Tag Archives: James Black

Podcasts, The Exchange for Entrepreneurs

Bill Besenhofer on Creating “Honest Food” for All | The CSE Podcast S3-E10

Audio

On this episode of the Exchange for Entrepreneurs Podcast we welcome back Bill Besenhofer, CEO of The Fresh Factory (CSE:FRSH). In this week’s conversation, we chat about the platform they have  built to accelerate the growth of disruptive food and beverage brands that are vertically integrated from the farm to shelf. 

The Fresh Factory strives to provide tangible answers to some profound questions facing modern consumers – how do we eat healthier? How do we do this at scale? How do we get better products on the shelves for ourselves and for our children? Delivering answers to these questions comes down to a shared vision across the value-chain of those participating in the food business AND a dedication to execution from the manufacturing-end to ensure safe, consistent and healthy products end-up on consumers tables. It’s not easy and Bill goes into detail as to how they are pulling it ALL together.

About The Fresh Factory: The Fresh Factory is a vertically integrated company focused on accelerating the growth of the fresh, clean-label, plant-based food and beverage brands of tomorrow. The Fresh Factory owns or partners with emerging brands in the plant-based space to develop, manufacture, and sell products made from fresh produce and recognizable ingredients. It operates from its centrally located manufacturing facility near Chicago, serving customers across the US. As a public benefits corporation, The Fresh Factory is ESG-focused, driven to make a lighter, greener impact on the environment and a stronger, positive impact on local communities and the food system as a whole. 

#alwaysinvested

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Stitcher / Google Podcasts / iHeart / RSS

Podcasts, The Exchange for Entrepreneurs

Todd Shapiro on a “Exotic” Expansion in the Mushroom Business | The CSE Podcast S3-Ep8

Audio

On this week’s episode of the Exchange for Entrepreneurs Podcast we welcome back Todd Shapiro, CEO of Red Light Holland (CSE:TRIP). In this week’s conversation, we discuss why their stock symbol isn’t quite as representative of the company as it once was (or was meant to be) and “dig” into  the things they are doing to diversify within the realm of mushrooms.

Red Light Holland is a company that originally found its platform around psychotropic (or hallucinogenic) truffles, specifically in the realm of microdosing. Now the company has expanded its business to the world of “exotic” mushrooms, and Todd explains why this movement beyond psychedelic mushrooms is part of a larger vision and passion to build a legacy business that can extend to future generations.

About Red Light Holland: Red Light Holland is an Ontario-based corporation engaged in the production, growth and sale of functional mushrooms and mushroom home grow kits in North America and Europe, and a premium brand of psilocybin truffles to the legal, recreational market within the Netherlands, in compliance with all applicable laws. 

Learn more about Red Light Holland at https://redlight.co/

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Stitcher / Google Podcasts / iHeart / RSS

Podcasts, The Exchange for Entrepreneurs

Ray Williams on “Capitalizing” on Diversity | The CSE Podcast Ep7-S3

Audio

On this week’s show of the Exchange for Entrepreneurs Podcast we welcome Ray Williams to discuss  diversity, race, and social equity, and why these themes are critical on both a human and economic level.

Ray Williams is the Vice Chairman – Financial Markets at National Bank Financial and has a storied banking career that has spanned decades. We discuss the legacy he’s working to achieve through National Bank and organizations like the Black Opportunity Fund and 100 Strong. Notably, this discussion provides a prompt for executives and investors alike to ask themselves the question of whether they’re doing enough to investigate, encourage, and mentor talent from all backgrounds and to best position their firms with the best people that will bring their enterprises the greatest success.

Learn more about the Rotman School of Management at https://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/
Learn more about the Black Opportunity Fund at https://blackopportunityfund.ca/
Learn more about the 100 Strong at https://100strongfoundation.ca/

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Stitcher / Google Podcasts / iHeart / RSS

Podcasts, The Exchange for Entrepreneurs

Brayden Sutton on Getting “Back-to-Basics” in the Bud Business | The CSE Podcast Ep6-S3

Audio

The sixth episode of this year’s program has us catching up with Brayden Sutton, CEO of The BC Bud Corporation (CSE:BCBC).

Brayden isn’t just a CEO… he’s had a colorful career as a trader, as an entrepreneur, and investor at a young age. He’s even written a book called Money Mind: Beyond Speculation – a deep dive on his own journey in speculative investing and portfolio management. In this conversation we discuss what brought him back to the cannabis industry after his experiences with Supreme Cannabis and 1933 Industries and then we dive deeper into the motivations for writing a personal finance book.

