In this episode, Mount Royal University students, Tyra Macdonald and Anthony Dang, shared their experiences of the first days of opening the new Code Ninjas franchise location in the Willow Park community of Calgary in April 2021.  As a marketing student at Mount Royal, Tyra has been able to apply a lot of her classroom theory into practical application including working on advertising and promotion matters with Willow Park Shopping Centre personnel and learning how to use Google Analytics to understand potential customer website visits.  Anthony shared that he did not learn coding until high school and thus understands how the students feel when they approach coding for the first time.  As a computer information systems student, Anthony is also learning to code, albeit at a more advanced level than some of his students.  §§§  To learn more about the Code Ninjas program and how they are helping to shape the next generation ot full stack developers, click on the links below:  §§§  Code Ninjas | Willow Park  Website | https://www.codeninjas.com/willow-park-ab-ca  Instagram | @codeninjaswillowpark  §§§  Code Ninjas | Franchisor  Website | https://www.codeninjas.com/  Instagram | @codeninjas  Twitter | @codeninjas  Facebook | @codeninjas  §§§  LinkedIn Profiles  Tyra Macdonald | https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyra-macdonald-4845801a0/  Anthony Dang | https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-dang-5a9896195/  Code Ninjas | https://www.linkedin.com/company/codeninjas  Mount Royal University | https://www.linkedin.com/school/mount-royal-university/  §§§  Education | Learning | Coding | Learn to Code | STEM Education | Kids Coding | Coding is Fun | Kids Learning | Full Stack Developers | Software Engineers | Computer Science | Social Interaction | Marketing | Digital Marketing | Primary School | Middle School | Secondary Education | Post-Secondary Education | University | Colleges --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/allen-wazny/message

Calgary Business Podcast

Code Ninjas Willowpark with Tyra MacDonald and Anthony Dang (episode 319) | 14 October 2021

Chris and Jen return to the podcast booth after a 2-year absence (refer to Episode 42 on 12 December 2019).  This time we were joined by two student dances, Lucia and Avery, and dance instructor Cara.  The other difference is everyone connected on Zoom.  §§§  This was a terrific session whereby the girls shared their experiences of dancing from home during Covid; Chris shared some changes over the last two years on marketing the business in the Calgary community; Jen shared how they were able to expand their dance community despite the Covid shutdowns; they all shared how famous choreographers and dancers from New York and London shared their routines, practices and dance moves on-line for free during Covid (when ordinarily such performances were limited to paid events or in-person classes).  This was a great chat. Thanks Icon Dance team! To reach out to Jenn, Chris and their team of dancers, click on the links below:  §§§  Icon Dance Company  Instagram | @icondancecompanyinc  Website | https://www.icondancecompany.com/  Facebook | @icondancecompanyinc  §§§  Dance Studio | Dancing | Ballet | Jazz Dance | Choreography | Competitive Dancing | Fitness | Health | Calgary | Calgary Small Business | Legacy Community | Walden Community | Calgary Business | YYC Business | South Calgary | Virtual Dance Classes | Ballet School | Primadonna | Performing Arts --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/allen-wazny/message

Icon Dance Company – with owners, Chris and Jen Zacharias along with Lucia, Cara and Avery (episode 318) | 8 October 2021

Noel shared the origin stories of his startup, AERT (pronounced "Art"), linked to the trauma his 6-year old brother experienced during Covid.  A finger caught from a house door being slammed on it.  Noel’s initial reaction was to Google to see what triage information was available and then call the 811 health line.  Conflicting information on line, a long waiting time on the phone and an hour long drive to the recommended hospital, provided the inspiration for Noel’s desire to use artificial intelligence to help families in need at the moment similar accidents (or traumatic events) occur at home.  As Noel explained, “…this is work in progress, I am still a student, afterall…”  To reach out to Noel and see if you can help provide the necessary anonymized data to feed his “AI-algorithm”, click on his LinkedIn bio below:  §§§  Noel Thomas LinkedIn Profile | https://www.linkedin.com/in/noelfranthomas/ Schulich School of Engineering at the University of Calgary | https://schulich.ucalgary.ca  §§§  Life Sciences | Health Sciences | Medical triage | Health Data | Data Science | AI/ML | Python programming | No-code Low-code | Linux Software | Biometrics | Biometry | Svetlana Yanushkevich | Biometric Technologies Laboratory | Kids Can Code | Biomedical Engineering | Software Developer | Linux Operating system | Raspberry Pi | Linux-based system | BioScience | BioNTech | Pfizer | Synthetic Biology --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/allen-wazny/message

Noel Thomas, Software Engineering student and founder of AERT (episode 317) | 25 September 2021

