AQ's Blog & Grill
84 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 2 years ago - ★★★★★ - 1 ratingWhether you want to define your brand, turn your hobby into a successful business, or hone your content-creation skills, you're sure to leave with a full stomach (or mind).
We know you're craving information, and one of the best ways to learn is by hearing from others. Knowing that, we snag some of the world's most brilliant minds to share their stories, from veteran influencers like Guy Kawasaki, to Waterloo Region heroes like Vidyard's Michael Litt.
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Episodes
Loren Padelford | Selling With Ease Using Shopify And Shopify Plus
June 10, 2016 13:00 - 18 minutes - 16.9 MBLoren Padelford, Vice President and General Manager at Shopify Plus, joins Alan to share how Shopify is changing the landscape of e-commerce. Loren tells how this Canadian company sparked out of the founder’s desire to sell snowboards online. Shopify has since found great success, helping entrepreneurs reach a global market online with easy-to-use, cost-effective software. The recently launched Shopify Plus takes the software a step further, assisting large enterprise companies to sell onlin...
Amy Schmittauer | Creating an Authentic Brand with Video and Social Media
June 01, 2016 18:00 - 16 minutes - 15.5 MBLet’s just start by saying that Amy Schmittauer is a force to be reckoned with. Her Savvy Sexy Social brand is informative, fun and magnetic. In this grilling, Amy joins us for an insightful look at YouTube, Snapchat and authentic brand building. If you think YouTube is a dying medium, oh boy, are you wrong. As Amy states, the #2 search engine isn’t going anywhere and is more relevant than ever. Amy discusses finding your brand differentiator, being an “overnight” success and what drives her...
Don Tapscott and Alex Tapscott | Leading a Revolution in Blockchain
May 30, 2016 20:00 - 20 minutes - 18.6 MBWhen Don and Alex Tapscott began writing “Blockchain Revolution”, not a single bank was investing in the revolutionary technology. Now virtually every company in the financial services industry is investing heavily as they realize this new technology is the second generation of the internet - the “internet of value”. In this exciting episode of AQ’s Blog & Grill, we are honored to have Don and Alex on to discuss their new book and the implications and opportunities in blockchains. Current...
Host Alan Quarry | Creating an Exciting Company Culture Through Leadership
May 30, 2016 19:52 - 14 minutes - 13.4 MBIn this special episode of AQ’s Blog & Grill, broadcasting personality Angela Onoura turns the tables and interviews host Alan Quarry. Angela picks Alan’s brain on the topic of leadership: hiring people smarter than you, giving them the freedom to do what they’re best at, and how bureaucracy can negatively impact a business by squashing creativity. Alan shares advice on creating an exciting company culture, providing examples from his own company, Quarry Integrated Communications, which is...
Angela Onuora | A Broadcasting Journey From Nigeria to Canada
May 30, 2016 19:48 - 8 minutes - 7.96 MBIn this episode, broadcasting personality Angela Onuora joins Alan to discuss the shifts she has experienced in moving to Canada from Nigeria. In Nigeria, Angela became a popular TV host, actor and radio personality. She discusses her popular radio show, "We Women", and how it was the first ever talk-radio show in Nigeria. "We Women" dealt with serious women's issues such as rape, divorce and domestic violence. Angela shares how she grew her fanbase and how she brought a bit of lightness ...
Larry Smith | What you NEED to do to Have a Great Career
May 30, 2016 19:11 - 20 minutes - 19 MBKnown as the “career-whisperer”, Dr. Larry Smith joins AQ’s Blog & Grill to share insights from his new book, “No Fears, No Excuses”. After a 2011 TED Talk that garnered millions of views on YouTube, Larry found himself answering thousands of questions stemming from the talk. “I always knew people struggled with careers,” he states. “But that gave me a sense of the scale that I’d honestly not imagined.” The messages Larry was receiving in relation to the TED video showed him what people wa...
Jamie Gutfreund Brands Wunderman From the Inside Out
May 30, 2016 19:06 - 17 minutes - 16.3 MBAs the new global chief marketing officer of Wunderman, Jamie Gutfreund joins us to discuss her role and the challenges that come with it. Ad agencies often struggle to market and brand themselves, so Jamie shares the steps Wunderman is taking to ensure all 7,000+ employees become evangelists for the agency. Jamie notes its positioning, “Creatively Driven, Data Inspired”, and how the collision of creative brains and data brains creates a cohesive unit - the “yin and yang” of Wunderman....
April Dunford | Marketing Advice for Start-ups to Become Stay-ups
May 30, 2016 19:01 - 19 minutes - 18.4 MBShe’s the CEO of Sprint.ly, a marketing mentor and angel investor who started her hurricane of entrepreneurial activities by studying engineering. In this episode of AQ’s Blog & Grill, April Dunford shares her experience from engineer to marketing greatness. April finds that most start-ups struggle with their positioning statements. They either follow the fill-in-the-blank, Frankenstein-style model, or they don’t create one at all. To help, April breaks down the top four types of position...
