Focused E-Commerce AI Tools

THE ENTREPRENEURIAL GOVERNMENTAL APPROACH TO SOLVING PUBLIC ISSUES

DARRELL KEEZER CEO of Candybox Marketing Digital Marketing Expert & Disruptor

Using IPOs to Strategically Stimulate

Economic Growth

The Algorithm, Monetization & Future of Marketing

WHAT IS AN API AND HOW CAN BUSINESSES USE IT?

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OVERVIEW SPRING 2022

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EDITOR’S MESSAGE

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COVER STORY Darrell Keezer: CEO of Candybox Marketing

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How Corporate Social Responsibility Affects Reputation

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The Algorithm, Monetization & Future of Marketing

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BUSINESS

Priya Chopra: The Importance of a Clear Mission Statement

WINNERS' CIRCLE

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John Gray: Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus

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Desirée Bombenon: Transforming the Call Centre Industry

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Purdeep Sangha: The Modern Man's Handbook

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Crystal Andrus Morissette: Empowerment Coach for Women

ECONOMICS

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Using IPOs to Strategically Stimulate Economic Growth

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Recent Consumer Habits Online and In-Person

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Meryl Afrika: Faster Economic Growth

OVERVIEW

SPRING 2022

START-UP 9 Best Start-Up Accelerators of 2022

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Garry Bahadur: Living Out His Passion

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TECH & INNOVATION What is an Application Programming Interface?

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Benefits of Customer-Focused E-Commerce AI Tools

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Ann Makosinski: Inspiring Others to Invent Their Own Solutions

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LEADERSHIP The Triple Bottom Line: People, Profit & Planet

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Chris Hadfield: Canadian Astronaut and Icon

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INDONESIA Spotlight on the Emerald of the Equator

POLICIES

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Five Foreign Policy Strategies to Impact Canada–U.S. Relations

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The Entrepreneurial Governmental Approach to Solving Public Issues

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Kamel Ghribi: Sow the Seeds and Reap the Fruit

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SPRING 2022 F OUNDER & E DITOR - IN -C HIEF | J ENNIFER M. W ILLIAMS P RESIDENT C URTIS E LLIS P UBLISHER J ORGE M ARSHALL C REATIVE D IRECTOR A RMIS N. G OODARZI

A SSISTANT E DITOR R OSE H O

E DITOR -A T -L ARGE S HIRLEY G RAHAM

E DITORIAL A SSISTANT A RSLAN A HMED

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MARKETING & PUBLIC RELATIONS

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editor's message

BEYOND SERVICE The word “service” brings me back to my childhood when I worked alongside my godparents in their small grocery store within a tightly knit community. In this, my first job, they taught me to dust, clean, polish furniture, and sweep floors.

In addition, I enjoyed labelling, counting, and stocking the shelves with new products and top-rated sale items.

Eventually, they promoted me to “greeter” — giving a “hello” when customers entered the store and a goodbye wave when they left. It was my first opportunity to serve others.

They offered credit to low-income families and made contributions to the community.

They kept track of each customer’s buying habits in a large binder and frequently offered discounts, bulk buying, rewards, and loyalty programs on their favourite products.

At a pivotal stage in the growth of the business, customer retention became one of their highest priorities. Enjoying a satisfactory return on investment with their customers over time, my godparents became well known for maintaining positive connections with staff and customers. It demonstrated how entrepreneurs’ resilience keeps businesses successful and profitable.

Despite many hardships, mistakes, and personal challenges, my godparents built inner strength and remained true to their values.

They implemented systems to analyze inventory and shopper trends with minimal technological tools, quickly resolving most problems. They built an efficient production team and equipped them with advanced training to engage with customers and drive job performance.

Their innovative systems generated new customers and revenue for the most part.

But, undoubtedly, their continued success was due to their resilience and niche-market approaches. They avoided typical business “fluff” and distractions to deliver core services without compromise.

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At age eleven, I took a leave of absence. I went off to high school, always cherishing my experience in that grocery store, which helped catapult me towards becoming an entrepreneur. It also helped mould the foundation of my life. My godparents taught me the basics of patience, charity, humility, and compassion.

of service. At this point, I now choose to live within the realms of service, realizing that the purpose of leaders is to serve.

As always, thanks for reading and for the ongoing opportunity to be of service.

Many business owners often obscure their quest for value and their initial love of service, which is a business’s mechanism.

Yet service is an initial seed that creates geniuses and produces incentives. So ideally, every six months, we should reacquaint ourselves with our original service values.

And in today’s globalized markets, let’s take our businesses one step further, with coordinated efforts to expose our brands to broader customer sources.

Having seen the many unprecedented challenges that most businesses experienced during the last two years, we should embrace new shifts in customer engagement, streamline and leverage automation, and scale our marketing and sales programs. The increasing need for self-service is here for the long haul, and there are several things we can do to move the needle: •

Craft an organizational culture of trust and transparency

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Develop a clear mission to serve our targeted audiences

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Empower our employees with fresh ideas and innovations to help them thrive

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Tap the sources of creative talents and form strong alliances with like-minded entrepreneurs

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Invest in technology and develop robust customer-retention systems

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Support other entrepreneurs who are still struggling economically from hardships caused by the ongoing pandemic

I’m thankful for my godparents’ legacy.

They demonstrated by example the gift

Jennifer M. Williams jennifer@theedgeleaders.com

“I now choose to live within the realms of service, realizing that the purpose of leaders is to serve.”

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cover story

Photos courtesy of Darrell Keezer

cover story

HITTING THE TARGET IN DIGITAL MARKETING A Conversation with Darrell Keezer

by Jennifer M. Williams

Darrell Keezer is the founder and CEO of Candybox Marketing, a digital marketing firm based in the Greater Toronto Area and Halifax. Candybox Marketing focuses on online conversions and conversations — brand strategy, web design, high-performing search engine campaigns, new social media marketing strategies, and video advertising.

Their portfolio of 400-plus clients includes Turtle Jacks, Canon Canada, Gordon Food Service, Redmond Distributing, and ERB Transportation.

Candybox is the winner of two Awards of Excellence in Business from the Governor General of Canada.

Canadian Business and Maclean's listed them on the annual Growth 500 list three years in a row.

In addition to being a successful small business owner, Keezer is also a popular keynote speaker, often invited to share his knowledge on digital marketing, social media, and how to navigate the ever-changing digital landscape.

Pre-pandemic, he delivered some fifty keynotes a year across North America. Clients included Microsoft, the Conference Board of Canada, the Young Entrepreneurs Conference, universities across Canada, and the Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario.

Keezer is the author of Pick Up Your Freakin' Phone: New Rules for Entrepreneurs. In 2014, he was also inducted into the Sheridan Business Hall of Fame. Keezer spoke with The Edge about how digital marketing is evolving and more.

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How does Candybox Marketing differ from other marketing agencies?

We don't outsource. It may scare you to learn that most digital marketing campaigns are outsourced to third-party companies that operate overseas and have very little exposure to the brand or prospective customers. It saves agencies millions of dollars in operating costs, but I believe that their customers pay the price.

Our team works as a team. We launch campaigns plus websites that work. We are obsessed with getting high returns with our customer's marketing dollars and have over 400+ happy customers with a 97.5 per cent retention rate. The average digital agency keeps customers for four months, but our customers stay with us for 5.7 years on average.

We like to win and generate high rates of success for our clients.

We also believe that having an in-house team of qualified and professional digital marketing experts is one of the keys to making that happen.

What are some simple strategies businesses could employ to start their digital marketing?

It's essential to put aside all of your thoughts on marketing and start thinking like your customer.

It’s simple: They spend a lot of time to create posts that do not promote engagement. Sharing corporate news, a new product release, or a significant achievement is not engaging content.

It's just corporate noise.

What social networking sites do they participate in? What do they spend time researching? What do they want to improve in their lives and businesses? Why do your existing customers choose you today?

Before you post anything on social media, you need to ask yourself, “Is this sharable? Does anyone care? Does it promote reaction (clicks, likes, shares, comments)?” If not, don't bother to post.

Once you start thinking about your customer's mindset, you'll be able to start building a digital marketing plan around them.

Unfortunately, many companies rush into new networks or marketing automation software, believing it will improve their marketing results, but tactics without strategies often fail.

I would rather spend $100,000 on a marketing plan with an excellent digital strategy than $1,000,000 on a bunch of good marketing tactics that may never work or have no value.

The most overlooked strategies include improving the calls-toaction on your website instead of a generic form, improving the information on Google My Business, encouraging positive reviews, and good quality email campaigns. If you don’t have an effective digital strategy, you don’t really have a strategy at all.

What is Candybox Marketing's signature concept?

Marketing needs to be sweet. Everything should look like eye candy, from the first advertisement that your prospect sees to your website's thank you page. But, unfortunately, millions of dollars are wasted every day on poorly designed corporate websites, failed social media campaigns, and videos that no one watches because they are either ugly, lack value, or just plain dull.

Candybox focuses on creating award-winning designs, websites, campaigns, videos, and brands on customer journeys. It is a lot easier to double your conversion rate (how many people are converting from a visitor to a customer) than to double your online traffic.

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What's an example of how people fumble their business social media posts?

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Social media should be social at all times. That means starting a conversation, and not telling people to buy your products. Always create content that comprises of things that your network loves to share and do your research on what is trending each week.

Companies need to work with the end goal in mind and work backwards when it comes to launching a social strategy. Use customer stories (a.k.a. journeys) to guide your plan instead of your company creating a plan that works for you.

It’s easier said than done, but if you focus on your customer first, marketing plans can write themselves.

You've stated that many companies are making costly marketing mistakes. What are some of these mistakes, and what should they avoid?

I like to boil it down to three main areas: traffic, websites, and offers. For traffic, you need to make sure you are attracting prospective customers to your target. Companies should audit what kind of users are clicking on their ads and ensure they have the potential to become a customer.

Websites are your point of conversion, yet when was the last time you took a look at them as a customer? There are hundreds of reasons why websites don't convert, and the best way to find the issues is to watch prospective customers who visit your website.

There are tools plus testing websites that you can use to find out where and why your customers are falling through the cracks.

cover story

“The most incredible privilege of my life is the people I get to work with every day.”

The offer is the last but probably the most essential thing that is unnoticed. Before a single line of code, you should find out what you are offering your customer. Your prospects are multi-tabbing, comparing companies, watching videos, and reading reviews.

They are looking at your competition, and you need to convince them to do business with you. Find out what makes you or your services unique and make it clear why you're their best choice.

In December 2021, you announced that Candybox Marketing went national. Can you elaborate? What advice would you give to other companies hoping to expand?

We opened up our second Candybox Studio in Halifax to offer our services across Atlantic Canada. As an agency, our goal is to become Canada's premier marketing agency, so we chose the East Coast as our next location to help us achieve our national vision.

Our team hopes our second location will open up the door to working with more national brands. We've always valued working with customers one-on-one, and our new studio is welcoming to customers and employees across Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and Labrador.

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You created the company Launch48.ca, and that's an exciting story — can you briefly retell it, and, in a sentence or two, the lesson you learned from that experience?

Five years ago, I launched my second agency, Launch48, because I saw a rising demand for small websites to launch quickly. I was turning away thousands of customers that did not have the budget or time to launch a large website. So, I created a company that focuses on creating websites in just two days.

We’re now a few years into this venture and are launching new sites for small businesses across Canada. Every day, I think of new businesses that I want to launch each year. Even though a lot of the new businesses fail sometimes, I’m pleased with my effort of trying out new things.

What's the theme of Pick Up Your Freakin' Phone?

Going from a one-person start-up to one of the fastest-growing companies in Canada has been a wild ride, so I wanted to pass on my learnings. Many entrepreneurs struggle with the same issues, so I wrote a book to document my top pieces of advice to new businesses.

The book's title is after one value I focus on throughout the texts: to pick up your phone and call people. Don't depend on your email campaign, website, or videos alone. If you want to get something done, you need to make calls and get people to join your cause.

What strategies have you implemented to continue your operations and serve your clients during the pandemic?

We have continuously operated as a hybrid remote/studio business, so it wasn't as difficult for us as some other companies.

We have an effective contingency plan in place to ensure that we can serve our clients and navigate during a crisis or a pandemic.

Are you currently involved with any types of projects and philanthropic work?

Our company loves partnering with charities that make a measurable local impact. This year, we sponsored the transportation to ship 22 buffalo to a First Nations group in Saskatchewan. It was a privilege to be part of a multi-generational reconciliation project with our First Nation neighbours.

What tips can you offer to someone planning to start a new business in Canada?

Don't wait for everyone else to approve your idea before starting.

So many entrepreneurs are waiting for the right time, the right investor, the right idea, the right incubator program. These are all great excuses not to start today, but the timing will never be perfect.

If you want to start something, start today and stop making excuses. We live in one of the most business-friendly countries globally — begin now.

Who are some of the people who have inspired you over the years?

I'm part of a small group of 12 CEOs that meet every month to

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discuss our strategies, results, and challenges. Each one of them inspires me to a better leader in different ways based on their strengths, which has helped me to grow my agency. Every month, I listen intently on what they are achieving in their companies and industries and take notes on what I can do to be like them.

