The Profit or Pivot Podcast

Building a $150M Corporate Venture Fund | Talia Abramowitz & Deloitte Ventures

Should you leave your steady corporate job to start a business?

In this episode of The Profit or Pivot Podcast I speak with Talia Abramowitz, a partner at Deloitte, the largest professional services firm in the world ($70B in revenues) and the founder of Deloitte Ventures, a $150 million corporate venture capital fund.

Talia shares how she carved out entrepreneurial opportunities within the corporate giant, built a 500-person AI practice from scratch, and what it really takes to launch a corporate venture fund. Whether you're a founder raising capital, an investor seeking insight into CVC strategy, or a corporate leader itching to innovate from within, this episode is for you.

🔍 Topics We Cover:

• Why she chose to stay in corporate despite wanting to be an entrepreneur
• How Deloitte Ventures was created and what it looks for in startups
• Why Canada’s venture ecosystem lags behind (and how to fix it)
• Evaluating founders and spotting red flags during diligence
• When to quit your job to build a business
• Is a modern university degree useless

💬 Question for You: Are you debating whether to stay in your job or start your own thing? Drop a comment, let's talk about it.

📢 Subscribe for more conversations with leaders who built, pivoted, and profited.

Want to watch the video version? Check it out on YouTube.

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About Talia

Talia is the Managing Partner of Deloitte Ventures, a $150M corporate venture fund focused on emerging tech companies. She helped launch the fund in 2022. A 20-year Deloitte veteran, Talia previously served as the COO for Deloitte’s Financial Advisory practice and for Omnia AI, the firm’s artificial intelligence practice which she helped build into a ~$100M business. Talia has more than a decade of experience providing valuation and M&A advisory services.

Connect with Talia here

 

You Can Scale a Startup WITHOUT Venture Capital | Mark Nashman

Mark Nashman shares his journey from successful entrepreneur to successful venture capital investor. We learn about Mark's incredible story building Clarity Systems, a financial software business that he grew to over $50 million in revenues before selling to IBM. We also discuss Mark's perspective on investing in startups, what he looks for, red flags and some advice for entrepreneurs.

Mark is a rarity amongst entrepreneurs today. He never relied on huge financing rounds to build his business. His insights into finding product market fit, building a business, and decision to sell will be helpful for any startup founder.

Connect with Mark on LinkedIn 

Incapital Ventures

INcapital Ventures invests in early growth-stage technology companies primarily from Israel, with an established product market fit and solid traction and operations in North America. Our reputation as “bridge builders to the North American market” provides us access to exclusive and attractive opportunities in Israel.

Why Startup Founders Fail at Sales (And How to Fix It) | Sonya Meloff

In this episode of The Profit or Pivot Podcast, I sit down with Sonya Meloff, co-founder of one of Canada’s most successful sales recruitment agencies. She helped thousands of companies, from startups to enterprises, hire top-performing salespeople and scaled her business to 8-figure revenues before exiting.

If you're a founder hiring your first sales rep, scaling your go-to-market team, or just want to sharpen your sales skills, this is a masterclass.

We dive deep into:

• Sonya’s accidental entry into sales and how she became a natural closer
• Her time at Monster.com and what it taught her about digital disruption and sales culture
• The moment she walked away from a multi six-figure salary to start her own firm and landed her first client before leaving the office
• Her unique methodology for hiring top sales talent
• What every founder needs to know before hiring their first salesperson
• The #1 trait she looks for in every sales hire
• How to sell anything by asking the right questions and reframing the value
• Handling rejection, founder-led sales, and why everyone is in sales whether they know it or not

💡 Whether you’re a founder hiring your first SDR, a sales leader building a team, or just trying to sharpen your own sales skills, Sonya delivers real, battle-tested insight from the front lines.

Video version on YouTube

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ABOUT SONYA

Sonya Meloff is a Canadian entrepreneur and sales recruitment expert, best known for co-founding Sales Talent Agency Inc., a leading sales recruitment firm specializing in hiring sales professionals. Since founding the agency in 2007, she has helped thousands of companies, from early-stage startups to global enterprises, hire top-performing sales talent. In 2024, she sold her shares in the business to her co-founder and is now actively exploring new entrepreneurial endeavours.

