PORTFOLIO.YVR Business & Entrepreneurs Magazine | Volume 1 | Issue 2 | 2023

BUSI NESS & ENTREPRENEURS V OLUM E 1 | I SSUE 2

PORTFOLI O.YV R

CRA I G PA TTERSON SEA N JORDA N PA UL V A NDERZ EE JA CQUELI NE A DLER SI D K OSHUL M A NUEL BERNA SCHEK M A DELEI NE CLERI DES JESSI CA LI A NG JA SON SA RA I NELSON M EGGI TT BENJA M I N LUM B A LA N CA LI M BA S

BUSI NESS & ENTREPRENEURS V OLUM E 1 | I SSUE 2

PORTFOLI O.YV R

0 0 1 PUBLISHER' S M ESSAGE: HELEN SIWAK 0 0 3 CRAIG PATTERSON : RETAIL IN SIDER 0 13 SEAN JORDAN PAUL VAN DERZEE: SSSI & STRATAPRESS 0 23 JACQUELIN E ADLER SID KOSHUL: SID + JACQUELIN E REAL ESTATE GROUP 0 31 M AN UEL BERN ASCHEK: SHOWCASE PIAN OS STEFAN O RICCI 0 39 M ADELEIN E CLERIDES 0 47 JESSICA LIAN G: N OOK 0 57 JASON SARAI: SARAI BESPOKE STYLE BY SARAI 0 6 5 N ELSON M EGGITT: ZEN M OM EN T 0 75 BEN JAM IN LUM B: BLAH 0 81 ALAN CALIM BAS: VAN CITY 4 SALE 0 9 1 M ASTHEAD & CREDITS

Wha t ma k es a suc c essful ent rep reneur?

Think lea d ership , integ rity, self- motiva tion, crea tivity, risk- ta king , d etermina tion, p ersevera nce, a d a p ta b ility, effective communica tion, networking , a nd a willing ness to exp eriment. It a ll comes b a ck to b eing a b le to sell themselves, their p rod ucts, a nd / or services.

In this issue of PORTFOLIO.YVR Business & Entrep reneurs a re t en st ories of p eop le who, like yourself, g et up in the morning rea d y to a mp it up to 10 a nd the next d a y d o it a ll over a g a in!

O ur lea d fea ture is on Cra ig Pa t t erson, found er a nd C EO of Ret a il Insid er. Wha t sta rted a s a hob b y b log ha s b ecome a resource - rea ching over 2.5M rea d ers a nnua lly - for not only those involved in C a na d ia n reta il b ut a lso for b ra nd s a nd b usinesses looking to exp a nd into C a na d a .

C ra ig sha res with us his journey from la wyer to d ig ita l entrep reneur.

Va ncouver Isla nd is rep resented with two stories of two tota lly d ifferent p rod ucts. Sea n Jord a n a nd Pa ul Va nd er zee a re b uild ing St ra t a Press a nd d isrup ting the stra ta ma na g ement ind ustry. At the sa me time, N elson M eg g it t ha s crea ted a new b evera g e ca teg ory na med 'Wellness- Meets- Luxury? ' tha t p erfectly d escrib es his oa k- cultured Tisa ne komb ucha p rod uct, Zen M oment .

Sid + Ja c q ueline Rea l Est a t e Group p rid es itself on d oing rea l esta te d ifferently. With a focus on home, community, a nd g iving , the found ers a re a mother- son d uo who a re ma king wa ves in the city with their comp a ssiona te a p p roa ch in a very comp etitive ma rket.

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VAN CITY 4 SALE's Ala n Ca limb a s went from rock sta r to rea l esta te a nd a ctively p romotes a nima l rescue a long sid e his p rop erties a nd p od ca st. Bring ing a wa reness to the p lig ht of a b a nd oned d og s a t 'kill shelters' in C a lifornia , this rising sta r is rewriting wha t success mea ns a t home a nd in the hea rt.

From Va ncouver's Luxury Zone comes the story of M a nuel Berna sc hek . From a ccounta nt to the p urveyor of the city's p riciest p ia nos a nd ultra - luxury men's wea r, Ma nuel's story b eg ins with a ja r of p ennies a nd continues to St efa no Ric c i a nd Show c a se Pia nos.

With a n Insta a ccount na med @ILO VENO O K, Jessic a Lia ng is b uild ing more tha n a co- working sp a ce to p lug - in a t. Truly more tha n just four wa lls a nd a d esk, N ook is just the first step in crea ting a g lob a l mentorship community. This story will wa rm your hea rt a s it litera lly 'took a villa g e' to ma ke her d rea m come true!

O ver ten yea rs a g o, wea lth ma na g ement a d visor Ja son Sa ra i, step p ed out of a n office tower a nd into the sa rtoria l world of eleva ted men's wea r. From p ersona l styling to d esig ning the ever- exp a nd ing showroom, hosting swa nky soirees, to jetting off to meet clients where they live, SARAI Besp ok e is moving forwa rd with finesse.

Ta ckling everything from event coord ina tion to socia l med ia ma na g ement, the g reg a rious M a d eleine Clerid es ma y b e b est rememb ered for b ring ing the 'Art of Dra g ' b a ck to the city!

During the p a nd emic, this new entrep reneur tra nsformed a West End p a rking lot into a p erforma nce sp a ce, a nd just like tha t...there wa s something to g et excited a b out in a time of isola tion.

Blink, a nd you ma y miss him! Benja min Lumb is a n a rtist, entrep reneur, a nd visiona ry who not only thinks b ig b ut crea tes on a ma ssive sca le.

Known for his la rg er- tha n- life sculp tures a nd p ersona lity, this crea tive is a lwa ys on the move, never letting the 'tra d itiona l a rt world ' slow him d own. With four b usinesses a nd three d a ug hters, the hustle is rea l.

Plea se enjoy our second issue a nd sha re with those a round you who ha ve chosen entrep reneurship a s their vehicle to success.

Ea ch of these stories is uniq ue a nd insp iring !

CRA I G PA TTERSON: RETA I L I NSI DER Ap a rt from owning a nd running a med ia comp a ny, Cra ig Pa t t erson is a n exp erienced writer, resea rcher, reta il a na lyst, reta il a nd rea l esta te consulta nt, p ub lic sp ea ker, sub ject ma tter exp ert, a nd , more imp orta ntly, the found er, C EO a nd p ub lisher of C a na d a 's lea d ing reta il ind ustry news ma g a zine, Ret a il Insid er.

C ra ig ha s stud ied the C a na d ia n reta il la nd sca p e for over 25 yea rs, hold s a Ba c helor of Commerc e a nd Ba c helor of La w s Deg ree, a nd is a former ma na g er a t Ac c ess Pro Bono Soc iet y in BC.

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He is keenly interested in rea l esta te, shop p ing centres, urb a n p la nning , d emog ra p hy a nd C a na d ia n reta iling , a nd reg ula rly lecture/ sp ea k on rela ted top ics.

C ra ig is a lso a n Ad visor a t the Universit y of Alb er t a Sc hool of Cit ies a nd Communit ies a nd is a Resea rc h a nd Sp ec ia l Projec t s Consult a nt with the Ret a il Counc il of Ca na d a .

Und er his g uid a nce, Reta il Insid er crea tes d a ily exclusive news a rticles a nd reta il insig hts tha t rea ch more tha n 2.5 million rea d ers a nnua lly, most b eing d ecision- ma kers in the comp etitive C a na d ia n reta il ind ustry.

C ra ig ha s b uilt a tea m of exp erienced writers, ed itors a nd exp ert a na lysts from a cross C a na d a who inform on the ind ustry throug h the p la tform's d a ily newsletters, which rea c h over 20 ,0 0 0 uniq ue rea d ers d a ily a nd whose ma iling list includ es senior b usiness lea d ers who control b illions of d olla rs in sp end ing every yea r.

Reta il Insid er ha s two p od ca sts, ' The Int er view Series' hosted b y C ra ig , a nd ' The Week ly' co- hosted with Lee Rivet t (Pub lica tion Sup p ort & O p era tions).

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C r a ig

P a tte r s o n

& Ia n

Rosen,

P r e s id e n t

o f Ha rry

Rosen

The p od ca sts cover the p op ula r a rticles from the week with a d d itiona l reta il insig hts a nd exp ert commenta ry. Sp ecia l ed ition p od ca sts a re a lso record ed for nota b le reta il events a nd a re p a rt of sp onsored content op p ortunities fea turing a cura tion of g uests.

Reta il Insid er is monetized to offer a va riety of sp onsorship s a nd a d ver t ising c ha nnels tha t focus on p a rticula r sections of its a ud ience or p erform a n integ ra ted ca mp a ig n to rea ch a mix of web visitors, d a ily newsletter sub scrib ers, p od ca st listeners a nd socia l med ia followers.

Reta il Insid er is b uild ing its online p resence, a nd a s it g rows, so d oes the d ema nd for C ra ig 's insig hts. In the p a st yea r, he ha s b een a sp ec ia l g uest sp ea k er a t numerous ind ustry events for comp a nies like Sa lesForc e, LVM H, a nd Tiffa ny & Co.

I N HI S WORDS "I d id n't rea lize I wa s a n entrep reneur until a fter I ha d sta rted a b log tha t b eg a n to ma ke some money throug h a d vertising . I ha d a d ua l life - la wyer b y d a y a nd reta il b log g er a t nig ht! Ba ck then, it would b e imp ossib le to know wha t Reta il Insid er would b ecome a s it sta rted a s a hob b y.

"Reta il Insid er now ha s over 25,0 0 0 sub sc rib ers a nd hund red s of t housa nd s of mont hly rea d ers.

"We p ub lish thousa nd s of a rticles yea rly a nd ha ve connected with the likes of Ric ha rd Ba k er (G overnor of HBC ), d esig ners Jea n Pa ul Ga ult ier, Virg il Ab loh a nd others, not to mention well- known ind ivid ua ls in the reta il a nd rela ted ind ustries, includ ing some int erest ing b illiona ires.

"I ha ve a lwa ys ha d a fa sc ina t ion w it h ret a il sinc e c hild hood . I fond ly rememb er my Aunt telling me wha t reta il I should visit in M innea p olis when I p la yed hockey there a t 13. I wa s imp ressed with the d owntown stores, such a s Da yt on' s a nd Sa k s Fift h Avenue, a nd wa s b lown a wa y b y the new M a ll of Americ a when it op ened in 20 0 2. In C a na d a , I b eca me a cq ua inted with Holt Renfrew a nd the reta il in d owntown Ed mont on, which wa s vib ra nt a t the time.

I ha d a lrea d y b een fa milia r with reta il.

After hoc k ey p ra c t ic e or a hoc k ey g a me in the town of Cold La k e, where I g rew up , I'd snea k to the lib ra ry a nd rea d fa shion ma g a zines. It wa s d efinitely not something encoura g ed for a young ma n in sma ll- town Alb erta . I would rea d a b out reta ilers a nd b ra nd s a nd ima g ine d esig ning st ores (which I d id out of Leg o, when I wa sn't d ra wing them). I a lso rememb er b eing a child of a b out five yea rs old visiting my Aunt who worked a t a ma ssive Wood wa rd 's d ep a rtment store in Ed monton - so it rea lly ha s b een a life- long p a ssion!

"Now tha t the world ha s re- op ened , I would love to exp lore new loca tions, includ ing the d ep a rtment stores in Ja p a n a nd Sout h Korea , see the la test on the luxury hig h streets in Europ e, a nd ma yb e even p op into a ma ll in Dub a i to exp erience the b est exp erientia l reta il.

"Interesting ly, d ue to p ub lishing , Reta il Insid er invites for events world wid e b eg a n to a rrive! The most surp rising is the req uest to g o to Afric a to work with a tea m on the revita liza tion of a na tiona l economy. Unfortuna tely, I ha d to p a ss on tha t one - too ma ny ob lig a tions rig ht here in C a na d a .

"Like a ny b usiness vent ure, the roa d ha s b een, a t times, b ump y. Ea rly on, one of my first a d vertisers b eca me a friend , a nd the rela tionship sta rted on the wrong foot a s they p itched something tha t I felt should ha ve b een sp onsored , a nd this p erson p ushed b a ck. Eventua lly, they a g reed it should b e sp onsored , a nd we worked tog ether on it a nd a re still friend s tod a y.

"O ne of my w orst b usiness c a reer ex p erienc es resulted from not thoroug hly vetting a b usiness p a rtner.

"Ab out a d eca d e a g o, I wa s a p p roa ched b y someone who wa nted to p rovid e ed itoria l content for my b log , a nd we eventua lly a g reed to crea te a rela ted p ub lica tion.

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"At the time, I wa s not a wa re tha t this p erson ha d b een d ia g nosed with a severe menta l hea lth d isord er a nd ha d chosen not to a ccep t med ica l trea tment. As time went on, the sit ua t ion b ec a me ver y frig ht ening to the p oint where my b usiness a nd p erson were b eing threa tened .

"A simp le court record check would ha ve b een enoug h to st op t he w hole t ra inw rec k tha t sp illed into a ll a sp ects of my life, b ut when you a re sta rting out, everyone seems trustworthy.

"The entire exp erience ta ug ht me to scrutinize who I a ssocia te with a nd the imp orta nce of p rotecting my b usiness.

Believe me when I sa y I ha ve the Cour t Ser vic es Online link in my b ookma rks! " My entrep reneuria l journey rea lly b eg a n when I worked p a rt- time a t the University of Alb erta a nd on va rious consulting p rojects in Ca na d a a nd t he Unit ed St a t es to ma ke end s meet while I wa s in the ea rly d a ys of d evelop ing Reta il Insid er.

"It wa s slow a nd stea d y a s I g rew the p ub lica tion's rea d ership a nd a d vertisers. We've continued to g row a s I've a d d ed some va lua b le emp loyees who ha ve help ed a lso g row the b usiness.

"When the d a ily visit s to Reta il Insid er hit 10 ,0 0 0 , I knew I wa s onto something .

Reta il- Insid er wa s b ecoming a g o- to for not only reta ilers b ut for b rokers, la nd lord s, d esig ners, b uild ers, a nd a lmost a nyone d oing b usiness with the C a na d ia n reta il ind ustry.

"This wa s evid enced b y the b ud d ing rela tionship s tha t I ha d with M a r t in M oria r t y of Ma rcus & Millicha p (formerly C BRE), Ja y Freed ma n of O b erfeld Snowca p , Jeff Berk ow it z of Aurora Rea lty C onsulta nts, Arlin M a rk ow it z of C BRE, a nd numerous other b ig p la yers.

"My first sp ea k ing eng a g ement a fter sta rting Reta il Insid er wa s in 20 13, a nd it wa s my t ea c hing c la sses a t the University of Alb erta .

C r a ig

P a tte r s o n

a t N ic o la s

M e n 's

Wear

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C r a ig

P a tte r s o n

& T im

Brow n ,

Fo un der

A llb ir d s

"I ha d b een invited a fter they lea rned who wa s b ehind Reta il Insid er ? a t the time, the University ha d a reta il- focused school.

"I wa s so terrified , I ha d to sit on a ta b le a t the front of the room to lecture. I've since b ecome very comforta b le sp ea king to g roup s a nd ha ve sp oken a t va rious conferences (ICSC, Ret a il Counc il of Ca na d a ' s STORE Conferenc e, eTa il Ca na d a Conferenc e, DX3, a nd ma ny others).

"I've a lso sp oken to sma ller g roup s, includ ing a ssocia tions a nd p riva te comp a nies, with na mes such a s LVM H, Tiffa ny & Co., Ca d illa c Fa ir view , a nd t he Ca na d ia n Jew ellers Assoc ia t ion.

"Nowa d a ys, I love sp ea king to g roup s la rg e a nd sma ll, a nd I p la n to exp a nd on this a nd turn it into a d d itiona l op p ortunities for g rowth.

"When we sta rted the Ret a il Insid er p od c a st , we a imed to rea ch other p a ssiona te reta il enthusia sts. I a m find ing tha t we a re connecting with a va riety of listeners, from d ec ision- ma k ers t o t he c a sua l ob ser ver. So fa r, we ha ve comp leted over 215 p od c a st s a nd in 20 24, we ha ve p la ns for even more.

"O ne of my fa vourite p od ca sts wa s a vid eo interview with M a rk Cohen, Professor a t C olumb ia University a nd former hea d of Sea rs Ca na d a . He tore N ord st rom's b usiness mod el a p a rt a nd sa id he wa sn't surp rised it fa iled in C a na d a , sa ying tha t the Hud son' s Ba y Comp a ny ha d no future a nd tha t most interna tiona l reta ilers entering C a na d a would fa il.

"It wa s so ed uc a t iona l a nd honest (not to mention infla mma tory) tha t I ha d him on for a second time to d iscuss wha t ma kes a g rea t d ep a rtment store!

"As Reta il Insid er g rew, I b eg a n to enjoy the freed om of b eing the b oss while a lso ha ving to lea rn how to keep on tra ck b eca use I wa s the b oss for the first time.