Brian Fanzo | 5 Keys to Successful Live Video Streaming
May 30, 2016 18:56 - 14 minutes - 13.2 MBJust in case you missed the memo, traditional brand marketing has officially taken a back seat. Audiences want authenticity, transparency and “right-time” marketing. So who are you going to call to perfect your strategy as the digital platforms constantly change? Our suggestion: Brian Fanzo. As Chief Social Media Officer at MyChannel Inc and founding partner of Backlamp LLC, Brian always has his finger on the pulse of new technologies and platforms to reach your audience the way they want to...
Bernadette Butler | LeftStuff is Making Memories with Guided Storytelling
May 30, 2016 18:49 - 19 minutes - 17.7 MBBernadette Butler joins Alan Quarry to discuss her emerging company, LeftStuff. (No, this isn’t an eCommerce platform for left handed folk.) After the passing of her grandmother, Bernadette was disappointed that there was a lack in video, photos, and memorabilia of the lost, loved family member. This inspired her to create a guided storytelling platform where anyone has the ease and capability to record stories that matter. After testing this idea with her father, she decided to run with ...
Larry Kim | From Winnipeg to WordStream – How Larry Kim Built a Booming Business in Search Marketing
May 30, 2016 18:44 - 16 minutes - 15.4 MBHow does a young guy from Winnipeg become the founder of the leading search marketing software company? Answer: A lot of hard work, an undying drive for success and a lot of time spent working with the free wifi at Panera Bread. Larry Kim joins us to share his story of going from a University of Waterloo student to building a successful business that manages over half a billion dollars in ad revenue worldwide. After discovering the power of AdWords through a previous career, Larry decided to...
Brian Solis | X: The Experience When Business Meets Design
May 30, 2016 18:39 - 13 minutes - 12.9 MBTop digital analyst, futurist and award-winning author, Brian Solis joins Alan to share the inspirations and aspirations behind his new book, X: The Experience When Business Meets Design. Brian's major influence for the book comes from Joseph Pine and James Gilmore’s article-turned-book, The Experience Economy (1999). Brian notes that well over a decade later, their points on customer experience are still valid—customers want experiences, not products or services. Brian depicts the framew...
Joe Pulizzi | Finding Business Success Through Content Marketing
May 30, 2016 18:35 - 17 minutes - 16.3 MBBack in 2007, unaware of the incoming economic recession, Joe Pulizzi left his successful career with Penton Media to embark on a journey of entrepreneurship. Joe had no product to sell, but with the help of inspiring messages from authors like Stephen Covey and Napoleon Hill, he wrote out his goals and began developing an audience. Every day Joe blogged, and after a few years he managed to compile a database of over 10,000 email subscribers. It was only then that he decided to develop produ...
Melissa Durrell | Why Public Relations is Alive and Well
May 30, 2016 18:30 - 14 minutes - 13.7 MBThere are many skeptics out there who believe that public relations is a dead industry. Experts, like our guest Melissa Durrell, know better. Yes, the digital age is transforming the landscape of public relations, but that doesn’t mean any Joe Blow off the street can get your word out like a PR expert can. A self-proclaimed “news junkie and political wonk”, Melissa joins us to discuss the importance of public relations and why every brand needs to have a strategy. In 2015, the marketing w...
Michael Brenner | Measuring the ROI of your Content Marketing
May 30, 2016 18:26 - 20 minutes - 18.7 MBMichael Brenner is at the top of content marketing influencer lists web-wide. He inspires marketing minds to stay agile in this new and evolving age of the customer. With great skill comes great questions, and the number one question Michael receives is “How do I measure the ROI on my content marketing?” Behold, “The Content Formula”, his new book, filled with applicable knowledge to satisfy any CFO. Michael Brenner joins Alan to share some of the expertise the reader will find in “The Co...
Rob Barnett | Working with Major Talent to Create Original Content on all Platforms
May 30, 2016 18:19 - 19 minutes - 18.3 MBRob Barnett is a pioneer in the media world, bringing audiences entertainment on the platforms they crave. The founder of Omnivision Entertainment and My Damn Channel joins Alan to discuss the past, present and future of branded content. With a history working at MTV, VH1 and then taking an entrepreneurial route in media, Rob’s true passion lies in providing talented entertainers with the right platform to achieve success. When YouTube was merely an infant in diapers, Rob Barnett launched My...