About The BC Bud Corporation: The BC Bud Co is a house of brands created by industry professionals who are passionate about the user experience and ever-changing consumer demand. Founder-led and based in British Columbia; we take the heritage of BC Bud seriously.

Learn more about The BC Bud Co at https://www.thebcbc.com/

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Stitcher / Google Podcasts / iHeart / RSS

Podcasts, The Exchange for Entrepreneurs

Ben Feferman on the State-of-“Play” in Esports | The CSE Podcast Ep4-S3

Audio

After previously appearing as a special guest moderator on CSE’s Esports in the Capital Markets program, Esports executive Ben Feferman returns to the Exchange for Entrepreneurs podcast to talk about the current state of the Esports industry.

After riding a wave of growth driven by public markets speculation prior to the pandemic, the industry finds itself re-calibrating after several shakeups in the industry. Ben highlights some the challenges that have faced the Esports category but also shares where he sees growth prospects in the sector and where it will ultimately find wins as business models mature in this still-nascent business.

Host: James Black
Producer: James Black
Guest: Ben Feferman

Learn more about GamerSaloon at https://www.gamersaloon.com/

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Stitcher / Google Podcasts / iHeart / RSS

Podcasts, The Exchange for Entrepreneurs

Ilan Sobel on Executing the “Scale-Up” | The CSE Podcast Ep2-S3

Audio

We start our second show of the season by revisiting one of the most memorable interviews from last season with Ilan Sobel, CEO of BioHarvest Sciences (CSE:BHSC). On last year’s interview we learned about the driving mission of his company to build “human utility value”. We use that as a jumping-off point as we re-unite after a notable year for the company despite global and economic headwinds.

Ilan provides an update on BioHarvest’s two key product verticals in the  Polyphenol and Cannabis sectors, and how each are taking unique (and in some cases, similar) paths to market. Ilan also reflects on some of the choices the company has made with respect to developing its sales funnel and shares valuable lessons about acting as a “learning” organization and listening to your customers.

Mr. Sobel is Chief Executive officer of  BioHarvest Sciences Inc. (CSE:BHSC)  –  the developer and exclusive owner of the proprietary and patent-protected BioFarming technology. It is the first and only industrial-scale plant cell technology capable of producing the active plant ingredients without the necessity to grow the plant itself. The Company’s technology is non-GMO and has already been validated by VINIA®, the red grapes cells functional food/dietary supplement produced and sold by BioHarvest Sciences Inc. The Company plans to generate significant revenue within the global nutraceutical ingredients and dietary supplements market with VINIA® and other Super Fruit Nutraceutical products. Further, by adapting this technology to the Cannabis plant, and building adequate production capacity, BioHarvest Sciences Inc.’s objective is to become a leading supplier of Cannabis for both medicinal and legal recreational purposes.

Learn more about BioHarvest Sciences at https://bioharvest.com/

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Stitcher / Google Podcasts / iHeart / RSS

Podcasts, The Exchange for Entrepreneurs

Jay Martin on Making Investment Personal (Again) | The CSE Podcast Ep3-S3

Audio

Jay Martin, President and CEO of Cambridge House International makes his long-overdue return to the Exchange for Entrepreneurs podcast!

In this episode we follow-up 30 months after our last conversation with Jay when the impact of the global pandemic was starting to irreversibly alter the path of his business at Cambridge House International – a business anchored by several well-known investment conferences. Since that time Jay has moved most of Cambridge’s activities into the online-content world with the exception of the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference (VRIC), which takes its rightful place again in Vancouver from January 29-30, 2023.

In this discussion Jay reveals the reasons for bringing back the show and why its still critically important to bring investors and entrepreneurs together under one roof. He also highlights how his experience with one former Prime Minister re-affirmed his belief in bringing the conference back as an in-person event.

Mr. Martin also discusses his viewpoints on investors newsletters and how he sources his own motivation for writing a weekly digest for his followers. For those looking for advice on who to follow or what newsletters to consider then look no further than Jay’s principles shared on this week’s program.

Learn more about Cambridge House International at https://cambridgehouse.com/

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Stitcher / Google Podcasts / iHeart / RSS

Podcasts, The Exchange for Entrepreneurs

Cam Chell on How Innovation Paths Have Changed | The CSE Podcast Ep1-S3

Audio

Welcome back to a new season of the Exchange for Entrepreneurs Podcast!

This year promises to be another compelling year of discussion with entrepreneurs, investors and influencers standing firmly in the intersection between entrepreneurship and the public markets.