"As my b usiness g rew, I met more interesting p eop le, d evelop ed more connections, a nd d evelop ed something of a " g la morous" life, a t lea st on socia l med ia , where I've b een a b le to a ttend exciting events a nd g o to interesting p la ces.

"I'll a d mit I neg lected roma ntic rela tionship s while I b uilt the b usiness, which wa s a p ersona l choice more tha n a nything else.

"Pre- p a nd emic , my b usiness wa s much sma ller, thoug h I wa s not strug g ling . The p a nd emic a ctua lly resulted in a b oost for Reta il Insid er, g iven tha t it wa s a lrea d y a d ig ita l b usiness.

"We were a b le to p ick up some hig h- p a ying a d vertisers tha t otherwise would ha ve g iven money to in- p erson events, a nd tod a y, we continue to d evelop rela tionship s with new a d vertisers. O ur p ricing is hig her, g iven p rec ed ent a nd d ema nd .

"I a d mit tha t there ha sn't b een a p ivota l moment when I knew Reta il Insid er would work out, b ut I've ha d fa ith in the p rocess a nd tha t success ca n b e ha d .

"Being a n entrep reneur is a lea p of fa it h in ma ny resp ects, a nd ha ving confid ence in yourself a nd the world is essentia l for motiva tion a nd the will to keep g oing .

"To fa cilita te a d vertising a nd g rowth ? I hired t w o a d ver t ising ma na g ers a nd t w o Ed it ors- in- Chief' s ? one for Reta il- Insid er.com (la unched 20 12), the new Reta il Insid er Ma g a zine (20 23) a nd the new vid eo p od ca st cha nnel.

"C a na d ia n reta il is a $80 0 million a nnua l b usiness tha t a ttra cts g lob a l p la yers. We a re not a sma ll fish in a b ig p ond. The a mount of interna tiona l money flowing into the ca sh reg isters a cross the country is sta g g ering , a nd every one of those d olla rs a ffects the communities it is sp ent in."

"For our a d vertising clients, Reta il Insid er is rea ching over 50 0 ,0 0 0 p eop le monthly, a nd the entities tha t work with us includ e b rokera g es, la nd lord s, reta il tena nts, d esig n firms, construction comp a nies, security firms, tech comp a nies, a nd p retty much a ny comp a ny tha t is involved with the C a na d ia n reta il ind ustry.

"O ver the yea rs, I ha ve kep t our b usiness mod el simp le, b ut with g rowth a lwa ys comes comp lica tions. The tea m a nd I a re rea d y to meet a ny new cha lleng es tha t we a re p resented with.

"We ha ve a news p ub lica tion fund ed b y a d vertisers, a ma g a zine fund ed throug h a d vertisers, a nd p od ca sts, a nd now we're look ing for in- p erson event s w it h sp onsorship for 20 24.

"Along this journey, so ma ny key p eop le ha ve b elieved in wha t I wa s b uild ing .

Some a re long g one, b ut others, like Lee Rivet t , who still works with Reta il Insid er tod a y. Lee wa s instrumenta l in sup p orting the b usiness a nd myself d uring its g rowth a nd I a m g ra teful for his encoura g ement of me to b e hea lthier, more confid ent, a nd p resent.

"To g row, Reta il Insid er need s more fund ing a nd new id ea s for revenue st rea ms to p rop el thing s forwa rd . My g oa l is to d evelop our vid eo cha nnel into something more comp elling , a nd I'd like to exp a nd my tea m to b eg in stra teg izing a nd crea ting mea ning ful in- p erson events.

"Dust in Fuhs help ed d evelop the news p ub lica tion to something much b ig g er tha n when I wa s running it myself, a nd he continues to ha nd le ed itoria l d ecisions.

"By the end of 20 24, I see Reta il Insid er a s a p rofita b le b usiness with a solid ed itoria l news p ub lica tion, ma g a zine, p od ca st/ vid eo cha nnel a nd in- p erson events.

"Sea n Ta rr y d evelop ed a nd p rod uced our ma g a zine p ub lica tion, which is b ea utiful a nd eng a g ing .

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"I would n't feel comforta b le lea ving out two collea g ues a nd long - time friend s Helen Siw a k , who ha s b een a fa shion a nd reta il insp ira tion, a nd Rit c hie Po, who encoura g ed me to sta rt a b log b eca use I would n't shut up ta lking a b out reta il!

"Key tea m memb ers includ e Da rr yl Julot t a nd Tyler M erc er from our a d vertising tea m, Geet a nja li Sha rma for ha nd ling socia l med ia a nd our p a ra llel SEO b usiness, a nd our tea m of journa lists, includ ing Senior Ed itor M a rio Toneg uzzi, a nd b a ck- end sup p ort.

"While exp a nd ing revenue is p a rt of the g oa l, we strive to b e t he b est Ca na d ia n ret a il ind ust r y new s p ub lic a t ion p ossib le. Tha t sa id , I a m in ta lks to co- found a n e- commerce- rela ted p ub lica tion, b ut I'm b eing ca reful a b out a b ig g er ex p a nsion, p otentia lly into the US, if the op p ortunity p resents itself."

C R A IG

PAT T E R S O N

R E T A IL

IN S ID E R

C r a ig

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a t th e

la u n c h

o f IN L A N D

M a r k e tp la c e

SEA N JORDA N & PA UL V A NDERZ EE: STRA TA PRESS Simp le St ra t a Solut ions Inc. & St ra t a p ress found ers Sea n Jord a n a nd Pa ul Va nd er zee a re d isrup ting the stra ta ma na g ement ind ustry with a comp rehensive solution tha t every BC stra ta owner ca n use.

Stra ta owners ca n own their stra ta corp ora tion d a ta a nd help ma inta in the va lue of their stra ta p rop erty b y ha ving a ll a sp ects of their stra ta in comp lia nce with the BC St ra t a Prop er t y Ac t , reg a rd less of whether they a re p rofessiona lly ma na g ed or self- ma na g ed .

In 20 24, this p owerful p la tform will la unch a n AI c ha t b ot a ssist a nt for stra ta ma na g ement.

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This innova tive tool is p oised to tra nsform stra ta ma na g ement in BC b y strea mlining communica tion, a nswering common inq uiries, a nd enha ncing efficiency.

With its na tura l la ng ua g e p rocessing ca p a b ilities, the AI- p owered stra ta a ssista nt ca n ha nd le a hig h volume of inq uiries a nd continuously imp rove its resp onses throug h lea rning from p a st intera ctions. This g round b rea king technolog y will und oub ted ly ma ke stra ta ma na g ement more a ccessib le a nd efficient for b oth stra ta owners a nd ma na g ers.

With the current p la tform continuing to a d d new fea tures a nd the la unch of the AI cha tb ot, b y the end of 20 24, the d uo exp ects to rep resent over 2,0 0 0 st ra t a p rop erties a nd with a b a se of Stra ta O wners g row ing t o 50 ,0 0 0 or more.

"Moving forwa rd , it will ta ke a nother $50 K - $10 0 K of invest ment a long with la nd ing three a d d itiona l p rop erty ma na g ement comp a nies (20 0 - 30 0 p rop erties/ ea ch), then we should b e in g rea t sha p e to g enera te enoug h revenue to hire a few more memb ers of the tea m," exp la ins Sea n.

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CO-FOUNDERS Sea n Jord a n is a n a wa rd - winning entrep reneur with over two d eca d es of exp erience in b usiness d evelop ment, p rod uction, a nd ma rketing . He ha s focused most of his ca reer on web - centric sta rtup s a nd rea l esta te.

Sea n's d evelop ment tea ms ha ve p rod uced a wa rd - winning multimed ia p rojects a nd ma rketing ca mp a ig ns for over 30 0 comp a nies in 30 countries. With a p rima ry focus on p roject d evelop ment a nd ma na g ement, Sea n b ring s a wea lth of crea tivity a nd stra teg y to every end ea vour he und erta kes.

Pa ul Va nd er zee is a p rog ra mming sp ecia list, hig hly exp erienced in d evelop ing innova tive, la rg e- sca le online a p p lica tions a nd networks. Prima ry ind ustries includ e rea l esta te a nd Sa a S. Pa ul ha s p rovid ed p rog ra mming a nd d esig n exp ertise for p rojects d evelop ed b y RE/ M AX, Rea l Est a t e Web ma st ers, Simp le St ra t a Solut ions, Inc., a nd M a rb le Fina nc ia l.

ORI GI N STORY Sea n a nd Pa ul co- found ed SSSI a nd Stra ta p ress. At the time, Sea n ha d b een Presid ent of t hree d ifferent st ra t a c ounc ils for over 15 yea rs.

With a b a ckg round in d evelop ing web sites, he und erstood tha t a d ed ica ted stra ta web site could q uickly p rovid e a ccess to informa tion a nd d ocuments a nd g ive tra nsp a rent communica tion op tions b etween stra ta owners, council a nd ma na g ement, a nd tha t is wha t he b uilt for ea ch stra ta .

The web site worked so well tha t Sea n rema ined stra ta council p resid ent for a p rop erty in Vic t oria even a s he wa s living in La s Veg a s. The web site's efficiency wa s evid ent a s he wa s a b le to effectively serve a s the st ra t a c ounc il p resid ent for a p rop erty in Victoria d esp ite living in a nother country.

The ma jority of SSSI op era tions were ma na g ed online throug h the d ed ica ted stra ta web site.

"We d id everything online with the stra ta web site a nd it worked so well tha t I could b uild a multi- site network of stra ta web sites a nd sig n up 50 0 to 1,0 0 0 of the 33,0 0 0 stra ta corp ora tions in BC a nd ha ve them p a y a n a nnua l sub scrip tion of a round $40 0 p er yea r. Tha t's a tid y little b usiness with few emp loyees a nd little overhea d req uired . This is the b usiness I set out to crea te when I returned to C a na d a ," sha res Sea n.

"While d evelop ing the p la tform, I looked for a loca l PHP p rog ra mmer using C ra ig slist. The only resp onses I received were from p eop le oversea s willing to d o the work or p eop le who need ed to b e q ua lified , a nd I rejected a ll of those offers."

"Pa ul Va nd erzee resp ond ed to my C ra ig slist a d a nd we sp ent three hours in a p ub a nd he ha s b een on b oa rd ever since." They b uilt the first version of Stra ta Press in 20 15.

At the b eg inning , Sea n set out to g et stra ta corp ora tions a round BC sig ned up , thinking it would b e a n ea sy, b ut it wa s not.

He sa ys, "You ca n't p ick up the p hone a nd ca ll a stra ta corp ora tion, a nd p rop erty ma na g ement comp a nies, the g a tekeep ers to the d ecision- ma kers, were hesita nt to incur a d d itiona l exp enses for their clients, so they shut the d oor."

To a d d ress this, they refined the a p p roa ch. SSSI wa s re- tooled to offer a comp rehensive d ua l solution ta ilored for p rop erty ma na g ement comp a nies.

An a utoma tion fea ture for d ocument req uests coup led with a n intuitive d ocument ma na g ement system, strea mlined the d ocument d istrib ution p rocess to stra ta owners.

The revenue would b e g enera ted b y cha rg ing a sma ll a d ministra tion fee for Rea lt ors, La w yers a nd N ot a ries to p urcha se d ocuments online. They received immed ia te a ccess to d ocuments, usua lly ta king up to 7 d a ys to receive.

017

This refining p roved to b e the win- win scena rio the ma rket soug ht. Prop erty Ma na g ers ca n now d istrib ute a nd sell stra ta d ocuments with zero cost a nd zero loss of revenue; Rea ltors, La wyers a nd Nota ries ca n a ccess d ocuments a nytime a nd d ownloa d them immed ia tely a fter p urcha se.

Stra ta O wners ca n a ccess stra ta d ocuments a nd communica te with their council a nd ma na g ement tea m.

Since la unching , Stra ta Press.com ha s p rocessed over 30 ,0 0 0 d ocument req uests from over 1,50 0 Stra ta C orp ora tions. The Stra ta O wners Porta l currently p rovid es over 25,0 0 0 0 reg istered Stra ta O wners in BC ea sy a ccess to their own stra ta d ocuments online.

In 20 23, SSSI received a CAD $5 M illion va lua t ion from Kiw iTec h' s Invest ment Commit t ee, which wa s sig nifica nt.

KiwiTech is a g rowing ecosystem of entrep reneurs, investors, mentors, a ccelera tors, incub a tors, a nd corp ora tions hea d q ua rtered in New York. They help ea rly a nd g rowth- sta g e sta rtup s b uild via b le p rod ucts, d rive tra ction, ra ise ca p ita l, a nd sca le their b usinesses. KiwiTech is home to 30 0 0 + invest ors a nd 50 0 + p or t folio c omp a nies a c ross 15+ ind ust ries und erg oing d isrup tion.

Simp le Stra ta Solutions, Inc. ma inta ins a n A+ ra t ing a nd a c c red it a t ion with the Bet t er Business Burea u in BC a nd is a n a ctive memb er of the C ond o Homeowners Associa tion of BC (CHOA) a nd the Va ncouver Isla nd Stra ta O wners Associa tion (VISOA). Furthermore, the comp a ny p roud ly sup p orts the Victoria Innova tion, Ad va nced Technolog y, a nd Entrep reneurship C ouncil (VIATEC), contrib uting to the g rowth a nd success of the tech sector in the G rea ter Victoria reg ion.

In 20 23, Stra ta Press wa s a fina list for the ' St a r t up of The Yea r' a wa rd p resented b y the Victoria Innova tion, Ad va nced Technolog y, a nd Entrep reneurship C ouncil (VIATEC ).

M EET SEA N "Like every 10 - yea r- old , I wa s b roke a nd trying to g et b y on a $0 .50 weekly a llowa nce. So, a s a p a p er b oy hustling for b ig tip s a nd selling sub scrip tions, I b oug ht my first b ike a nd ca r a nd p a id for a rt colleg e. Along the wa y, I mowed la wns, b a b ysa t, wa shed trucks for BC Hyd ro a nd refereed youth soccer g a mes.

"We could b uy 10 SMS cred its for a p enny a nd resell them for $0 .10 - $0 .25 cents ea ch throug h a n online b ulk SMS p la tform he b uilt. We ha d a ccess to 6 0 0 mob ile ca rriers world wid e, a nd our text messa g es could b e d elivered to a b out 1 b illion mob ile d evices.

Rememb er, this wa s p re- Tw it t er or other text a p p s.

"A b ug for p hotog ra p hy sta rted a t 14 yea rs old , a nd in the junior hig h school d a rkroom, I lea rned B&W film d evelop ment a nd p rinting .

"I b roug ht the b ulk SMS p la tform to Ca na d a a nd la unched it throug hout N or t h Americ a . I sa w sig nifica nt sa les come rolling in a lmost immed ia tely, like $5K - $15K p er d a y.

"Tha t following summer, my uncle - one of Toronto's most p rominent na mes in commercia l p hotog ra p hy - hired me to help b uild a new stud io. It wa s a summer of intense lea rning a nd led to my first rea l b usiness ' Pha t Ca t Phot og ra p hix ' when I wa s a b out 19 yea rs old , which led to selling concert p hotos to Sony M usic , Universa l M usic , a nd N et t w erk Rec ord s.

"A d ea l with a loca l rock sta tion kep t me in b a cksta g e p a sses for shows in Victoria , BC , a nd over two yea rs, I shot over 9 0 concerts. Some of these p hotos were includ ed in a cha rity ca lend a r tha t sold over 10 ,0 0 0 cop ies.

019

"We a ll ha ve those moments in our entrep reneuria l journey where we veer off- tra ck with a n op p ortunity tha t a p p ea rs to b e solid g old .

"For me, it wa s in the ea rly 20 0 0 s. I ha d a n entrep reneuria l friend in M elb ourne who ha d found success selling b ulk SMS cred its throug h a n online text messa g ing p la tform he crea ted .

"I thoug ht I wa s less tha n three months a wa y from my first million in revenue. I sent tens of thousa nd s of d olla rs to Aust ra lia every few d a ys to b uy more SMS cred its. (You must own more cred its tha n you sell or b e hea vily p ena lized , so it wa s essentia l to keep up ). Long story short, b etween cred it ca rd comp a nies, interna tiona l b a nk tra nsfers, a nd the RC MP, the whole b usiness turned out to b e fra ud ulent, a nd I lost over CAD $10 0 ,0 0 0 on tha t venture.

"A move to the Sunshine Coa st a llowed me to invest in a nd ma na g e va ca tion p rop erty on the west coa st of Va ncouver Isla nd .

"I joined a resort ma na g ement sta rtup , b oug ht a coup le of ocea nfront ca b ins from a fa iling resort in Uc luelet a nd , using some crea tive fina ncing , la unched a reb ra nd tha t ha d a ll of the stra ta owners on b oa rd ."

"I took ca re of ma rketing , a nd my b usiness p a rtner then took ca re of the d a y- to- d a y b usiness of running the resort.