Without the support of this group of industry leaders, I would not be where I am today.

What is one of the most memorable pieces of advice you have received that helped your business?

Entrepreneurship is a team sport. Gather a team of people around you to help you achieve your vision and get their input regularly. Entrepreneurs get credited for their success, but they are just the face of a multi-person success story.

Where would you like Candybox to go in five years?

The most incredible privilege of my life is the people I get to work with every day. Each month, we add more incredible digital marketing experts that I have a lot to learn from. In five years, I'd love to have the same kinds of relationships but with hundreds more people from across the globe. Of course, I also want a Candybox-branded Delorean, but that's personal. //

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business

HOW CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AFFECTS REPUTATION

by Rose Ho

C

orporate social responsibility — or simply CSR — refers to the self-regulated accountability that a company has to its customers and clients, its stakeholders and shareholders, and the world at large. It calls into consideration the economic, social, and environmental impact of a company’s daily processes, from manufacturing and distributing to hiring and marketing. Promoting equitable treatment of those in marginalized communities and taking a stance against environmental harm are two of the most common ways companies can develop good CSR in the public’s eye.

Nowadays, with a generation of hyperplugged-in consumers and investors who expect some level of social responsibility from the brands they support — and are acutely aware of those that do nothing (or worse) — it is important for companies to practise and showcase authentic CSR, no matter the size or industry. In a survey conducted in 2019 by Aflac, 77 per cent of consumers were motivated to support companies dedicated to making the world a better place. The same study brought to light that 41 per cent of millennials put significant research into a company’s social responsibility initiatives before investing.

Thus, it is imperative for all companies to have social responsibility policies, in order to stay competitive in the global market and maintain their reputations.

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There is a plethora of benefits to upholding social responsibility. First, it is a boost to company morale. Employees like to work at companies they believe in, that are not toxic to themselves or others, and that positively impact the world around them. In 2020, Porter Novelli surveyed full-time employees during the pandemic and discovered that 93 per cent believed that companies should have a purpose beyond profits, and 95 per cent believed that companies should have a responsibility to customers, employees, suppliers, and communities beyond the shareholders. It goes without saying that happy workers lead to better productivity and higher quality work; motivated employees are also more engaged and loyal.

Another benefit of strong corporate social responsibility is longevity. The world is trending toward sustainability and social causes, and this trajectory is unlikely to reverse itself. Companies and even industries (for example, oil and fossil fuel) that do not align themselves with social responsibility will find themselves treading water against the tides of change and advancement. How long can they feasibly keep their head above water? A 2011 research paper titled “What Relation Exists between CSR and Longevity of Firms?” — written by Jean-Michel Sahut, Boulerne Sandrine, and Mehdi Mili — found evidence that adopting principles of CSR can help protect against bankruptcy and other crises. Those that do not adjust may find themselves eventually becoming irrelevant and unmarketable.

business

Many brands have garnered significant goodwill for their CSR efforts. The popular ice cream company Ben and Jerry’s has made known their stance on multiple issues — from fair trade practises to marriage equality. Sprinkled throughout their website and between social media posts about limited-edition flavoured pints, Ben and Jerry’s has included impactful and informative graphics on social justice topics and climate change. In 1985, founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield also started the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation, which provides grants to support marginalized, grassroots communities in the company’s home state of Vermont and throughout the rest of America. A longstanding commitment to giving back and using their voices to lift others has earned the brand considerable support from ethical ice cream lovers and sets the company apart from the rest of the frozen desserts market.

Lush Cosmetics is another example of a company that has built a sterling reputation through genuine corporate social

responsibility. Having launched in 1995 with the intention to produce cosmetics with fresh, cruelty-free ingredients that would never undergo animal testing, Lush has since increased their stringent parameters to manufacture various organic, fair trade, vegetarian/vegan, and packaging-free products. Aside from ethically-produced goods, Lush is also known for philanthropy.

One of their best sellers is the Charity Pot line of moisturizers. From its sale, 100 per cent of the proceeds are donated to grassroots campaigns and projects around the world. Remarkably, the UKbased company has never advertised their wares, but has become globally successful through the word-of-mouth of their devoted customers and employees.

Conversely, many companies have been adversely impacted due to their lack of corporate social responsibility. Facebook, for example, has been mired in controversy for several years now. Founder Mark Zuckerberg has become one of the most detested people on the internet. Scandals involving privacy and data breaches, Russian bots, and the proliferation of “fake news” during the 2016 US election have alienated Facebook's users and prompted a boom in the market for competitors (like iMessage and Signal) that promise greater levels of privacy and security in their services. Although the social media titan remains profitable through ad sales and maintaining multiple products (Instagram and WhatsApp, for example), its reputation is in tatters and will require a lot of time and energy to recover. The company will likely be scrutinized by the public and by law enforcers for years to come.

Similarly, German car manufacturer Volkswagen faced a major downfall in 2015 during their diesel engine emissions scandal. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) charged them with violating the Clean Air Act by masking their vehicles’ air pollution emissions to pass lab testing. The volume of emissions was, in fact, 40 times over the legal limit. When the information became public, Volkswagen stock dropped steadily; a year later, it was still 30 per cent down. Meanwhile, the company issued mass recalls, paid billions in fines, and faced countless lawsuits. The impact of Dieselgate went on to impact the rest of the industry as public trust in many other car manufacturers fell; yet the future of hybrid and electric cars looked rosy. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors, commented, “What Volkswagen is really showing is that we've reached the limit of what's possible with diesel and petrol.

The time has come to move to a new generation of technology.”

These examples make it clear that practising good corporate social responsibility can help build a brand or company to longterm success and avoid costly scandals. //

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THE ALGORITHM, MONETIZATION & FUTURE OF MARKETING

by Peter Campbell

A

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t its core, the basics of marketing remain the s a me: dr i ve t r a f f ic and consumer interest.

Basically, the goal is the same, but it’s the steps along the journey that have been technologically tweaked.

business

Marketing by Any Other Name Marketing, branding, advertising — all are terms that basically mean “get noticed.”

Whether mass or streamlined, marketing has changed more in the past couple of decades than it has since its inception.

At the same time, technology has grown at a rapid-fire pace. It only makes sense that “getting noticed” would need to grow as well.

An algorithm is described by Oxford University Press as a process or set of rules to be followed in calculations or other problem-solving operations, especially by a computer.

From a marketing standpoint, algorithms basically allow someone to gain the latest insights about demographics and consumer habits, in order to understand where the consumers’ focus and interests currently lie.

The insights can be invaluable. Plus, algorithms are capable of delving much deeper into — and unearthing more data about — a potential consumer’s everyday life than any focus group ever could.

What began as “keeping up with the Joneses” has morphed into alerts on your mobile device, narrowcasting, facial recognition, data collection, and cookies (no, not the furry, blue, googly-eyed monster type).

the optimum way of achieving advertising success. The flip side was that word-ofmouth (when negative) could also be deadly to your product or service. The same holds true of social media. Wordof-mouth has been replaced by snap/pic/ like/dislike/emoji, etc.

Criticism, whether positive or negative, has an immensely powerful effect — and now people possess the ability to make kneejerk reactions to the entire world at the touch of a button. “They told two friends who told two friends” has multiplied to the nth degree.

Monetization Makes the World Go ‘Round From pop-up advertisements to selling advertising space, there is little doubt that having a website for your company is a necessity.

There are about as many ways to monetize items as there are items themselves. The kind of monetization you employ depends greatly on what your site is about and what niche it specializes in.

There are numerous content monetization platforms out there that can be of assistance — some of those preferred include: • AdSense (by Google) • Audience Network (by Facebook) • Amazon Associates

The more “they” know about you, the better to tailor towards you. At least, that’s the intention — but you know what they say about “best intentions.”

Even social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube have their monetization merits.

Personal Perspectives

The Bucks Start Here

Since the dawn of time, one of the primary purposes among living organisms — from single-celled amoebas to towering dinosaurs — has been acquisition. Whether it be knowledge, peace, food, shelter, or just “stuff”, acquiring what we desire and need is an urge that cannot be denied.

Additional ways of monetizing your website or blog include:

Marketing is simply an end to that primal imperative.

Affiliate Marketing: A marketing process by which a website earns money through the promotion of another business’ products and services.

Word-of-mouth has almost always been

Banner Ads: We’ve all seen them. The little rectangular boxes that routinely pop up to inform us of a product’s latest design or capabilities.

Selling Your Services: Let the world know who you are and what you’re capable of offering. Essentially, sell your expertise.

Selling Access to Remarketing Pixels: “Remarketing pixels” brings you the identical product or products (in pixel form, at least) you just browsed through on another website. You can earn money by selling access to these pixels, thereby allowing brands to tap into your audience.

Donations: Some of your site’s visitors may not be thrilled with ads but are often more-than-willing to make a donation — especially if they feel it’s going somewhere worthwhile.

Paid Subscriptions and Memberships: Once you’ve established an online following, ask visitors to sign up for more. If they like the content they’ve seen from you so far, they’ll certainly clamour for more.

If You Post It, They Will Come At least, that’s the hope and intention.

No marketer can literally make someone go and purchase an item. With all the information out there in our everyday world and across social media — the latter of which has pretty much entwined itself within our everyday world — cutting through the clutter might be more difficult than ever before. To survive, marketers have optimized their search engines, so to speak.

Where will marketing go from here? As online worlds, virtual reality, and immersive events become increasingly popular, our imagination might be our only boundary.

Be prepared for any and all eventualities as best as you can because the future is inevitable. How best to prepare? The way you have always done — by learning as much as possible about your business, your competitors, and most of all, your potential consumers. It’s called “best practices” for a reason.

For better or for worse, the algorithms are among us — some might argue that they are us. How you choose to perceive and benefit from them is 100 per cent up to you.

But they knew you’d think that. //

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business

PRIYA CHOPRA

CEO of 1Milk2Sugars and Double Shot Photos courtesy of Priya Chopra

by Kenny Hedges The push for more diversity in the workplace began long before the events of 2020. When companies began fore-fronting diversity, equity, and inclusion, few were better equipped than Priya Chopra’s 1Milk2Sugars.

Since the founding of the bilingual marketing agency in 2012, the company has tripled in size and boasts a client list including the likes of Sotheby’s, L’Oreal, and Pfizer.

In 2020, Chopra launched Double Shot, a diverse talent agency focused on highlighting underrepresented creators and influencers in lifestyle marketing — although Double Shot was a concept that had been percolating as early as 2018.

As The Edge learned, it was Chopra’s own personal background and relationships that inspired the founding of the agency.

What is it like as you run both 1Milk2Sugars, a successful marketing agency, and now Double Shot, a new talent agency for BIPOC influencers?

It’s exciting to be working on something new. To give you some

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context with 1Milk2Sugars — that's a company that I built from the ground up, so it's been a lot of hard work on one specific project.

Double Shot came at a time that, both personally and professionally, I think was the right moment, not only for my skill set but also for my personal calling. I'm now in my early 40s, I have three children, and I’m really looking to have more purpose and social impact in the work that we are doing and do something for the next generation.

I've been an entrepreneur for so long and worked with some of the top brands in the world. I thought there was a lot of insight that I could share with a specific group that I felt would need it the most. That's why I started Double Shot.

But the other reason that I think Double Shot was something that I wanted to start was that in my personal world, there's so much diversity. My kids are a blend of East Indian and Haitian and French; my sister is from Laos; my friends are from every corner of the world — from Guyana to Italy to Mauritius to Lebanon.

By contrast, in my work, I just was not seeing the diversity that I personally lived in every day. It became clear to me what the mission of Double Shot was all about.

business

Last year, a study revealed the pay gap between BIPOC and white creators was 29 per cent. How has Double Shot worked to address the pay gap? And what are some of the challenges you faced?

One thing that I noticed many years ago was that diversity is not new. It's not that there haven't been diverse influencers in campaigns. But let's say you had a campaign of 10 influencers, and you had one or two people of colour. That would be considered enough. But it was tokenism. The pool of work was still going much more to white creators. Amongst the diverse creators, I also found that we were often seeing the same people all the time.

Another thing that we noticed was that people of colour were often underquoting and low-balling. That was something that we saw in comparison to white creators. I think it was more so when they were not represented by an agent. If they were representing themselves, there could be a lack of guidance or benchmarking.

Pricing and influencer marketing are still super unregulated. All of this to say, there's so many variables, and so many insights there. Double Shot basically offers invaluable insights because we see the disparity firsthand, and we want to make sure it's more balanced.

You mentioned COVID. Beyond the obvious, what’s the most significant change in your business in the past two years? What were the hardest lessons you’ve learned?

In 2019, before COVID, we started to work a lot on building the culture of our company. We actually took the help of a leadership coach. It was well over six months that we worked on the positioning of 1Milk2Sugars and what our mission, vision, and values are. Basically, the exercise that we do with clients on our business planning side, we had to do it for ourselves.