Season 3’s inaugural interview is with returning guest Cameron Chell. Cam is the Co-Founder and CEO Co-Founder of Draganfly Innovations Inc. (CSE:DPRO), a global UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) leader in hardware, software, logistics & services.

Cam reflects on his experiences since his last appearance on the show during the onset of the pandemic in 2020. Since that time his company has ventured into Ukraine to deliver life-saving technology to the warring nation. Cam explains why he was willing to take the risk to take his business into a warzone and why there wasn’t any other choice as an entrepreneur.

Mr. Chell is also Co-Founder and Chairman MetaWorks Platforms (CSE:MWRK) – an award winning blockchain and Web3 development platform that empowers Fortune 5000 brands to create and monetize their own metaverse. We spend time reflecting on the post-FTX reality for companies in the crypto/blockchain space and why the fall of FTX might have been inevitable yet necessary.

Host: James Black
Guest: Cameron Chell

Learn more about Draganfly at https://draganfly.com/

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Stitcher / Google Podcasts / iHeart / RSS

Podcasts, The Exchange for Entrepreneurs

Mehran Ehsan on Powering the Future with Oil and Natural Gas | The CSE Podcast Ep7-S2

Audio

CSE’s James Black is joined by Mehran Ehsan, CEO of Permex Petroleum (CSE:OIL) to discuss the company’s operations in the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico and why Mehran envisions a future where oil and natural gas contribute to world powered by “clean” energy.

Here’s an overview of what James and Mehran discuss in this edition of the “Exchange for Entrepreneurs” podcast:

0:00 – Introducing Mehran Ehsan and Permex Petroleum
0:45 – Why the Oil and Natural Gas Industry?
1:58 – What is impacting gas prices?
3:50 – The impact of Omicron on price
5:50 – What is Permex’s business model?
7:30 – The role of a junior in the Permian Basin
10:20 – Generating royalty interests
11:45 – JP Bryan’s impact on Permex
13:35 – Addressing “dirty oil”

About Permex Petroleum Corporation
Permex Petroleum is a uniquely positioned junior Oil & Gas company with assets and operations across the Permian Basin of west Texas and the Delaware Sub-Basin of south east New Mexico. Permex  has a current focus on identifying, evaluating and acquiring oil and natural gas assets in North America and enhancing and developing its currently held oil and natural gas assets in Texas and New Mexico. Permex owns and operates on Private, State and Federal land.

Learn more about Permex Petroleum at Permex Petroleum Corporation | CSE – Canadian Securities Exchange (thecse.com)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Stitcher / Google Podcasts / iHeart / RSS
#HashtagFinance, Podcasts

Kevin Wright on Bridging Brands to Esports Communities | #HashtagFinance

Audio

CSE’s James Black chats with Kevin Wright, President of GameSquare Esports Inc. (CSE:GSQ) to discuss the company’s unique focus on the agency vertical in esports and how they are bridging the gap between global brands and growing gaming communities.

Here’s an overview of what James and Kevin cover in this edition of the #HashtagFinance podcast:

0:00 – Introducing Kevin Wright and GameSquare
1:50 – The state of esports in 2021
4:55 – The role of physical infrastructure in esports
8:30 – The GameSquare business model – backed by Code Red and GCN
12:45 – Describing “brand safety”
13:55 – Why non-endemic brands are getting involved in esports 17:45 – Following the playbook from “traditional” professional sports
22:15 – Ninja and Apex Legends
23:30 – Kevin’s background in programming and banking
27:30 – The wrap

About GameSquare Esports

GameSquare Esports Inc. is an international gaming and esports company headquartered in Toronto, Canada. The Company is seeking to acquire additional assets and entities serving the gaming and esports markets and, more broadly, in sports and entertainment.

The acquisition of Code Red Esports Ltd. (“Code Red”), an esports talent agency, provided an initial foothold in Europe through its UK operations. Code Red represents leading on-screen talent, players and influencers and works with leading global brands to develop influencer campaigns and esports marketing strategies. GameSquare’s second acquisition of Reciprocity Corp. provides access to Asia, Latin America and North America.

Its gaming and esports assets include: a CrossFire franchise in China that it owns with its partner LGD Gaming, a 40% interest in a League of Legends team that competes in Latin America, and, its wholly owned subsidiary corporation, GCN, a digital media company focusing on the gaming and esports audience based in Los Angeles, USA.

Learn more about GameSquare Esports at https://thecse.com/en/listings/technology/gamesquare-esports-inc

Subscribe:  Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Stitcher / Google Podcasts / iHeart Radio / RSS