Sherry Shannon-Vanstone | TrustPoint IT is Securing the Future of the Internet-of-Things
May 30, 2016 18:12 - 15 minutes - 14.7 MBIn this episode of AQ’s Blog & Grill, Sherry Shannon-Vanstone, President and Chief Executive Officer of TrustPoint Innovation Technologies, joins Alan to discuss the secure future of the Internet-of-things. TrustPoint IT has been developing innovative security solutions for machine-to-machine applications for over 20 years. Sherry explains how Elliptic Curve Cryptography (a public-key encryption method) is used in everything from fashion brands to credit cards and motor vehicles, and how it ...
Glen Drummond | How to Leverage the Personalization Ladder to Build Brand Affinity
May 30, 2016 18:00 - 15 minutes - 14 MBIs personalization simply a silver bullet, or will this emerging technology change the face of marketing? Glen Drummond, Chief Innovation Officer of Quarry Integrated Communications, joins Alan to discuss the theory of personalization. When machines talk to you using behavioral targeting, how does it make you feel? How can businesses, particularly B2B marketers, use personalization to create a more authentic brand experience? Glen introduces us to the personalization ladder and defines th...
Mike Kirkup | Accelerating Startups to a Global Stage Through VELOCITY
May 30, 2016 17:51 - 22 minutes - 21 MBMike Kirkup has spent the last four years working as the director of the University of Waterloo’s student startup program, Velocity. He joins Alan to share stories of the amazing companies coming out of the program, including the internationally known unicorn, KIK. Velocity is a unique program that began as an undergraduate incubator and quickly grew into multiple accelerator-style programs, including the Velocity Foundry located in downtown Kitchener. Their goal is to build successful co...
Carol Leaman | Creating a Legacy of Serial Entrepreneurship & Startup Mentoring
May 30, 2016 17:42 - 25 minutes - 23.1 MBCEO of Axonify and Alan’s entrepreneurial heroine, Carol Leaman, stops by to discuss her growing business and her path of serial entrepreneurship. What began as an eLearning platform has transformed into a fully equipped knowledge platform, using gamification and brain science to deliver, share, measure and apply knowledge. The company has picked up almost 100 global brand-name clients including Walmart, Johnson & Johnson, Bloomingdales and GE. "What is at the centre of both company performa...
Ilya Peskov | Simplifying Complex Data & Creating Conscious Communities
May 30, 2016 17:36 - 15 minutes - 14.1 MBIlya Peskov, President and CTO of Focus21 joins Alan Quarry to discuss his Waterloo Region startup, which specializes in simplifying complex data for clear understanding and visualization. In this episode, Ilya shares the benefits of building a business within Waterloo’s startup ecosystem and discusses the importance of finding the right team members to lead your company to success. One of the notable projects that Focus21 has created is "Watr", a software platform that connects cities an...
Natalie MacNeil | Taking on the World One Conquer Kit at a Time
May 30, 2016 17:28 - 25 minutes - 23.4 MBShe’s been taking over the world for many years now, building an online community and creating content that garnered her an Emmy win in 2011. Media producer and bestselling author Natalie MacNeil understands the mind of an entrepreneur, and she wants to share her learnings with all who will listen. Natalie paid a visit to the AQ’s Blog & Grill set to share details on her brand new book, The Conquer Kit, her virtual business incubator The Conquer Club, and to provide inspiration for those con...
Glow Strategic Founder Sylwia Glowik | Mobile Apps are the New Wave of How We Work
April 28, 2016 18:15 - 7 minutes - 7.49 MBEntrepreneur and founder of Glow Strategic, Sylwia Glowik, joins Alan Quarry to discuss the benefits of integrating mobile apps and gamification into your brand strategy. Sylwia, whose mobile app experience comes from working with BlackBerry and Mosaic, describes how mobile applications are the next wave of how we work and how we engage with clients, both B2B and B2C. She shares examples of successful gamification and mobile app integration, and explains how this can help companies build b...
Avvey Peters | Entrepreneur Opportunities at Kitchener Waterloo’s Communitech
April 28, 2016 18:13 - 9 minutes - 9.33 MBCommunitech VP, Avvey Peters, speaks with Alan about the startup tech hub which is home to over 120 companies. Communitech was designed to assist entrepreneurs with growing their businesses through the help of networking in a creative space and receiving mentorship from experts. Over the last year, large companies like Canadian Tire, Manulife and Cannon, have noticed the success coming out of the hub and decided to join themselves, looking at ways to use technologies to innovate their busine...
Scott Stratten of UnMarketing | Throwing Away the Sales Funnel
April 28, 2016 18:08 - 11 minutes - 11.6 MBScott Stratten of Unmarketing, the Unpodcast and Unselling speaks with Alan about the evolution of the sales funnel and how everything before and after the sale, IS the sale. Scott and Alan discuss what really makes a brand, which brands do a great job of creating a community, and the importance of building that community before something goes wrong. Scott talks about when and where to use marketing automation, and how you should make sure your business is strong before exploring new technol...