And it really got us through COVID. We're still, unfortunately, living in it today. I could say that I had the experience of running a remote team because I live in Montreal and a lot of my team is in Toronto, so that helped as well. But the distance actually brought us closer, and I think a lot of the reason why it did that was because of the strong work we did on building a solid foundation and gaining an appreciation of our people and being a people-first business.

In other interviews, you've mentioned the importance of knowing who you are, before starting a business. Running this business so far, what have you learned about your capabilities and limitations?

I started my first business when I was 23 years old. I was very young. I had no network. I didn't have a deep understanding or ownership of who I was at that time. Definitely, there are a lot of stumbling blocks when you start a business that young, but I think now I have a very clear idea of my values, my work ethic, and my leadership style.

I think it's helped me today, but I can't say that I'm the best leader I could ever be. I'm still learning. I'm a leader today that's continuing to learn from my team. Doesn’t matter how long they've been in the workplace. I've become much more of an empathetic leader.

One of the reasons I've been an entrepreneur for so long is that a lot of the corporate rigour and the pressures and expectations was never something I really enjoyed. I wanted to build a familystyle workplace. In the long run, I feel what makes people stick around is an environment where they feel they are valued and have a sense of belonging. //

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winners' circle

DR. JOHN GRAY Author and Relationship Counselor

by Dave Gordon

T Times and situations may have changed, yet after three decades, Dr. John Gray is still dispensing enduring wisdom about how to navigate the challenges of relationships.

Thirty years ago, Dr. Gray authored the most well-known relationship book — international bestseller Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus in 1992 — and since then has written a series of related books. His primary mission is to help men and women better understand, and respect, their differences, and improve how they interact with one another at all stages of life and love.

Photos courtesy of Dr. John Gray

In 2017, the latest in the “Mars and Venus” series was released, titled Beyond Mars and Venus: Relationship Skills for Today’s Complex World, which is touted as an updated guide for a new generation. In that regard, it addresses among many new questions and the fluidity of gender roles — where more men are embracing their feminine side, and more women, their masculine side.

Throughout it all, Dr. Gray maintains that a happy medium can often be found by integrating the traditional male/female traits.

“The male side is a problem solver, the female side nurtures.

Learning how to combine both sides of you is really a good thing,” he says.

“Another quality of the male side is toughness; the female side

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is vulnerability. There are two sides of us. I’m not saying women can’t be tough. I’m saying that, typically, when women get too tough, they tend to be alone and unhappy. Men who are too vulnerable tend to be too victim-like and selfish, and men need to toughen up.”

Competitiveness, moreover, is another male quality that many wrongly associate as a negative trait, he says. “This is what allows us to grow and do our best. The flip side of that is cooperation.

Each one of these blends your male and female side, and gives us compassion, wisdom, and so many other traits.”

And while he discusses the importance of understanding ourselves and our own natures, he also — as would be expected — cautions of the many modern obstacles to nurturing human connection.

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One major difference of late is that “we don’t have the relationship skills anymore to sustain romantic attachment” — and that’s because society is so often obsessed with its addiction, distraction, and perceived dependency on computer screens.

“It plays a huge role. Without a doubt. That does no favours to our relationships,” he says.

Whereas the pandemic certainly played a part in exacerbating the lack of face-to-face interaction, where he says, “You are not connecting the way you would if you were talking to someone,” he adds that in the past ten years, social media really worsened things, having eroded far too many people skills.

He believes that is sacrificing the fabric of our real social networks.

“We are losing our ability to relate to others. When we see people online, we are only getting a partial truth. People only put pictures up that show them happy, or people only put pictures up that show themselves as victims. There is no in-between. You aren’t seeing the whole person, the whole life experience,” he says.

“We tend to romanticize life when we only see a small portion of it that somebody wants to show. So, we have unrealistic expectations. That makes us unhappy and demand more from life, rather than being happy with what we have.”

In the final analysis, Dr. John Gray’s advice has been heeded by tens of millions of people around the world, across generations.

He blends timeless insights with common sense that has changed, for the better, how the sexes get along with each other. //

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winners' circle

DESIREE BOMBENON CEO of SureCall

by Stephanie Hawkins

A As the CEO of SureCall, a leading business optimization company and contact centre, Desiree Bombenon is continuing to innovate and lead by example. She has been recognized by various organizations and has won many awards, including Women Entrepreneur RBC Momentum Award, WXN Top 100 Canada's Most Powerful Women, as well as the Stevie International Business Award. In addition, she focuses on giving back to others and creating an inclusive and diverse work environment.

Bombenon spoke with The Edge about her path into business, becoming a leader, and how to overcome challenges.

Photos courtesy of Desirée Bombenon

In 2013, you launched SureCall Contact Centers Ltd. The company has continued to grow and expand since then.

Can you talk about the ways in which it has evolved since its early days?

The company has grown in many different ways. We've always been a diverse team, but over the past few years, with all that we've all gone through in society, it has really highlighted the issues of diversity and inclusion. It’s always been part of our DNA, but we've focused on establishing a lot of things to ensure that those protocols around inclusion, diversity, and equity are really being looked at. We created new recruitment protocols that took the cognitive bias out of hiring. We utilize a profile platform that actually provides insight into the values and behaviors of individuals. When presenting applicants to our team, this model allows us to choose individuals without looking at resumes, without knowing gender, sexual orientation, or how they identify. We bring them in knowing that they fit our cultural beliefs and values.

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We've also moved away from the traditional model of outsourced services, to focus on real customized, innovative, and bespoke solutions for clients. We've also invested tremendously in talent development within our organization, as well as learning new tools, so that we can provide the best resources for our team; which is why we moved to an upside-down pyramid model where our frontline team is really at the top. The rest of us are the foundational pieces working to provide a successful work environment.

In addition to decades of experience, you have also been recognized with various awards and accolades over the years. What advice would you have for others looking to continue to improve themselves and their business?

As leaders, we're always looking to see how we can better our organizations. A big part of that is ensuring self-care — staying healthy and active as a leader — so that you are your best self to your team. It’s also important to keep yourself apprised and

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up to date with what's going on in business, including new trends with regard to how businesses should function. I am very excited about the latest trends in organizational structures. One of those is moving to a more agile framework for your business. My advice to businesses is to never settle for status quo, no matter how big you get. Always think of yourself as a small, agile business.

As soon as we start to work within too much structure and too many layers of management, we lose the creativity and spontaneity that got us to where we were in the first place. A few very beneficial things are creativity, spontaneity, and the ability to react and pivot when new opportunities present themselves.

You have led by example, continuing to be involved in giving back to others through your presence on various boards and your “GoodCall™” program. Can you share why you started this program and provide insights on the importance of giving back?

When I first started working as a leader in an organization, what compelled me was that I was able to give people jobs, so that they could provide for their families and have a good life. As our company grew and became more successful, it was always about the stakeholders in the community. The community always supported us, and it's really important that we give back — we supply jobs, and thereby we're an indication of the prosperity of that community.

SureCall is a global company, and we feel that we need to participate not just locally, but nationally and internationally.

We're really fortunate to have been able to activate a program like GoodCall™, where we are focused specifically on helping children. We’re also a certified B Corp, meaning that we uphold the utmost environmental, social, and governance protocols within our organization. Through giving back to the community and looking at critical issues around the world, it really connects you not only to great partners, but also to great talent. At the end of the day, we're contributing to the greater global good.

Utilizing business as a force for good has always been important to me, and I'm really happy that we're able to continue to do that.

What advice would you have for others navigating challenges within their business?

Challenges are a real conduit to finding new ways of doing things. I think that the most important thing is to learn from your challenges in order to build tenacity and grit, so that you can provide support to those around you who need it most. We're a flat organization: we don't believe in titles; we don't even have business cards. The only reason that we have given ourselves titles is that in society you're dealing with clients, and they need to know which part of the organization you're connected with.

We really work as a multidisciplinary team with cross-functional assets. By standing alongside my team, I help get them through challenging times, whereas leading from 30,000 feet is not helpful when everyone is fighting to survive on the ground level.

When a crisis happens, it's your opportunity to really build that collaboration, resilience, and camaraderie for your business. I would say, a key takeaway is to never give up. //

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winners' circle

PURDEEP SANGHA Life Coach, Consultant, and Author

by Ortheta Anan

F For Purdeep Sangha, coaching and consulting businessmen was a natural choice. From a very young age, Sangha pondered what made some men not do well in various areas of life. Armed with business successes from as early as 16 and combining his passions for fitness and personal training, he enriched his knowledge with psychology and neuroscience to deliver insights in becoming “The Complete Man”: a man who shines, not just in business, but also in family life and relationships. He now boasts clients with businesses valued in the hundreds of millions and even a few celebrity entrepreneurs.

The Edge had the pleasure to converse with Sangha and inquire about his life, experiences, and thoughts as a business strategist.

Photos courtesy of Purdeep Sangha

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How did you start your career as a “Strategist for Businessmen”?

What do you think is the biggest challenge to younger men today?

Well, it just kind of fell into my lap. You could say, long story short, when I was helping people out, I started off trying to help them on the business side and help them with their strategies and tactics, but I soon found out that if people don’t have the mindset or the emotional capacity to execute it well, then it wouldn’t go anywhere. For example, some men dealt with addictions, or they dealt with other challenges, and they weren’t able to perform.

I feel for a lot of young men today. There’s a lot of very confusing messages out there, in terms of what it means to be a man, what masculinity is all about, about relationships, and the expectations.

I’m just saying there is so much ambiguity out there. That is challenging, but if I was to sum it up in terms of a solution is that we need better mentorship out there for younger men. We need better leadership out there for them.

I saw my dad struggle with alcohol because he didn't know how to be fulfilled in life. I was just eight years old when I started to study his behaviour and I asked myself, “Why does he drink so much? What triggers him to drink? What triggers him to be happy? What makes him laugh?” That led me to the path that I started to go on at a very young age, which was [to ask] how do we perform to our fullest ability?

What would you say has been the most difficult part in your journey yet?

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The difficult part is sticking to my own dreams and visions.

Everybody else has a vision of what your life should be, like what my life should have been like, the career I should have gone into.

When I left the corporate world, I was a successful executive, and when I left to start my own advisory firm, it was a big risk. A

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lot of people in my life, including my parents, thought I was making a big mistake. That’s the biggest challenge because it’s so easy to be influenced by other people. I had to be very clear about that — that I was going to take the path of living to the destiny that I wanted to create, not what other people wanted me to have.

For many young men, they might consider working hard now as an investment into their futures, ready to sacrifice personal time with their loved ones. What is your take on that?

I think there are two parts to that. One, you can’t be permanent.

So, what ends up happening is a lot of guys turn that into the way they live their life for the next couple of decades, and it becomes a norm, and that’s the dangerous part because the behaviours we build end up sticking with us for a long period of time. As long as you are aware of saying, “Okay, this is temporary,” or “Is this truly what I want my life to be like for the long term?” it should be okay.

The second part is to realize that you have a family, and they have needs as well. So, if you can balance longer hours but still be there for your wife and still be there for your kids then it is an okay spot. I’ve seen a lot of people sacrifice their personal life for their career only to find out that in their early or even late 30s or early 40s, they’re no longer connected with their spouse or kids.

The other thing that I would say is if you’re working 60 or 70 hours a week and you’re working for someone else, you must really evaluate whether that’s going to be an investment in your future or you’re just really lining someone else's pocket and sacrificing your own life for that.

Who or what would you say has been your biggest inspiration in life?

My grandfather was a big inspiration. [He] was a very spiritual man, in the Indian British army for 30-plus years. He said, “You know what? People can take away your credentials, they can take away your home, they can take away your money, they can even take away the shirt off your back, but the one thing they can’t take away from you are your values as a man,” and that’s a very strong principle that I live by.

Also, because my father struggled with alcoholism, he taught me that it was okay to cry, that it’s okay to be emotional, and love other people, and be open about that. Had he been a perfect father, I wouldn’t have the skills that I have today. //

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CRYSTAL ANDRUS MORISSETTE CEO and Founder, The S.W.A.T. Institute

by Hermione Ruan

E Empowerment coach, best-selling author, and founder of the S.W.A.T. Institute (Simply Woman Accredited Trainer), Crystal Andrus Morissette overcame many personal struggles and difficulties to become the success story she is today. Having coached celebrities, been featured on Oprah.com, and grown influence in over 45 countries around the world, Andrus Morissette shared her inspiring story and unique thoughts with The Edge.

Photos courtesy of Crystal Andrus Morissette

Please share with us the story of how you started the S.W.A.T. Institute.

Yes, we call it S.W.A.T. We're the new "special weapons and tactics" to help heal the world, one woman at a time. I made the decision back in the early 2000s. Then we opened up our official doors on March 8th, 2010 — International Women's Day.

I wrote my first book, Simply...Woman!, and built my website.

When that book was picked up by Hay House Publishing in 2003, I was already talking about our Simply Woman Accredited Trainers. By 2009, I just knew we could create a really safe place for women from all over the world to come together to do some of this work that's pretty powerful, deep, and not easy.

I first got the idea of doing online [or] telephone coaching after I left the father of my children — my first husband. At the time, I had a four-year-old and a five-year-old. I so badly wanted to figure out how can I be home with them but still build my own career and do what I love.