Sonya holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Calgary. She began her career with Hays in London, England, before returning to Canada to take on leadership roles in sales. As Director of Enterprise Sales at Monster Canada, she helped grow the company’s revenue significantly and became the youngest and first female recipient of Monster’s Salesperson of the Year award.

In addition to co-founding The Great Canadian Sales Competition, which became Canada’s largest student competition, she also co-founded Salesclass, a leading global sales reskilling program that has successfully trained 500+ Sales Development Representatives. Sonya is a recognized mentor, speaker, and mother of three, known for balancing business leadership with a strong commitment to family and community.

CONNECT WITH SONYA 

Linkedin

 

Adapting to Rapidly Changing Business Environments | Michael Millar

In summer of 2020, at the peak of chaos in the healthcare industry, Michael raised a venture capital "Seed" round for his healthcare software startup. How did Michael turn a crisis into an opportunity, grow his business, and set himself on the path to success?

Some of the topics covered:

• Michael's background, how and why he started Verto
• How he developed an innovative solution in healthcare that few people could create and implement
• How Michael adapted, grew, raised money and thrived as a healthcare software when customers stopped buying new software during a pandemic
• When to pivot, and when to pivot back
• Managing a remote workforce
• Building a mission driven business and a strong company culture
• Staying mentally healthy

About Verto

Verto has developed a Digital Twin Platform for healthcare that uses smart integrations to stitch data from multiple health data sources together to create a truly interoperable technology to bring every patient to their best possible health outcome.

https://verto.health/

The Journey to a $1.6 Billion Exit | The Wind Mobile Story with Brice Scheschuk

In this episode of The Profit or Pivot Podcast, host Matan Hazanov interviews Brice Scheschuk, a trailblazing entrepreneur who co-founded Wind Mobile and sold it for $1.6 billion. Bryce takes us behind the scenes of his journey, from his early days in Saskatchewan and the naval reserve to disrupting Canada’s telecom oligopoly with Wind Mobile. He shares heart-pounding moments, like securing a $200M deal with an Egyptian billionaire just days before a critical deadline and navigating a near-bankruptcy crisis that led to a massive exit.

Now a seasoned investor with stakes in 50 venture funds and 130 direct startup investments, Bryce reveals why he’s jaded about the venture capital ecosystem and offers a refreshing perspective with his “Play Your Own Game” philosophy. He also shares practical advice for founders struggling in today’s tough market, focusing on resilience, mental health, and staying laser-focused on product-market fit.

This episode is a must-listen for entrepreneurs, investors, and anyone looking to build a sustainable business in a noisy world.

What You’ll Learn:

• How Bryce hired 1k employees in 1 year to reach a million customers
• Lessons from hyper scaling a company
• The high-stakes drama of raising capital and scaling a telecom giant
• Why Bryce believes the VC model is broken for most Canadian founders
• Actionable strategies for founders to build resilient, customer-focused businesses
• The importance of mentorship and mental health in entrepreneurship

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ABOUT BRICE

Brice is the Managing Partner of Globalive Capital (www.globalive.com). He was a co-founder and CFO of WIND Mobile as well as CEO of Globalive Communications. Brice has over thirty years’ experience building and operating companies at Globalive, WIND Mobile, Leitch Technology and PricewaterhouseCoopers. He obtained his CPA, CA designation at PricewaterhouseCoopers and B.Comm (Hon.) Finance from Dalhousie University. Brice served as a Maritime Surface Officer in the Royal Canadian Naval Reserve.

Brice serves on numerous boards and advisory committees (public, private, and not-for-profit) and is a frequent speaker on scale-up entrepreneurship and innovation. He is a co-founder of MindFrame Connect (www.mindframeconnect.com), a not-for-profit focused on elevating the craft of mentorship, improving entrepreneurial resiliency and alternative capital paths to venture capital. Brice is a supporter of Build Canada (www.buildcanada.com). His interests include Canada’s innovation and start-up ecosystem, entrepreneurial finance, mentorship excellence, resiliency, financial literacy, political moderation/centrism, military veteran transition, fitness, travel, good food, good books, and great friends.

