JS is a venture capitalist and entrepreneur. He’s the co-founder of Real Ventures and Montreal Startups. Both are early-stage venture capital firms that backs entrepreneurs and build the ecosystems in which they thrive. JS has primarily worked with entrepreneurs who are using AI, blockchain technologies, AR/VR and synthetic biology to improve happiness, human creativity, and communication — and transform or disrupt the pillars of our society.

In 2018 he had a profound experience that shifted his perspective of himself, his relationships and the world around him. While he’s loved his work, JS is now taking a slightly different role in the company he founded.

Season 5, Episode 51: Anne Bokma - One Life We Know

Anne’s an award-winning journalist, writing coach, workshop leader and author. Anne is also the founder of Hamilton’s popular 6-Minute Memoir live storytelling event which has also become a podcast, also called the 6-Minute Memoir.

Growing up in a fundamentalist sect, the Canadian Reform Church, her world view was extremely narrow. There were lots of taboos. Dancing, and Canadian boys were off the table.

Season 4, Episode 48: Compassionate Silence

Niti Nadarajah is a sister, daughter, and Senior Counsel at Philip Morris in Australia. She worked as a lawyer in private practice in Australia and the UK before moving in-house to Philip Morris.

She is the mother of four babies. She has a 7-year old daughter and a 2-year old son. Between their births she experienced the anticipatory joy of pregnancy and the very private devastation of miscarrying two babies.

Season 4, Episode 46: Be Who You Are

Lohifa Pogoson Acker is a mother, sister, daughter, entrepreneur, social activist and in Linda’s mind, the unofficial Mayor of Hamilton, Canada.

Born in Nigeria, Lohifa came to Canada at 16, via the UK. Her parents were professionals and she’d had some opportunities to travel but she was excited about this new adventure, embracing a new country, different cultures and the opportunity to get to know people. A great joy in her life.

Her mother was a lawyer and her father a food sciences engineer. While she had chosen biopsychology and economics for her career, she also had a great love of the arts, English and storytelling. She worked at home and abroad in public health including through the Clinton Foundation to fight HIV and AIDS in mothers and their children.

Season 4, Episode 45: Win or Learn

Martin Parnell is a father, husband, grandfather, son, and brother.

In 2001, Martin lost his wife Wendy to cancer.  Almost a year later, his brothers challenged him to run a marathon. As a highly competitive trio they decided to take it on. He strapped on his running shoes and quickly discovered how hard a challenge like this might be.  He was 47 years old.

Season 4, Episode 44: A Good Death

Beth Riungu is a mother, sister, daughter. She’s been a registered nurse, a chef and is now developing a business as a soul midwife or death doula.

In her twenties she traveled to Africa to learn more about her Kenyan father. As she shared in her blog, her blended Scottish-Kenyan ancestry meant she was “neither a local nor tourist, she was a tribe of one adrift in a nation of many”.

Season 4, Episode 43: Leadership Bumps

Ernie Louttit’s a son, brother, father and soon, a Moshum or ‘grandfather’.

He’s a Missanabie Cree from Northern Ontario. He grew up in a town call Oba, about 1,000 kilometers or a 12 & a half-hour drive north of Toronto, Canada. While now it is a place where he goes to heal his soul, it was a rough start.

He dropped out of school and started working on the railroad at age 15. In 1978 at 17, he joined the military where he stayed for 8 years. While he served, he went to Cyprus with the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI). Later in his career, he became a member of the Military Police, stationed in Wainwright, Alberta at the PPCLI Battle school. The largest training centre in Western Canada. 

Season 4, Episode 41: Say What You Mean

John Ruffolo is a father, son, a first generation Canadian, an avid cyclist, and member of Les Domestiques a philanthropic cycling team. He is an entrepreneur’s entrepreneur.

In the business world, John joined OMERS Pension fund over a decade ago, and founded OMERS Ventures, a private equity fund established to back promising Canadian companies Notably Hootsuite, Wattpad and Shopify. However, the pension fund rules capped the growth potential of those investments.

