"Go through your day, find something that pisses you off, and fix it."

That might be the best definition of entrepreneurship I've ever heard. It comes from Julie Cole—a "recovered" family lawyer, mom of a growing family and co-founder of Mabel's Labels.

For Julie, necessity truly was the mother of invention. And it served her twice.

First, Julie noticed parents labelling their kids' belongings with masking tape and markers, only to have those labels fall off in the wash, disappear in the dishwasher, or fail somewhere between school and summer camp.

At the same time, Julie's eldest son, was diagnosed with autism at age three. With a toddler and a newborn also at home, she realized a traditional career couldn't bend to meet her family's needs. So she built one that could.

Together with her sister and two best friends, Julie began making labels in her sister's basement long into the evening. Twenty-three years later, Mabel's Labels has been recognized twice by the RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards, and Avery successfully acquired the business.

I then end the episode sharing my small-business tip of the week:

This is Episode 3 of Small Business Matters, a five-part conversation series running throughout October, thanks to the support of RBC.

Next week: Andrew Black.

For decades I've admired Bruce: his integrity, his personality, his intuition and his drive. He helped build Lavalife before most of us trusted the internet, became one of Canada's best-known Dragons on Dragons' Den, and co-founded Round13 Capital. Few people have had a front-row seat to nearly four decades of disruption. Fewer still are this honest about what it takes.

This isn't an interview. It's a masterclass woven into a podcast. Hard-won lessons from someone who will tell you that anyone who claims to bat a thousand isn't telling the truth.

We will also learn about 13th Round: Fight for Life, which has brought 700 kids into the boxing ring for discipline, belonging and self-esteem and then my Tony Takeaway: My lesson in life for all who dream and do.

Episode 2 of Small Business Matters, honouring our Small Business heroes, and presented by RBC.

CHAPTERS
00:00 Three kinds of people: who makes things happen
02:57 Curiosity at 65, and what never changes about success
05:21 Lessons from his father: grade eight, $50 and humility
06:50 Dragons' Den: the fame, the brand and why he left
08:43 Lavalife: building trust before anyone trusted the internet
10:19 Why founders fool themselves, and the feedback loop
11:32 Passion vs. introspection: what Bruce looks for first
12:38 The pitch every investor dreams of
14:06 Billion-dollar valuations, AI and getting back to basics
15:39 The 51/49 rule, and Bruce's Achilles heel
19:18 Taking the emotion out of investing
20:25 Why Canada is the best place to build a business
22:52 Celebrating entrepreneurs like hockey players
24:01 13th Round Fight for Life
25:35 The letter Bruce hopes to receive
26:33 Tony's three takeaways
28:15 Stand for something before you try to stand out

If this episode moves you, share it with one person who's building something. A business, a brand or a career.

Round13 Capital: https://round13.com/
13th Round Fight for Life: https://13thround.life
RBC Small Business: https://www.rbcroyalbank.com/business/index.html

What if the greatest threat to your business isn't what's broken but what's working beautifully? To launch my five-part Small Business Matters series, I sit down with Sid Paquette, Head of RBCx for a powerful conversation about building enduring businesses and Canada's new economy.

Sid explains why entrepreneurs must disrupt themselves before someone else does, how unexpected value turns customers into advocates, and why passion, resilience and execution are essential to attracting exceptional talent. He also explores the importance of embracing failure, hiring people who complement your weaknesses and creating a culture where bold ideas can thrive.

The conversation then turns to Canada's defining economic opportunity: helping homegrown technology companies secure the capital, expertise and connections they need to scale here—and compete everywhere.

I close with an essential lesson for everyone: Attention is the oxygen of every endeavour. In an age of relentless noise, earning attention begins by listening generously and becoming part of your customers' stories, not simply telling your own.

Whether you're growing a business, building a team or reinventing your career, this episode will challenge you to disrupt what's working, create value no one expects and turn attention into meaningful engagement.

Chatter That Matters is presented by RBC.