 

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Connect with Brice:

Globalive

LinkedIn

X

Mindframe Connect 

Why I Left a $100 Million Business to Build a Startup | Avi Abrams

Avi Abrams shares his journey from aspiring VC to one of the 1st hires in a high growth startup raising $50 million, and how he eventually leaves to pursue his goal of building a business from 0 to 1. We dive into Avi's time at Humi, a high growth SaaS startup, where he led product development during the company's incredible growth. He shares his lessons for building and selling products, understanding customer needs, and being a "mechanical Turk".

We also delph into his decision to leave soon after the $25 million Series B raise to start his own business. But his entrepreneurial path wasn't smooth. He experimented with many products and services before happening upon his outsource recruitment firm, El Niño, by accident. And now Avi's business is in hypergrowth mode in a market thought to be very crowded.

Why I love Avi's story is that many Millennials can identify with at least 1 part of his journey. Most of us can take something away from his insights, especially when we think we've hit a wall or become frustrated with our perceived lack of progress in our career or business.

Connect with Avi: LinkedIn 

More about El Niño

El Niño provides access to top-tier global talent. You’re matched with highly vetted, trained and fully managed offshore professionals so your team can focus on what matters most and delegate the rest.

From $0 to $10M: Marketing Lessons Every Startup Founder Needs | Igor Sorokin

In this episode, Matan Hazanov sits down with Igor Sorokin, the marketing mastermind behind One Core Media, an 8-figure boutique marketing firm driving results for global giants like Canadian Tire, Kijiji, Cisco, and even Floyd Mayweather. With over 25 years in the game, Igor shares battle-tested strategies for startups and growing businesses to stand out, scale smart, and avoid common marketing pitfalls. From the power of strategy to the impact of AI on marketing, this episode is a must-listen for entrepreneurs, investors, and founders looking to scale their business.

What You’ll Learn:

• How to differentiate your business in a crowded market.
• Why do most companies fail or spend too much implementing their marketing.
• Practical tips for setting marketing budgets, especially for SaaS and high-growth startups.
• The role of AI in modern marketing.
• Lessons from building a $10M+ marketing firm.
• Low-cost marketing hacks for early-stage startups.

See the video on YouTube.

Rate and review to help more entrepreneurs discover the show!

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About Igor Sorokin

Igor Sorokin is the founder of One Core Media, a North American based growth marketing agency helping mid-market businesses scale revenue through a strategic blend of brand strategy, performance marketing, creative content, SEO, data analytics and conversion optimization. With decades of experience, Igor bridges the gap between business strategy and marketing execution, specializing in building measurable, scalable growth engines for companies across SaaS, B2B, healthcare, finance, and eCommerce.

Known for his pragmatic approach and obsession with data, Igor has led hundreds of businesses through marketing transformations that connect brand and performance to real business outcomes. He’s particularly passionate about aligning internal teams—from sales to product—to ensure marketing isn’t just delivering leads, but driving qualified pipeline and long-term revenue growth. When he’s not guiding marketing strategy, Igor is investing in R&D, team development, system design, scalable processes, and early-stage businesses that are looking to scale. As an avid investor, he’s always looking for smart, forward-thinking companies with untapped growth potential.

Website & LinkedIn 

If you're a growth-stage company looking to scale your marketing and drive meaningful results, visit here to see how we help brands grow smarter and faster.

The Blueprint for Building Startups at Scale | Chris Carder

Chris Carder shares his incredible journey as an aspiring journalist to successful entrepreneur, academic, and builder of startups at scale. He is currently the Director of Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Schulich School of Business, often ranked the #1 business school in Canada.

The position is one he created as a result of building a startup community at Schulich from the ground up, tapping into the entrepreneurial drive of many students and alumni of the school. Chris' insights from building and selling multiples business, investing and advising many startups, to community building is invaluable to those looking to start or improve their business. Chris shares incredible stories throughout his journey from how he went all in on a pivot to how he just showed up on campus one day to build startup programs. We also discuss what we can do to improve the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Canada.

You do not want to miss this video!