65: Building Franchising Success with John Evans
The Wealth Navigator Podcast with Richard Dri
Release Date: 03/16/2021
89: Evolving the digital landscape for entrepreneurs with Mark Petch
The Wealth Navigator Podcast with Richard Dri
Entrepreneur, early stage investor, and Founder of Relative, Mark Petch, joins me for an intriguing conversation on the podcast today. A consultancy that helps businesses with profitable growth, Relative is one of a number of companies that Mark has led over the years. As you will hear, his vast amount of experience in both leading and working for businesses has garnered him an extensive amount of knowledge, particularly in advising how to connect with customers in more engaging and meaningful ways, that he brings to this episode today. In this interview, Mark offers his marketing...
info_outline
88: Taking the cryptic out of Cryptocurrency with Jean Desgagne
The Wealth Navigator Podcast with Richard Dri
Jean Desgagne, retired banking executive and CEO of Stablecorp, joins me on the podcast today. Created as a partnership between 3iQ, Canada’s leading crypto asset manager, and Mavennet, a recognized leader in the blockchain development space, Stablecorp is behind the issuance of QCAD, the first ever fully-compliant Canadian-dollar stablecoin designed for the mass market. Jean led the launch of QCAD by managing day-to-day operations and leveraging his deep network and expertise gained from three decades in Canada’s financial services industry as President and CEO of The Canadian...
info_outline
87: Building a Real Estate and Development Empire with Lamont Wiltshire
The Wealth Navigator Podcast with Richard Dri
Joining me on the podcast this week is Lamont Wiltshire, Chief Executive Officer at the Wiltshire Group, a group of companies that delivers construction, real estate and development in the GTA. Founded and headed by himself and his business partner, Odeen Eccleston, The Wiltshire Group is the parent company of its award winning subsidiary companies made up of Wiltshire Homes, a custom home builder, WE Realty, a full-service brokerage, and WE Developments, which delivers construction management, commercial and multi-residential projects and strategic land us. In today’s highly informative...
info_outline
86: A Business Match Made in Heaven with Sam Moorcroft
The Wealth Navigator Podcast with Richard Dri
My very special guest on the podcast this week is ChristianCafe.com President and Co-founder, Sam Moorcraft. After receiving his MBA, Sam engaged in a variety of occupations such as forest management, direct marketing, consulting, project management, and a number of entrepreneurial endeavors. Eventually, he joined forces with his brother and fellow MBA recipient, Philip, to found and build ChristianCafe.com into what is now the largest privately-owned Christian singles site online. Over the course of more than 22 years as a business, this site has helped untold thousands of singles connect,...
info_outline
85: Standing out from the crowd with Elias Anderson
The Wealth Navigator Podcast with Richard Dri
Founder and CEO of Hear Me Cheer, Elias Anderson, joins me on the podcast this week. Having left his university Engineering program to pursue entrepreneurship full-time, Elias has enjoyed great success with his current company, which was created as a response to the inability for fans to attend live sporting events during the pandemic. A true entrepreneur at heart, he is also the Founder of two other companies, ChampTrax and Sporting World, and, today, he shares his truly remarkable story of success in a very short amount of time with us all. In today’s interview, we look at exactly what...
info_outline
84: Great Ideas Become Booming Businesses with Kevin Mako
The Wealth Navigator Podcast with Richard Dri
Kevin Mako, President of Mako Design and Invent, joins me today for a fascinating discussion about his equally fascinating business and so much more. Built by Kevin completely from the ground up with no financing and no debt, Mako Design and Invent has grown to be the center of physical product design, turning great product ideas into booming businesses, nationally in the US and Canada, and is well on its way to do the same in England and China. Kevin is a true entrepreneur whose many other accomplishments include becoming a Fellow at the Brookfield Institute for Entrepreneurship, an advisor...
info_outline
83: Clearing the Air About Succeeding as a Lifelong Entrepreneur with Stephen Worrall
The Wealth Navigator Podcast with Richard Dri
My special guest on the podcast today is Stephen Worrall, founder of Integrated Clean Air Services, and industry expert in the field of HVAC hygiene and Indoor Air Quality. A former member of the Canadian Armed Forces and a veteran of the 1st Gulf War, Stephen is very much a lifelong entrepreneur with a keen interest in financial services who has written and spoken about cryptocurrencies and blockchain at several events. He also sits on several industry committees and is a member and Committee Chair with the Oakville Chamber of Commerce. In today’s episode, Stephen shares how he got started...
info_outline
82: Making Your Passion Your Business with Marc Wilson
The Wealth Navigator Podcast with Richard Dri
Marc Wilson, Founder and Lead Advisor at Athletic Venture Advisors, a firm supporting the sports & sports technology industry by focusing on emerging startups, small business and investors, joins me on the podcast today. Within these industries, Marc and his team provide personal and company engagements, including, but not limited to, Business Development, Mentorship, Strategic Partnerships, Advisory Board Involvement, Investment Assistance, Deal Flow, Due Diligence, Recruitment, Venture Capital Involvement, Private Equity Assistance, Athlete/Entrepreneur Assessment, etc. In our interview...
info_outline
81: The Formidable Combination of CPA and Tax Lawyer Expertise with Josh Kumar
The Wealth Navigator Podcast with Richard Dri
Joining me on the podcast this week is Josh Kumar, Partner at Aird & Berlis LLP. A member of the firm’s Tax Group, Josh’s practice focuses on litigation and dispute resolution with the Canada Revenue Agency and Department of Justice, and also includes tax planning for private companies and individuals. He has extensive experience representing taxpayers in the Tax Court of Canada, the Federal Court of Canada, the Federal Court of Appeal and the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, and he also holds a Chartered Professional Accountant designation. In today’s interview, Josh shares what...
info_outline
80: Starting a Law Firm to Serve Corporations and Individuals Alike with Sara Erskine
The Wealth Navigator Podcast with Richard Dri
Sara Erskine, Partner at Weintraub Erskine Huang LLP, is my guest on the podcast this week. Sara’s practice is focused on commercial disputes, bankruptcy and insolvency, receiverships, proceedings under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), securities law, labour and employment law, administrative law, constitutional law and class action litigation. She regularly represents clients before regulatory tribunals including the Ontario Securities Commission, Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) and a broad range of professional disciplinary tribunals. Sara...
info_outlineJohn Evans, Founder and CEO of Everline Coatings and Services, is my very special guest on the podcast today. After working and learning about franchising at College Pro Painters, John left and went on to start Everline, a company that provides high quality and efficient line painting services for parking lots, roadways, parkades, and warehouses. There are currently 18 Everline franchises across Canada, and they are looking to extend into the United States with the possibility of another 350 there. A prime example of an entrepreneur with an eye for discovering a need and filling it, John has a great deal of knowledge and advice to share here today.
He begins by reviewing what he did and learned with College Pro Painters, his idea to franchise line painting, and his experience with Dragons’ Den. John then goes on to share how he raises capital, what a franchisee can expect to experience with Everline, his company’s current profitability status, and what has surprised him the most over his franchise journey. His career low point and how he moved out of it, his investments outside of the company, the ways he protects his money, and the people who have influenced him the most are also discussed. Our conversation concludes with John’s vision for the next 5 years, and his valuable advice for entrepreneurs. John’s career has been one filled with lessons learned that have generated great success, making today’s interview one of incredible value to us all.