We went from zero to $6 0 0 ,0 0 0 in b ooking in the first ten months, a nd four yea rs la ter, I sold my interest a nd moved to Victoria .

"There wa s so much op p ortunity in new med ia technolog y tha t I consta ntly moved b etween comp a nies a nd ind ustries. From freela nce p hotog ra p hy (19 9 0 - 19 96 ) to St ra t ford Int ernet Tec hnolog ies (g rew the comp a ny to 10 0 emp loyees a nd over $10 M in 3.5 yea rs), a nd N oise M ed ia (secured $1M in fund ing ).

"These overla p p ed va rious SMS/ text- rela ted b usinesses, a nd la unched Avoc a d o Ca na d a Prod uc t ions in 20 0 0 tha t focused on ma rketing a nd a d vertising for the rea l esta te ind ustry.

"20 0 9 sp a wned Dig it a l Conc ierg e (d ig ita l screen in coffee shop s a nd hotel lob b ies on Va ncouver Isla nd ), a nd Ord er Tec hnolog ies (Pizza M onst ers, LoveClient s/ Ta w k .t o), a nd this led me to Simp le Stra ta Solutions Inc a nd rea lizing Stra ta Press.com nine yea rs a g o."

M EET PA UL "I g ot my first comp uter when I wa s 15 yea rs old . All I could d o wa s either p la y g a mes or lea rn how to p rog ra m. The comp uter g roup I b elong ed to ha d these ma g a zines, a nd insid e them were a rticles with sma ll g a mes with the p rog ra mming cod e, which I would ha ve to typ e out a nd then p la y. I ta ug ht myself how to p rog ra m b y cha ng ing the cod e a nd seeing its effects on the g a me.

021

"O ver the next 20 + yea rs, I ta ug ht myself a lot of d ifferent p rog ra mming la ng ua g es, ob ta ined a d eg ree in comp uter ma intena nce a nd sup p ort, a nd worked a t some g rea t job s.

"O ne d a y, the loca l Re/ M a x office hired me for p a rt- time comp uter sup p ort for their rea ltors. With my p rog ra mming skills, I help ed the other comp uter tech who wa s strug g ling with the rea ltor web site cod e d esig n a nd d evelop much more comp lica ted a nd sop histica ted sites.

"Ab out three yea rs la ter, I wa s a p p roa ched to look a t a new b usiness tha t need ed help with its new online p la tform, a nd a fter a two- hour meeting , they offered me a p osition to reb uild the p la tform, a nd 13 yea rs la ter, the p la tform is still running !

"Ma ny yea rs la ter, I sa w a n a d in the p a p er tha t Sea n ha d p la ced for b uild ing a p la tform for St ra t a Doc ument M a na g ement . It wa s a g rea t id ea b eca use I ha d recently b oug ht a townhouse, which is a Stra ta , so I ha d some und ersta nd ing of it a ll. We met for coffee, a nd three hours la ter, I left with a new b usiness p a rtner."

S T R A T A P R E S S .C O M

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SI D + JA CQUELI NE REA L ESTA TE GROUP The Sid + Ja c q ueline Rea l Est a t e Group is a Va ncouver- b a sed tea m of a wa rd - winning rea l esta te a g ents serving d owntown Va nc ouver, N or t h Va nc ouver, West Va nc ouver, a nd ot her a rea s t hroug hout Grea t er Va nc ouver.

Found ed b y the mother- son d uo of Ja c q ueline Ad ler a nd Sid Koshul, this rea l esta te g roup is so much more tha n b uying a nd selling homes a nd p rop erties.

A nota b le sa le for them this yea r wa s rep resenting the p urcha ser of a Pent house a t the Fa irmont Pa c ific Rim with a sa le p rice of $19 ,30 0 ,0 0 0 .

When not working on b eha lf of their clients, the tea m ca n b e found a t ma ny fund ra ising initia tives a nd g a la s a round the city (Dr. Pet er Aid s Found a t ion, Ba llet BC, Va nc ouver Symp hony Orc hest ra ) a nd sp onsoring va rious events in Arts & C ulture, includ ing 'Ar t Ra p t ure' a nd 'An Evening in Da ma sc us' b enefiting the Ra inb ow Refug ee org a niza tion.

025

M EET JA CQUELI NE Ja cq ueline is a n a wa rd - winning rea l esta te a g ent, Cer t ified Lux ur y Home M a rk et ing Sp ec ia list , a nd Guild M emb er of the Inst it ut e for Lux ur y Home M a rk et ing , serving the Va nc ouver, N or t h Va nc ouver, a nd West Va nc ouver ma rkets.

Her b rokera g e a lso chose her a s the recip ient of the Oa k w ynit e of t he Yea r Aw a rd , g iven to the a g ent who b est rep resents the core va lues of O a kwyn Rea lty, which includ e p utting p eop le first, crea ting a community, a nd lea d ing b y exa mp le.

She is p a ssiona te a b out rea l esta te a nd enjoys g uid ing her clients throug h the b uying a nd selling p rocess. C lients reg ula rly d escrib e Ja cq ueline's a p p roa ch a nd d emea nour a s ca ring , ca lm, a nd p rofessiona l while ensuring tha t her clients a re informed a nd sup p orted .

Ja cq ueline lives veg a n a nd sup p orts va rious a nima l ca uses, includ ing Pa w s for Hop e Anima l Found a t ion, SAIN TS, M erc y for Anima ls, Anima l Just ic e, a nd Huma ne Soc iet y Int erna t iona l. She a lso sp onsors a n a nnua l a wa rd honouring her mother's memory, the Sha ron Koshul M emoria l Prize in Anima l La w , throug h UBC' s Sc hool of La w . Ja cq ueline ha s a lso comp leted the Allia nc e Cer t ified Ally Curric ulum Prog ra m offered throug h the LGBTQ+ Rea l Est a t e Allia nc e.

Ja cq ueline is a M a st er M ed a llion Club M emb er (ha ving b een ra nked in the Top 10 % of Rea lt ors® in G rea ter Va ncouver for the la st five yea rs) a nd a recip ient of the M a st ers Level & Top Prod uc er Sa les Aw a rd s from Oa k w yn Rea lt y. She is includ ed in Prop er t y Sp a rk 's list of the 'Top 10 0 Brit ish Columb ia Rea l Est a t e Ag ent s on Soc ia l M ed ia .'

O utsid e of her role a s a rea l esta te a g ent, Ja cq ueline is fond of wa lking the sea wa ll with her two d og s, Od ele a nd Ost en, tra velling with her son, Sid , a nd hiking the N or t h Shore tra ils.

M EET SI D As a former Rea l Est a t e La w yer, Sid und ersta nd s the imp orta nce of p rotecting his clients' b est interests, keep ing them fully informed , a nd a d voca ting strong ly on their b eha lf.

After ob ta ining his La w d eg ree, Sid a rticled in West Va nc ouver's Amb lesid e Villa g e b efore working a t va rious la w firms in Va ncouver's Fina nc ia l Dist ric t a nd Ga st ow n neig hb ourhood s, where he d evelop ed a successful p ra ctice focused on resid entia l rea l esta te a nd conveya ncing ma tters.

Throug hout his time a s a 'g o- to' Rea l Esta te La wyer tha t ma ny of BC 's top Rea ltors a nd Mortg a g e Broker's relied on for a d vice a nd who trusted Sid to ensure their clients were ta ken ca re of, Sid ha nd led hund red s of closing s of b oth resid ent ia l p urc ha ses a nd sa les ea ch yea r.

This exp erience ha s a llowed Sid to b ring a uniq ue p ersp ective to his role a s a Rea l Esta te Ag ent, a long with p rofessiona lism, hig h a ttention to d eta il, excep tiona l communica tion, d isp ute resolution, a nd org a niza tiona l skills.

027

Sid 's love of rea l esta te stems from yea rs of working closely with his mother, Ja cq ueline, on renova tions, sta g ing , a nd d esig ning their own homes a nd severa l investment p rop erties.

G iving b a ck a nd b eing involved in his community is very imp orta nt to Sid , which motiva tes him a nd a llows him to b uild strong connections with p eop le from a ll wa lks of life.

O ne of the most rewa rd ing exp eriences tha t Sid ha s b een involved in is his work lea d ing a 'Circ le of Hop e' in sup p ort of Ra inb ow Refug ee, which ra ised over $30 ,0 0 0 to sup p ort b ring ing a refug ee, orig ina lly from Ira n a nd a memb er of the LGBTQ+ c ommunit y, to Va ncouver.

Sid is a lso a memb er of the Dr. Pet er AIDS Found a t ion' s Prid e Kic k off Commit t ee, which is resp onsib le for throwing a hig hly successful a nnua l fund ra iser in sup p ort of the Dr. Pet er Cent re a nd a Commit t ee M emb er for Ba llet BC' s M oment um Ga la .

While p ra cticing la w in Ga st ow n, Sid ha d the op p ortunity to serve a s a Boa rd M emb er for the Ga st ow n Business Imp rovement Soc iet y (BIA), where he wa s involved in ma king d ecisions to p romote the interests of loca l b usinesses within the neig hb ourhood .

Sid ha s a lso received numerous a wa rd s, includ ing a 20 22 M ed a llion Club M emb er Aw a rd for t he Top 10 % of Rea lt ors, Oa k w yn' s Sa les Ex c ellenc e Aw a rd 20 22 a nd Sa les Ac hievement Aw a rd 20 21.

If you ha ve met Sid , you will know how he lig hts up whenever he sees a d og , so d o not b e surp rised if you find him p etting a nd ta king selfies with d og s he meets on the streets.

029

029

JA CQUELI NE SHA RES "I b eg a n to tra in a nd exhib it Ara b ia n horses p rofessiona lly a t a n ea rly a g e, a llowing me to ca re for my horses a nd other a nima ls.

"Being a c omp et it ive eq uest ria n ta ug ht me to b e a self- sta rter, tha t work ethic a nd effort a re their own rewa rd s - the imp orta nce of d oing the work well even when no one is wa tching , the a b ility to w ork ind ep end ent ly a nd c olla b ora t ively when need ed a nd to ha ve p a tience. All those skills continue to serve me well, b ut it a lso help s tha t I a m d oing something I love to d o.

"I ha ve a lwa ys a p p recia ted d esig n a nd a rc hit ec t ure a nd sta rted recrea ting my own sp a ces, which eventua lly led to renova ting a nd re- selling homes a nd d esig ning a nd ha ving homes b uilt while working in ma rketing a nd communica tions.

"Any success we ha ve ha d or will ha ve is tied d irectly to the results we ca n d eliver for our clients a nd their trust in us, so tha t keep s us focused on imp roving a nd lea rning .

"The first severa l yea rs of b eing a solo a g ent req uired ver y long hours a nd d ed ic a t ion to the p oint where it wa s a lmost the sing ula r focus of my life. Thing s cha ng ed when I hired a n a ssista nt, a nd then they rea lly cha ng ed when my son Sid , who wa s a Rea l Esta te La wyer a t the time, left his la w ca reer to b ecome a Rea ltor. The p ivota l moment, however, wa s when we d ecid ed to form a tea m a nd la unched the Sid & Ja c q ueline Rea l Est a t e Group , just a fter ha ving the g ood fortune to b e involved in a record - b rea king sa le - the hig hest- p riced cond o sa le in Va ncouver in a lmost a d eca d e.

"It wa s my son Sid who p ointed out tha t b eing a Rea l Esta te Ag ent p resented the p erfect op p ortunity for me to comb ine my skills a nd p a ssion. It a lso ig nit ed my c omp et it ive na t ure (I comp ete with myself), so ea rly on, I d ecid ed to set g oa ls tha t seemed unob ta ina b le then b ut tha t I ha ve since lea rned were within g ra sp.

"The b usiness ha s g rown a nd is exp a nd ing ea ch yea r, which would n't b e p ossib le without the sup p ort of our tea m's Ad ministra tive Lea d , Kylen Fox, my son a nd p a rtner Sid who ta kes the lea d in ma rketing a nd socia l med ia , a nd our wond erful b rokera g e, Oa k w yn Rea lt y.

"Referra ls a nd rep ea t b usiness ca me ea rly for me d ue to clients a p p recia ting my service level. Beca use of their sup p ort, I a chieved Med a llion C lub memb ership in my first full yea r (my first g oa l) a nd ha ve a chieved it every yea r since.

"Tog ether we a re strong a nd p a ssiona te a b out rea l esta te a nd enjoy g uid ing our clients throug h the b uying a nd selling p rocess. We a re c lient - foc used , a nd every tra nsa ction ma tters to us b eca use it is imp orta nt to our clients."

S ID + J A C Q U E L IN E REAL E S TAT E GROUP

031

M A NUEL BERNA SCHEK : SHOWCA SE PI A NOS & STEFA NO RI CCI Ha ving the coura g e to b uild the b est life for your fa mily is something tha t M a nuel Berna sc hek ha s exp erience in.

From humb le b eg inning s, he ha s b een willing to d o wha t it took to crea te a rewa rd ing a nd p urp oseful life for his fa mily (wife Jud y a nd d a ug hter Aria ).

Throug h ha rd work a nd p ersevera nce, he b uilt himself up from a sa les a ssocia te in a music store to the well- tra velled p urveyor of some of the most d esired b ra nd s in the world .

At the music store, his entrep reneuria l instinct wa s p iq ued when customers seeking p ia nos a sked a b out the It a lia n- ma d e Fa zioli.

After securing a n investor to b ring the b ra nd to Va ncouver, Berna schek tra velled to Ita ly to meet with the comp a ny's found er, Pa olo Fa zioli, where his tena city p a id off a nd a d ea l wa s struck.

He la unched Show c a se Pia nos with his wife Jud y, a nd they sold their first Fa zioli within the month.

033

Not tha t sa les ca me ea sily, thoug h; it took ha rd work a nd d ilig ence. Fa st forwa rd to tod a y, with West b a nk a s a most d esired client with a keen interest in Fa zioli, Showca se Pia nos is recog nized a s one of t he t op - selling Fa zioli d ea lers in t he w orld , which a lso sells its fa ir sha re of excellent Europ ea n b ra nd s like Seiler, Grot ria n, a nd C. Bec hst ein.

Some yea rs a g o, d uring a trip to Ita ly to visit the Fa zioli fa ctory, Ma nuel ha p p ened a cross a hotel wind ow d isp la y showca sing neckties ma d e b y St efa no Ric c i.

He ma d e it a p oint to rep ea ted ly return to Stefa no Ricci store ea ch time he wa s in Ita ly to d iscuss the comp a ny a nd their p ricey ties (40 0 euros).

Eventua lly, he d ecid ed to seek out the Ricci fa mily out to b ring the ultra - luxury b ra nd to its orig ina l a nd current loca tion in d owntown Va nc ouver' s Lux ur y Zone on West G eorg ia Street, a cross from the top - ra ted Sha ng ri- La Hot el a nd next to the (now) Pa ra d ox Hot el.

G etting the Ricci's a p p rova l took time a s the fa mily ma d e him work for the op p ortunity to fra nchise their eclusive b ra nd to the city.

Eventua lly, they offered him the rig ht to op en a store if he a g reed to c a rr y t he ent ire line.

This mea nt not just ties, b ut fra g ra nces, a ccessories (such a s lea ther g ood s a nd cuff links) a nd home g ood s such a s p orcela in a nd crysta l d inner services, silverwa re a nd luxury linens with every item in the store is ma d e b y ha nd in Ita ly, using the hig hest q ua lity of ma teria ls, a nd then ship p ed to C a na d a .

After a ha nd sha ke d ea l with a n investment p a rtner went a wry, Berna schek op ened his ea g le hea d - a d orned storefront with his new p a rtners, the Ricci's themselves.

O p ening Stefa no Ricci wa s the second stra teg ic b usiness move b y Berna schek in the luxury ma rket.

When a sked a b out the rea soning b ehind ta king such a sig nifica nt risk on ta king on the resp onsib ility of a sec ond lux ur y b ra nd , Berna schek reflected .

"I thoug ht it would help to ha ve a nother eq ua lly exclusive a nd luxurious b ra nd b ut a t a lower p rice tha n a $150 ,0 0 0 p ia no.

The Stefa no Ricci b ra nd is very exclusive a nd ultra - hig h q ua lity. I see a g rea t a mount of crossover b etween the two b usinesses."

"Peop le d on't mind p a ying a hig her p rice for something tha t ha s some id ent ifia b le sup eriorit y to other p rod ucts. In the ca se of b oth Fa zioli a nd Stefa no Ricci, it is immed ia tely a p p a rent tha t hig her q ua lit y ma t eria ls a nd w ork ma nship were involved in their p rod uction."

In his p riva te office in the Stefa no Ricci b outiq ue, Berna schek reca lls the strug g les.

"It isn't ea sy, you know. Peop le think, look a t him, the hig h roller. They d on't know how toug h it is to ma ke this work. They d on't a lwa ys und ersta nd the life of a n entrep reneur."