You created an Empowerment Spectrum where you show three emotional archetypes: the Adult, the Parent, and the Child. Can you expand on these archetypes a bit more?

How are they different, and how do people go from one stage to another?

Back then, I was doing personal training. I was helping women lose weight, but I started to realize that I didn't need to be in the gym with them. It wasn't about the bench press or the treadmill.

It was the conversation they were having in their own head and the conversations that I would have with them. A lot of it was helping them figure out their beliefs and blocks.

We all have an Adult Archetype or what I often refer to as Woman Energy (for women and Man Energy for men). When our Adult archetype is in charge, we show up in a type of energy that is more empowering. We make better choices. We negotiate, communicate, and compromise differently than when we show up in what I call our Mother Energy or Parent Archetype. Our

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Daughter Energy or Child Archetype is the more selfish, demanding, or difficult part of us. Interestingly, you don't need to be a mother to be in Mother Energy, and you can be in your 60s or 70s and be in Daughter Energy. We all have these three components.

A few women on my team said, "I've never heard this before.

Where are you coming up with this idea that there's these three parts to the personality?" And I thought about all the great thinkers — from Freud (who had the id, the super ego, and the ego) or Carl Jung (who had the ego, the shadow, and the collective unconscious) — I thought within each of us, we have these three parts to our personality.

We have this selfless, moralizing part of us. That's our Mother Energy. Over-giving, over-doing, over-helping. The wind beneath everyone else's wings. And then we all have this part of us that's a Child. Maybe she's a teenager, a damsel in distress, or a scared little girl. And when there's that battle between these two opposing parts — Parent and Child — we're often in a state of inner conflict.

The work that I started doing was helping women make peace between this inner Parent and inner Child. When we make peace with these two parts, our inner Adult emerges, and she becomes the Real You. She is that part of you that is no longer wounded. When we can show up in Woman Energy, we make better decisions and get better results without fail.

Where do you derive the joy, energy, and inspiration needed to empower other women in your work every day?

I get the “joy" from doing the work. I get off of a coaching call, and I often think, "I cannot believe I get paid to have these incredible conversations with these incredible human beings from around the world." When you love what you're doing, it doesn't take willpower. It actually takes willpower to not work. It takes willpower to step away. When you ask, "Where does the joy come from?" The joy comes from the process. How does it get any better than that?

Lastly, what is your definition of success?

I think success is so varied, and it's what it means to you. For me, I feel like I'm successful. I feel a sense of real deep connection to who I am, living my purpose. I think at the end of your life, it's the people who love you. It's not just who you love because you can love a lot of people that don't like you. And it's not just who loves you because you can have a lot of people that love you and you don't like yourself. But I think at the end of this whole thing, it's knowing that you've had deep, meaningful, heart-to-heart connection.

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I have really beautiful relationships with both of my grown daughters. I have a wonderful marriage. That's not always easy, but I'm very committed. That feels like success to me. I have a beautiful house out in the country. I can sleep well at night, and I feel loved and loving. To me, this is success. And to every person, it's different. Whatever your values are, whatever lights your fire, if you're doing that thing, I think that's a pretty good success. //

www.jnbank.com

Lower 36 Queen East Street, Goodison Building Brampton , ON , Canada, L6V 1A2 Spring 2022

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economics

USING IPOS TO STIMULATE ECONOMIC GROWTH

by Rob Shapiro

T

here are many ways to stimulate an economy.

Cutting corporate taxes, incentivizing consumer spending, and deregulation are just a few ways that governments have tried to urge growth in a national economy, and all seem to produce varying results.

However, one creative way to inch an economy out of a downturn and toward prosperity is through the strategic use of Initial Public Offerings (IPOs).

By understanding what an IPO is, how it works, and the historic basis for its role as a potential economic steroid, it becomes clear that this initiative can effectively contribute to an economy’s growth on the national scale and provide investors with new and exciting ventures.

What Is an IPO? When a private company undertakes the process of offering shares to the public, it does so via an IPO. Essentially, this refers to new stock issuances to a public market and is a proven way for companies to raise a lot of capital quickly and efficiently. It traditionally allows those who invested in a private company to take advantage of share premiums and receive dividends, while opening the doors for public investors to reap the potential rewards from their investment.

Private companies looking to “go public” often work with investment banks to determine if an IPO is the best strategy and to set the initial stock price. An often overlooked aspect of an IPO is that founders and executives may use it as an exit strategy, whereby a portion of the raised capital is allocated to pay themselves out, as the company seeks to bring in new talent at the top.

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economics

Is It Time to Go Public?

An IPO allows growing private companies to accelerate their growth and create new jobs, both of which are vital to economic health. Going public isn’t something that a company’s directors want to jump into before they are ready. Here are a few clear signs that a company should consider an IPO: • They have undergone extensive audits and their finances have withstood scrutiny.

• They are prepared for alternative action if the IPO does not go as planned.

• They are willing to defend any future growth plans.

• They have the combination of excellent marketing skills and strong financial numbers.

• They consistently produce accurate forecasts, as investors will shy away from a stock with a track record of fanciful forecasting.

This is especially important as a wave of failed IPOs could have a detrimental economic impact and may result in a company having to downsize or even close permanently.

Traditional Means for Economic Growth The health of an economy is often tied to the gross domestic product (GDP), which measures the accumulated value of all goods and services a country produces within a year. Granted, there is no one factor that leads to a healthy economy; instead, it’s a combination of factors. An important one is the role that banks and lenders, respectively, play in setting interest rates and making funds available to businesses which, in turn, are used to invest in products, operations and growth.

Compared to more-traditional strategies, an IPO might seem like a radical way to maneuver an economy toward growth. The reality is that it’s hard for private companies to receive the type of capital infusion that a successful IPO offers. Even if profits are trending upwards, investor capital has the power to take a company to the next level much faster and more efficiently than sales.

IPO as an Economy Accelerant An IPO can help an economy by creating new investment opportunities and fuelling growth within industries. They help companies grow faster, which typically results in job creation. A 2012 study conducted by the Kauffman Foundation found that the over 2,700 companies that went public between 1996 and 2010 resulted in employment of 2.2 million people and accumulated total sales over $1 trillion.

IPOs can also foster competitiveness in an industry, forcing companies to invest more in their workforce and other areas like research and development. Alternatively, any decline in the number of companies going public could stunt economic growth and adversely harm the job market.

IPOs can have a dramatically positive impact on an industry’s fastest-growing companies. In some ways, it rewards growth and

innovation. It’s fair to assume that a positive correlation exists between economic growth and an upturn in new investment opportunities.

As most economies try to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic that is approaching its second anniversary, IPOs should be part of their stimulus strategy to encourage growth and broaden private investment opportunities. An IPO’s ability to foster competition could also see companies go on hiring binges and invest in areas they would otherwise overlook. Consider that some of the stronger-performing IPOs in the last few years include Zoom Video Communications Inc., Moderna Inc., and BioNTech — companies that went public before the pandemic.

This put them in a position to experience success over the last year and a half, making it likely that they will help the post-COVID world return to economic stability, while potentially enjoying a windfall of revenue.

Economies need a steady stream of IPOs to encourage companies to continue investing in innovation and expand their workforce.

These are two economic pillars that cannot be ignored as an economy cannot be healthy with high unemployment rates and stagnant industries.

The Continued Economic Need for IPOs As vaccination rates go up and COVID-19 cases go down in many countries, governments will naturally turn their attention to fuelling economic growth. It’s a monumental task that will require a multi-faceted approach and precise execution. IPOs are a proven way to rebuild an economy, carrying positive and far-reaching ripple-effects. While IPOs may suggest a circuitous route to prosperity, they are a known driver for job creation and greater innovation, with their offer to invest in something exciting and promising. //

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economics

RECENT CONSUMER HABITS ONLINE AND IN-PERSON

S

by Selina Barker ince March of 2020, the lives of most North Americans have drastically changed. It started with panic-buying toilet paper and has transformed into the mass digitization of our work, personal, social, and private lives. Doctor consultations and therapy sessions are now available online along with buying groceries, household amenities, and workout equipment. As pandemic restrictions forced consumers to adapt to new shopping methods, consumers forced businesses to respond to new trends and needs in the marketplace.

DECLINE IN CONSUMPTION

NEW WAYS TO SHOP

While some industries boomed, others saw consumer spending plummet to unsustainable levels. With lockdowns taking place across North America, in-person shopping establishments and travel services were struggling to stay afloat without life-preserving customer demand.

Unprecedented times mean unprecedented shopping methods. The global pandemic has permanently changed the way consumers are buying everything, from medicine to cars.

80% 15% 60%

less international travel and related tourism spending overall decline in consumption in the U.S. of U.S. consumers are visiting physical stores less than before the pandemic.

43% 37% 51%

shop more often online for products they would have previously bought in stores of U.S. consumers will buy online and pick up in store more often in the future of global consumers are willing to try augmented/virtual reality to assess products

Source: Harvard Business Review, “How E-Commerce Fits into Retail’s Post-Pandemic Future,” May 11, 2021.

Source: Harvard Business Review, “How E-Commerce Fits into Retail’s Post-Pandemic Future,” May 11, 2021.

Source: NielsenIQ, “3 Holiday Shopping Experience Trends,” September 22, 2021.

WHAT CONSUMERS ARE SPENDING THEIR MONEY ON Sales for products such as hand sanitizers, gloves, and masks grew more than 800% over the first ten weeks of 2020.

Being stuck at home brought on trends of selfreflecting and self-improving. Whether it was redesigning a kitchen or a career path, big changes required big purchases by many people seeking retail rejuvenation.

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Global spending on wearable devices totalled $81.5 billion in 2021.

$81.5 billion Source: Oberlo, “10 Online Shopping Statistics You Need to Know In 2021,” June 20, 2021.

economics

INCREASED SPENDING

WHAT CONSUMERS WANT

28% Home Theaters/Gyms/Studios

An upwards trend in health-consciousness has influenced what consumers want to see from the companies they support, and has changed where they spend their money in order to show that support.

231%

Experience Toilet Paper

217% Over-the-Counter Drugs

Planet

13% Home Improvement Products Society

Source: NielsenIQ, “An inside look into the 2021 global consumer health and wellness revolution,” October 28, 2021.

Source: McKinsey, “Emerging consumer trends in a post COVID 19 world.”

Affordability

11%

$

29%

16% 17%

27%

Health

Source: EY, “Future Consumer Index Cycle 6: How a year of pandemic changed consumers,” March 17, 2021.

HOW CONSUMERS ARE SHOPPING ONLINE E-commerce may solve many of the problems of in-store shopping, but it comes with its own set of challenges.

Gone are the long queues of door crasher sales; in their place, we find shipping fees, service fees, small order fees, and handling fees. Again and again, consumers pay for the price of convenience.

$

46%

of online shoppers failed to complete a purchase online because there were too many options to choose from.

49%

of cart abandonments are due to high extra costs, which can include anything from shipping to taxes and fees.

62%

of online buyers shop at least once per month

26%

of online buyers shop at least once a week

3%

claim to shop once a day

Digital and mobile wallets are the preferred payment method among online shoppers worldwide: 44.5% of online shoppers paid using this method.

Source: Oberlo, “10 Online Shopping Statistics You Need to Know In 2021,” June 20, 2021.

Most people’s goals after the first quarter of 2020 narrowed to just getting through the rest of the year. Among the climbing infection rates, falling employment rates, and people trying to work and learn at home, there wasn’t a lot of room for big aspirations for the future. When 2021 came around with no end to crammed hospitals or stay-at-home orders in sight, the concept of a fresh start in 2022 seemed farther away than ever. But in the middle of what was forecast as the worst recession since the Great Depression, societies adapted. Shopping, working, and learning all became remotely available and, largely, we made the best out of it, purchasing things to improve our homes and ourselves and changing the way business is done forever. //

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economics

MERYL AFRIKA

President Emeritus and Chair, Canadian Association of Urban Financial Professionals

by Marcus Medford

W Photos courtesy of Meryl Afrika

hen Meryl Afrika arrived in Canada from South Africa in 2009, she needed a place where she could access financial services, networking opportunities, and professional development courses. That led her to the Canadian Association of Urban Financial Professionals (CAUFP). CAUFP provides a link between corporations and Black communities through programs and events that facilitate economic growth and education. Afrika started attending events, then volunteering — now she’s President Emeritus and Chair of CAUFP’s advisory board. She specializes in implementing business growth strategies.

What are some of the challenges the members of CAUFP experienced during the pandemic?

When you hear from your members, what are some of their biggest financial concerns?

In terms of finances, I think people are having a reckoning.

People are really starting to think about their financial futures.

So, how do we better educate them on financial literacy? That's been a big ask from us. Also, because a lot of companies are championing diversity and mandating it in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, they're trying to reach these targets by putting folks into executive positions.

For the majority of them, especially millennials, it's homeownership.

That's a big thing too because the majority of them are based in Toronto. How do I afford a home in this crazy environment, when I'm not making that much money? That’s the question. We've had a lot of conversations around helping people understand how they can get into the market, like maybe going through the pre-construction route to home or condo ownership.