Season 3, Episode 39: That Vital Ingredient

Dr. Nadine Kelly is a retired physician, yoga instructor, American Council of Exercise certified Health Coach and Senior Exercise Specialist, founder of YOGI M.D. and host of the YOGI M.D. Podcast. 

Season 3, Episode 38: Courage is a Way of Living

Ken is a father, husband and lover of all things created or derived by humanity. Like his father before him, he joined the Canadian military at 18 and served almost 13 years before leaving due to a career ending injury, both physical and mental.

Season 3, Episode 37: Go Gently

Laura Tucker is a daughter, sister and step-mother.

She’s a former high school teacher, trainer, sales professional, multi-entrepreneur and now is a photographer, podcaster, writer and professional coach.

In 2008, at the height of the Great Recession, she was at a personal and professional cross-roads.

Season 3, Episode 36: Knowledge of Self

Dr. Lanysha Adams is a sister, daughter, mother, academic and entrepreneur.

She is a first-generation college student and the very first in her family to obtain a PhD.

Through her experience defending her doctoral thesis, she identified a need to help doctoral candidates get through the often cut throat world of academia.

Season 3, Episode 34: Becoming a Father

Stephan Dyer (Episode 18), Jesse Lipscombe (Episode 23) and Lyle McLachlan (Episode 1) share their experiences and perspectives on fatherhood, courage, pregnancy tests (aka pee sticks) and their relationships with their own fathers. Surprising, funny and insightful.

Season 3, Episode 33: Just Keep Going

Lyle is a son, brother, husband and father. He’s a bass guitar player and blogger.

He’s in the process of writing his first book - a memoir about his rocky introduction to fatherhood, the powerful love he has for his family and the incredible challenges he’s faced.

Season 3, Episode 32: Do It Anyway

Gail’s the author of 19 books, she’s been a regular contributor to the Globe & Mail and Chatelaine magazine, among others. She’s the Gemini award winning host of TIL DEBT DO US PART, as well as PRINCESS and MONEY MORON.

Episode 29: Empathic Bond

Jule Kucera is an author, podcaster, and educator who believes that stories have the power to make us smarter. After a successful 30-year career, she now spends her days doing what she used to do only on nights and weekends. She blogs at julekucera.com, podcasts at Hard Times & Hope, teaches part-time at the University of Cincinnati, and volunteers as board secretary for Homebase. After publishing her memoir, Sweet Baby Lover, Jule is at work on her first novel.

Episode 28: Courageous in her Field

Currently based in the United States, in the Pacific Northwest, Lisa has a Masters in Social Work, a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and English, with a minor in Women’s Studies. She’s been a psychotherapist for almost 30 years, and has been facilitating Systemic and Family Constellations work for the past 20 years. She also co-hosted the radio show, “Life Conversations presents Ancestral Blueprints” with Atlanta-based host Adé Anifowose and Ombassa Sophera.

Episode 27 - Curiosity & Words of Affirmation

Natalie Esparza is a young, queer, Hispanic woman with a very bright future. She’s about to publish her first book, Spectacle which is full of the lessons of her relatively young life. Spectacle is about her journey as a young, queer woman wrestling with taboo subjects such as sexuality, religion, financial status, and mental health and wondering why she didn't fit in to the conventional understanding of the world.

Season 2, Episode 26 - Get Out and Move

Kelly O’Haney is a sister, daughter and mom. As a teenager, she was a gifted athlete and student. A car accident and head injury radically changed her performance in high school, and she ultimately dropped out, but not for long. She fought her way back, finished school and become a teacher. She taught in an economically disadvantaged neighborhoods and was recognized as teacher of the year. She’s been teaching for over 30 years.

Episode 25 - Being a Possibilitarian

Maria is a sister, daughter and mom.

She arrived in the United States from Vietnam at 10 years old and had to adjust to living in a new country, learn a new language and culture. She lost her identity and this new world was not always welcoming.