I N HI S WORDS "I d on't think I ever sa w myself a s a n entrep reneur. I a lw a ys view ed myself a s a sa lesp erson, a nd I enjoyed tha t q uite a b it!

"My teen yea rs were a wkwa rd (a ren't they for everyone, thoug h!?), b ut there wa s one und erta king , now tha t I look b a ck on it, tha t wa s emb a rra ssing b ut I ca n d efinitely see how it foretold my sa les sa vvy!

"In Junior Hig h Sc hool, I sta rted to think a b out wha t sma ll a mount of money your friend s would g ive you without even thinking a b out it.

"It b eg a n like a soc ia l ex p eriment . I wa nted to see if p eop le would g ive you t heir p ennies, loose cha ng e, just b y a sking a nd how much would you end up with?

035

"So, I ca sua lly a sked friend s a t school to g ive me their p ennies, a nd they d id . I would ta ke them home a nd soon sta rted to fill ja rs!

"Peop le sta rted to know me for tha t a nd would b ring me ja rs of p ennies from home, a nd others would just g ive me them without a sking them for them b eca use I sta rted g etting a rep uta tion for collecting them.

"In the end , a ll the end less p ennies I collected over the school yea r only a mounted to a round $80 ? so I felt it wa s a lot of effor t for a ver y lit t le ret urn. A g ood lesson to lea rn while still young .

"G rowing up , my d a d wa sn't like other d a d s who worked a job. He wa s a b usinessma n a nd ent rep reneur.

"He owned a Volvo d ea lership in Coq uit la m a nd la ter a n a d va nced d riving school a t the West w ood Ra c et ra c k . During those yea rs, he wa s a lso involved with a comp a ny they ca lled ' The Sp irit of Va nc ouver,' which ra ised money to sp onsor their chief d river from the d riving school to enter The M olson Ind y ra ce when it wa s held in Va ncouver.

"Even thoug h the d river held ma ny record s a t the Westwood ra cetra ck, he d id n't win the Ind y b ut d id very well.

As sp onsors, we ha d sta cks of ' Pa d d oc k Pa sses,' my d a d g a ve my sister a nd me a sta ck ea ch a nd told us to g o out to the entra nce a nd sell t hem t o p eop le coming to wa tch the Ind y ra ce.

037

"These p a sses g et you into the a rea where a ll the d rivers ha ve their ca rs d isp la yed to the p ub lic b etween ra ces, b ut the p a ss itself d oesn't g et you in the front d oor of the ra ce.

"This wa s a fa ct tha t I forg ot t o d isc lose to one sp ecta tor. He g a ve me the money for the Pa d d ock Pa ss a nd wa lked ha p p ily over to the front g a te, where there wa s a d isa g reement with the ticket ta ker - a nd then the g uest turned a round a nd p ointed a t me. I knew I w a s in t roub le! This incid ent reinforced in my mind tha t we must a lw a ys b e t ra nsp a rent a nd honest a b out wha t we sell.

"After hig h school, I chose to g et into a c c ount ing b eca use the log ic of the numb ers a lwa ys ma d e sense, a nd I enjoyed tha t.

"O nce I g ra d ua ted a nd g ot into a ctua lly working in a ccounting , I found it t o b e q uit e b oring ! O n the hunt for a new job , I rememb er b eing offered two p ositions simulta neously.

"I ha d the op p ortunity to continue working a s a n a ccounta nt in a d ifferent comp a ny or choose to join a friend a nd sta rt selling p ia nos. My friend Bra d Ga nnon wa s d oing very well a t selling p ia nos; he ha d a na tura l ta lent for it, so I joined him.

There is a nother d rea m I ha ve tha t ha s yet to b e rea lized - to b ring a n ex c ellent It a lia n c hoc ola t e to Va ncouver! Althoug h I a m not in the p osition to ta ke on a new end ea vour, it is a lwa ys in the b a ck of my mind .

"After I sta rted selling p ia nos, I worked a s a sa lesp erson for this chocola te b ra nd b eca use I liked it so much. The C a na d ia n imp orter for this b ra nd wa s in M ont rea l; he would send me chocola te to sell a nd p a y my commission in chocola te! LO L! "Since la unching Showca se Pia nos a nd Stefa no Ricci, my fa mily's lives ha ve not cha ng ed very much. We live p ret t y simp ly, b ut we enjoy tra velling a s a fa mily ? so a s the yea rs ha ve p a ssed , we ha ve b een a b le to tra vel to more countries tha t we ha ve never b een to b efore.

"I will a lwa ys rememb er our first yea r of op era ting Showca se Pia nos, I ha d two p rima ry g oa ls. O ne wa s to g et N UVO M a g a zine to write a b out Fa zioli p ia nos, a nd the other wa s to g et the Sha ng ri- La Hotel to p ut a Fa zioli p ia no in their lob b y.

I wa s a b le to a ccomp lish b oth, b ut it took a tremend ous a mount of time a nd energ y.

I estima te tha t ea ch took over 6 0 ema ils, p hone ca lls, a nd p ersona l visits.

"Yea rs la ter, he g ot into selling rea l esta te with his wife, a nd he continues to b e a very g ood friend a nd to d o very well on the North Shore.

"I a m a firm b eliever in g oing for wha t you wa nt. If you p ut in the work a nd a re p a tient a nd d ilig ent, d oors w ill op en, a nd success will come your wa y. Thoug h, however you d efine success, is up to you."

M A N UEL

BERN ASCHEK

SHOW CASE

STEFAN O

R IC C I

P IA N O S

M A DELEI NE CLERI DES: M a d eleine Clerid es is a p ub licist, writer a nd event coord ina tor b a sed in Va ncouver, BC. Ma d eleine sta rted her ca reer in a c orp ora t e a g enc y setting , where she fa milia rized herself with the med ia la nd sca p e a nd worked with la rg e comp a nies such a s Dyson, M olson/ Coors, Cirq ue d u Soleil, a nd Presid ent ' s Choic e.

In 20 20 , she p ivoted to freela nce work a nd b eg a n to b uild up her p ersona l p ortfolio. Ma d eleine is the p ub lic rela tions ma na g er a nd socia l med ia coord ina tor for the Wed g ew ood Hot el & Sp a , Va ncouver's only Rela ix & Cha t ea ux p rop erty. She a lso writes lifestyle a nd b ea uty content for Da ily Hive a nd VITA Da ily.

From event coord ina tion to socia l med ia ma na g ement, Ma d eleine ha s b uilt a multi- fa ceted b usiness tha t p rovid es her with d iverse resp onsib ilities, which she enjoys immensely.

I N HER WORDS 039

" In my ea rly teens, I org a nized a cha rity d og show a t my school to ra ise money for the SPCA in 20 0 7 with b usiness d ona tions from b usinesses a nd sp onsors.

"I g uess I wa s event p la nning a nd networking without even rea lizing it!

"This journey wa s a b it b ump y a t the b eg inning , a s ea rly on, I und er va lued myself. I wa s so keen to a d d sp ecific clients to my p ortfolio tha t I took a p a y cut even thoug h I knew it wa sn't rig ht. I knew I wa s p rovid ing rea l moneta ry va lue to sp ecific b usinesses, b ut I would lower my worth to a ccommod a te clients b eca use I wa sn't used to the freela nce forma t.

"My ent rep reneuria l journey ha p p ened org a nica lly a nd entirely b y a ccid ent.

Before the p a nd emic, I worked in PR a g enc ies a nd a ssumed tha t I would climb the la d d er in this ind ustry for my whole ca reer.

"When I lost my role, a nd t he p a nd emic hit , ma rketing b ud g ets were cut, a nd events were non- existent. If I wa nted to keep p ursuing roles in my field , I would ha ve to rethink my tra jectory.

"There wa s a n exciting shift in Ma rch 20 20 ; b eca use of the p a nd emic, my fa ther, John Clerid es p urcha sed the historic N umb ers Ca b a ret on Da vie St reet , which is next to M a rq uis Wine Cella rs, the C lerid es fa mily b usiness of 30 yea rs. My Pa p ou (G ra nd p a ) ha d owned the p rop erty since the 19 70 s, a nd thus, our fa mily ha d b een very well a cq ua inted with the p revious owner a nd sta ff for ma ny yea rs.

041

"Numb ers is Va nc ouver' s first - ever g a y b a r a nd ha d the sa me owner from its incep tion until John's a cq uisition. Since liq uor st ores were consid ered essent ia l b usinesses, sa les were climb ing ra p id ly, a nd John d id not feel he could oversee a reb ra nd ing a nd renova tion of Numb ers. At this p oint, I unexp ected ly entered the fa mily b usiness for the first time, d esp ite my consid era b le trep id a tion.

"Desp ite my relucta nce to work und er my d a d , his id ea ma d e g rea t sense. Numb ers need ed a n ent ire overha ul, from renova tions to a socia l med ia reb oot.

"The club ha d b ecome less p op ula r in recent yea rs within the Da vie Villa g e community, a s the TLC need ed to keep it trend y wa s never p rioritized .

"We ha d no id ea when club s would b e op en a g a in, b ut we d id ha ve a ma ssive b a ck p a rking lot tha t I knew could b e turned into a functiona l outd oor p a tio sp a ce. I told my d a d tha t if he wa nted my help with this p roject, I wa s insist ent on reint rod uc ing d ra g p er forma nc es b a ck into the b a r, a s the p revious owner ha d exclud ed d ra g q ueens from the sp a ce for a b out 25 yea rs, which in turn a liena ted ma ny p eop le in the Da vie Villa g e community.

"My d a d told me he comp letely trusted wha t I b elieved would work a nd tha t if p eop le resp ond ed p ositively to the p erforma nces, we could d o wha tever I sug g ested .

"Need less to sa y, d ra g b ec a me t he b rea d a nd b ut t er of our esta b lishment throug hout the entirety of C O VID. Performers were b eyond keen to b e on sta g e, a nd we were the only venue on Da vie Street with a n outd oor sp a ce la rg e enoug h to host shows.

"Besid es some p riva te commissions a nd interna l work, we p a rtnered with the Va nc ouver M ura l Fest iva l to crea te b ea utiful a rt on the new p a tio tha t reflects the club 's history a nd vib ra nce.

"Due to the success of the club 's reinvig ora tion, I could step b a ck from my role in 20 22 a nd focus on other clients. I a m so tha nkful tha t my d a d trusted me to sp ea rhea d the renova tions, crea te a trend y d rinks list, reintrod uce d ra g , crea te a p a tio from scra tch, ma na g e the web site crea tion a nd socia l med ia , colla b ora te with a rtists a nd more.

"Now, if you d rive b y Numb ers on a weekend , you will likely see a line t ha t g oes up t he b loc k . Keep ing the integ rity of Numb ers d istinctly q ueer wa s a t the top of my p riority list, a nd I a m ela ted tha t the community resp ond ed so p ositively to our efforts in ma king N umb ers a sa fe, fun a nd inc lusive sp a c e for everyone to enjoy.

"O nce club s forma lly reop ened a nd PR events sta rted to op en b a ck up , I could a p p ly the momentum of this exp erience to my next clients.

"Luckily, tha nks to my extensive networking p re- p a nd emic, other b usinesses b eg a n rea ching out to me to sup p ort them on va rious p rojects they could not ma na g e d ue to the cha lleng es C O VID p resented them with. It wa s here tha t I b eg a n ma na g ing a va riety of socia l med ia a ccounts a nd help ing b usinesses org a nize sa fe event s with the string ent C O VID restrictions.

"Due to the success of these end ea vours, my services were further conveyed via word of mouth, a nd momentum wa s b uilt. Tha t is how I b uilt a p ortfolio of clients a nd sta rted my freela ncing ca reer.

"Even thoug h it wa s a rela tively short sp a n from 20 16 - 20 23, my ca reer unexp ected ly cha ng ed d irections a few times.

"I b eg a n my PR journey a s a n intern a t Tow n Ha ll Bra nd s a nd g rew to the lea d p ub licist while sitting on the committee for Va riet y, The Child ren' s Cha rit y Gold Hea r t Ga la .

043

"The first yea r I wa s on the committee wa s the hig hest - g rossing event in the BC cha p ter's history, a nd this exp erience ultima tely led me to b ecome more involved in other cha rities. In 20 19 , I wa s recruited b y Cit izen Rela t ions a nd b eg a n a more senior role.

"I rea lized this would a ll work out when I sta rted working with the Wed g ewood .

Before this p oint, I wa s contemp la ting my next move hea vily. However, I knew the hotel owners would never entrust me with a job like this without tota l confid ence in my a b ilities.

"In Ma rch 20 20 , I sp ea rhea d ed the reb ra nd of N umb ers on Da vie St reet . This led to comp a nies conta cting me for socia l med ia sup p ort a nd org a nizing events tha t ob eyed the C O VID restrictions. This ma inly involved food / b evera g e events a nd live outd oor p erforma nces.

"Furthermore, the Wed g ewood is the only Rela is & Cha t ea ux p rop erty in Va ncouver, which p rovid es a n extra d eg ree of p ressure since the R&C a ud its a ll a rea s of the b usiness to ensure their sta nd a rd s a re b eing met. O nce I sta rted g a rnering fa nta stic results a nd my work wa s wid ely recog nized within this environment, I knew I wa s where I wa s mea nt to b e.

"In 20 21, I took the time to comp lete my Wine Sp irit Ed uc a t ion Trust Aw a rd s in wine a nd comp leted b oth Levels 1 a nd 2 with d istinction, b eg a n writing for Da ily Hive, a nd sta rted my socia l med ia p a rtnership with Pla in Ja ne Sk inb a r.

"In 20 22- 23, I d id med ia rela tions for the ina ug ura l Amb lesid e M usic Fest iva l, b eg a n with the Wed g ew ood Hot el & Sp a , sta rted writing b ea uty content for VITA Da ily, org a nized the WCT/ BC q ua rterly mentoring events, a nd sa t on the committee for BCWHF' s Glow Ga la which ra ised $1.3 million - I will b e returning on the committee next yea r.

"Five yea rs a g o, I never thoug ht I would b e a freela ncer or entrep reneur. Since then, I ha ve found tha t my w ork - life b a la nc e ha s b ecome much more ma na g ea b le a nd tha t elimina ting the p olitics of office b urea ucra cy a llowed me to focus on d oing the b est work p ossib le.

"I a lso could focus more on my overa ll hea lth now tha t I wa sn't working within the restrictions of 9 - 5 life, a nd for the first time, I could w ork w hile t ra velling ex t ensively.

Most imp orta ntly, these p rofessiona l cha ng es a llowed me to sa y 'yes' to a ma zing la st- minute op p ortunities, events a nd trip s for work tha t ha ve ultima tely enha nced my ca reer a nd life.

"O nce I ha d fully esta b lished myself, I sta rted rea ching out to p eop le I d id n't know b eca use I w a s c onfid ent in myself a nd my work. Before, I would only ever rea ch out to p eop le with whom I ha d a n "in" or a mutua l connection. This new a p p roa ch op ened end less d oors for me, whether it wa s unb elieva b le event invites or fa nta stic client offers.

"Along the wa y, my d a d wa s instrumenta l in p rep p ing me to b ecome a n ent rep reneur.

We ha ve very simila r p ersona lities, a nd a s a b usinessma n himself, he ensured tha t once I sta rted freela ncing a nd rep resenting myself, I would ma ke sound d ecisions a nd b e ta ken seriously b eca use he b elieved in my ta lents.

"My current b usiness mod el is flex ib le a nd mult i- fa c et ed. I d on't p ut myself in a b ox. I find tha t if you a re a freela ncer, you need to b e a b le to g o with the flow a nd a d a p t to a client's need s wherever necessa ry.

"Since I wa s b orn a nd ra ised in Va ncouver, I ha ve b een a b le to comb ine my corp ora te a g ency exp erience with my network, ind ust r y sa vvy, a nd g reg a rious p ersona lit y.

"I find tha t ma ny corp ora te a g encies d on't p rioritize fa ce- to- fa ce rela tionship s outsid e of the office a nd t ruly mea ning ful ind ust r y c onnec t ions, b ut this is where I excel a nd ca n a chieve results.

"It's no secret tha t the p rice of everything ha s g one up , so in the next two q ua rters, this will likely b e reflected in my p ricing mod el a nd , will ultima tely, filter out some p otentia l clients.

045

"I'm a lso g etting to the p oint where I will need a b ookkeep er a nd more a d va nced p la tform investments to st rea mline my w ork loa d a nd sc hed ule.

"I look forwa rd to 20 24 a nd b eyond ! I a m jug g ling a few la rg e offers to integ ra te into my p ortfolio, a nd I a m still d etermining where these will end up , b ut a ll of them excite me g rea tly. I ha ve a feeling tha t I will b e sta ying in the t ra vel a nd lifest yle sp a c e a nd b uild ing on the solid found a tion I ha ve a lrea d y crea ted ."