We find that a lot of our members are stuck in middle management.

So, how do we give them career coaching at an affordable price?

Some people aren’t investing in themselves because they're not earning that much; that's another area where people have been struggling. We're trying to fill the gap, to provide them with the tools so that they can excel within their careers at these organizations.

Retirement planning has been big as well. A lot of people don't talk about the fact that insurance companies are predicting that people will be living to 100 on average. When we're doing retirement planning, we're thinking, “I plan to live until about 85.” Nobody's talking about the fact that you're probably going to live 20 years beyond that, so you need to think about your retirement planning like that.

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economics

What advice would you give a new company on their financial planning?

Something I've noticed with Black-owned businesses is that we’re culturally afraid to take on debt. I think for new entrepreneurs or smaller businesses, it's important to understand how to leverage debt because it’s not necessarily the enemy. It’s something entrepreneurs need to learn in terms of their own financial journey because that debt can be leveraged to help you grow, if you know how to maximize it.

For example, leveraging your line of credit to purchase new assets or stock in order to grow your business and make revenue.

Then, hold on to your liquid cash in a reserve where you're either earning interest on it or you’re keeping it in case of emergencies.

When the interest rate is low, you're not paying what you would’ve been paying on that debt, so that’s when it makes sense to leverage that to your advantage. It makes more sense then, versus times where the interest rate is higher, than what you would recoup on whatever vehicle you’re using to earn interest.

How do you ensure that the key pillars of CAUFP — professional development, networking, youth engagement, and financial literacy — empower Black professionals?

A lot of what we do is bringing professionals and people with experience in certain areas together to educate our members in a safe space. We also have standard programming throughout the year, and every year, we host a youth summit. That summit brings in hundreds of students from across Canada, and it’s an opportunity for them to learn about careers across sectors they might not have access to. Plus, we bring in recruiters who’re actively looking at companies seeking to hire Black talent.

Certain partners will reserve roles for BIPOC talent, and they come to us to source that. Or they’ll report that they’ve hired, interviewed, or mentored X number of students from the summit.

So, there’s a little bit more accountability than just writing a cheque. We do the same thing with the mid-level professionals.

We do a lot of speaker series where executives come and talk about either their personal success stories or they'll talk about whatever's trending in finance, for example.

Why is it important to connect the Black community with these corporations, mentors, and networks?

We’re three per cent of the population. We’re here. We exist.

We’ve been ignored for a long time, so it's important that they engage with us because we consume their products. And as immigration increases, more racialized people are going to come, which means that percentage will likely increase. Companies have to position themselves as an employer and service provider of choice to this demographic.

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The other piece is understanding what the jobs of the future are.

Most Black people are taught to go to university and pursue a traditional career like doctor or engineer. But if you have an affinity for tech and you’re a law student, how do you become an M&A lawyer for the fintech space? These are spaces that are becoming interesting and popular that people can get into while pursuing a traditional career. But sometimes, nobody’s talking about this with Black youth unless they’re in a club or they know someone who works in that field. It’s important for us to know what the hot jobs and skills are for the future. //

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start-up

9 BEST START-UP ACCELERATORS OF 2022

by Stephanie Hawkins

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any up-and-coming start-ups can benefit from participating in accelerator programs, through mentorship, industry insights, and, in many cases, financial support. Accelerators are offered in several different industries, from media and creative arts to technology and healthcare. There are programs that offer options to their applicants, varying in intensity, duration, and focus.

Given the historical success of accelerator programs, it’s easy to see why they are continuing to build momentum and are considered an appealing option by many founders who wish to ride the next wave of innovation. Within North America, there is no shortage of such opportunities to give your company the push and support it needs in 2022.

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start-up

Canadian Film Centre Media Lab

MaRS Discovery District

For those in the creative arts and media space, the Canadian Film Centre Media Lab offers a variety of programs for creative talent, media productions, projects, and entrepreneurs. They have a wide variety of program choices, including IDEABOOST (in existence since 2012), with a variety of program choices for assisting media start-ups — such as mentorship, networking, and funding. Another exciting option is the New Wave Initiative. This is an accelerator program focused on supporting and growing women-owned businesses within the digital media industry. One part of this program includes a four-month business growth and scale-up program, as well as global outreach opportunities.

For those in fintech, healthcare, or cleantech, MaRS offers several options for innovation and growth. They have a wide network of industry, community, public sector, and corporate partners, which is advantageous to participants. Depending on the level at which your company is, MaRS offers appropriate advisory support, including early-stage and growth supports. Since 2007, they have offered their Business Acceleration Program in various regional locations across Ontario, with the goal of helping companies progress globally. As of 2013, they also offer a Youth Business Acceleration Program for individuals between the ages of 18 and 29 to support entrepreneurship within the technology industry.

AngelPad

Blueprint Health

Since 2010, this company, based in New York City and San Francisco, has launched over 150 businesses. It prides itself on being an intensive three-month, seed-based accelerator, helping its clients prepare for investor meetings and obtain funding. They are open to working with a wide variety of industries and invest $120,000 in each company. One-to-one mentoring, connecting with investors, and building a strong community are essential components of what makes AngelPad unique.

Another accelerator program in the healthcare space, Blueprint Health concentrates on healthcare IT companies. They offer a three-month program as well as continuing support for their alumni. If selected, participants relocate to New York City for the duration of the program. This accelerator usually aids those companies that already have some sales and funds, but is also open to a variety of other start-ups — from those at foundational level to more-established levels. Straddling the line between healthcare and technology industries, they offer a variety of events and opportunities, such as content-development assistance and demo days.

Highline Beta Based in Toronto, Highline Beta supports pre-seed and seedaccelerator programs every step of the way. They have made a name for themselves on a wide scale, especially working with companies through their Pilot Program Accelerators, which looks at growth opportunities for larger companies. They also have a Venture Studio, which helps build start-ups while assisting in launching and funding pursuits within a six- to nine-month timeframe. Their other accelerator programs usually run for six months, offering specific accelerators in a variety of areas, including sustainability, financial technology (fintech), and North American small business. They also partner with various industry and corporate entities.

Y Combinator This seed-funding accelerator consists of a three-month program focused on mentorship, expert guest speakers, and pitching.

Participants work from an elite Silicon Valley location. Y Combinator’s process has helped grow well known companies such as Airbnb, Dropbox, and Instacart. The accelerator targets a wide variety of industries and a large volume of start-ups each year.

Cedars-Sinai Accelerator For healthcare entrepreneurs and those within the digital healthcare space, Cedars-Sinai Accelerator programs run twice a year, for three months. They invest $100,000 into participating companies; they also offer demo days at the end of their program, to connect start-ups with the news media, investors, and potential customers. Participants have access to the day-to-day workings and logistics of a busy hospital, access to mentors, collaboration, technical teams, information technology, and goal-setting. This accelerator works with companies at various stages of their growth, to help them with the ultimate goal of improving the quality of the healthcare industry.

500 Startups Downtown San Francisco-based 500 Global Flagship Accelerator Program — first offered by 500 Startups in 2010 — differentiates itself by accepting applications year-round, breaking away from deadlines in hopes of improving opportunities for promising startups to take the next steps in their growth. Marketing themselves as “founder first,” they provide funding opportunities worth $150,000 at the end of the program on demo day. Through their network of 1,000-plus investors and 200-plus mentors, they help start-ups strengthen aspects of marketing, culture, accounting, product design, sales, finance, and more.

Techstars With several locations throughout North America, Techstars offers an intensive three-month accelerator program that is currently available in a variety of formats, including virtual, hybrid, and in-person. In addition to multiple regional locations, there is also a wide variety of industries represented through their programs — from artificial intelligence and robotics to blockchain, finance, and more. They work in many areas of industry, which — when combined with their broad geographical locations, mentorship, and funding — offer a range of possibilities for companies attempting to benefit from accelerator programming. //

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start-up

GARRY BAHADUR CEO, Raw Essentials and Living Food Inc.

by Arslan Ahmed

Those who wish to make a difference in the world will never settle until they see their hard work finally paid off. Garry Bahadur is one of these people. He has always believed in chasing his dreams and making a positive impact on the world. He put aside his dream of pursuing a career in the music industry to focus on what he’s always been passionate about: nutrition and finance. He was inspired to launch Raw Essentials and Living Food Inc. (REAL Food) — a commodity-trading business focused on staples — and forming connections between Africa and the rest of the world.

Now, Bahadur advises developing African nations on how to sell their foods to the rest of the world. He strongly believes in Africa’s potential and how companies like his will be responsible for making Africa a pivotal global economic player.

The Edge was privileged to chat with Bahadur to understand his business and its future.

Who are the customers of REAL Food, and what commodities does it currently deal in?

REAL Food predominantly sells to the West African states, primarily Senegal, Gambia, Benin, Togo, Liberia, Nigeria, Ghana, and Burkina Faso. We also sell to the landlocked countries, like Mali, that must deal with water-facing nations, such as Benin, Gambia, Senegal or Togo, to get their products. With regards to the products, they usually seek staples, such as rice, sugar, cooking oil, flour, corn, and sometimes frozen seafood, beef, and poultry.

What are the challenges that you face in international trade or trade at a global scale?

First off, in the commodities trading business, you can pretty much predict what's going on in the world just by the politics 44

the EDGE Spring 2022

Photos courtesy of Garry Bahadur

that play out in the trade business. There are certain countries — Nigeria, for example — that can't import sugar from Brazil due to an embargo. Quite often, financial and logistical challenges come second.

In West Africa, for example, they use collateral management to settle transactions, especially in the commodities business. The banks actually take responsibility for the product as opposed to your buyer taking direct consignment of the product, which is called collateral management. It means that the bank is taking possession of the goods and will release the goods to the buyers once they make the payments. We also deal with customs and language issues, but we forge ahead with the spirit that we must deal with these challenges as part of our day-to-day process.

start-up

Tell us about your team structure and leadership style.

I'm the sole director of the corporation. The team actually is a mobile one. I have regional managers and a network of representatives who source products throughout the world. All of them report to me. I have an administrator here in Canada who oversees that aspect of the business. I have legal representatives in every country based on any kind of sensitive issues or political or legal issues that may come up.

For my leadership style, I would say that I'm pretty liberal. I generally set the tone. I give my team the directives, but I also give them latitude to use their own judgment. For example, my colleague in India will call me, and he'll say, “Hey, I came across this situation. How would you like me to address it?” Then I turn the question around, and I say, “Okay, well, how do you suggest we address it? You're front facing the issue, right? You tell me how it's going to impact what we're doing.” And that way, we make an informed decision.

What is the potential of Africa as a continent for contributing to global trade and world markets? How do you think that African economies can be developed to take centre stage in the global economy?

One of the challenges in Africa is that African nations don't have a mature trade mechanism. The economies in most of Africa are

quite small. Their currencies are depressed, so it's very difficult to deal with international trade. In the banking world, we'll work with a bank that has a double- or a triple-A rating, meaning that they have sizable capacity. There aren't very many banks on the continent of Africa that can actually accommodate that capacity.

They need dependency on Europe, Asia, or North America to help facilitate through correspondent banking relationships.

The potential of Africa is immeasurable. It has got every resource that the planet needs in literally every corner of the continent.

They have the capacity to grow rice but don't have the processing facilities to process the rice. Therefore, they have to import it.

The same can be said about any other agro crop and the oil and gas industry. What's required is to put in the appropriate methodologies so that African nations would appear appealing to the international community and create these bilateral situations that are enjoyed in Europe, North America, and Asia, respectively.

What future do you envision for REAL Food?

I'm looking to diversify the company. There's a number of companies seeking me out to consult. So, there's the consultation aspect of the business, then there's the financing aspect. Shipping is a necessity. Eventually, on the tail end of everything, we will be setting up our own brand of stores and supermarkets. Because we can source the products ourselves, we become our own distributor, and in turn, we become our own retailer. //

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tech & innovation

WHAT IS AN API AND HOW CAN BUSINESSES USE IT?

by Sean Plummer

T

hey power Google ads, Facebook likes, and Amazon’s cloud business. They also let you book flights, make reservations, and place orders online. If you have ever had a meal delivered

by Uber Eats or binged Squid Game on Netflix, you have, at least indirectly, used an API.

The most common metaphor tech journalists use to describe an application programming interface (API) seems to involve restaurants.

In this scenario, the API — which is the connective tissue between applications, software servers, and digital devices — is the waiter who takes your order (The Request) and communicates it to the kitchen (The System) that then serves your dinner (The System’s Response). An example of this is booking an airline ticket via a travel website that employs an API to aggregate ticket and flight data from a variety of airlines.

The API delivers the best results back to its client website and, in turn, to the customer requesting the information.

Businesses use APIs to ask for and share content from different software programs securely or to allow their customers to do the same. With most software today being built using APIs, the best-case result is a seamless digital experience for both businesses and end users. Indeed, a well-designed API delivers more value to customers in less time by extending the functionality of a business. They can be private (strictly within a single company), between business partners, or public-facing.

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tech & innovation

Considered the next big software-asa-service (SaaS) wave, third-party APIs can be the engine of a company’s digital transformation and growth by simplifying a complex problem critical to your business.

