Industry Interrupted

From The Globe and Mail, I'll Go First is back. Join tech entrepreneur and host Takara Small as she gets personal with Canadian innovators. Subscribe now.

For our last episode, we're coming full circle to tackle retail from a different angle. Contrary to popular belief, e-commerce hasn't caused vacancy rates for commercial real estate (the percentage of all available units) to go up. But that doesn't mean everything's the same as it's always been for landlords.In this episode we talk to: Kyle Hulme, National leader of digital strategy for BDO CanadaMalcolm Silver, Real estate investor and founder of Malcolm Silver & Co. Ltd.Nathan Elliott, Founder of FrontRunner TechnologiesKendall Barber, Co-founder of Edmonton-based luxury shoe and accessory brand Poppy BarleyThanks for listening to season two of Industry Interrupted! Rate and review to support the show (And get a third season). Got a question? You can email us at podcasts@globeandmail.com

Sales for traditional grocery retailers are stagnating - and if they don't figure something out soon, it'll be too late.In this episode we talk to:Gary Senecal, Chief customer officer at LoblawJoe D’Addario, Co-founder and president of Nature’s Emporium, a chain of health food stores in Southern OntarioAmar Singh, Senior analyst with Kantar ConsultingSylvain Charlebois, Director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie UniversityRate and review to support the show! Got a question? You can email us at podcasts@globeandmail.com   

In 2002, the Oakland As did something that no team in Major League Baseball had ever done before: They used big data to build their small-market team into the number one team in the Western division. The practice of using data in sports spread like wildfire. Fast forward to now - how is data shaping professional and amateur teams and athletes across Canada?In this episode, we talk to: Matt Prefontaine, Video coach for the Winnipeg JetsNeil Anderson, founder of athlete evaluation app Skillshark Christopher Boucher, VP sports development, analytics & hockey ops sport analytics startup SportLogiqAndy Van Neutegem, Director of performance sciences, research and innovation with Own the Podium, a non-profit organization that helps Canadian Olympians earn more medalsRate and review to support the show! Got a question? You can email us at podcasts@globeandmail.com

South Korea has exported a number of trends over the past few years: K-pop music, premium phones and above all, an obsession with flawless 'glass' skin. For women across Canada, affordable and well-formulated skin care products have never been so accessible.In this episode, we talk to: Elaine Shigeishi, Vice-president of Shiseido CanadaAlicia Yoon, Founder and CEO of Peach & Lily, a New York-based Korean skincare companyPriya Rao, Editor at the Glossy beauty podcast Alecsandra Hancas, Director of prestige beauty client development for Canadian research company NPD GroupRate and review to support the show! Got a question? You can email us at podcasts@globeandmail.com

The beer landscape used to be dominated by big names like Molson, Coors and Labatt. Then the first two merged, and the public developed a taste for independent craft brews. How did that happen? In this episode, we talk to: Kyle Norrington, President of Labatt Breweries of CanadaAlicia MacDonald, Co-owner of Port Rexton Brewing Company in Port Rexton, N.L.Bill MacKenzie, CEO of Wild Rose Brewery in CalgaryRate and review to support the show! Got a question? You can email us at podcasts@globeandmail.com

For years, the industry told us that we needed to buy mattresses in person. But as it turns out, they were wrong.In this episode, we speak to: Mike Gettis, co-founder of Endy Stewart Schaefer, Chief business development officer of Sleep Country CanadaJoy Elena, founder of Toronto-based Sleep EnvieSam Prochazka, founder of Calgary-based Goodmorning.comRate and review to support the show! Got a question? You can email us at podcasts@globeandmail.com

Direct-to-consumer dentistry services like Smile Direct Club are worrying Canadian orthodontists. The fear is that consumers won't get the level of care appropriate for something as important as our teeth. The disruptors say that the fears are overblown. Who is correct? in this episode we talk to: Dr. Jeffrey Sulitzer, Chief Clinical Officer of Smile Direct Club Dr. Tracey Hendler. Orthodontist at Forest Hill Orthodontics in Toronto and pre-clinical instructor of orthodontics at the University of TorontoIrwin Fefergrad, Registrar of the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of OntarioRate and review to support the show! Got a question? You can email us at podcasts@globeandmail.com

Across the country, the battle between retail and rental is heating up. As consumer sentiment turns away from fast fashion, clothing rental companies are betting that the desire to own our own clothes isn't as strong as we think. In this episode, we talk to: Vasiliki Belegrinis, founder and CEO of Markham, Ont.-based clothing rental company Reheart Doug Stevens, retail futurist and a contributor to trade publication Business of FashionMichael Solomon, author of Consumer Behavior: Buying, Having, and BeingYou can listen to Recode's full interview with Rent the Runway CEO Jennifer Hyman here. Rate and review to support the show! Got a question? You can email us at podcasts@globeandmail.com

