Episode 31 of The Exchange for Entrepreneurs Podcast is live! The CSE’s Barrington Miller chats with Millennial Strategies Partner Jeffrey Guillot about the company’s lobbying work, cannabis legalization in the US, and New York State’s positioning within the industry. The conversation also addresses CAURD licenses, the illicit versus legal markets, and cannabis oversupply.
Here’s an overview of what Barrington and Jeffrey discuss in this edition of The Exchange for Entrepreneurs Podcast:
00:00 – Introduction 00:24 – What is Millennial Strategies all about? 01:42 – What does a lobbyist do? 03:06 – Cannabis in New York State 08:01 – New York State’s potential 11:15 – What will happen to the legacy market? 15:36 – Is Federal legalization possible? 21:45 – What can be done about oversupply? 25:20 – Where can we learn more about Millennial Strategies?
Episode 30 of The Exchange for Entrepreneurs Podcast is live! The CSE’s Barrington Miller chats with Malvados Founder & CEO Jen Rainnie about her journey from being a former Canadian windsurfing champion to a fashion entrepreneur, her advice for women in business, and Malvados’s beach-inspired footwear and authentic brand identity. The conversation also addresses the steps Malvados is taking toward environmental, social and governance (ESG).
Here’s an overview of what Barrington and Jen discuss in this edition of The Exchange for Entrepreneurs Podcast:
00:00 – Introduction 03:27 – What is Barrington wearing? 04:19 – What is the landscape like being a female entrepreneur? 05:46 – What exactly is surf culture today? 06:51 – Who is your customer? 09:55 – What advice would you give to yourself knowing what you know now? 12:23 – What market has surprised you the most? 16:12 – What are your long term goals?
About Jen Rainnie
Upon her arrival home to Canada, Jen began a long and successful career in the action sportswear industry. Noticing a need for a more luxurious, yet comfortable sandal, an idea was sparked. Always one to seize an opportunity, Jen set out to create her own fashion-forward footwear label, one that would prove sandals aren’t just for the beach—they’re also for every festival, wind-in-your-hair, road-tripping moment in between. And so the story goes, MALVADOS was born.
The CSE’s Barrington Miller is joined by Beau Whitney, Founder of Whitney Economics, to discuss data-driven trends in cannabis globally, including US legalization, emerging markets, and environmental, social, and governance (ESG). The conversation also addresses how Whitney Economics uses data to help cannabis operators navigate the industry.
Here’s an overview of what Barrington and Beau discuss in this edition of The Exchange for Entrepreneurs Podcast:
00:00 – Introduction 02:00 – Global trends in the cannabis industry 03:28 – The cannabis industry in Canada and the US 07:05 – How do American cannabis companies differ from coast to coast? How is the industry shaped by state legislation? 11:33 – How do ESG (environmental and social governance) mandates tie into the valuation of multi-state operators? 14:40 – Is the current economic data contributing to the liberalization of cannabis policy in the US? 16:52 – What are the data points that have shifted over the last 7 years? 19:32 – Have there been any surprising individuals, organizations, and corporations that have reached out to collaborate? 22:59 – Within the business of data, who are Whitney Economics’ competitors and/or collaborators? 24:29 – Key findings from the business report that Whitney Economics published in 2020
About Beau Whitney
Whitney Economics was founded in October 2014 by Beau Whitney, in Portland Oregon. Mr. Whitney is currently the Chief Economist for the National Industrial Hemp Council (NIHC) and the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA). A member of the American Economic Association, the Oregon chapter president of the National Association of Business Economics and a participant in meetings of the Oregon council of economic advisors, he is widely regarded as one of the country’s leading cannabis economists. A registered member of the European Industrial Hemp Association, Mr. Whitney is also a member of multiple local regulatory advisory committees throughout the U.S. including the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) RAC for both hemp and cannabis.
The CSE’s Barrington Miller is joined by President and CEO of Dable Advisory and Consulting Services Paul Rice, and CFO, Transaction Advisory, Corporate Development, and Corporate Strategy of Kinza Consulting Michael Perron in this special edition podcast to discuss the history of business for Indigenous communities, how steps for reconciliation can be taken, and hopes for the future.
The CSE’s Barrington Miller and Scott Pritchard are joined by X Machina Co-Founder & VP of Growth and Value Creation Vaughn DiMarco and Co-Founder, CTO, & CPO Daniel Drouet to discuss the funding gap in the market for early-stage tech companies and how X Machina aims to bridge that gap. The conversation also addresses the potential uses of AI for industrial applications and why Montreal is a growing hub for the technology sector.