Emerging third-party API categories include Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS), identity, data storage and management, background checks, payroll, health, fraud, video, and automation.

Perhaps the most immediate usage case for APIs is improved customer experience (CX). Indeed, Forbes recently reported that 74 per cent of customers are willing to pay more for a better, more seamless CX. And APIs significantly enhance that metric by letting companies create a more tailored experience.

APIs also identify gaps in the customer experience or key moments along the buyer’s journey in order for them to be improved. For instance, digital marketing platform Hubspot added an API-created option in prospect emails for customers to chat via WhatsApp with sales agents.

This resulted in 86 per cent more clicks to their WhatsApp call-to-action. Previously, Hubspot reps had used WhatsApp on their personal devices to manage customer relationships.

APIs can also evolve customer interactions with a company as channels of interaction (via the web, mobile devices, and social apps), flows of usability, and points of interaction evolve. They also offer a more flexible roadmap, unlike the one-size-fits-all approach of traditional customer relationship management (CRM) software. APIs allow businesses to forego the purchase of traditional off-the-shelf CRM SaaS — many functions of which they may never use — by unbundling so-called “microservices.”

Instead, businesses can choose specific

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applications that make sense for their brand. The result is less downtime and reduced costs, as well as the ability to make incremental upgrades to CX. Private APIs can also enable communication between employees in different departments and streamline operations by boosting productivity, efficiency, and transparency.

Because businesses are using an increasing number of siloed apps, APIs become the medium that allows them to communicate.

The result is a more integrated experience for the business as a whole. This could include the linking of enterprise resource planning (ERP), CRMs, and financials so they can “talk” to one another.

Famously, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos demanded in 2002 that all his product teams expose their data to each other and only communicate through APIs. (This became known as “The Bezos Mandate.”)

This bold decision created a platform for growth that enabled the launch of Amazon’s most profitable business unit: Amazon Web Services (AWS). This metered payas-you-go service provides on-demand cloud computing platforms to individuals, business, and governments. It has also been credited with transforming Amazon from an online bookseller into a global powerhouse.

That powerful connectivity can also facilitate and develop new partnerships within the digital economy. Indeed, some 50 per cent of business-to-business collaboration happens thanks to APIs. And not having APIs relevant to your business can allow your competition to get ahead.

This means, however, that businesses must come up with both public and private API strategies. That work can drive innovation by allowing software developers to add

capability to their applications and develop new solutions without building functionality from scratch. Intel’s Andy Thural has described this as letting the developer community out of its “steel cage” of restrictions. APIs also allow the introduction of outside ideas and talent to drive such innovation, which ultimately saves time and money as companies benefit from the work of others. And that’s not to mention the ruthless competition driving evolution in the third-party API provider space.

Businesses can also use APIs to add additional revenue channels. One MuleSoft study found that 80 per cent of companies with more than 10,000 employees could generate more than $5 million a year from APIs alone. Additionally, 35 per cent of technology leaders generate more than a quarter of their revenue as a direct result of APIs. For example, APIs can be used to create a free tier that drives subscribers and, in turn, places the customer further along the buyer’s journey. They may also pay for tiered, pay-as-you-go (PAYG) or unit-based access to your services. Providers may also mix and match these approaches. Consumers can also get paid via ad revenue sharing, affiliate relationships, and adding credits to their bills, which generates additional usage and loyalty.

These bits of code are changing how businesses do business and how they think about doing business. Connection is the holy grail of life, work, and consumption online, and APIs facilitate that connection in ways that make it easier for customers to spend their time and money. //

tech & innovation

BENEFITS OF CUSTOMER-FOCUSED E-COMMERCE AI TOOLS

W

by Nick Dauk

by Nick Dauk

hen it comes to making decisions for business, customer needs should always be the focus. Dramatic advances in technology have revolutionized the ways in which companies and consumers can interact — perhaps none more so than artificial intelligence and machine learning. Integrating customer-focused e-commerce artificial intelligence (AI) tools into your operations can enhance the overall consumer experience, while providing hyper-localized assistance to individual customers.

Understanding Pain Points in the Virtual Customer Experience As AI integrates into and innovates virtually every industry, business owners will need to provide their customers with tools that both leverage the power of AI and can serve the needs of a diverse audience. Complicated processes, unclear communication, and a lack of personalized attention can instantly hinder the customer experience. To effectively use customer-focused e-commerce AI tools, businesses must keep these four pain points in mind: 1. Ineffective customer service 2. Impersonal consumer experience 3. Interrupted sales processes 4. Inconsistent branding Thankfully, these pain points are easily mitigated by integrating AI software into daily operations such as chatbot assistance, personalized recommendations, streamlined CRM, and consistent branding updates. Imagine leading a customer through every stage of their purchase journey, answering their specific questions, and providing personalized purchasing service, all without the need for a dedicated human employee.

Delivering Customer Service Around the Clock Chatbots are changing the way customers interact with companies.

These AI-powered virtual assistants are active around the clock, providing customers with 24/7 support as they engage virtually with a business. Although their most immediate benefit is their ability to instantly assist a customer with any questions,

another significant feature is that these AI systems learn from prior conversations. Thus, each time a customer interacts with a chatbot, the virtual assistant can provide a better experience based on the success of interactions with previous customers.

This instantaneous support allows your business to be virtually open every minute of the day without the need for employee interaction. It’s an especially effective e-commerce tool for companies that serve audiences in multiple time zones.

Personalized Service & Recommendations Utilizing a chatbot to guide a customer through a sale is an achievement, but the goal of any consumer interaction is to curate an experience that encourages their continued business.

AI tools for e-commerce can improve the customer journey by providing a personalized and interactive experience. This can be achieved through live user interaction and customized profiles.

AI-enabled e-commerce systems can adapt to a customer’s needs in real-time, similar to chatbots. By monitoring customers’ actions as they shop, AI tools can then suggest relevant products or services.

Customized consumer profiles can take this information one step further by providing a hyper-localized shopping experience.

Using preferences customers selected when creating their profiles, AI can act as a virtual salesperson, presenting them with uniquely specific products or services they desire. Instead of pointing a consumer to a menu of options, these e-commerce tools can identify a customer’s exact need and deliver them the ideal solution.

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tech & innovation

Automated CRM with Fraud Protection

Keeping the Customer’s Vision of the Company in Focus

Chatbots and personalized service can promote a positive and successful customer transaction — but what happens when a customer abandons a sale? That’s where AI-led CRM software for e-commerce comes in. Streamlining an efficient sales process without human staff first involves getting to the heart of the problem: why did the customer reject the sale?

AI tools for e-commerce do benefit the customer; however, businesses should also keep in mind that reliance on certain software can negatively impact a brand. For example, chatbots can successfully assist customers when employees are not available.

If a brand is associated with top-notch customer service, they need to ensure that they are integrating a virtual assistant that won’t diminish the perceived quality of service. Similarly, if a company policy accepts returns or refunds, they must design a CRM to either facilitate these requests or swiftly forward the customer to a live employee who can.

AI-based CRM software can analyze data and provide insights into every step of the sales process. When opportunities for improvement are identified, businesses can immediately pivot.

The CRM will then provide insight into the success or failure of modifications and lead businesses closer to closing the sale.

Along with analytics, AI-based CRM can also streamline the transaction process while also detecting and preventing fraud.

Customers trust that their financial data is protected on a website; businesses can reinforce that trust by bolstering security with anti-fraud AI.

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The benefits of customer-focused e-commerce AI tools are growing every day. As AI and machine-learning technologies advance, businesses are primed to deliver exceptional virtual service to customers around the world. AI-based software — including chatbots, CRM, and personalized consumer profiles — will continue to redefine the virtual customer experience. Incorporating these AI e-commerce tools will likely be a necessity for e-commerce businesses throughout the spectrum of industry. //

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tech & innovation

ANN MAKOSINSKI CEO, Makotronics Enterprises Inc.

by Rose Ho

Forbes Magazine’s 30 Under 30, Time Magazine’s 30 Under 30 World Changers, and Entrepreneur Magazine’s Young Millionaires are just a few of the lists that Ann Makosinski has landed on as a highly sought-after inventor.

A proponent of bringing art and science together, she has invented a flashlight that uses the thermal energy from the human hand to generate power, and a mug that powers mobile phones through the excess heat of a hot beverage!

The Edge chatted with Makosinski about her inventions and where her passion for alternative renewable energy sources stems from. Moreover, she also talked about how art and science can impact the world, and shared her thoughts on higher education. a series of such books. His primary mission is to help men and women better understand, and respect, their differences, and improve how they interact with one another at all stages of life and love.

Where did you find the passion for developing alternative renewable energy options?

The interest for me developed out of my participation in the Vancouver Island Regional Science Fair (VIRSF). After my first project in grade six, all my projects were in the area of alternative energy harvesting. There was something very fascinating about generating electricity from sources that surround us in our dayto-day life, that we weren't regularly taking advantage of.

As my interest in electronics grew, I began wondering how to eliminate the use of batteries in small electronic devices, as improper battery disposal is quite toxic to the environment. I began playing around with solar cells, piezoelectric discs, and thermoelectric generators.

The “Hollow Flashlight,” the “eDrink” — can you share a bit more about your projects with our readers?

The Hollow Flashlight was inspired by my friend in the Philippines.

I'm half Filipino, so I have some friends and family there, and she had written to me one day from an internet café, telling me that she had failed her grade in school because she couldn't afford electricity and had no light to study with at night. I wondered,

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Photos courtesy of Giullian Yao Gioiello

“How can I create a light source that wouldn't require any batteries?” and ended up making the Hollow Flashlight, which is a flashlight that runs off the heat of the human hand.

The story behind the eDrink was that I noticed my high school friend's coffee was always taking too long to cool down, and that their phones were always running out of energy. I decided to combine those problems and create a solution with the eDrink, a coffee mug that harvests the excess heat of your hot drink and converts it into electricity. If you drank a lot of coffee, you could eventually give your phone a boost of energy.

You have said in the past that you believe in the intersection of science and art. Can you elaborate on why that is important, especially for today's youth?

Since I was a kid, I always had interests in both the sciences and the arts. When I received global attention for my science fair projects, the whole “art half” of me was never inquired upon. As I've grown older, I have realized that it is the crucial and often-overlooked combination of science and art that creates the best products and inventions around us. I believe that in the educational system — especially for younger kids — we need to start emphasizing how art and science can work together, instead of being taught as completely separate subjects.

tech & innovation

For example, your iPhone is a great example of a piece of technology that has the interface and science behind it to work really well, but it also is aesthetically pleasing. Advocating for more young people to go into STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) is wonderful, but I believe it should be STEAM, which is science, technology, engineering, arts, and math.

In past interviews, you mentioned struggling in science classes and with the assumption that a university degree is necessary for getting a job. What would you say to people who have big dreams but don't think school is necessarily their path to achieving those dreams?

I think for every individual, depending on what your job and what your interests are, you're going to have a different path that requires a certain amount of schooling or not. I would never say

that you shouldn't get a degree if you can. I think what's really valuable about a degree is that it shows prospective employers that you can start and actually finish projects — which is a lot more difficult than it sounds.

School teaches you discipline and hard work, and it also lets you find out what you hate versus love. I could never speak to what each individual person may require, but I suggest at least trying school and seeing if it’s for you. I’ve always believed that it is also equally important to focus on how you spend your time outside of university. All these spectacular people are graduating with the same undergrad degree, so how can you differentiate yourself from them? What can you show an employer that makes you unique? Take the time outside of class to work on your own passion projects — no matter what field — and develop your own individual opinions and thoughts on whatever area of interest you have. //

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leadership

THE TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE AS A LEADER: PEOPLE, PROFIT & PLANET

by Jericho Tadeo

T

he cultural tides of the workplace have arguably shifted more in the last couple of years than ever before. From the global pandemic and the climate crisis, to social discord — and by extension, social discourse — there are many external elements that have contributed to an overall evolution of people’s relationships to their jobs and their companies. Any entrepreneurial leader would therefore be remiss not to heed the signs of the times when it comes to their bottom line.

In response to these shifting tides, many companies are now adopting a triple bottom line agenda. First coined in 1994 by John Elkington, renowned entrepreneur, author, and business advisor, the term “triple bottom line” refers to the sustainability framework by which a company measures its success through an examination of its social and environmental impact, in addition to its financial performance. In other words, the time has come for businesses that currently operate on a profit-only foundation to update their operational infrastructures.

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The reality now is that people want more from the companies and businesses they work for and support. In addition to a paycheque, a product, or a service, people are looking for actionable, affirmative change and contributions towards society that coincide with their daily roles as producers and consumers. The adoption of a triple bottom line framework would consequently ensure that all boxes are ticked when it comes to both employee and customer satisfaction.

Here are some companies that have found success in achieving the triple bottom line — and how they did it.

Patagonia: An Advocate for Its People Outdoor retailer Patagonia is one of the foremost companies that continually invest in their employees. In addition to being a founding member of the Fair Labor Association and ensuring the security and fair treatment of its workers across the supply chain, Patagonia also covers its employees’ healthcare expenses by 100 per cent and houses child-care centres in its offices.