Jennifer Gough | Growing an Art Business by Using Social Media and Taking Risks
April 28, 2016 18:06 - 9 minutes - 9.59 MBArtist entrepreneur, Jennifer Gough, returns to AQ’s Blog & Grill to share her recent experiences creating and growing her art business. This year Jen has been featured in Forbes, has had a show in New York, and has pushed her own boundaries by trying new mediums of art. Every year, Jennifer chooses a theme to live by. This year's theme was bravery, which was clearly depicted in her 2015 collection of work. Jen explored digital art forms when asked to commission an installation for Kitchen...
GainX Founder Angelique Mohring | Seeing a Return on Investment in Innovation
April 28, 2016 17:53 - 10 minutes - 10.1 MBAngelique Mohring, founder of GainX, speaks with Alan about innovation management and how large corporations can see a return on their investment in innovation. Angelique shares her experience in an accelerator program and explains the incredible advantages her team has seen as a result of putting themselves in the incubator ecosystem. She also chats about the importance of finding the right business partner, how Guy Kawasaki influenced her naming of the company and provides advice for young...
Integrated Marketing Communications Co-Author Bob Lauterborn | What is the Unique Buying Proposition
April 28, 2016 17:45 - 10 minutes - 10.2 MBIntegrated marketing guru, Bob Lauterborn, chats with Alan about what integrated marketing communications really is: a thinking process. It's about being where your customer is looking! Bob suggests shifting to an "outside-in" view from an "inside-out" view. He believes the four P's of marketing are a flawed premise and can be detrimental to your business today. Alan and Bob also discuss the UBP - the Unique Buying Proposition and how it's replaced the Unique Selling Proposition. About Ou...
Boston University Professor, Edward Boches | The Future of Advertising
April 28, 2016 17:39 - 10 minutes - 9.9 MBWith over 35 years in the advertising world, thought leader Edward Boches joins Alan Quarry on AQ’s Blog & Grill to discuss the evolution of advertising. Edward is currently a professor of advertising at Boston University and previously chief creative officer and chief innovation officer at Mullen Advertising. The advertising world is very demanding, and as new digital technologies and social media come into play, advertisers need to work hard to keep up. Edward discusses how to earn atten...
Quarry CIO Glen Drummond | Getting Feedback from your Customer’s Experiences
April 28, 2016 17:26 - 9 minutes - 9.54 MBGlen Drummond, chief innovation officer at Quarry Integrated Communications, chats with Alan about disruptive business models and what it takes for new businesses to succeed. He discusses why customers may stop spending money with certain brands and how to overcome that by paying attention to customer feedback. Glen talks about the importance of focus and how businesses need to create experiences that help buyers meet their goals. About Our Guest Glen Drummond serves as partner and chief...
TrafficSoda Co-Founder Jessica Chalk | Finding Success in a Startup Accelerator
April 28, 2016 17:15 - 9 minutes - 9.23 MBJessica Chalk, co-founder of TrafficSoda, talks about starting her business, meeting her co-founders and finding complementary skills when building her team. Jessica loves online marketing, and went to the Accelerator Centre when it was time to start her business. She shares experiences working with the Accelerator Centre and the benefits of having a strong community to help her startup grow. Jessica discusses the need for passion in entrepreneurship, while also listening to your market an...
Bridgit Co-Founder Mallorie Brodie| Creating a Successful Startup
April 04, 2016 20:16 - 9 minutes - 9.41 MBIn this episode, Alan interviews Mallorie Brodie, co-founder of Bridgit, a project management software for the construction industry. She talks about meeting her co-founder and starting their business by doing over 500 on-site interviews. Mallorie is also candid about what it takes to run a successful business, experiences with a failed business, and what she thinks is important in selecting a business partner. Mallorie also discusses the opportunities for women in entrepreneurship and tec...
Ann Handley | Everybody Writes
April 04, 2016 20:15 - 10 minutes - 10.6 MBAnn Handley is a veteran of creating and managing digital content to build relationships for organizations and individuals. Ann is the author of the Wall Street Journal bestseller ‘Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content. She is the chief content officer of MarketingProfs; a columnist for Entrepreneur magazine; a LinkedIn Influencer; a keynote speaker, a mom, and a writer. In this AQ’s Blog & Grill Q&A, Ann talks with Alan about how we are all writers, and ...
Guy Kawasaki | Why You Don’t Need a Business Plan or Venture Capital
April 04, 2016 19:48 - 10 minutes - 10.5 MBGuy Kawasaki, master of business, marketing and branding, speaks with Alan Quarry on AQ’s Blog & Grill about his new book, The Art of the Start 2.0. Guy explains why entrepreneurs don't need business plans anymore and shouldn’t rely on venture capital. He talks about simplicity, passion and the changing landscape of being an entrepreneur. Guy also shares his opinions of Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Elon Musk, and reveals the things he would like to be remembered for. About Our Guest G...