2020 EPISODES

From Pharmacy to Doors This week, Mat Rezaei, Founder and CEO of Caplet and UPGUYS, talks about a new way to get medication and prescriptions; and a better way for patients to access professional medical advice. Mat also discusses how his career led to a new startup, UPGUYS, a digital health resource for men. Join in to hear this week’s entrepreneur enlighten us on his digital pharmacy that delivers medications right to your door.

Learning with Riipen Interested in collaborating with post-secondary students to solve challenges in real-time? Dana Stephenson, Co-founder and CEO of Riipen, shares with us the development of the technology platform and how it connects industry partners with educators to collaborate on short-term projects with students. Dana shares how Riipen helps students by providing opportunities to boost their skills, career and gives them the ability to network with potential employers. Join us to hear more of what Dana has to say and some insight into what made him one of BC Business magazine’s 30 Under 30 in 2018.

Failing to Fail In this episode, Iman Aghay, Founder & Director of Success Road Academy, shares his personal story of successes and failures and the lessons he learned. As an entrepreneur himself, he talks to our students about his hiring process and the importance of using their young age as an advantage. Join us to understand how Iman failed to fail.

A Pet Friendly Culture Have you ever struggled to find places you can take your pet? This is what inspired Aliya Bhatia to start her shared-economy venture. PawSwap allows you to see all pet-friendly events and businesses in Vancouver, and users can earn points that can be redeemed for rewards. Aliya, co-founder and CEO, joins hosts Dave and Gelareh to discuss her journey, the search for a business partner and her personal experience behind the creation of this furry-friendly app.

A New Perspective on Gender-based Expectations Our guest, Paulina Cameron is back to discuss the ripple effect of gender-based expectations in the workplace, the impact of leadership on business culture and the significance of emotional intelligence in leadership. We believe both students and businesses will benefit from this conversation that hosts Gelareh and Dave had with Paulina.

Female Leadership Challenges In business, one of the many challenges that we are facing in 2020 is social. Paulina Cameron, author of Canada 150 Women: Conversations with Leaders, Champions, and Luminaries discusses with Gelareh and Dave the importance of women in entrepreneurship and having female leadership while Gelareh opens up about discrimination she faced in her professional life. Listen to more of what Paulina has to say and hear what makes her one of Business in Vancouver’s Forty under 40.

From Student to Founder In this episode, UCW Alumni Shreyas Cotha a.k.a. Mr. Bean shares his passion for coffee and how curiosity led him to launch a successful business in British Columbia that adds happiness to our mornings.

Pioneering in Technology VIP Parking Solutions’ (Total Parking Solutions) Co-founder and Principal Director, Hamidreza Mohammadi shares the pains of importing new technologies into Canada. In this episode, Gelareh, Dave and Hamidreza discuss the importance of partnerships, the struggles he faced with selling an unknown technology as an entrepreneur and the regulations that were involved in the process.

The International Founder Experience Hermann Fink, CEO at Niki, shares with us how international students can benefit from his business model and guides us from ideation to execution and user experience. Funding, how to be unique, international investment, and the advantages of having co-founders are some of the topics we covered in this week’s discussion. Join to listen to this exciting testimonial from one of our UCW Entrepreneurs.

The Science Behind Personalisation LimeSpot, an online AI plug-in is responsible for a big part of your shopping experience. Its CPO and Executive Chairman, Aidin Tavakkol, shares with us his entrepreneurial journey and the ripple effect of COVID-19 in the ecommerce industry.