Additionally, employees are empowered to set their own hours and encouraged to spend evenings and weekends at home with friends, family, and loved ones. In fact, Patagonia famously locks its doors every day at 8:00 p.m. and on weekends to ensure that nobody works too late.

Patagonia’s “for the people” mentality isn’t surprising, especially when you consider that its founder, Yvon Chouinard, published a book titled Let My People Go Surfing. Part-memoir and partentrepreneurial handbook, the title of Chouinard’s book is a literal representation of the ways in which Patagonia enriches the lives of its employees.

For Chouinard, employee engagement has always been foundational in Patagonia’s success. As a billion-dollar company with very low employee turnover, Patagonia’s longevity is proof that there is power and profit in inspiring and taking care of your employees.

TELUS: Creating a Sustainable Future In April 2021, TELUS was named one of Canada’s Top 100 Greenest Employers, in recognition for their achievement and leadership in, and renewed commitment to, building a sustainable future. In their 2020 Sustainability Report, the communications company outlined several environmental, social, and governance plans and priorities — in order to reduce their carbon footprint and ultimately minimize their negative impact on our planet. This included a commitment to procuring 100 per cent electricity requirements from renewable or low-emitting sources by 2025, and achieving 100 per cent net-zero carbon neutrality across all of their operations by 2030.

What’s even more impressive about TELUS’ commitment to sustainability is their follow-through: in 2020 alone, the company achieved a 17 per cent reduction in energy consumption and a 37 per cent decrease in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions over 2010 levels. Additionally, in response to the global pandemic, TELUS empowered 95 per cent of its staff to work remotely, further reducing GHG emissions from travel and commuting.

It’s no secret that the business practices of (mainly large) companies have contributed massively to the climate crisis.

Indeed, environmental discourse continually paints a grim picture of the world that future generations will inherit. Therefore, it’s imperative that companies take stock of the bigger picture and consider their duties as global citizens. After all, fiscal profit can hardly be considered profit if there’s no planet to benefit from it.

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Made With Local: Giving Back & Giving a Sense of Purpose Made With Local’s story is in its name: the company started as a simple farmer’s market table in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia in 2012, selling baked goods made with locally-sourced ingredients.

Now, the company’s products can be found in major grocers across Canada. What makes Made With Local truly remarkable is its achievement as a certified B Corporation, meaning that it meets the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. In fact, Made With Local partnered with The Flower Cart Group, a social enterprise also based in Nova Scotia, whose mission is to provide training and opportunities to locals who face social barriers to employment.

Made With Local has risen within the ranks to become a top national snack brand — raking in about $1 million in revenue each year — yet it has stayed true to its community roots. By giving back to its community and providing its employees and partners equitable opportunities, it has essentially given everyone involved a sense of purpose and belonging. Indeed, Made With Local is a prime example of the high-level growth and success that any company can achieve, when everyone on the payroll feels inherently valued and inspired.

The last couple of years have been a time of pause and deep reflection for many. From employees and citizens alike, gone are the days where clocking in and out of work for monetary profit was the sole purpose of the workweek. People deserve to live a life of utmost totality in a world that isn’t in decline.

Businesses, both large and small, have the power to achieve this. In truth, social, environmental, and financial gains aren’t mutually exclusive — what’s more, everybody would profit if more businesses reconsidered their approach to a triple bottom line. //

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Chris Hadfield Astronaut

by Dave Gordon

Chris Hadfield, one of the world’s best-known living astronauts, has inspired countless people with his accomplishments that include being the commander of the International Space Station, NASA’s director of operations in Russia, and a major force helping to build the Russian space station.

Photo courtesy of Shye Klein

The seeds for his career were planted when he was nine years old. He watched the Apollo moon landing in 1969, which inspired him to earn his glider pilot’s license at age 15 as a Royal Canadian Cadet. He went on to serve a 25-year career in the Canadian Armed Forces as a fighter pilot (which included a mission to chase Russian aircrafts out of Canadian airspace!)

After a stellar career in the military, where he was inducted into the Aviation Hall of Fame, Hadfield embarked on a journey to fulfill his life-long dream to become an astronaut. In November 1995, twenty-six years after watching the moon landing, that dream came true. Six years later, in 2001, Hadfield would become the first Canadian to walk in space.

These days, with social media, his TED talks, and bestselling books (including the new novel The Apollo Murders), he continues to bring the allure of space down to earth for his fans.

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Can you give me a quick overview of what someone who wants to be an astronaut needs to know?

It better be the thing you want to do above everything else! It’s not like a job; it’s a redefinition of who you are. It is going to take years to be selected as an astronaut. I decided to be an astronaut when I was nine and was selected at 32. I only flew in space two times, for a total of six months in [the course of] 21 years as an astronaut.

I think the most important thing better be an unquenchable burning desire to do this in your heart — not just curiosity, but an insatiable desire to try to understand the unknown — and a lifetime of academics.

An astronaut studies every day of their entire career, and it is extremely technical and complicated stuff. I had to learn to speak Russian, and learn orbital mechanics in Russian, and how to command a Russian spaceship in Russian. You need to have that focus and mental bend in order to do those things.

leadership

It’s going to take a long time, and it is not going to [be] the way you planned. And even when you think you have all your ducks lined up, the Canadian government will change policy, or the Space Shuttle Columbia will burn up, and the program will shut down for a while. There are always going to be enormous setbacks.

You have to keep a hold of your dreams and allow that to keep you making choices every day that pull you toward something, even when it seems completely derailed by the realities of life.

A tenacious attitude toward life in pursuing the things that are important to you is really critical.

Just be forever driven to improve who you are, and what you can do.

Can you give me an overview of what your times in space gave us a better understanding of?

We ran about 200 experiments while I was on the space station.

Our technologies led to where we are now in many different fields — telecommunications, GPS that we take for granted, miniaturization of circuitry, weather forecasting — a lot of stuff that is “invisible” but is so important. [Recent private space flights] come as a result of the decades of work I was part of, in making the technology better, safer, and simpler.

Did you notice any cultural differences, working with counterparts around the world?

The [International] Space Station is 15 nations. They all have different cultures; most have different languages or dialects.

There are big cultural differences. A lot of those countries have been in bloody war with each other within the last lifetime.

We started designing [the Space Station] in the ‘80s, built it in the ‘90s, then people started to live there 20 years ago. Think of all the political winds of change that have happened even domestically, let alone internationally. Meanwhile, we are up there, representatives of 15 nations, working hand in glove all of that time. I have lots of experience with Russia because I was NASA’s director of operations in Russia.

I lived in Russia for five years. I was director for two years over there. On my third flight, I was the pilot of a Russian spaceship.

I became quite familiar with Russia in the ‘90s and 2000s.

When Columbia fell apart and killed everyone on board, that would have been the end of the Space Station. If we hadn’t been cooperating with the Russians, there would have been no way to get people and things to the Space Station. Then, when the Russians had a problem with their ship a few years later, it was the American program that carried them. Even though it is complex, difficult, and you are always running into the manifestation of culture and politics, it’s added depths of strength and capability that saved the day.

When you are on a spaceship with a German, Russian, Canadian, American, Japanese — we have a lot of similarities, and we train for years and years. You watch some of the transient noisy politics and electoral cycles — and it’s real — but it doesn’t drive your daily life on a space shuttle. It’s collegial, and it has to be.

We live by a different set of laws on the Space Station — International Crew Code of Conduct — not by one individual country’s laws. It’s an interesting glimpse into the future, and what life will be like on the moon and beyond. //

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INDONESIA PALM OIL Indonesia’s palm oil industry has undergone a significant transformation over the past decade. It has become a leader in all aspects of sustainability — environment, economic, and social — and is making a positive impact on Indonesia’s forests, exports, and people. Indonesian palm oil provides Canada with products that are healthy, safe, and environmentally friendly.

The palm is Indonesia’s most important agricultural crop. It is a source of vegetable oils that are a staple of the food industry, oleochemicals that are used in household products, and a source of renewable fuel that provides energy for the transportation sector. But most importantly, it provides livelihoods for 2.6 million smallholders — Indonesia’s small-scale local farmers — that are the backbone of the national economy. Palm oil cultivation has lifted millions of families out of poverty across Indonesia, and is a major contributor to meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Numerous studies have shown that palm oil villages have been able to reinvest in their communities, bringing schools, hospitals, and infrastructure to rural populations.

In 2020, Indonesia recorded its lowest deforestation rate ever.

Although Indonesia has historically had a high deforestation rate (some of it associated with palm oil), the Government of Indonesia, the palm oil industry, and small-scale farmers have partnered to reduce deforestation significantly. This journey for Indonesia has been underway for more than a decade. The industry — through positive environmental initiatives — has instituted no-deforestation policies, aligning itself with major buyers in the EU and US. Under the administration of President Joko Widodo, Indonesia has successfully extended and strengthened a moratorium on the issuance of new palm oil plantation permits, and also on clearing primary forests. Small farmers who have worked with major processors and buyers have adjusted their practices to improve their environmental stewardship. Indonesia’s commitment to environmental protection has been undoubtedly significant.

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Indonesia has introduced an environmental certification standard — Indonesia Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) — that assures the sustainability of the Indonesian palm oil industry. ISPO requires producers to ensure that their practices do not involve clearance of peatlands and primary forest lands, protect the rights of workers and prevent labor exploitation, prevent additional emissions of greenhouse gases, and are in line with good agricultural practices.

ISPO is mandatory for larger companies, and it is now the largest palm oil certification scheme in the world. It is gradually being rolled out to cover millions of smallholder farmers in Indonesia.

It has become the mark of assurance for sustainable palm oil around the world. This type of assurance is much needed in the age of environmentally-conscious consumers who are seeking greener products for their grocery baskets and for the dinner table. Consumers can be assured that Indonesian palm oil supports sustainability, and it helps to improve the livelihoods of Indonesians, particularly in rural areas.

Bilateral ties between Indonesia and Canada will take on additional significance in the future. Both countries have recently agreed to commence negotiations on Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). Once concluded, it will be the first comprehensive economic partnership agreement Indonesia has ever signed with countries in the North American region — and only the second bilateral agreement with countries in the American continent. This will give Canada the opportunity to access the potential market in Southeast Asia’s largest economy.

More importantly, Canada can rest assured that its palm oil trade with Indonesia is sustainable.

To learn more about Indonesian palm oil visit: indonesiapalmoilfacts.org.

Text provided by Indonesian Palm Oil Plantation Fund Management Agency (BPDPKS)

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IRON/STEEL The iron and steel industry in Indonesia has undergone a remarkable growth in the last 10 years, marked by a constant increase in the domestic consumption of and a large addition to the installed capacity of crude steels, among others. Domestic steel consumption in 2010 was recorded at around 7 million tons, more than doubling to 15.1 million tons in 2020, while crude steel capacity that was recorded at less than 10 million tons per year in 2010 has increased to almost 21 million tons per year in 2020. Thus, within 10 years, national consumption and additional installed capacity has grown by approximately 8% each year (compound annual growth rate – CAGR). It shows a positive correlation with Indonesia’s average economic growth, which ranges from 5% to 6% before the COVID-19 pandemic.

As a middle-income country, Indonesia has been striving to boost infrastructure during the past seven years, and domestic demand is still dominated by the construction sector (78%), followed by the automotive industry (10%) and other manufacturing sectors, such as machinery and electronics, as well as household appliances (around 3%). Products that stand out and are widely consumed by domestic markets are concrete reinforcement steel (rebar), hot rolled plate and coil steel, steel profile and sections, pipes, coated sheets, and various steel derivative product for construction needs, such as light steel frames and corrugated roofs and panels.

Export performance and trade balance of Indonesia’s iron and steel products have shown encouraging results since the graph has continued to improve in recent years. The trade balance has even turned positive since 2019. Indonesian export value of iron and steel products spiked to 92%, reaching $8.79 billion USD in Semester 1 in 2021, compared to the same period in the previous year, driven by a large increase in the export of nickel pig iron and ferro alloys (38%), stainless steel (25%), crude steel (23%), added with hot rolled plate (5%) and steel bars (3%), as well as other derivative products.

On the other hand, the Indonesian import of iron and steel products remains high. That is indicated by import portion which ranges from 30% to 45% of total domestic consumption, resulting in low average plant utilization, which remains below 50% in recent years. Good export performance in recent years was greatly influenced by the increased value of investment in the Indonesian mining sector.

Several Indonesian steel products that have the potential for export into Canada are stainless steel, hot rolled plates, pipes, hollows, elbows, light steel frames, or various zinc or aluminumzinc-coated steel sheets that are suitable for cold and humid climate in the northern hemisphere.

Text provided by Indonesian Iron and Steel Industry Association

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HEFT HOME

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5

FOREIGN POLICY STRATEGIES THAT MAY IMPACT CANADA–U.S. RELATIONS

by Rob Shapiro

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istorically, Canada and the United States have been close allies with relatively open borders. It sometimes feels like it’s a natural and mutually beneficial relationship, but the reality is that it takes effort, cooperation, and strategies to maintain. Furthermore, what each nation does internationally can adversely affect the other.