M A D E L E IN E

C L E R ID E S

047

JESSI CA LI A NG: NOOK When you think of co- working sp a ces, d o you think a b out sitting in a n office with stra ng ers? No one wa nts or need s tha t in their life! Jessic a Lia ng of N ook ha s la unched a b usiness venture tha t is more tha n a co- working sp a ce. It is a n ecosystem for crea tive entrep reneurs where d rea ms a re tra nsformed into rea lity.

With their first sp a ce in Ric hmond , BC, a nd a mission to nurture new ind ustry memb ers, Nook p rovid es the sup p ort they need to flourish. In a d d ition to p rofessiona l g rowth, they offer fund ing , tra ining , a nd a g enuine sense of community. As a b onus, Nook is loca ted rig ht a t the end of 'Food St reet ,' where d iverse food op tions ca n b e found .

Nook is not just a b out four wa lls a nd a d esk; Nook is a b la nk ca nva s p rovid ing limitless op p ortunities to crea te exciting p rojects, ea ch d esig ned to eleva t e t he ent rep reneuria l journey.

Jessica ha s b een a ccomp a nied throug h the ea rly sta g es of this journey b y resid ent exp erts in ma rketing , fina nce, a nd content crea tion to g uid e memb ers, while resid ent DJs a nd ma g icia ns host workshop s a nd p od ca sts.

Their a nnua l music festiva l in colla b ora tion with Interstella r, colla b ora tive networking , a nd numerous other events, a d d to the vib ra nt a tmosp here.

Behind the scenes, Nook's p riva t e offic es with round - t he- c loc k w ork d a ys throug h secure a ccess control a re p erfect for nig ht owls a nd g lob etrotting memb ers who work in d ifferent t ime zones or wa nt to come in d uring the d a y. With a n op tion to req uest a d ed ica ted office, these sp a ces come comp lete with a p ersona l key, a custom p hone recep tionist, a nd a p restig ious b usiness a d d ress, sa feg ua rd ing memb ers' p riva c y.

Nook will soon la unch ma rkets to sp otlig ht a nd p romote loca l vend ors a nd ra ise fund s for cha rities of their choice.

Vend ors a lrea d y includ e Ba k ' d Cook ies, Ba t iq ua , Cla ra Leung St ud io, Invit o Coffee, Ta lit y Komb uc ha , Top Ha t Komb uc ha , Gone Ag a in Vint a g e, Pup p er Sup p ly Co., Dood le Ba r Desig ns, Pup a nd Ba ha y, Yummy Bone Trea t s, L&J Pa t isserie, a nd ma ny more.

Nook's current a nd future success ca n only b e a ttrib uted to the incred ib le community b uilt a long the wa y, with ind ivid ua ls who sha re their vision of crea ting a g lob a l mentorship community.

049

ETHOS As a sea soned UX d esig ner with yea rs und er her b elt a nd over seven yea rs of exp erience in b oth susta ina b le d evelop ment a nd p hotog ra p hy, Jessica is on a mission t o emp ow er ent rep reneurs b y a d d ressing their p a in p oints throug h technica l skills, community b uild ing , a nd fund - seeking sup p ort. But her commitment to crea tive emp owerment d oesn't stop there!

Pa rtnering with a wa rd - winning filmma ker a nd Hollywood p rod uction d esig ner Uza ir M erc ha nt (Interstella r) to cura te a n innova tive, crea tive ecosystem, they up lift crea tives in a ll a rtistic med iums such a s film, music, fa shion, p hotog ra p hy a nd writing , ena b ling them to p ursue their p a ssions while susta ining themselves.

With a b a ckg round d eep ly rooted in non- p rofit g ra nt w ork , eq uit y in a c c essib ilit y, a nd inc lusion, Jessica is not op ening just a co- working sp a ce. Nook will b e a p remium c ommunit y b uild er a nd la unc hp a d for loca l initia tives, b usinesses, cha rities, a nd p rima ry food p rod ucers.

Nook's mission extend s to connecting Metro Va ncouver consumers with fa rms to red uce emissions, p romote susta ina b ility a nd contrib ute to a vib ra nt a nd inclusive BC. O ne of their key p a rtners is Fa rm t o Pla t e M a rk et p la c e, a p a y- wha t- you- ca n non- p rofit p la tform tha t d irectly sup p orts loc a l BC fa rms a nd a ims to ed uca te the community on food sec urit y.

I N HER WORDS "My journey sta rted a ccid ently when I first p icked up a ca mera a t the a g e of 16 a nd b eg a n with street p hotog ra p hy. I wa s in my second yea r of university when I b eg a n ta king p hotog ra p hy more seriously.

"I joined severa l school club s a nd sta rted working for events such a s g a la s a nd op en mics, then sta rted my p hotog ra p hy b usiness a yea r la ter to sup p ort myself.

"I worked for a loca l St a rb uc k s a nd Sha ret ea , while shooting eng a g ements a nd lifestyle hea d shots. I ha d no id ea my hob b y would tra nsform into a b usiness - I wa s ma inly motiva ted b y the p ositive energ y surround ing me throug h other p hotog ra p hers, clients a nd colla b ora tors!

051

"I sa id yes to everything , even in school every event, fa vour, or conversa tion.

Althoug h I wa s b urning out, I p ut a ll of myself into everything I d id a nd p hotog ra p hed for free a s a n ind ep end ent a nd second shooter to g a in skills, cla rity of style, a nd overcome my socia l a nxiety. I rea lized tha t when I ha d a resp onsib ility to fulfill, I could ta lk to a nyone a t a n event!

"Throug hout my ca reer, conflict resolution with a n emp ha sis on sup p orting child ren d uring tra nsitiona l sta g es ha s b een a hug e motiva tor for me, to help them find a sense of b elong ing a nd security.

"I ha ve since cha nneled these va lues into everything tha t I d o a t Nook a nd in the community, throug h initia tives like the ea rly- sta g e incub a tor a nd g ra nt fund .

"Stra ig ht out of school, I wa s a teller for a yea r, which ta ug ht me a lot a b out the fina nc ia l ind ust r y a nd the imp orta nce of p rotecting a g a inst rising costs a nd infla tion. I ha ve seven yea rs of exp erience working for non- p rofit s, ha ving worked freela nce a nd slowly ma king my wa y towa rd s g ra nt work.

"I sp ent a yea r volunt eering a s a t ea c her' s a ssist a nt for a p reschool a nd four yea rs volunteering for a n elementa ry school. I a lso volunteered a s a n a ssista nt a rt thera p ist for a senior home for six yea rs, from elementa ry to hig h school, which g a ve me insig ht into a g ing a nd d ementia .

"During tha t time, I stud ied User Ex p erienc e Desig n, it incorp ora tes huma n p syc holog y throug h user b eha viour, which I loved , to crea te intuitive d esig ns tha t a d a p t to the user. I a lso loved working on a tea m with others who ca red just a s much a b out itera ting a nd resp ond ing well to feed b a ck. I sta rted d esig ning M inimum Via b le Prot ot yp es a nd d evelop ing existing d esig ns for sta rtup s seeking Pre- seed a nd Series A fund ing .

053

"I wa s fortuna te to colla b ora te on severa l p rojects b efore entering the ind ustry, which g rea tly help ed me g row.

"When the p a nd emic hit, it wa s no long er susta ina b le for me to continue in the tech ind ustry, so I p ivoted full- time into nonp rofit work, which d evelop ed my d esire to help ed uca te others on g ra nts a nd a ccess to resources. N ook is my sec ond b usiness, which is the vessel a s a sha red worksp a ce to emp ower isola ted entrep reneurs to a chieve fulfillment throug h a ccess to a ctiona b le resources, skills d evelop ment a nd a community tha t g enuinely ca res a b out everyone's success. I ha ve a wa y to g o b efore la unching the incub a tor for ea rly- sta g e sta rtup s, b ut tha t's in the p ip eline!

"There a re so ma ny p ositives, d esp ite the cha lleng es, I a m now d etermined to help crea te a sa fe sp a ce for p eop le to rest a nd b elong , lower b a rriers to a ccessing resources, a nd d evelop p rog ra ms such a s c ommunit y rec ip e d evelop ment to b rea k stig ma s a nd sociocultura l exp ecta tions! I a m p a ssiona te a b out the world of coliving a p p lied to d ifferent sectors (i.e. a g ing , crea tives, a g riculture, entrep reneurs) a nd how other memb ers of the community ca n come tog ether to crea te imp a ct on a la rg er sca le.

"Five yea rs a g o, I w ork ed t hree job s a fter lea ving my teller p osition: on sta rtup contra cts d esig ning p rototyp es for fund ing , a s a p a rt- time nonp rofit ma rketing coord ina tor, a nd a s a p hotog ra p her on weekend s a nd evening s. My g oa l wa s to ma ximize my time a nd sa ve for the future, a iming to b uild something like Nook in my la te 40 s. I strug g led a nd wa s exha usted since nothing wa s sta b le, b ut I wa s excited .

"I felt motiva ted to g o to work every d a y, to serve such a wid e va riety of p eop le, a nd to d evelop my ment a l a nd c rea t ive musc les.

"I continued for two more yea rs until the p a nd emic hit, when my job s evolved into severa l new p ositions such a s ma rketing consulting for commercia l p rop erties. ?In 20 21, a yea r into d evelop ing Nook (formerly ca lled Pup Soc ia l House), I ha d just ta ken on the p rop erty contra ct a nd wa s renova ting this sp a ce with my friend s Fra nk (licensed in construction) a nd M a rc o (licensed electricia n). Most of the b uild ing of Nook took p la ce a fter work where it wa s cold a nd d a rk, yet when I looked a round the room, I sa w how d ed ica ted they were to help ing my vision come to life.

"I wa s p icking up second ha nd a nd liq uid a ted furniture in my ca r a fter work, one p iece a t a time, a nd occa siona lly, Ma rco would b ring his truck to help me. My friend Chris from Wa shBros clea ned the exterior of the entire b uild ing , a nd I even g ot to try it!?

"When my sp a ce sup ervisor a nd friend Alvin joined in 20 22, I wa s b lown a wa y b y his d ed ica tion to the vision, p utting over 40 - 50 hours weekly into Nook with me. I ca n't exp la in how much this mea ns to me a nd kep t me g oing when I wa s so close to g iving up d ue to limited fund s.

"I wa s d etermined to ma ke it ha p p en a nd cha nnelled my energ y towa rd s p rod uctivity a nd lea rning to op timize a sma ll b ud g et a nd red uce p ersona l exp enses (Fa c eb ook M a rk et p la c e wa s my friend !)

"I a lso ha ve a lot of stuff g iven to me b y my friend s, such a s the wine frid g e a nd lea ther couches!

"After working in severa l ind ustries, I sta rted rea ching out to conta cts for coffee to d iscuss confid entia l p roject id ea s.

"When my first two b oa rd memb ers sig ned on, I wa s relieved knowing tha t my ta rg et a ud ience a nd investors va lid a ted my vision.

"I sp ent every moment I could a t Nook, thinking of wa ys to c rea t e a n ec osyst em a nd focusing on the community user first.

Tha nks to my b a ckg round in UX, I used va lue- centric lea n method olog ies. I a p p roa ched everything with a user- centric a ng le a nd ma d e sure I wa s solving a nd p reventing p rob lems from occurring a t every sta g e of a n entrep reneur's journey, from confusion to cla rity.

"Nook will d ig d eep er into the holistic lifestyle of a n entrep reneur, help ing them ma ke the first lea p to sta rt b y d evelop ing skills such a s p ub lic sp ea king , mind fulness a nd customized susta ina b le hea lthy routines.

055

"Nook is thriving b eca use of the sup p ort of p eop le like N a t a lie Yung (Na ta lie Yung Photog ra p hy), Arp i Sylvest er (My Ma rketing C rew), M J Dew ji (ABC Dig ita l Ma rketing ), Pa ul Simmons (co- owner of Simmons Insura nce, M a t t Ast ifa n (Internet Ma stermind s), Brit t a ny M ic ha lc huk (YVR Entrep reneurs C lub ), M a ria t Jib ril (MIJ C onsulting ), Christ a b elle Josep h (Hyp erformers), Gloria Zha ng (The Inner C hild Pod ca st), Jea n Louis Ha rd y (ENG 2), Trent St onehouse (Remote C EO s Aca d emy), M ig uel Ba ut ist a (C FS Recovery), Ali Za id i (vid eo ed itor), B.Ea rl (Ma rvel C omics writer), Sha nnon K (sing er/ a ctor), How a rd Yu, M a g g ie La m, Lily Lou (Lily Lou's Aroma s) a nd Insta - sta r N ic ole Wong (Nicole Wong C oa ching ).

"We need more up lift ing w ork shop s a nd event c olla b ora t ions, with op tions to revenue sha re or customized p la ns!

"Throug hout the next yea r, we wa nt to exp a nd our community a nd fill our sp a ces with eng a g ing a nd mea ning ful events. To move forwa rd , we a re a nticip a ting more exp osure throug h c olla b ora t ions with those wishing to host event s a nd up lift ing w ork shop s."

"By the end of 20 24, I see Nook la unching a Gra nt Fund a nd Ac c elera t or Prog ra m, enha ncing our p rog ra m d evelop ment, d evelop ing a solid youth entrep reneurship incub a tor, p a rtnering with more loca l cha rities, d evelop ing a strong music a nd a rts scene in Richmond (a nd b eyond ) b y sup p orting a rtists, a nd hop efully b eing on tra ck to op ening a second loca tion in Burna b y or Tri- Cit ies a rea s.

READY

FOR

N OOK?

057

JA SON SA RA I : STYLE BY SA RA I & SA RA I BESPOK E Found ed b y Crea t ive Direc t or a nd CEO Ja son Sa ra i in 20 14, SARAI Besp ok e is a b outiq ue lifestyle b ra nd tha t crea tes luxury custom g a rments, renowned lifestyle colla b ora tions, a nd exclusive soirées for a d iscerning g lob a l clientele.

SARAI Besp oke's sa rtoria l vision effortlessly comb ines old world cra ftsma nship with a d istinct mod ern sensib ility to p rod uce clothing tha t sta nd s the test of time.

Its consulting a rm, St yle b y Sa ra i, is va lued b y clients for g uid a nce on va rious p rojects, includ ing p ersona l styling , ed itoria l styling , a nd refined hosp ita lity g a rment d esig n a nd p rod uction.

While SARAI Besp oke is hea d q ua rtered in Va ncouver, BC , the comp a ny ha s exp a nd ed to serve clients a cross Ca na d a (Toronto, Kelowna , C a lg a ry, etc.) a nd interna tiona lly throug hout the US, a nd UK. Prior to found ing SARAI Besp oke, Ja son worked a s a Wea lt h M a na g ement Ad visor for hig h- net - w or t h fa milies a nd corp ora tions.

His yea rs in fina nce insp ired the crea tion of his clothing line a s clients continua lly soug ht q ua lity- ma d e, b esp oke g a rments b ut could not find a lifest yle ex p erienc e to ma tch the p ieces they d esired .

059

In a d d ition to his d esig n work, Ja son sup p orts numerous p hila nthrop ic end ea vours: he co- found ed 1KARM A with Ria z M eg ji, vetera n television host a nd executive coa ch, to sup p ort va rious org a niza tions a nd cha rita b le ca uses.

He is a memb er of the Fut ure Lea d ers Commit t ee a t the St . Pa ul' s Found a t ion a nd p a rticip a tes ea ch yea r in the Covena nt House Ex ec ut ive Sleep Out , a ca use tha t sup p orts d isa d va nta g ed a nd homeless youth in Va ncouver.

Ja son is husb a nd to N a t a sha , who ha s b een his p a rtner in style the entire time a nd fa ther to d a ug hter Siena , b orn in Ma rch 20 20 , a nd son Ja va ni, b orn in O ctob er 20 22, who a re never- end ing sources a nd insp ira tion a nd d rive.

I N HI S WORDS "Ea rly on in life, I rea lized I ha d a p a ssion for crea tivity, enjoyed ha ving crea tive outlets, a nd ha d a n entrep reneuria l strea k.

It would b e ma ny yea rs la ter tha t I ultima tely jump ed into full- time entrep reneurship. But the d rive a nd p a ssion ha ve b een there a ll a long .

"I worked severa l la b our job s a nd p la yed c omp et it ive soc c er d uring tha t p eriod . I a sp ired to p la y soc c er p rofessiona lly, a nd I p la yed on Ca na d ia n yout h na t iona l t ea ms a nd went to Eng la nd to p a rticip a te in tryouts to p otentia lly p la y in the UK.

"When I look b a ck a t it, g etting into fa shion wa s not on my ra d a r a t a ll, b ut a humorous situa tion a rose tha t ultima tely p roved to b e the ca ta lyst for me to b eg in working in styling a nd d esig n.

"In 20 11, my b rother sent me a movie tra iler link with a note tha t rea d , "You should b e this g uy." It wa s very va g ue a nd a fter wa tching the tra iler, I d id not know wha t my b rother wa s referring to a nd who I should b e.