You may have heard the term “practice what you preach” -- Dr. Nicole Byers seems to have taken that personally. Not only does she operate a neuro-psychology practice for individual’s dealing with an accident or stroke that impacts their brain function, she also coordinates on-line courses, a podcast and confidence building bootcamps to help individuals in variety of areas including coping with stress, building self-confidence and improving their productivity on a daily basis. That is a sample of the wide range of tools available in her “psychology” tool box  §§§  To learn more about the activities of Dr. Nicole Byers, click on one or more of the links below:  Website | https://www.drnicolebyers.com  Instagram | @ drnicolebyers  Podcast “The Bold Life” (on Apple) | https://apple.co/3trOaSK  LinkedIn Profile | https://www.linkedin.com/in/drnicolebyers/  §§§  Mental Health | Clinical Psychology | Neuro Psychology | Calgary Clinic | Calgary small business | Alberta Health Services | Calgary Health Services | Mental Health | Health and Wellness | Stress | Anxiety | Self-esteem | Self-awareness | Education and Training | Canadian Mental Health | Canadian Psychology | Mental Habits | Healthy Habits | Work from Home | Work-life balance | Patient HM - Henry Molaison | Epilepsy | Seizures | Medial Temporal Lobe | Dr. Brenda Milner | Neuro-McGill University | Hippocampus | Memory Impairment | University of Saskatchewan | College of Alberta Psychologists --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/allen-wazny/message

Dr. Nicole Byers, founder of Rocky Mountain NeuroSciences Inc (episode 316) | 9 September 2021

Mark combined his professional investment expertise with a family medical condition around a rare brain disease to start a life sciences venture fund with co-founders, Gord Anderson and Dr. Lawrence Korngut. The combined expertise of the founding team makes them uniquely placed to assess and evaluate startups at the ideation stage — including at the research level in the University labs.  Such initial startups currently include:  Modelis Inc with a focus on drug discovery for rare and genetic diseases  Lumiio Inc with a focus on health-related data collection  AazeinTx with a focus on oral treatments for acute asthma attacks  Pure Life Carbon and its focus on agricultural products that increase crop yields while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.  §§§  To learn more about the work of KASTx Ventures, click on one or more of the links below:  KASTx Ventures  Website | https://kastxventures.com  LinkedIn page | https://www.linkedin.com/company/kastx-ventures/  §§  LinkedIn profile of KASTx founders  Mark Starratt | https://www.linkedin.com/in/markstarratt/  Gordon Anderson | https://www.linkedin.com/in/gordon-anderson-b101735b/  Dr. Lawrence Korngut | https://www.linkedin.com/in/lawrence-korngut-64b99137/  §§  Website of selected portfolio companies  Pure Life Carbon | https://purelifecarbon.com  Lumiio Inc | https://www.lumiio.com  AazeinTx | https://aazeintx.com  Modelis Inc | https://modelis.ca  §§  Healthcare | Life Sciences | Healthtech | Biotech | Pharmatech | Biotherapeutics | Research & Development | Universities and Colleges | BioPharmaceuticals | Pharmaceuticals | BioScience | Medicine | NeuroScience | Neuromuscular | Health clinic | Neurology | Hotchkiss Brain Institute | Dataffinity Health | Cumming School of Medicine | Wealth Management | Family Office investments | Angel Investors | Philanthropy | Venture Capital |  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/allen-wazny/message

KASTx Ventures co-founder Mark Starratt (episode 315) | 24 August 2021

Evelyne Nyairo enthusiastically shared the origin story of how an extended oil and gas trip in Chad resulted in pivoting to her own business of producing sustainable and socially conscious skin care products.   To learn more about Ellie Bianca Beauty, click on one or more of the links below:   §§§   Ellie Bianca Beauty   Website | https://store.elliebianca.com/   I nstagram | @elliebiancabeauty   Facebook | @EllieBianca    Twitter | @EllieBiancaInt   LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/company/elliebiancabeauty/   §§§   Evelyne Nyairo on LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/evelyne-nyairo-a67bb85/ §§§ Health and Beauty | Natural Products | Skincare | Women in Business | Women Founders | Female Founder | Omni-Channel | Consumer Products | Face Cream | Hand Cream --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/allen-wazny/message

Ellie Bianca Beauty with founder, Evelyne Nyairo (Episode 270) | 15 March 2021

Several key take-aways from this podcast include:  Fintech and traditional banking will remain in place to give people the option to choose (not “or” but “and”)  Traditional investing methods (via broker) and new self-trading platforms (such as Questrade) will provide individual investors with the options to do both  Keeping up with rapidly changing investment landscape requires a lot of reading, being open, selective podcasts, short and efficient articles and most importantly, relying upon experts (such as investing in digital assets like Crypto-currency)  To learn more about Julie Shipley-Strickland and her work as a wealth advisor, click on one or more of the links below:  §§§  LinkedIn Profile | https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-shipley-strickland-8a435347/  Website | https://advisor.wellington-altus.ca/julieshipleystrickland/  Email | julie.shipley-strickland@wprivate.ca  §§§  Wellington-Altus | https://www.wellington-altus.ca/ §§§ Investments | Insurance | Retirement | Post-Retirement | Wealth Management | Financial Security | | Trust | Piece of Mind | Education | Emotional Journalism | Investing | Money Management | Savings | Freedom-55 | RBC | Royal Bank of Canada | Wisdom | Mid-Life Wisdom School | FinTech | Chip Conley | Gary Vaynerchuk | Risk Management | Sir Ken Robinson | Masters of Scale podcast --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/allen-wazny/message