Veggie burgers and the like are no longer just for vegans and vegetarians. What’s behind the explosion of meatless meat? And what exactly is a 'flexetarian'?On this episode we speak to: Seth Goldman, Executive chairman of Beyond MeatMichael McCain, President and CEO of Maple Leaf FoodsLonie Murdock, Personal trainer, nutritional coach and founder of Eat, Train, Live, a healthy meal delivery service in TorontoRate and review to support the show! Got a question? You can email us at podcasts@globeandmail.com Bonus: You can click here to see a photo of Sean enjoying his meatless meat burger. Sorry Sean.

Malls are dying across North America. Or are they? As we found out, the story is a little different in Canada. Industry Interrupted is BACK for season two! Rate and comment to support the show. In this episode we talk to:  Derek Coss, Chief Development Officer for Ivanhoe CambridgeCraig Patterson, Retail analyst and founder of Canadian retail industry news publication Retail InsiderJeff Hardwick, author of Mall Maker: Architect of an American Dream, a biography of the original creator of the mall, Victor GruenTamara Szames, fashion industry analyst at NPD Group 

For every established company, there’s a disruptor waiting in the wings. But will they spark a new revolution or fizzle out? Listen to Season 2 of Industry Interrupted starting Oct 16.

Mobile medical apps have fundamentally changed health care. But they’ve never quite managed to break through the doctor-patient relationship. Now that apps are getting into machine learning, will that change?WE TALK TO:Yan Fossat,Vice President at Klick LabsCarlo Perez, CEO of Swift Medical

For most of us, accessing clean water is as easy as turning on the tap. But for those who live in underserved and isolated communities, that's a luxury they can't even fathom. And as our world increasingly feels the effects of climate change, we might find that our relationship with water will start to change too. What role can Canadian technology play in helping people around the world access clean water?WE TALK TO:David Henderson, founder of XPV Water PartnersCandace Cook, a research scientist with RESEAU waterNET, a program based at the University of Brtiish Columbia

Insurance coverage in Canada has been largely unchanged since the industry began, so it's no surprise that lots of Canadians resent the premiums they pay for inflexible policies that often don’t meet their needs.We speak with serial entrepreneur Mike Serbinis about the explosion of on-demand and personalized services, and the way his new company League is challenging the long-standing, “one-size-fits-none” approach to insurance coverage.WE TALK TO:Mike Serbinis, co-founder and CEO of League, a startup offering a digital alternative to traditional health insurance. 

The consumer wellness industry is now becoming data driven. In this episode, Sean dives into the world of "designer" diets, wellness and health, talking to two companies that are attempting to figure out how what we consume controls us from the inside out. You really can personalize everything ... even cannabis.WE TALK TO:Aly Burtch, co-founder and managing director of uBioDiscovery, a company that creates personalized diet plans based on the bacteria in your gutStephanie Karasick, founder and chief patient advocate at Strainprint, a mobile app for medical cannabis users to track their intake and learn which strains and dosages work best for them

From AI that can predict the outcome of a trial to software that can sift through mountains of evidence in record time, technology is finally starting to change law in remarkable ways. But it begs the question – if in some cases technology can do a lawyer’s work better than the lawyer, what does that mean for the future of legal jobs?WE TALK TO:Benjamin Alarie, CEO and co-founder of Blue J Legal, a Toronto company that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to predict legal outcomesPuneet Tiwari, co-founder of Evichat, a Toronto company that enables lawyers to efficiently sort and review evidence from social media

Supporters describe cryptocurrencies as a way to bypass banks and put payments back into the hands of the people. But opponents see cryptocurrencies as little more than souped-up versions of a money order, with no intrinsic value. In this episode, Sean takes a look at how the evolution of cryptocurrency is finally convincing the financial industry to get in on the act.WE TALK TO:Jenn Lowther, chief revenue officer of Netcents, a Vancouver-based company that recently introduced a cryptocurrency credit cardChris Rowell, a post-doctoral research fellow at the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business

For our last episode, we're turning to one our oldest industries - farming. But in order for Canada’s agriculture industry to keep up, remain competitive, meet food security and achieve sustainability goals, it must look to innovate. That means introducing things like grain-bin sensors, soil monitors, digital weather stations … and turning manure into water?WE TALK TO:Jason Bradley. Director of the Olds College Smart Agriculture program in Olds, Alberta.Karen Schuett, co-founder of Livestock Water Recycling in Calgary.

Innovation touches every industry. From finance to medicine to agriculture, what’s forcing change in these sectors? How will they fare in the global economy? And what will it mean for your wallet?