Here’s an overview of the discussion in this edition of the “Exchange for Entrepreneurs” podcast:
00:00 – Introduction 04:02 – What does X Machina do? 07:25 – How does X Machina choose AI companies? 09:55 – What is the difference between artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning? 14:48 – What is Startupfest and how does X Machina choose companies? Where do you see the best opportunities? 18:43 – How does X Machina provide value to potential companies? 21:59 – Why is Montreal an AI and tech hub? 29:21 – What are SR&ED credits? 36:05 – How many companies has X Machina looked at in 2022? 38:20 – What types of companies/industries are emerging? 39:38 – Are there any companies coming from outside of North America into Montreal?
About Vaughn DiMarco
Vaughn is an investor, entrepreneur, and engineer applying AI best practices across industries. As Investment Director at IVADO LABS, he was part of a small team managing INVEST-AI, a $35M Quebec fund. He led due diligence on hundreds of companies, managed a large portfolio, and funding dozens of successful initiatives including but not limited to manufacturing, construction, finance, media, entertainment, medical devices, and tech.
About Daniel Drouet
Daniel has been deeply involved in tech for over twenty years as an engineer, entrepreneur, investor, and mentor. He has expertise in product management, engineering, and venture financing. He has conceived and overseen the delivery of numerous software products and IT services and founded several tech companies. He was a founding partner of Real Ventures, Canada’s most active early-stage venture capital fund, and helped grow Anges Quebec into one of the largest angel investor networks in the country.
The cannabis industry continues to prove not only is it budding, it’s in a full-blown growth spurt.
As one of North America’s fastest-growing industries, it’s important to monitor trends, legislation, and key players, and there’s no publication more on the pulse than High Times magazine, a top resource for the latest cannabis information since 1974.
Every year, High Times releases a list of the 100 most influential figures in the cannabis space. In April, they released The High Times 100 of 2021, and, excitedly, CSE Director of Listed Company Services, Barrington Miller, was featured, as well as 17 CSE-listed issuers.
The CSE couldn’t be more proud of Barrington and these incredible cannabis entrepreneurs! It’s an impressive accomplishment and reaffirms the CSE’s reputation as a best-in-class marketplace for publicly traded cannabis stocks.
“It’s amazing to be recognized alongside these cannabis companies, professionals, and advocates. The CSE is proud of our contribution to the sector and we’re thankful to not only our issuers, but to everyone who is uplifting the industry. Special thanks to High Times for continuing to blaze that trail,” said CSE’s Barrington Miller.
Check out the executives from the CSE-listed companies featured:
To kick off the Capital Markets Comeback Tour, a joint event by the CSE and irlabs, the CSE’s Barrington Miller and Anna Serin are joined by Caroline Sawamoto and Alyssa Barry, CPIR, the Principals and Co-Founders of irlabs, an investor relations advisory firm. The four discuss the exciting cross-country event, the Capital Markets Comeback Tour, including a sneak peek at companies attending.
Here’s an overview of what Barrington, Anna, Alyssa, and Caroline discuss in this edition of the “Exchange for Entrepreneurs” podcast:
00:00 – Introduction and background
02:00 – How was irlabs started?
03:40 – Vancouver’s significance to the Canadian capital markets
07:00 – What to expect from the tour
11:00 – What does success look like for irlabs?
12:50 – List of participating companies
13:40 – Social media links and website information
15:25 – Alyssa’s music-related past
18:15 – Tour dates and cities
19:55 – Additional contact information
About Alyssa Barry Alyssa is a Principal and Co-Founder at irlabs. She has over 15-years of investor relations, capital markets and corporate communications experience. An activist by nature, she has raised over $1 billion of capital, led some of Canada’s most successful activism campaigns, managed M&A transactions and enhanced board governance frameworks. She was formerly Head of Strategy – Operations and Communications at Artis REIT, Vice-President of Capital Markets and Communications at Sandpiper Group and Manager, Investor Relations at Amica Mature Lifestyles Inc. She is known for her agility, creative prose and relentless pursuit of success for her clients.