As these two countries navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, shifting alliances, evolving needs, and government turnover, both must implement specific strategies to make sure that the relationship doesn’t weaken or, even worse, sever.

Here are five foreign policy strategies that can shape the future relationship between the U.S. and Canada.

policies

New Economic Trade Strategy The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) regulated and promoted trade between Canada, the U.S., and Mexico. It effectively removed most tariffs on trade between the three countries when it was implemented in 1994. Between 1994 and 2008, tariffs on most agricultural products, automobiles, and textiles were removed.

In 2020, The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement replaced NAFTA. Since becoming prime minister, Justin Trudeau has devoted a lot of time on fortifying Canada’s trade position and power abroad, a task that was made substantially more difficult during the Trump administration. During that time, retaliatory tariffs were placed on the U.S., straining the relationship. Trade is a lynchpin between the two countries, yet Canada must broaden its trade activity while continuing to reduce its reliance on the U.S. market.

A new trade agreement might not be on the horizon, but many consider it to be imperative that a new strategy is put into place that appeases both sides while allowing them to have deeper overseas trade relations. Canada also has the burden of becoming less dependent on the U.S. while also ensuring that its actions don’t cause friction with its most important trade partner.

The Strategic Relationship Between China, Canada, and the U.S. It’s safe to say that China’s relationship with Canada has taken a swift downturn in recent years. There was the Meng Wanzhou extradition case, which allegedly led to the detainment of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor on Chinese soil. The U.S. has also had its own fair share of diplomatic issues with China over the years.

Canada’s federal government has been vocal about the necessity to strengthen diplomatic and economic ties with China. In fact, a stronger relationship with China has been viewed as one of the best approaches to strengthen and safeguard Canada’s economic future.

Putting in place a strategy that will see both Canada and the U.S. have a healthier, multi-faceted relationship with China will

greatly help both countries. Incidentally, a more contentious relationship could harm their relations across the board.

A Global Climate Change Strategy In the ongoing fight against climate change, many foreign policies might be put into place that will impact relations between the U.S. and Canada. The two countries haven’t always seen eye-to-eye on this issue, and both are world leaders when it comes to emitting high levels of greenhouse gases.

Not to mention, both are still reliant on fossil fuels to a large extent.

Canada typically creates policies related to climate change in line with those of the U.S., but now it will be forced to consider other nations. Going forward, Canada and the U.S. need to implement foreign policies with respect to climate change to ensure that the necessary global actions can be performed. The moment for the two countries to align solely on this is long gone. Foreign policy is the best way to achieve environmental goals that are lofty and far-reaching.

As other nations get stricter with regulations and sanctions for greenhouse gases and other threats to climate change, this is sure to impact the relationship between the U.S. and Canada.

The Pandemic Response Due to the Omicron variant, both nations started 2022 in the grips of a massive COVID-19 case spike. With increased access to vaccines, and more and more Canadians and Americans receiving their third doses, both nations must turn their attention to vaccine equity in the rest of the world.

defense strategies. As landlocked neighbours, Canada and the U.S. often try to cooperate and align on how they safeguard their borders and citizens. The U.S. has historically been more aggressive in their defense policies, whereas Canada has taken a more diplomatic approach.

With respect to collective security alliances, Canada has tried to increase its presence.

The U.S., on the other hand, has withdrawn somewhat from these initiatives. In 2019, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed a bill sent to Congress, stipulating that withdrawal from NATO would require congressional approval. Clearly, there is some discord between the two nations on this matter.

Where Canada and the U.S. go next with foreign policies for defense is hard to say.

Regardless, whatever strategies are put forward will impact their relationship.

The U.S. and Canada’s Murky Future There is no question that Canada and the U.S. are key global partners, and relations between the two countries have both a domestic and global impact. Future foreign policy strategies could either strengthen or further weaken this partnership. It is on each nation’s current and future leaders to work together to make sure that any potential harm is minimized and that new policies are beneficial to their ability to work together. //

While some foreign policy does reflect the inequity in healthcare between Canada, the U.S., and developing nations, this issue stands to become only more prominent. Canada and the U.S. must find a way to contribute to reversing the lower vaccination rates in other parts of the world. This will require working with other countries to create policies ensuring another variant doesn’t appear somewhere else in the world and find its way to North American shores.

National Defense Policies Foreign policy is an essential component of the U.S. and Canada’s joint national

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policies

ENTREPRENEURIAL GOVERNMENTAL APPROACH TO PUBLIC ISSUES

by Arslan Ahmed

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he global COVID-19 pandemic made everyone question governance around the world. The biggest surprises were in the abilities of healthcare systems. As the world was brought to a standstill, a realization surfaced: we couldn’t go back to the old ways of solving public issues in the spheres of economy, infrastructure, healthcare, climate change, national security, or education.

According to Rachel Nuwer in her article on BBC Future, many governments today are still concerned with 19th century issues: when communication was pricey and data hard to collect, and when the typical response was the organization of government into hierarchically-structured, siloed departments performing specific functions such as security or justice. From her perspective (and countless others), an entrepreneurial approach to public problemsolving may hold the key to solving modern-day public issues. Let’s take a look at what some experts have to say about public entrepreneurship and the role of government employees as entrepreneurs.

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Rowan Conway, director of Design and Innovation at the Royal Society for Arts (RSA), explains that the term “public entrepreneur” was coined by the Nobel Laureate and political theorist Elinor Ostrom in her 1965 PhD thesis, where she explained that those in government should run affairs by creating purpose-led enterprises. This is not to be likened to the “fail-fast” start-up credo popularized by the likes of Mark Zuckerberg, but is more about fast learning by employing the testing, developing, and learning approach, Conway says. The notion of any kind of failing is hard to justify in government, given the scrutiny of voters.

policies

In a similar vein, Harvard Business School professor Mitchell B. Weiss distinguishes “possibility government” from “probability government,” calling the former an approach to government where leaders in the public sphere are open to envisioning novel “possibilities” and experimenting.

Probability governments, conversely, favour tried-and-tested processes to apply solutions to public problems, but produce mediocre results. He presents three principles that “possibility governments” harness: readiness to view problems as opportunities that can be solved in conjunction with the public; preparedness to try and experiment with solutions; and the ability to scale solutions.

Examples abound of innovation and experimentation to discover workable solutions. Street Bump is a project that enlists public help to improve roads, wherein volunteers use a specially designed app to report road conditions in their neighbourhoods, which enables governments to know where oversights exist in road infrastructure and channel their investments to the right places.

Then there is the still relatively new field of civic tech, that hopes to address climate change by relying on citizens to install sensors in their homes in order to gather data about the air quality they breathe and to provide governments with the information to construct air-quality maps.

Bloomberg’s Mayors’ Challenge has been around since 2013. In 2021, with 631 cities from around the world participating, its focus shifted to pitches for the most innovative urban solutions in the wake of the pandemic. Fifteen winning cities will gain the support from innovation and data experts, plus a million dollars to refine and implement their ideas.

The 50 entries that made the “first cut” were seeking funding for ideas such as: • addressing the rising crime situation in Guadalajara, Mexico, through a citizensafety technology portal that gathers realtime data for directing safety resources where they are needed most; • building smart waste-disposal stations in Kigali, Rwanda, that deploy sensors to gain information improving waste collection, sanitation, and water hygiene; • pushing for the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in Pune, India, to solve air pollution through a city-wide EV plan and a stimulus fund to encourage EV use.

Weiss also presents a scenario of a “probable versus possible” solution to the COVID-19 crisis. The probable response of governments was seen in going back to human contact tracing, opting for the obvious choice implemented during previous outbreaks of HIV, tuberculosis, SARS, and MERS. However, a major failing of contact tracing at the time of the Ebola crisis was revealed in its inability to scale quickly. Instead, using a possibility approach, if contact tracing had been digitalized (as it had been in Singapore) relying on apps running on Bluetooth technology, Weiss argues, the results could have been much different.

If public entrepreneurship holds so much potential, why hasn’t its impact been widespread? Weiss attributes this to the lack of government employees who can truly don the caps of public entrepreneurs. The tendency for most government employees is to gravitate toward administering, instead of thinking like entrepreneurs.

A possible solution is to train public entrepreneurs, teaching them to: embrace lean experimentation (admittedly, a scary proposition in government) through beta tests on the public; gauge responses through press and community involvement; avoid scaling too quickly or too slowly; adopt the principles of partnering with the public; and navigate press and public interest through effective storytelling, while not disclosing too much about the pivots the government is making.

While it may sound impossible, entrepreneurship is without doubt a coachable endeavour — given that governments around the world recognize the value in the entrepreneurial approach to solving public problems, but requires devoting resources and time to inculcating entrepreneurialism in future generations of government leaders. //

Author of The Entrepreneurial State: Debunking Public vs. Private Sector Myths, Mariana Mazzucato posits that while the private sector is traditionally hailed as the custodian of innovation and novelty, in the case of the iPhone, all of the “smart” technologies behind it — internet, GPS, Siri, and touch-screen display — were a surprising outcome of government-funded projects.

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KAMEL GHRIBI Founder and President, GKSD

Photos courtesy of Kamel Ghribi

by David Solomon For the past three decades, Kamel Ghribi has brought forwardthinking initiatives to the global petro-chemical and health industries. But that’s only part of what has made him a significant figure on the world stage.

It’s also his renown for making a lasting impact through philanthropy, and his worldwide diplomatic efforts to build bridges amongst nations.

Born in 1962 in Tunisia, Ghribi’s first major position was as vice president of the Olympic Petroleum Corporation in New York, at the age of 29. Concurrently, he was president of Olympic Management, in Italy.

Later, he became president of Attock Oil Company in the UK, which he sold to devote time to his Swiss-based company GK Investment Holding Group, a private equity and investment firm.

He also serves as the President of GSD Healthcare Middle East, part of the largest Italian private healthcare corporation, Gruppo Ospedaliero San Donato, that oversees 19 hospitals, and where he is vice president. In October 2020, Ghribi led roundtable discussions in Rome, Italy, with various Italian, African, and Mediterranean government representatives to forge cooperation and share strategies aimed at battling COVID-19.

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Over the course of his career, he has helped raise funds for a long list of charitable foundations, including those run by world leaders Prince Albert II of Monaco and Queen Rania of Jordan.

The Edge learns more about this international businessman and what ideas he can impart to others.

What motivated you to enter the business world?

I think the moment that my destiny seemed set was doing odd jobs at an international hotel in Sfax (Tunisia) for pocket money as a child in the ’70s. I enjoyed the hustle and bustle of working in the midst of people from all walks of life, and I spent some of the happiest and most gratifying years of my youth during those moments, helping out with any chore I could lay my hands on.

However, I think that the true defining moment came when I realized that even humble work could prove to be lucrative. My time spent at the hotel was also an invaluable experience in terms of education as I met many people willing to share their experiences. Most of all, it made me realize that by earning money, I had the power to help those around me.

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How did you begin in business?

I was fortunate in that my father successfully ran a small trading business. Combined with my own experience, you could say that I hit the ground running. Following the sudden death of my father, I was his natural successor and have never looked back. I have never forgotten his influence on my thinking, and realized that I had soaked up many business techniques from him. He used his wit, sense of humour, and ability to instill trust.

Everything he knew, he learned by making mistakes.

I also believe that my mother’s refusal to allow setbacks to defeat her were also paramount to getting me started as it defined my approach to business. I firmly believe that in order to get started successfully, you must never lose sight of your goals, stay ambitious, and never allow circumstances to limit you.

What advice for success can you offer?

Success is not solely dependent on opportunity but also on how you interact with the people you deal with. Any challenges I faced, I dealt with through pragmatism, openness, and honesty.

I also believe that you must treat people with respect, unless of course they prove unworthy of such respect through their actions and decisions.

What is the most difficult part of running a large business?

When you are responsible for having built up an empire from nothing, then there is always an extremely high temptation to micro-manage your company, even when it becomes too big to do so. However, as a business grows, it is impossible to be active across all elements. It is essential to choose the right staff to do the job, not only as you would, but arguably even better. The second risk is losing sight of your goals. Success is rarely immediate; rather, it takes perseverance and patience to achieve. Therefore, we often find ourselves losing motivation or interest in favour of easier pursuits.

Although I was not given any more chances than the average person, I understood how to make the most of any opportunity.

My experience at the hotel showed me that without hard work and a determined spirit, talent risks being wasted. With that in mind, upon leaving school, I had to make the first important decision of my life — stay and continue my education in Sfax, or try my luck abroad and take a leap into the unknown.

I felt that I could better my circumstances by leaving my homeland. I therefore headed off to Europe, having already secured a job.

What motivated you to undertake philanthropic projects?

I have always believed that success in business must come with social responsibility. We cannot simply profit from a region such as the Middle East or a continent such as Africa anymore. We have skills that can be used to foster peace and stability because we can create opportunities for growth that will lead to social and economic development. We can invest in business projects that help local populations and work closely with leading industry experts, educational and medical institutions, governments and corporations to establish profitable enterprises and create social and economic value. //

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