"I ha d forg otten a b out it until a week la ter when, a friend a nd current Style b y Sa ra i client, Gra ha m Rob ins, p osted on Fa ceb ook sa ying he wa nted a wa rd rob e just like Rya n Gosling 's in the movie 'Cra zy St up id Love.'

"This wa s the movie my b rother ha d sent me the tra iler to! It a ll ma d e sense. He thoug ht I could b e a style consulta nt a nd help p eop le with their wa rd rob e, just a s Rya n G osling help ed St eve Ca rrell in the movie. Then, a former client a t Innova t ive Fit ness (a ctua lly, I tra ined her a nd her husb a nd ) commented on G ra ha m's rep ly, sa ying , "Ja son ca n p oint you in the rig ht d irection." The universe, clea rly, wa s trying to tell me something .

"I end ed up help ing G ra ha m, a nd he b eca me my first c onsult ing c lient , a nd tha t is how it a ll sta rted . From 20 12 to 20 14, I focused entirely on men's consulting a nd styling a nd g ra d ua lly exp a nd ed to includ e fema le clients a nd wed d ing s.

"From the outset, Style b y Sa ra i a nd SARAI Besp oke wa s a consulting b usiness where I sp ecifica lly help ed with clients' fa shion a nd st yle need s. These need s ra ng ed from styling , wa rd rob e reviews a nd enha ncements, p ersona l shop p ing , a nd closet a ud iting , to na me b ut a few services tha t we were p rovid ing .

"In 20 14, it wa s time to la unch the SARAI Besp oke line a nd b eg in crea ting custom g a rments for my clients.

"The first p illa r of the SARAI Besp oke exp erience is the SARAI Besp ok e show room. The sp a rk to b uild the showroom ca me while I wa s working in fina nce. In those d a ys, tra velling ta ilors would come b y the office, b ut it wa s a rushed exp erience. The ta ilors only ha d so much time to meet with clients (b efore they left town), so they ha d to g et throug h ea ch p erson ra ther q uickly.

"The SARAI Besp oke showroom, on the other ha nd , is a p la ce for clients to slow d own, a nd rea lly exp erience the custom g a rment p rocess. They ca n see a nd touch the fa b rics, choose which resona tes with them, a nd b e p a rt of the d esig n p rocess.

"O ur fa b rics a re sup p lied b y the world 's finest mills: Sc a b a l, Loro Pia na , Fox Brot hers, Zeg na to na me a few. O ur first showroom op ened in 20 15 a nd wa s 10 0 - sq ua re- feet. Tod a y, SARAI Besp oke ha s two showrooms, tota lling a little more tha n 150 0 - sq ua re- feet.

"O f course, clothing a nd g a rments a re a p illa r of SARAI Besp oke, b ut a ll fa cets of lifestyle a re critica lly imp orta nt, a nd we wa nt to crea te a leg a cy of b eing a true a nd a uthentic lifestyle b ra nd .

061

"Tha t's why we reg ula rly throw exclusive events a t eleg a nt hotels, resta ura nts, a nd event sp a ces, a s well a s execute lifestyle p a rtnership s with renowned comp a nies such a s Porsc he, M a sera t i, a nd Bulg a ri.

"Ad d itiona lly, cuisine, hosp ita lity, horolog y, mixolog y, a nd a utomotive excellence a re p a rt of b uild ing a n eleg a nt lifestyle b ra nd .

"A p ivota l moment for me in the g rowth of SARAI Besp oke wa s the rooftop soirée with 6 0 g uests tha t we hosted a t Va ncouver's Rosew ood Hot el Georg ia in O ctob er 20 19 . Loca l g uests were joined b y those who flew in from Chic a g o, Sa n Dieg o, Toront o, a nd Florenc e.

"The b la ck- tie event fea tured a n a rt show a t the Hub lot showroom where works b y Sa lva d or Da li a nd Pic a sso were on d isp la y, a four- course d inner in the York Room a t the a wa rd - winning a nd Michelin G uid e- recommend ed Ha w k sw or t h Rest a ura nt , cig a rs a nd cockta ils in the p enthouse, a nd a n overnig ht sta y a t the hotel for everyone.

"The event wa s a true celeb ra tion of lifestyle. Everyone ha d a wond erful time, a nd most g uests wore SARAI Besp oke. I wa s truly honoured to ha ve crea ted the g a rments for the g uests.

"Tra vel is a lso a sig nifica nt source of insp ira tion for everyone on the tea m a nd the comp a ny. Tra velling to Florenc e twice p er yea r for Pit t i Uomo ha s b een a n excellent op p ortunity to connect with other sa rtoria l p rofessiona ls, esta b lish p a rtnership s with renowned fa b ric mills, a nd lea rn a b out up coming trend s a nd styles we ca n incorp ora te into our b usiness. Pitti Uomo is, ind eed , the g old sta nd a rd of sa rtoria l conferences.

"We ha ve a lso tra velled for client wed d ing s in Ja p a n a nd It a ly. Seeing our g a rments p la y a sma ll role in such b ig d a ys for our clients is a n honour. We've b een so lucky to ha ve this b usiness ta ke us world wid e.

"Along the wa y, some of my nea rest a nd d ea rest friend s a nd ea rly clients ha ve b een inva lua b le sound ing b oa rd s a nd sup p orters. I g enuinely b elieve in the wisd om of the p roverb , "If you wa nt to g o fa st, g o a lone; if you wa nt to g o fa r, g o tog ether."

"We a re in g row t h mod e over the next two q ua rters a nd , fra nkly, a ll of 20 24.

Tha t mea ns throwing more soirées, connecting with our community, continuing exp a nsion into other cities, a nd p rod ucing more content.

"We ha ve so ma ny wond erful stories to tell, b oth a b out our comp a ny a nd our a ma zing community, a nd we wa nt to hig hlig ht tha t.

"As like- mind ed consulting op p ortunities continue to a rise, p a rticula rly in the hosp ita lity sp a ce, we will ta ke those on a nd continue to g row our rela tionship s with lifestyle p a rtner Rémy M a r t in a nd further colla b ora tions with the luxury b ra nd s like those d one with Op en Roa d Aut o Group a nd Dila w ri Aut o Group .

"For us, it is a clea r g oa l: we a re b uild ing SARAI Besp oke to b ecome one of the top b esp oke houses in the country a nd continue esta b lishing ourselves a s exp ert consulta nts in the lifestyle sp a ce."

C lients of note now includ e C a na d ia n crooner a nd interna tiona l sup ersta r M ic ha el Bub lé, Zed Stud io found er Za ne Eric k son, Priva te Jet Tra vel C EO Tra vis P. Ar yc huk , Virg in River a ctor Benja min Holling sw or t h, a nd G rowRev found er Roha n Shet h, a nd our p a rtners includ e Remy M a r t in, St efa no Bemer, a nd ma ster ha tma ker Ja x on How ell.

" Be your ow n st yle ic on."

063

SA RA I STYL E

BESPOKE

BY SA R A I

L u c ija

Ko ro s ec ,

S e th

Hagen,

Jason

S a r a i,

and

Sean

K o le n k o

NELSON M EGGI TT: Z EN M OM ENT Zen M oment is a C a na d ia n C ontrolled Priva te C orp ora tion (b evera g e sta rtup ) p ioneering a new ca teg ory, which found er N elson M eg g it t na med Wellness- M eet s- Lux ur y? .

Zen Moment intend s to b ecome a ma ssive force for g ood in the world b y insp iring a n enlig htened wa y of living a nd b y b ring ing a ra ng e of hig hly nutritious a nd functiona l fermented b evera g es out of the ' ec lec t ic hea lt h- food ' c ommod it y a rena a nd into the lux ur y- t ier limelig ht where formerly only a lcoholic b evera g es ha ve ventured a nd d omina ted .

065

There is a ma ssive exp losion in d ema nd for non- a lc oholic b evera g es rig ht now - on a g lob a l sca le - a s more p eop le emb ra ce p rod uctivity a nd hea lth a s core tenets of their lives. This g lob a l trend ha s truly revolutionized consumer b eha viour in the la st d eca d e.

The rea l ca ta lyst for this ra p id increa se in d ema nd for p rod ucts such a s theirs, thoug h, is a nother ma ssive societa l trend - a g eing ! Demog ra p hics a re cha ng ing , a nd just a s Gen Z a nd ot her young c onsumers a re choosing not to d rink or sig nifica ntly red ucing their consump tion, old er p eop le a re q uickly exiting the a lcoholic b evera g e ma rket a s they a g e a nd focus more on their hea lth.

The converg ence of these two ma jor ma rket shifts ha s crea ted this incred ib le op p ortunity to crea te the Wellness- Meets- Luxury? b evera g e ca teg ory, a sentence tha t would n't ha ve ma d e a ny sense just a d eca d e a g o. This g lob a l trend converg ence will inevita b ly revolutionize the hig h- end d rinks ma rket, a nd Zen Moment is rea d y to a ccelera te this revolution!

The up coming la unch of its fla g ship formula tion is a 750 ml Oa k Cult ured Tisa ne tha t received a M a sk ed - Silver a nd a n Unma sk ed - Gold in a new Func t iona l Ca t eg or y a t the 20 22 PR%F Aw a rd s in La s Veg a s. The comp a ny will further d evelop , exp a nd up on, a nd selectively license out its emerg ing IP Por t folio to levera g e ma ny historica l loca l- ma rket- tested commod ity- level formula tions a nd Prop riet a r y Oa k Brew ing Tec hniq ues.

This p a ra llel revenue strea m will mutua lly sup p ort p la ns to ma nufa cture a p ortfolio of luxury p rod ucts in- house.

By d oing so, Zen Moment will further esta b lish its b ra nd a s a n innova tor a nd thoug ht lea d er in functiona l b evera g es.

By a na log y - they a re b uild ing the La mb org hini of Func t iona l- Wellness b evera g e comp a nies.

067

For hea lth- conscious a nd d iscerning consumers, Zen Moment - O a k C ultured Tisa ne d elivers a n excep tiona l ta ste exp erience a nd a rich p rob iotic a nd nutrient p rofile. Unlike the common g enre of shelf- sta b le non- a lcoholic sp irits, Zen Moment ha s a ll of these va lua b le fea tures a nd b enefits, p lus the a ttra ction fa ctors a nd a w a rd - w inning st a t us of a tra d itiona l luxury a lcoholic d rink.

Zen Moment is truly a b etter- for- you b evera g e ind ulg ence. Its p rod uct meets a ll the criteria a nd touch- p oints tha t a ffluent , sop hist ic a t ed , a nd hea lt h- c onsc ious c onsumers ha ve b een sea rching for, with little sa tisfa ction. With three releva nt b evera g e seg ments, Zen Moment ha s a n existing ma rket op p ortunity a p p roa ching 1 trillion USD, a nd the releva nt seg ment's p rojected g rowth tota ls 52B. The comp a ny's d iverse a nd g rowing tea m is p rima rily b a sed a t the N a na imo, BC, Hea d q ua rters a nd Pilot Fa cility. O ther tea m memb ers who contrib ute their exp ertise a nd service virtua lly a re d isp ersed a cross Ca na d a a nd interna tiona lly, includ ing countries such a s the Unit ed St a t es, M a inla nd China , a nd Ta iw a n SAR. Ad d itiona lly, there a re unofficia l St ra t eg ic Pa r t ners for outsourced p a cka g ing ma nufa cturing , Ma rketing & Bra nd ing , Events C oord ina tion a nd Ad Ma na g ement.

These colla b ora tive tea ms a re in C hina , the United Sta tes a nd the UK. The comp a ny p rioritizes ESG a nd is a lig ned with the Ja p a nese wa y of thinking tha t wa s ma d e fa mous b y Toyot a , la ter coined a s " LEAN " Philosop hy. Ba sica lly, Zen Moment sees the g old in every emp loyee a nd customer, a s well a s the p otentia l va lue in every resource. The comp a ny's ethos va lues crea tivity, tea m sp irit, honesty, p a tience, kind ness, effort, resourcefulness, solutions mind set, d ilig ence, a nd constructive a ttitud es.

M EET NELSON Nelson is a p roud fa ther of three young men, a ma teur sing er/ song writer, a true Lib ra who enjoys communion with na ture, rea d ing , a nd med ita tion, a nd a ims to und erta ke a ll thing s with excellence a nd p recision.

Ha ving g rown up in a n a g ricultura l environment, Nelson is a n a ut od id a c t g enera list who ha s d iscovered , in d ue course, a tremend ous p a ssion a nd ta lent for p rod ucing O a k C ultured Tisa ne. His mission is to p rod uce the world 's most soug ht- a fter luxury- tier functiona l- wellness b evera g es.

In his ea rlier working yea rs, Nelson g a ined a wid e ra ng e of comp etencies in va rious sk illed t ra d es, p rima rily rela ted to a g ric ult ure a nd c onst ruc t ion. He ha s owned a nd op era ted three sma ll b usinesses b efore forming the p resent comp a ny tha t he feels encomp a sses his true ca lling - Zen Moment.

Nelson continues to ea rn va rious certifica tes in va lid a tion of his self- d irected lea rning p a th a s it rela tes to his role in the comp a ny.

Among these a re HACCP For Proc essors, N Gen - Tra nsforma t ion Lea d ership Prog ra m, Ex p or t Essent ia ls, Suc c essful N eg ot ia t ion, Found a t ions of Fina nc e, a s well a s p relimina ry course work for b ecoming a Six Sig ma Bla c k Belt .

The leg a cy tha t Nelson wishes to lea ve in the world is one of tra nsforming ha rd ship s into op p ortunities tha t up lift ma ny p eop le into g rea ter p ea ce a nd p rosp erity. Set to b ecome a key p la yer in the ra p id ly cha ng ing g lob a l b evera g e la nd sca p e, he would like to b e rememb ered for sp ea rhea d ing a nd esta b lishing the Wellness- Meets- Luxury? b evera g e ca teg ory.

I N HI S WORDS "I must ha ve b een only a b out eig ht yea rs old when I d isp la yed sig ns tha t I would b ecome a n entrep reneur. As a p rime exa mp le, I d id not collect insects, coins or sta mp s - I c ollec t ed b usiness c a rd s from truck stop s a nd d iners when I a ccomp a nied my a d op tive fa ther on roa d trip s throug hout Cent ra l a nd Sout hern Alb er t a . I a lso collected old keys lost or found in b uckets of nuts a nd b olts from fa rm eq uip ment a uctions.

069

"Around this sa me a g e, I jump ed a t a n op p ortunity to ma ke myself useful to truck d rivers coming a nd g oing to the test oil d rilling site in a clea red cul- d e- sa c on our fa mily d a ir y fa rm. There wa s no ca ttle g ua rd a t the time, so the d rivers would ha ve to g et out of their trucks, op en the swing g a te, d rive throug h, a nd then g et out a g a in to close the g a te b ehind them. I p ut a wire ha nd le on a n emp ty coffee tin, a nd I would sta nd b y the g a te with a b ig smile. Without sa ying a word to the d rivers, they would often find some c oins or sma ll b ills for me, a nd I would ha nd le the g a te, a llowing them to sta y in their trucks. While this ca nnot b e d escrib ed a s a sma ll b usiness, it is a n exa mp le of p rovid ing va lue throug h solving someone else's p a in p oint.

"Althoug h I wa s ea rning a w a g e a s a weekend a nd summer- ha nd on a sa lmon fa rm from the time I wa s sixteen, I wa s a lso ma king efforts to esta b lish a resid ua l income with a coup le of d irect sa les op p ortunities tha t ha p p ened to come my wa y. The first p rod uct I p romoted wa s a n inline fuel- sa ving d evic e for g a soline eng ines. The second p rod uct wa s intend ed to red uc e sc a le b uild - up in d omestic wa ter lines a nd increa se the lifesp a n of hot wa ter ta nks.

"I never rea lly ma d e money on these end ea vours. Still, the motiva tion wa s certa inly reflective of the entrep reneuria l p remise tha t you will never g et a hea d b y simp ly tra d ing your time for money with no resid ua l income or p otentia l to sca le.

"I ha d enrolled in the Universit y of Vic t oria with a full course loa d tha t would ha ve ta ken me d own the p a th to a PhD in Wild life Biolog y.

"Ha ving essentia lly d one a d ult la b our in a d o- or- d ie environment on the fa mily d a iry fa rm since I wa s young , ha ving b a rely survived severa l t ra uma t ic event s on the fa rm, a nd then ha ving hustled ha rd in school a nd other job s to b uy my freed om a nd fina l esca p e from the p ersecution a nd multi- form a b use I ha d b een end uring from my a d op tive fa ther from the a g e of four; I b eg a n to b urn out a s I a lso b ec a me d isillusioned w it h t he ed uc a t iona l & c a reer p a t h I ha d p la nned for myself. By the end of my first yea r a t UVIC , I a b a nd oned my exa ms a nd found myself b usking with my g uita r d owntown a t the ha rb our.