To learn more about why RBC Small Business banking works as hard as you do: https://www.rbcroyalbank.com/business/index.html

To learn more about RBCX Ventures: https://www.rbcx.com/portfolio/

RBCx $1.4 billion growth fund: https://www.rbcx.com/investments/rbcx-growth-fund/

Our Loves - Avi Nesher

Can a film change how we see the world and ourselves? At the Toronto International Film Festival, I sat down with celebrated Israeli filmmaker Avi Nesher to discuss Our Loves, his moving new film about seven strangers whose personal struggles are overtaken by the events of October 7, 2023.

Nesher reflects on five decades of filmmaking, the balance between structure and creativity, and why actors and audiences are partners in the storytelling process. In a deeply personal conversation, he also explores grief, artistic freedom, second chances, and cinema's power to build empathy, bring people together, and help us heal.

And our world needs healing.

In the summer of 1972, a group of young, largely unknown performers gathered in Toronto to stage Godspell. The cast included Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Gilda Radner, Andrea Martin, Victor Garber, Dave Thomas and Jayne Eastwood, with Paul Shaffer at the piano. What happened in that rehearsal room would help shape comedy for generations.

I sit down with director Nick Davis and writer Jane Mendelsohn about their documentary, *You Had to Be There: How the Toronto Godspell Ignited the Comedy Revolution, Spread Love & Overalls, and Created a Community That Changed the World (in a Canadian Kind of Way). We explore how an ensemble built on friendship, trust and joyful experimentation became an incubator for extraordinary talent and how Martin Short's hidden audio recordings helped preserve a production for which no film footage exists.

The conversation also honours Gilda Radner's enduring spirit, reflects on Avril Chown's more painful experience in show business, and asks whether such an unguarded creative community could emerge in today's era of personal brands and constant cameras. It's a moving story about collaboration, risk, memory and the rare moments that change culture before anyone realizes history is being made.

CHATTER THAT MATTERS is live at TIFF with ODIENCE, an exciting and immersive content platform created by Montreal-based Summit Tech.

To learn more about:

The documentary: https://tiff.net/films/you-had-to-be-there

RBC and TIFF: https://www.rbctiff.com

Odience360: https://www.odience.com

What if the moment that broke you was also the moment you began to wake up?

Aymie Daniels, author of An American Awakening, shares her raw and deeply personal journey through depression, addiction, psychosis, misdiagnosis, and spiritual awakening. Together, we explore the fragile line between revelation and delusion—and ask whether a mental health crisis can also be a profound search for meaning.

Aymie's story exposes the cracks in a mental healthcare system that can leave people feeling controlled, overmedicated, dismissed, and misunderstood. It also reveals what may become possible when compassionate guidance, personal agency, and hope replace fear and judgment.

Blending lived experience with reflection and practical mental health awareness, this episode challenges what we think we know about sanity, consciousness, healing, and transformation.

This is more than one woman's story. It's a powerful conversation for anyone who has ever felt unheard—and a wake-up call for a system that claims to care.

What if the parts of your story you most want to escape are the very parts that can lead you toward purpose?

Growing up, Peter H. Bailey always felt that something was wrong, and somehow, he was it. After a brain hemorrhage and unsuccessful surgery transformed his father from a heroic Navy pilot into a man with significant disabilities, Peter carried a painful mix of embarrassment, confusion and shame. He was even ashamed of feeling ashamed.

Being the smallest kid in his class intensified what he calls "the disease of comparison." Dangerous stunts, alcohol and drugs became ways to earn acceptance and escape what he didn't know how to feel.

But Peter's story didn't end there.

In this deeply human conversation, Peter explores how travel, adversity, his wife's cancer journey and Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey helped him reframe his past and discover a more purposeful way forward. He shares excerpts from his bestselling book, The Epic of You.

I ask Peter the question we often ask ourselves. How do we find genuine meaning in a world engineered to distract us, compare us and keep us numb?

Some fantastic takeaways on how to realize that the epic is you.

To learn more about Peter and to purchase his book: https://www.peter-bailey.com