On February 1, 2026, the Canadian Olympic team entered the iconic San Siro Stadium in Milan for the Armonia segment of the opening ceremony of the 25th Olympic Winter Games. The official jeweller to the team was Regina-based Hillberg & Berk, a company founded in 2007 by Rachel Mielke.

For a company that started on Rachel’s kitchen table, it was another step in a remarkable business story. “I always knew I wanted to start and own a business; in fact, that’s what I studied when I went to university,” says Mielke. Jewelry was a hobby, not a business that Rachel thought would become a national presence.

Central to Rachel’s success has been her commitment to quality – quality materials and quality designs that customers say make them feel special. Her commitment to quality quickly made her the talk of the town in Regina. When she opened her first store, customers were lining up to get in and experience the unique pieces she was offering in a unique setting.

Mielke says, “We want our customers to interact with the staff [and] the jewelry – so no glass cases for staff to stand behind, no glass cases to keep the jewelry out of the customers’ reach. Our customers love it and so do our staff.”

---

The Entrepreneurs is a show that features the imaginative, innovative drivers of our economy. For more, see our website at www.theentrepreneurs.ca.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When the United States attacked Iran in April of 2026, Hugh Loomans was already making plans to reroute agricultural supplies head to his Hamilton, Ontario-based company, Sylvite. Staying on top of global events and responding quickly has been key to Hugh’s success as an entrepreneur.

When Russia attacked Ukraine, Hugh pivoted the same way he did when the Soviet Union collapsed in the 1980s. As an independent supplier of agricultural nutrients and equipment, Sylivte is competing for the market at home in Ontario, Quebec, and in eastern states of the US.

It’s a highly competitive market with major international players vying to elbow him out of the way. Hugh says, “There have been so many nights at 3 am where I’m pacing the floor, trying to figure out how to make the seemingly impossible work.”

He’s succeeded! For more than 40 years, Hugh and Sylvite have innovated in sourcing products, packaging them in ways that meet the needs of customers, adding transportation services to his company to lower costs and, in doing so, spawning new divisions of the company.

Hugh Loomans has met the challenges of the ag sector with the same determination his customers – farmers – do everyday, because just like farming, the ag supply business changes from minute to minute.

---

The Entrepreneurs is a show that features the imaginative, innovative drivers of our economy. For more, see our website at www.theentrepreneurs.ca.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Connor Curran’s entrepreneurial journey is a master class in starting a business with nothing, nada, zip, zilch – other than gumption. Determined to be the master of his working destiny, Connor moved to Sweden to clear his head and study entrepreneurism.

He searched the web for instructions on how to set up a T-shirt company and simply started. No business plan, no money, no product. Why T-shirts? “They are the lemonade stand of today!” says Connor. Print-on-demand means you can design and market your product at no cost and if someone buys it, “that’s the biggest dopamine hit; that’s the fuel that keeps you going,” he says.

Bit by bit, Connor walks us through the process he followed to build a business, build up a cash reserve, go from print-on-demand to amassing inventory, and refining his marketing strategy – a strategy the White House validated and ignited his sales.

---

The Entrepreneurs is a show that features the imaginative, innovative drivers of our economy. For more, see our website at www.theentrepreneurs.ca.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.