About Caroline Sawamoto Caroline is a Principal and Co-Founder at irlabs. She has over 15-years of investor relations and capital markets experience across various exchanges and industries. She has supported numerous financing activities, both public and private, and helped raise over $650 million of capital. Caroline began her investor relations career with Canaccord Genuity Group Inc. in 2006. Her passion for making an impact through clean energy solutions led her to join Ballard Power Systems Inc. and Westport Fuel Systems Inc., both of which are dual-listed on the NASDAQ and TSX stock exchanges. Prior to co-founding irlabs, she was Investor Relations Manager at Alabaster Homes, a privately-owned real estate development company in Vancouver. She is known for her diligence, poise and can-do attitude.
In a special episode for Earth Day, the CSE’s Barrington Miller is joined by Ashish Malik, CEO of Bee Vectoring Technologies (CSE:BEE), to discuss this agriculture technology company’s use of commercial bees as a more sustainable alternative to traditional pesticides. The conversation also addresses the growing demand for agriculture across the world due to population growth.
Here’s an overview of what Barrington and Ashish discuss in this edition of the “Exchange for Entrepreneurs” podcast:
00:00 – Introduction and background
02:12 – How does Bee Vectoring make the world better?
04:20 – Limitations of the system
05:30 – How bees are involved with the system’s process
07:10 – What is colony collapse disorder?
08:40 – What kinds of bees are used?
About Ashish Malik Ashish Malik is Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of BVT. He was previously the VP of Global Marketing for Biologics at Bayer CropScience. He was responsible for managing the portfolio of biological assets for the company and advancing the strategy to develop integrated crop solutions that include biological products together with traditional chemical products, seeds, traits, seed treatments, and services. Ashish joined Bayer CropScience through the company’s acquisition of AgraQuest in 2012. At AgraQuest, he was Senior Vice President of Global Marketing and a member of the company’s Executive Team. Other previous roles have included Head of Commercial Operations for the Home Care Division at Syngenta, Business Unit Director at Imerys, and Marketing Manager at BFGoodrich. Ashish serves on the Board of the Biopesticides Industry Alliance and holds an MBA with concentrations in Finance and Marketing from Carnegie Mellon University – Tepper School of Business and a bachelor’s degree in Engineering from Swarthmore College.
In a special episode for Earth Day, the CSE’s Barrington Miller is joined by Juan Carlos Giron Jr., Senior Vice President of EnviroGold Global (CSE:NVRO), to discuss this clean technology company’s efforts to reprocess mine tailings and produce metals without mining. The conversation also addresses the importance of leaving a lasting environmental legacy.
Here’s an overview of what Barrington and Juan discuss in this edition of the “Exchange for Entrepreneurs” podcast:
00:00 – Introduction and background
02:00 – EnviroGold’s extraction process
04:40 – Leaving a positive environmental legacy
06:00 – Socials and other information about EnviroGold
About Juan Carlos Giron Jr. Juan Carlos Giron Jr. is a senior executive with over a decade of experience in finance, management, and strategic development. Prior to joining EnviroGold Global, he was Chief Financial Officer of a NYSE-listed metals and mining firm. He began his career in UBS’s International Division, a world-leading provider of financial services. He is skilled in strategic planning, financial modeling, agile management techniques, and market intelligence and has a strong compliance background.
In a special episode for Earth Day, CSE’s Barrington Miller is joined by Dr. Tamir Gedo, CEO of Beyond Oil, to discuss the company’s product for cooking oils that targets free fatty acids. The conversation also addresses the environmental issue of getting rid of cooking oil at scale and how their product could be part of the solution.
Here’s an overview of what Barrington and Dr. Gedo discuss in this edition of the “Exchange for Entrepreneurs” podcast:
00:00 – Introduction and background 00:59 – Beyond Oil’s free fatty acid extraction technology
01:30 – Benefits of extracting free fatty acid from cooking oil
03:40 – Effects on flavour and taste
06:30 – How to use the product
09:00 – Environmental impacts 10:30 – How the idea for Beyond Oil started 14:00 – Effects of COVID-19 on the business
About Dr. Tamir Gedo Dr. Gedo draws upon 25 years of experience as a marketing and business strategy expert serving in academic, government, and industry functions. Dr. Gedo’s extensive expertise in international marketing, branding, entrepreneurship, and business strategy has served him in his various leadership roles. He has contributed to a wide range of branding, strategic planning, and market penetration activities as a senior manager or executive director of major companies in a variety of industries, including the pharmaceutical industry.