"With stud ent loa ns to p a y, I entered the workforce with ea se, a nd b y 20 0 4, I ha d a ra ng e of va lua b le exp eriences up on which to d ra w once I felt rea d y for my next b usiness id ea . This would not come a b out, however, until a fter I injured my lower b a ck while working in the exteriors tra d e a nd then g oing b a ck to colleg e to p ursue a Comp ut er Assist ed Dra ft ing Cer t ific a t e, which led to me working a s a Junior Dra ft sp erson for a Civil Eng ineering Firm.

071

"In 20 0 7, I reg istered my first b usiness Ha w k - Eye Sa fet y Consult a nc y - a s a Sole Prop riet orship . Ha ving p reviously sp ent ma ny yea rs working in a g riculture, a q ua culture, a nd va rious construction tra d es, I ha d a clea r, ha nd s- on und ersta nd ing of va rious occup a tiona l ha za rd s a nd commonly p ra cticed mitig a tion method s g lea ned from my 20 + yea rs of workforce a ccumula ted knowled g e.

"This b usiness ca ta p ulted my hourly ea rning s from $12 (a nd cha ng e) a s a Junior Dra ftsp erson in 20 0 5/ 6 to $75/ hr. I fold ed the b usiness in 20 11 d ue to the continued low b a ck injury comp lica tions, a s there ha d never rea lly b een a n op p ortunity for me to recover from my p revious b a ck injury incurred while in the exteriors tra d e.

"I wa s d enied Work ers' Comp ensa t ion when I g ot injured , a nd since I wa s the sole b rea d winner in the household of five, there wa s no a lterna tive b ut to rema in self- relia nt.

My low b a ck p a in ha d b een chronic since 19 9 8 when I wa s emp loyed on a d a iry fa rm, a nd a t the recommend a tion of d octors a nd nurses, I ha d long b een a lterna ting Ad vil a nd Tylenol for p a in ma na g ement a nd b y 20 11, I ha d not only exa cerb a ted the p hysica l p a ins of a n unrested injury, I ha d a lso d one severe d a ma g e to my d ig estive system.

"So there I wa s, fold ing my O H&S b usiness b eca use I wa s a lterna ting from using crutches to using a wa lker a nd b eing justifia b ly fea rful a b out my a b ility to sup p ort my fa mily fina ncia lly. My G P encoura g ed me to ma ke a PWD a p p lic a t ion, a nd a fter ma ny rejections, it wa s fina lly a p p roved .

"While I ha d b een ca ug ht for a moment in the sa fety net of a first- world country, it is not in my na ture to coa st a long a nd resig n myself to b eing a non- contrib uting memb er of society. Asid e from d oing my b est to b e a g ood fa ther a nd friend to those who still ca red to ha ve a nything to d o with me, I wa s increa sing ly losing a sense of p urp ose.

"There wa s a turning p oint when I sta rted to relea se the g uilt for those I could not sa ve or p rotect from the a lcoholic a d op tive fa ther tha t ruled the ea rly p a rt of my fa mily's life a nd I soug ht new sources of counsel a nd insp ira tion.

"Before long , I d evoured b ooks on holist ic hea lt h, c r yst a ls, sound hea ling , a ffirma t ions, g uid ed med it a t ion, yog a , La w of At t ra c t ion, etc. I b eg a n to ima g ine a nd p roject a future version of myself, closer to a n id ea l I d esired . With renewed hop e, p ersistence, a nd tena city, I b eg a n to see g a ins in my p osture a nd energ y levels.

"I ha d lea rned some restora tive yog a method s, reg a ined a new mind set a nd d evelop ed a new d ieta ry reg ime b est d escrib ed a s Bud d hist Veg et a ria n. I b eca me a St ud ent Aroma t hera p ist , renting a sha red office sp a ce from a Holistic Hea lth Pra ctitioner a nd selling my Life & Wellness Coa c hing services und er Op t imum Wellness Fa c t or.

"To hea l the d a ma g e I ha d d one to my liver, kid neys a nd g ut microb iome from over ten yea rs of consistent relia nce on NSAIDs for p a in ma na g ement, I turned to Tra d it iona l Chinese M ed ic ine (TC M), a nd k omb uc ha , which I wa s introd uced to b y Pei- Fen Cha ng , who I met a t a TC M clinic. A strong connection wa s ma d e, a nd she b eca me my b est friend , roomma te, a nd co- found er of Zen Moment.

"I b ecome a n ob sessed home- b rewer with only one short p rimer b ooklet to g uid e me a sid e from Pei- Fen's recollections a nd a d vice. Slowly b ut surely, a s I home- b rewed a nd consumed successive b a tches of komb ucha , I b eg a n to exp erience a d ra stic imp rovement in my d ig estion.

"In 20 16 , a t the Denma n Isla nd Fa rmer' s M a rk et , Pei- Fen a nd I were selling veg eta ria n Ta iwa nese- fusion ea ts, her sig na ture hot sa uce, a nd a sma ll selection of my la test komb ucha fla vour insp ira tions.

"The resp onse wa s immed ia te a nd incred ib le. C ustomers rep ea ted ly sha red tha t the komb ucha wa s fa r b etter tha n a ny a va ila b le a t the store. Until then, I ha d b een ob livious to a surg e in the c ommerc ia l k omb uc ha ma rk et . By the end of the ma rket sea son, we were b oth hig hly motiva ted a nd d ecid ed to ma ke a b usiness of it. In ea rly 20 18, we op ened a sma ll test fa cility in C ourtena y, BC , a nd b y mid - 20 18, we ha d a d op ted 225L N eut ra l Whit e Americ a n Oa k b a rrels a s our b rewing vessels.

"By 20 20 , we were serving over 25 loc a l a c c ount s a nd ha d customers coming d irectly to our fa cility for p urcha se a nd circula r excha ng e of 1.89 L g rowlers. We soon g a rnered strong interest from a reg iona l g rocer in for listing in 10 - 12 of its thirty- p lus loca tions.

"Tod a y, we a re a rg ua b ly the first 'komb ucha ' b ra nd to ha ve ma d e a d istinct luxury reb ra nd a nd simulta neous p ivot from g reen a nd b la ck tea formula tions to functiona l herb a l formula tions insp ired b y TC M. As a result of moving from a g rocery commod ity to b eing fit for sa les cha nnels such a s fine d ining , lux ur y hot els, sk i- resor t , b ea c h- resor t , sp a s a nd c ruise lines, we ha ve g a ined a new set of comp etition a mong non- a lcoholic wines a nd sp irits.

However, we reta in a clea r d istinction from these p rod ucts a s well.

073

"We a re ra ising a p re- seed eq uit y fina nc e round tha t will a llow us to la unch our p ilot fa cility a nd g et the p rod uct out to the multip le b uyers ea g erly wa iting a cross North America a nd b eyond .

"Zen Moment is g ea ring up for the Q2- 24 ta rg et la unch of our lea sed 3,6 6 0 - sq ua re- foot N a na imo Pilot Fa c ilit y. We will ha ve a ma ximum p ha se- 1 p rod uction ca p a city of 43,20 0 b ottles p er month, to b e sold in b ra nd ed six- p a ck ship p er ca ses.

"To g et throug h the next two q ua rters, a s we work with our p end ing investors to follow throug h on their sig ned d ea ls, we a re a ctively seeking new d ea ls from other d ecisive a nd well- p rep a red p rosp ective p a rtners.

"We would a lso b enefit sig nifica ntly b y ha ving esteemed luxury- hosp ita lity ind ustry icons, p erha p s Ja mes Riley, former C hief Executive of M a nd a rin Orient a l Hot el Group , to join forces with us a s a b ra nd sp okesp erson a nd op en new d oors in key ta rg et a ccounts in the luxury hosp ita lity & tra vel sp a ce.

"We welcome req uests for informa tion from p roven d ea l- closers, a ccred ited investors, VC s, b uyers, d istrib utors, va lue- a d d ed tra d e p a rtners, a nd ea rnest colla b ora tors. Among the la tter of this g roup a re ca nd id a te licensees for our emerg ing IP p ortfolio of commod ity- level formula tions in functiona l b evera g es.

"By the end of 20 24, our g oa l is to b e in full swing with Pilot Pha se 1 a nd setting the sta g e for Pilot Pha se 2. The p rod uct would id ea lly b e a va ila b le in select up sca le venues in ma jor cities in C a na d a a nd the USA. Ad d itiona lly, Zen Moment ha s esta b lished a p relimina ry outlook a nd wirefra me p la n for oversea s JV Prod uc t ion a nd Glob a l M a rk et Ex p a nsion.

"We intend to roll out a d d itiona l formula tions in d ue course to comp lement our fla g ship 750 ml O a k C ultured Tisa ne, a nd we a re incred ib ly excited a b out the ma ny colla b ora tive ma rketing initia tives tha t will likely sp in off our p la nned events- b a sed ma rketing stra teg y."

N EL SON M E G G IT T ZEN M OM EN T

BENJA M I N LUM B: BENJA M I N LUM B A RT HOUSE (BLA H) Benja min Lumb is a well- esta b lished a nd p ra cticing a rtist a nd found er of Benja min Lumb Ar t House (BLAH) - a n a rt g a llery working with emerg ing a nd esta b lished a rtists focusing on p hotog ra p hy, insta lla tions, a nd p a inting s.

075

O ccup ying out- of- the- ord ina ry sp a ces in the Lower Ma inla nd tha t ha ve includ ed a storefront, a n old wa rehouse, rota ting p op - up loca tions, a nd currently two sp a ces on Ea st a nd West Ha sting s.

His work ' Hyp erion,' comp leted in 20 21, wa s recently insta lled on Gra nville Isla nd in a hig h- tra ffic a rea a nd is sure to d ra w much a ttention a nd commenta ry with its g ra nd iosity.

The 11- ton sculp ture is a nest of recla imed reb a r from a d emolished Va ncouver b uild ing a nd includ es neon, a ship cha in, a nd a concrete b a se. The insta lla tion is temp ora ry a nd p a rt of Ta p & Ba rrel Group 's ong oing commitment to sup p orting loca l a rtists.

I N HI S WORDS "Looking b a ck, I rememb er b eing in a conversa tion a t a fa mily d inner a nd excla iming tha t I wa s not p a rt of the g enera l p ub lic. Everyone la ug hed a nd ma d e fun of me.

"I think wha t I mea nt wa s tha t I w a s a n ent rep reneur a nd would ca rve my p a th throug h life, b rea k ing a ll of t he rules a nd p a ying no heed to wha t others think.

"G rowing up , I d id g a rd en clea n- up , chop p ed firewood , a nd la nd sca p ing .

I took on a ny p roject I g ot a 'yes' on.

Whether I wa s q ua lified or not . Some p rojects worked out, a nd I ma d e b ig money, b ut others were ca ta strop hic fa ilures wherein I lost money.

"I lea rned so much from these ea rly yea rs a nd w ould n' t c ha ng e a t hing if I ha d to d o it over.

"O ver the yea rs, I hust led non- st op for job s b ut refined my niche to custom stonework a nd la nd sca p e d esig n.

"Sta rting in my la t e 20 s a nd b eing sing le, I b eg a n to tra vel extensively throug hout Europ e a nd Asia .

077

"The exp osure to the d ifferent cultures, p eop le a nd a rt op ened my eyes a nd insp ired me to crea te something d ifferent.

"By the time I hit my ea rly 30 s, I wa s sta rting to b ecome somewha t p roficient in my p ra ctice, b ut I wa s p ining for something more exp ressive to p ursue, something more rich with p eop le a nd conversa tion.

"After a trip to Lond on, I b eg a n ob sessing over c rea t ing a p rop eller t a b le. I scoured Va ncouver for a b ea utiful old vinta g e p rop eller a nd end ed up p rocuring the old p rop of the Hollyb urn Ferr y (p re- Lions Ga t e Brid g e).

"I rememb er thinking to myself d uring the p rocess of sourcing a nd crea tion, "O h, my G od , I LO VE this so much. I NEED to d o this." I ma d e three other ep ic ta b les over two yea rs a nd then rented a sma ll g a llery sp a ce a t the foot of Lonsd a le.

"The p ra ctice of showing my work wa s humb ling a nd enjoya b le, b ut p eop le rig htly so viewed my work a s furniture. In my mind , it wa s a rt. Instea d of trying to cha ng e the viewer's mind set, I b eg a n to c rea t e sc ulp t ura l w ork.

"I live every d a y in a p erp et ua l st a t e of unsa t isfa c t ion even thoug h I ha ve a n a rt p ra ctice, g a llery p ra ctice, p riva te und erg round a rt club , a nd stonework p ra ctice. Tha t b eing sa id , I know this is wha t I wa s mea nt to d o a nd will continue the journey to try to rea ch my full p otentia l - lea ving no st one unt urned .

"In 20 17, I wa s invited to join the Sp a c e Ga ller y, a collective of a rtists includ ing Willia m Hig g inson, Olg a Ryb ek o a nd other loca l Va ncouver a rtists. Loca ted in Ya let ow n, next d oor to Bluew a t er Ca fe, it wa s a lively g a llery a nd a fa nta stic sp ot to d evelop my p ra ctice.

079

"In p a rticula r, this wa s where I crea ted the insta lla tion ' Alc a za r' in the g a llery's foyer. It is a n ong oing insta lla tion consisting of a n a ssemb la g e of ob jec t s from my p a st a nd journey throug h life, d ep icted throug h a series of ob jects (currently 50 0 + ) flying out of a g ia nt hot el sa fe ex p lod ing throug h a steel p la te.

"These susp end ed ob jects form wha t is essentia lly a self- p ortra it of my p ra ctice moving throug h the a rt world . To d a te, three limited - ed ition p hotog ra p hs ha ve emerg ed from this work. Und oub ted ly, it is the most imp or t a nt ea rly w ork of my a rt ca reer.

"In 20 19 , a fter crea ting a la rg e sculp ture entitled ' Herc ules,' tha t stood 14 feet ta ll a nd could not b e a ccommod a ted a t the Sp a ce G a llery, I b eg a n to rea ch out to d evelop ers a nd p rop erty owners to find a host to showca se this la test work.

"Grosvenor g enerously op ened their d oors to me in their new West Va nc ouver d evelop ment. After three months of showing Hercules, I rea ched out to the a sset ma na g ers a nd exp la ined my vision of Benja min Lumb Ar t House. I immed ia tely b eg a n to cura te shows a nd sea rch for a rtists whom I a d mired .

"I crea ted this sp a ce a s a p orta l to und erg round N ew York a nd Berlin c lub s.

The sp a ce is a sop histica ted , a b ea utiful b ut d a rk ha ven for p eop le in the know. To d a te, one limited ed ition p hotog ra p h ha s emerg ed from this work.

"I know the p eop le a round me a re g oing to p ush me to the next level. I love p eop le.

Without my friend s, none of this would b e p ossib le. I a m b lessed to ha ve so much sup p ort a nd op p ortunities a round me. In the future, the key will b e sta ying true to my instincts a nd lea rning how t o sa y ' N O' more.

"I ha ve lea rned from this journey tha t I must cred it the women in my life, esp ecia lly my p a r t ner Ka t e. She insp ired me to ta ke my p ra ctice to the next level, a nd without her, I'm not sure if I'd b e where I a m now. My three d a ug hters, Isla , Cla ra a nd Ella , a re a consta nt insp ira tion a nd b la st of love, which help me see the world a nd its p eop le from a d ifferent p ersp ective.

"My current b usiness mod el is not for the fa int of hea rt. Invest every p enny of p rofit b a ck into the p ra ctice. EVERY PEN N Y. I view money a s energ y to b e used . I ha ve no int erest in st a c k ing d olla rs.

"O ver the course of three a nd a ha lf yea rs in this sp a ce, I cura ted eig ht g roup show s a nd t hree solo show s. In the summer of 20 22, I moved the g a llery to a n old wa rehouse in N or t h Burna b y, then to Horseshoe Ba y in a West b a nk Develop ment in the summer of 20 23.

"Moving forwa rd into 20 24, there a re a few thing s I a m excited a b out - connecting more collectors with my a rtists a nd my a rt, rea lizing a sa t ellit e p op - up in N ew York or Lond on, a nd p a rticip a ting in Int erna t iona l Ar t Fa irs."

"BLAH is currently loca ted in two loca tions d owntown on Ea st a nd West Ha st ing s.

BLAH's continued interest is to work with emerg ing a nd mid - ca reer a rtists, focusing on p hotog ra p hy, insta lla tion, a nd p a inting s.

B E N J A M IN BL AH

"The ' Boiler Room' insta lla tion is a ctua lly a p riva te a rt club loca ted in the b a sement of a c irc a 19 32 b uild ing on West Ha sting s. It is a p riva te, g uest list- only club fea turing a series of rota ting a rtwork a va ila b le for p urcha se, DJs, a nd a cockta il b a r.

L UM B

A LA N CA LI M BA S: REA L ESTA TE & RESCUE Immersed in a culture where rela tionship s rule a ll, Ala n Ca limb a s ha s a lwa ys emp ha sized truly connecting with everyone who surround s him. With ma ny yea rs a s a t ouring music ia n a nd in the c ust omer ser vic e/ hosp it a lit y ind ust r y, he rea lized tha t working with others ra ther tha n a g a inst them lea d s you further in life. This true 'tea m' menta lity ha s a llowed Ala n to lea rn from his p eers a nd lea d them to success!

