Inspiring a Region

Introducing Karina LeBlanc and the Pond-Deshpande Centre

We here at the Boiling Point Podcast spend a lot of time discussing triple bottom line businesses, but the question becomes where can I find out how to get involved in this emerging sector of socially minded businesses? This week’s guest has just the organization for you to check out.

Karina LeBlanc is the executive director of the Pond-Deshpande Centre based out of the University of New Brunswick. Entrepreneurs Gerry Pond, Jaishree Deshpande, and Gururaj Deshpande founded the centre with a mission to act as a catalyst to grow and support a stronger culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in Atlantic Canada. Beyond this, the Pond-Deshpande Centre seeks to simulate young people (and young-minded people) to become active and engaged change makers and leaders in the emerging business-for-good ecosystem. When Karina came on board as the executive director, she already had experience in the Fortune 500, startup, and non-profit space. She decided to take a 90-day “listening” tour to understand how the centre could assist the province and the region. From that tour, she learned that too often young people were disconnected from the concept of becoming an entrepreneur and there was little to no conversation about being a social entrepreneur. Since then, the centre has produced over 100 alumni and has been the catalyst in New Brunswick recent business boom.

Check out this week’s episode to learn how you could take the same practices to your region.

In this episode

• Greg tells us about his recent trip to the B Corp Champions retreat in Philadelphia.
• We hear how Greg and Karina met and how it spun off into the “Millennial Dream”.
• Karina tells us about the mission and goals of the Pond-Deshpande Centre.
• We hear about the great work the centre does with students all around New Brunswick and Atlantic Canada.
• Karina speaks about the misconceptions that some have toward becoming and entrepreneur and what it truly means.
• We hear how starting the centre was similar to many other start-ups.
• Greg mentions that he hears all over North America about how the centre does things right.
• We discuss what makes the centre and New Brunswick different then many other areas.
• Karina tells us about their accelerator programs.
• She also lets us in on some authors you should check out if you want to get involved with social entrepreneurship.
• Greg is truly inspired by Karina and the centre and how it has created a legacy of giving back.
• Dave agrees that there is so much to learn about the space and thinks it was great that the centre got it start by doing a “listening tour”.

Links

- The Pond-Deshpande Centre Website

- Pond-Deshpande on Facebook

- Pond-Deshpande on Twitter

- Millennial Dream Website

- Karina on LinkedIn

- Karina's Bio

- Karina on Twitter

WTF – Willing to Fail

Introducing Brian Scudamore, 1-800-GOT-JUNK? and O2E Brands

Sometimes great businesses are developed out of necessity, like when you need to make enough extra cash to pay for college. This is the situation that this week’s Boiling Point guest, Brian Scudamore, found himself in and the result is a group of businesses that have revenue of a quarter billion dollars.

Brian is the founder and CEO of O2E brands, a collection of four businesses that focus on home services including: 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, WOW 1 DAY PAINTING, YOU MOVE ME, and SHACK SHINE. When Brian was 18 years old, he needed to find a way to pay for college. He was in his car in the drive thru of a McDonald’s one fateful day when he noticed an old, beat up pickup truck that was hauling junk and thought that would be a great way to pay his way. In his travels he noticed the same type of beat up pickup with junk in the back in every city he went to but there was no brand leading the way. In 27 years, Brian has created that brand by offering exceptional customer service with clean logoed trucks and by giving his franchisees the ability to fail and learn from their mistakes.

Check out this inspiring episode of the Boiling Point to see how you could make the most of your circumstance to create something epic.

In this episode

• Greg tells us about his recent visit to Haiti and how his preconceived notions of the country were shattered.
• We meet Brian and get an introduction to his group of businesses.
• We learn what O2E Brands and the meaning of its name.
• Brian tells us how he came up with his business sitting in a drive thru at McDonalds, which led him to clean up a “dirty” industry.
• He also tells us the amazing story of how he was able to obtain the phone number for 1-800-GOT-JUNK?
• We learn what sets Brian’s companies apart from their competition and how he is able to keep the services consistent throughout his franchise network.
• Brian also tells us about the “WTF” culture at his companies and what that truly means.
• We also learn how Brian sees his ADHD as an asset and how he takes inspiration from people like Terry Fox and Rick Hansen.
• Dave is inspired by Brian’s authenticity and his ability to leverage challenges.
• Greg appreciates the exceptional customer service and Brian’s philosophy of being willing to fail and sees it as simple yet innovative.

Links

- O2E Brands Website

- 1-800-GOT-JUNK? Website

- 1-800-GOT-JUNK? on Twitter

- WOW 1 DAY PAINTING Website

- YOU MOVE ME Website

- SHACK SHINE Website

- Brian on Facebook

- Brian on Twitter

- Brian on LinkedIn

Cutting Through the Noise

Introducing JP Shoiry and Republik

If you spend any time on social media it would seem that everyone is out there trying to deliver a message. For those of us who are on the web trying to market a product or a service it can be difficult to cut through the noise so that our post gets noticed. When you need your message to stand out above the rest your best route might be to get advice from someone like today’s Boiling Point guest.

JP Shoiry is the chief of content strategy and a partner at Republik, a digital brand editorial agency specializing in social media, content, and influencer marketing. JP and his partner acquired Republik a little while back and have since repositioned the company toward content and influencer marketing. JP knows that in a world that anyone could potentially be a content marketer in order to cut through the noise you need to be valuable to your audience and you need to understand the type of content you are working with and how best to promote it through the ever-evolving social media landscape.

Check out this episode of the Boiling Point to see how you could strategize to cut through the noise with your marketing effort.

In this episode

• Greg calls a wrong number trying to get in touch with JP.
• We learn about Republik’s effort to become a B Corp and what that has done for the company.
• There is a discussion about how B Corps should be totally aligned with Quebecois values and that there will be more B Corps to come from Quebec.
• JP tells us how he learned about B Corps and why it was a fit for Republik.
• He also tells us why becoming a B Corp is the most actionable thing a business can do to act on its intentions and values.
• We learn why Republik’s motto is “real talk”
• Greg asks JP to run through a strategy for promoting his new documentary, City on Fire.
• JP tells us that different social media has different advantages and disadvantages as it comes to marketing and how developing a strategy for promotion before launch is so important.
• JP also tells us about his lessons learned and the differences between acquiring a company and starting fresh.
• Dave admires JP’s passion and his ability to articulate his rich, deep knowledge.
• Greg mentions how content creators often give themselves a hard time for not having all the answers as it relates to distribution, but there are experts, like JP, out there to help.

Links

- JP on Twitter

- JP on Facebook

- JP on LinkedIn

- Republik's Website

- Republik on Facebook

- Republik on Twitter

- Republik on Instagram

- Republik on LinkedIn

- BCorporation.net

- City on Fire teaser