Julie Shipley-Strickland, Senior Investment Adviser, Wellington-Altus Private Wealth (Episode 314) | 12 August 2021

SokoLocal app with Founder and CEO, Nikhil Sonpal (episode 313) | 22 June 2021

The Work Experience Program at Mount Royal University has a rich 25-year history of providing students with practical skills that are immediately transferable upon completing their studies and commencing employment. During episode 41 of this podcast on 11 December 2019, Paul Varella referred to the Mount Royal University campus containing many “hidden gems”. It is likely my chat with Daniel Santiago just revealed one of those precious stones.  Click on one or more of the links below to learn more about the Work Experience, and a variety of other programs, at the Mount Royal University:  §§§  Mount Royal University  Website | https://www.mtroyal.ca/  Instagram | @mrulife  Facebook | @MountRoyal4U  Twitter | @MountRoyal4U  LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/school/mount-royal-university/  §§§  Daniel Santiago on LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielsantiago19/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/allen-wazny/message

Mount Royal University, Work Experience Program with Daniel Santiago (episode 312) | 18 June 2021

The simulation software of Endeavor Technologies is geared towards technical users interested in drilling oil & gas wells but it also enhances the user experience by utilizing the technology tools of Unreal Engine – the same visualization software that powers the popular gaming app, Fortnite. Click on one or more of the links below to learn more about Endeavor Technologies and their plans to apply their technology into other fields including the medical profession: §§§ Endeavor Technologies Website | https://endeavor-tech.ca/ LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/company/endeavor-technologies-corp-/ §§§ Brad Reiser on LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/brad-reiser-3b49b3122/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/allen-wazny/message

Endeavor Technologies with CEO and founder, Brad Reiser (episode 311) | 17 June 2021

Cynthia and her team at Virtira have been providing high impact value-added services to Blue Chip organizations for many years, primarily by helping companies manage their remote workforce. To learn more about Virtira, click on one or more of the links below: §§§ Virtira Website | https://virtira.com/ LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/company/virtira/ §§§ Cynthia Watson on LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/cynthiadwatson/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/allen-wazny/message

Virtira, with CEO and founder, Cynthia Watson (episode 310) | 17 June 2021

Wood’s Homes has been around since 1914 when it was initially set up to house orphaned children during World War 1. It has evolved over its 117 year history to provide treatment and support for children, youth and families with mental health needs. To learn more about Wood’s Homes, including the recently introduced Elbow Springs Counselling program, click on one or more of the links below: §§§ Wood’s Homes Website | https://www.woodshomes.ca/ Facebook | @woodshomesNFP Instagram | @woods_homes Twitter | @ChildMntlHealth YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/user/WoodsHomes1/videos LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/company/woods-homes/ §§§ David Williamson on LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-williamson-135a13213/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/allen-wazny/message

Wood’s Homes with Clinical Coordinator, David Williamson (episode 309) | 15 June 2021

Athennian has developed a platform that automates many of the routine functions of a lawyer working in either a professional practice or as general counsel with a corporate entity. One of the key features of the Athennian platform, that Josh Malate, and his fellow co-founders, including CEO Adrian Camara and others have developed, is the ability to reduce the workload of the paralegal and other associates to allow them to provide more quality, value-added services to more senior lawyers.  To learn more about how Athennian could follow in the “Unicorn” footsteps of other Calgary tech startups, click on one or more of the links below:  §§§  Athennian Website | https://www.athennian.com/  Twitter | @athennian LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/company/paper-interactive/  §§§  Josh Malate on LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-malate/  Adrian Camara on LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/adriancamara/ §§§ Legaltech | Careers in law | Legal profession | Legal careers | Legal technology | Legal innovation | Paralegal professionals | Contract automation | Office automation | Legal software | Cloud-based legal software | Law firm | Law student | Faculty of Law | Legal professionals | Corporations | Legal counsel | General counsel | Corporate Secretary | Incorporation | Legal services | Small business | Calgary startup | Calgary business | Canadian startup | Canadian business | Tech startup | Creativity | Innovation  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/allen-wazny/message

Athennian with co-founder and Chief Operating Officer, Josh Malate (episode 308) | 15 June 2021

Cherry Health app with Founder and CEO, Jordan Vollrath (episode 307) | 14 June 2021

Jeff LaFrenz with InceptionU, Evolve program learners (episode 306) | 9 June 2021

Calgary Business Podcast is focused on meeting Calgary business owners, educators, influencers or other business leaders based in Calgary to discuss issues of importance to them.