081

Born in Toront o, Ala n reloca ted to the West Coa st a t a young a g e. He ha s now ca lled Va ncouver home for over 17 yea rs a nd is in love with how the city a nd the b ea uty of na ture exist a s one.

He is a city b oy a t hea rt b ut ha s g rown to love the outd oors a nd everything Mother Na ture p rovid es.

Ala n found ed VAN CITY 4 SALE, a rea l esta te b usiness b a sed in Va ncouver. He sep a ra tes himself in the ma rketp la ce b y working closely with his clients to a chieve their g oa ls throug h ca refully cra fted stra teg ies ca tered to their sp ecific need s from b eg inning to end .

Some of Ala n's most sig nifica nt a ccomp lishments thus fa r in his ca reer ha ve b een the numerous ong oing rela tionship s with a wid e a rra y of clientele. In just seven short yea rs in the b usiness, he ha s p ersona lly sold over $130 million in rea l est a t e t ra nsa c t ions a nd well over $240 million in t ea m sa les, a lwa ys focusing on the client's g oa ls a nd ob jectives.

A consistent top p erformer in Va nc ouver Rea l Est a t e Soc ia l M ed ia for the p a st five yea rs, Ala n excels in thinking outsid e the b ox. His uniq ue a nd scrip ted socia l med ia content g a ins hund red s of thousa nd s of views, cutting throug h the noise of tra d itiona l ma rketing . Proud ly ra nking in the Top 10 in Va nc ouver a nd ma inta ining a Top 15 p osit ion in BC, Ala n's innova tive a p p roa ch sta nd s out.

Ala n's exp ertise extend s to luxury p rop erties, from west- sid e d rea m homes in Va nc ouver t o N or t h Shore ma nsions with b rea thta king views.

083

Sp ecia lizing in short- term renta l p rop erties, p a rticula rly in Dow nt ow n Va nc ouver, Ala n na vig a tes the ever- cha ng ing reg ula tions with finesse.

Nota b ly, his clients ha ve never fa ced rep rima nd s or ma ssive fines, a testa ment to the g uid a nce a nd sup p ort he p rovid es in na vig a ting the rules a nd reg ula tions.

Ala n's mission is simp le: he wa nts the client, to b e ha p p y. He exud es p ositivity, is d riven, motiva ted , sincere a nd und ersta nd ing when it comes to client's need s a nd will a lwa ys ma ke sure they come first.

He litera lly a rrived minutes b efore she wa s set to b e killed . Thoug h his time with Pea rl wa s short, their hours tog ether were irrep la cea b le!

Tog ether, Pea rl enjoyed her first cheeseb urg er, first ca r rid e, first huma n b ed , a nd exp erienced love for the first time, ma king their b ond unb rea ka b le a nd their g ood b ye? b ittersweet. Ala n welcomes a nyone wa nting to ma ke a d ifference a nd lea rn how to contrib ute to this nob le ca use to connect with him d irectly.

In his newest venture, The SUBJECT FREE Pod c a st (a va ila b le on numerous p od ca st strea ming p la tforms), Ala n a nd his collea g ues d iscuss fund a menta l esta te- rela ted top ics, ta king a "rea l" look a t wha t g oes on b ehind the scenes in Rea l Esta te with four d iverse a g ents in the field .

I N HI S WORDS

He g ua ra ntees listeners will la ug h (ma yb e), cry (p rob a b ly not), lea rn (tha t's the hop e), a nd you will b e left wond ering : " WTF!? Did t hey just sa y t ha t !?"

"I d id n't rea lize tha t I wa nted to b e a n entrep reneur when I b eca me one - so you ca n sa y I fell into it when I sta rted to ta ke my music ca reer seriously.

O n his off time, you ca n find Ala n with his life's ma ny joys: his wife, rescue d og s, a nd ca t. He a lso d ona tes his time to a nima l- rela ted ca uses, something he is incred ib ly p a ssiona te a b out.

"Not too long a fter g ra d ua ting hig h school, a round 18 or 19 , my b a nd a nd I q uickly rea lized tha t we were not just p la ying music b ut running a n ent ire b usiness. Ensuring tha t a ll a sp ects of our b ra nd p ortra yed a consistent messa g e to the p ub lic - we took comp lete control of it a ll. At tha t p oint, we ha d rec ord la b el int erest g rowing b ut d ecid ed tha t their offers weren't in our b est interest, so we took investor money to g row our b usiness on our terms.

He is a c t ively involved in resc uing d og s in Sout hern Ca lifornia , where the ep id emic of a b a nd onment ha s led to overc row d ed shelt ers a nd hea r t b rea k ing eut ha niza t ions.

Recently, Ala n used his socia l med ia to loca te a n a d op tive p a rent for a n a b a nd oned shelter d og na med Pea rl on Va ncouver Isla nd . She wa s on d ea th row in a ' k ill shelt er' in Los Ang eles.

When the shelter informed Ala n they were not wa iting until the p ick- up d ea d line p reviously a rra ng ed a nd tha t they p la nned to eut ha nize her the sa me d a y, Ala n d rop p ed everything , jump ed on a flig ht, a nd sa fely secured her relea se.

"As the b a nd wa s the b usiness a nd we were a lso the p rod uct, wea ring a ll ha ts wa s req uired a nd soon b eca me t iring a nd t ime- c onsuming . It wa s ma inly the sing er a nd I who ra n this, so the other g uys ha d a p retty comfy rid e on tour, a nd ma n, I wa s jea lous of the a mount of p a rtying they d id while we were running numb ers a nd ma na g ing every a sp ect of the b usiness.

"As a tra velling circus, I mea n, musicia ns; we would consta ntly p la y shows a nd freq uently p la y in cities where we sa w the b est resp onse. To keep it fresh, we need ed a hook for them to return to hea r the sa me song s tha t they just hea rd not too long a g o, so my sing er would think of the c ra ziest merc ha nd ise it ems t o sell, which includ ed veg a n p ep p ermint- fla voured sex lub rica nt, veg a n soa p , ha ir p oma d e, etc.

"Another a sp ect I loved so much stemmed from ea ch of us ha ving very d ifferent ta stes in music p reference. We would ta ke old er, p op ula r song s a nd rewrite them into our style a nd b ra nd of music. It kep t thing s exciting , a nd the crowd s loved it.

085

"At the sa me time, it wa s cha lleng ing , to sa y the lea st. Being the t a lent , ma na g ement , ma rk et ing c omp a ny, b ook ing a g ent , etc., a nd a ll the while still trying to write new music a nd choreog ra p h va rious on- sta g e a crob a ts (our live shows were one thing we wa nted to ma ke sure p eop le were WO WED b y) a nd a s technolog y d evelop ed , there were even more thing s to a d d to our lists to lea rn.

"Record g ia nts like Universa l Ca na d a went from hug e ea st a nd west coa st op era tions, occup ying multi- floor b uild ing s, to a ha nd ful of emp loyees on the ea st coa st a nd one emp loyee working from his a p a rtment on the west coa st!

Tha t's how much Na p ster a nd file sha ring a ffected the music ind ustry!

"As this ha p p ened , I rea d the writing on the wa ll a nd d ecid ed to return to school while still touring .

"With my d eg ree in ha nd , I la nd ed a job a t a b outiq ue music ma na g ement comp a ny tha t ha nd led p rominent a rtists. I eventua lly worked my wa y up the la d d er to a tour coord ina tor for a rtists like N ora h Jones a nd M elod y Ga rd ot .

"After 13 yea rs, I eventua lly veered a wa y from the music ind ustry b eca use I lost my p a ssion for it. When you ha ve too ma ny b ra ins trying to move the b ra nd towa rd s their visions a nd the a lig nment is no long er there, it's time to move on to something new. The b a nd d id a fa rewell tour, which wa s our hig hest- g rossing one!

"I sa w my crea tivity d rop off, a nd this b usiness b ec a me less fun, a nd fun is the entire rea son I sta rted writing a nd p erforming music in the first p la ce!

"Wha t followed wa s a toug h tra nsition a s I felt a loss of id ent it y. I d a b b led in other ca reers, working for multip le comp a nies sa les job s, ma na g ing resta ura nts, a nd b eing the G M of one of the most p op ula r nig htclub s in Va ncouver.

"Even a fter sig ning with a la b el a nd ma na g ement comp a ny, the N a p st er d eb a cle turned the music ind ustry on its hea d , forcing the old mod el to cha ng e entirely.

"I wa s never comp letely content a s I knew tha t if I wa s g oing to work a s ha rd a s I d id on something , it should b e for my b ra nd a nd b usiness.

"Most record la b els a nd shop s d id not survive, a nd The 'Big 5' la b els (Universa l, Sony, BMG , Wa rner a nd EMI) merg ed to eventua lly b ecome The 'Big 3' a fter p a rts were sold off.

"Running a nig htclub wa s the na il in the coffin for my long - term rela tionship.

Work ing 70 ? 80 hour w eek s a ffected our rela tionship a s my g irlfriend would b e so lonely.

"I worked a lmost every nig ht until a round 4a m a nd sometimes until 7a m. I would a lso ha ve to b e there in the d a ytime, so I never sa w her.

"We resc ued a d og so she would n't feel a s lonely, b ut tha t d og ha d sig nifica nt p a st life tra uma a nd sep a ra tion a nxiety, lea d ing us to rescue a second d og .

"He ha d b een left t o d ie a t a g a rb a g e d ump sit e a nd , ultima tely, this second rescue would end up b eing our first one's b est friend a nd t hera p y d og . He ta ug ht our firstb orn how to wa lk correctly, p la y a p p rop ria tely, a nd socia lize resp ectfully.

They a re still the b est of friend s a nd b rothers tod a y! Beca use of my rescue d og s (sons), I d ec id ed t o g et int o rea l est a t e.

"O ne nig ht a fter work, I a rrived home a round 5:30 a m a nd found my b oys p a tiently wa iting b y my a p a rtment d oor with a ll the lig hts on, which wa s very unusua l. When I wa lked further into my home, I d iscovered tha t my g irlfriend ha d t a k en a ll her b elong ing s a nd left , lea ving our two b oys b ehind .

"At tha t p oint, I knew I ha d to cha ng e my life! Not only wa s I k illing myself (my liver, to b e more exa ct), b ut we rescued these b ea utiful p up s to g ive them a b etter life from wha t they ha d known in the p a st, a nd there wa s no wa y I wa s g oing to a b a nd on them a g a in!

087

"I a sked myself, wha t a re the thing s tha t I ha ve a n interest in? And I kep t coming b a ck to Rea l Est a t e. I knew this wa s the tra ck to p ursue if I wa s g oing to run my own b usiness.

"I d on't like the word successful much b eca use I d on't think you a re ever a s successful a s you wa nt. I wa s successful in the sense tha t I wa s in my third yea r in the b usiness, d oing enoug h d ea ls to live d ecently, loved my ca reer, loved the p eop le I met, a nd I wa s still IN the b usiness.

"Most new a g ents d on't survive their first five yea rs, a nd a round 80 % exit in their first yea r! In tha t sense, you could sa y I sa w some success, b ut I wa sn't a nywhere close to wha t success wa s or is!

"There wa s a p ivota l moment in my ca reer when C O VID hit, a nd a ll p red ictions were tha t the sky would fa ll a nd p rop erties would d rop in va lue b y 30 % or more. I t ook c ont rol of my d est iny b efore the ma rket g ot hot, a nd tha t's when I urg ed my clients a nd p rea ched to my a ud ience to ta ke the op p ortunity p resented to us.

"Everything ha p p ened like the M a t rix, a nd I sa w the va lue in ta king a d va nta g e of the d oom a nd g loom med ia .

"Socia l med ia ha s a lwa ys fa scina ted me, a nd I knew tha t coming very soon, it would b e a vita l comp onent to most b usinesses.

"When Inst a g ra m first c a me out a nd Fa c eb ook a d s ha d just b eg un, I took courses to lea rn how to d o it while still a touring musicia n.

"Thoug h a ll the p la tforms, messa g ing , a nd stra teg ies ha ve cha ng ed immensely since those courses a t UBC, I ha ve continuously resea rched how to g row my a ud ience consta ntly, which I a m still d oing tod a y!

"O f la te, I ha ve tra nsitioned to a hea vy vid eo- b a sed c ont ent st ra t eg y a s this is the b est wa y to convey your messa g ing , b ra nd ing , a nd p ersona lity.

"These a re a ll HUGE a sp ec t s of why clients/ consumers d ecid e to use your services or p urcha se your p rod ucts in tod a y's world .

"Unlike t ra d it iona l one- w a y ma rk et ing , you ca n a lso g et insta nt feed b a ck a nd mea sure your a na lytics, wherea s b efore you could only estima te certa in thing s, p rima rily b y tra ffic, d ensity, etc.

089

"My story would not b e comp lete without g iving p rop s t o my p a rent s, who ha ve a lwa ys b elieved in me, a nd they know how ha rd I work a t the thing s I'm p a ssiona te or ob sessed a b out. I a m a lwa ys lea rning how to imp rove, a nd b eing someone who d oesn't necessa rily like cha ng e, tha t wa s a lwa ys the most d ifficult ha b it to b rea k. I've imp roved this a sp ect of myself, which ha s ha d a n enormous imp a ct on my b usiness.

"My wife ha s a lso a lwa ys b elieved in me, b ut she kind of ha s to - just kid d ing ! LO L! - a nd my clients ha ve a lwa ys b een so fa ithful to me!

I ha ve ret a ined a b out 9 5% of t he c lient s I w ork ed w it h sinc e my first d a ys in the ind ustry a nd continue d ea ling with them. As much a s I help ed them, they ha ve help ed me even more!

"My b usiness mod el a nd nic he c lient ele ha ve sig nific a nt ly c ha ng ed, esp ecia lly in the la st two yea rs.

"I ha ve ha d some hea lth issues stemming from hemop hilia , a b leed ing d isord er, which I've ha d a ll my life. I a lmost d ied in the summer of 20 22, a nd I d id n't ta ke seriously the severity of wha t wa s ha p p ening . I d id two d ea ls while I wa s in a hosp ita l b ed , not knowing tha t I could 've d ied until the d octor sa t my wife a nd me d own to g ive it to us stra ig ht.

"At tha t p oint, a s much a s I loved b eing extremely b usy, I wa sn't fully ha p p y with where my ca reer a nd b usiness wa s. After tha t rea liza tion a nd a ha rd look in the mirror, I cha ng ed my mod el. How I wa s ma rketing myself wa s not conveying the messa g e or ca p turing the typ e of clientele tha t I wa nted .

"So, when I left the hosp ita l, I p ut a p la n in p la ce to p ivot t he b usiness a nd focus on wha t would g et me to where I wa nted to g o.

It took a little time, b ut I sta rted to see the results of the cha ng e, a nd it ha s b een c ha lleng ing b ut rew a rd ing !

"I'm very honest reg a rd ing my clients a nd the d ecisions I feel would b e b est for them to ma ke. We a ll know wha t's ha p p ening in the ma rket with the hig h- interest ra tes, the a fford a b ility crisis, a nd the la ck of g ood inventory on the ma rket.

"All yea r, my p hone ha s b een ring ing off the hook, b ut I ha d honest c onversa t ions w it h my c lient s a nd a ny new p ot ent ia l c lient s.

The ma jority of my a d vice to my sellers wa s to wa it to list if they ca n honestly a fford to wea ther the storm.

"It's not a b out the q uick sa le or q uick money in my wa llet. It's a b out how I ca n p ut them in the b est p osition to a chieve their g oa ls.

"Whether it b e selling for the hig hest p rice p ossib le or choosing the rig ht home(s) to ma ke the investment(s) worth their while, I d on't shy a wa y from g iving it to them stra ig ht, a nd I g enuinely b elieve tha t is why I ha ve instilled trust a nd they continuously use my services. I'm a lso a shit loa d of fun to b e a round , honestly! LO L! "I ha ve b een d oing a full- on p ress on ma rk et ing a nd c ont ent c rea t ion to g et throug h the next two q ua rters. I wa nt to b e a hea d of the ma rket b eca use when it turns, a nd we a ll know it will, there won't b e a s much time to invest in these a ctions, a nd I d on't wa nt to b e in a situa tion where it fa lls off a nd I'm forced to p la y ca tch- up !"

AL AN C A L IM B A S V A N C IT Y 4 SA L E

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BUSI NESS & ENTREPRENEURS V OLUM E 1 | I SSUE 2

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CRA I G PA TTERSON SEA N JORDA N PA UL V A NDERZ EE JA CQUELI NE A DLER SI D K OSHUL M A NUEL BERNA SCHEK M A DELEI NE CLERI DES JESSI CA LI A NG JA SON SA RA I NELSON M EGGI TT BENJA M I N LUM B A LA N CA LI M BA S